LUẬN văn THẠC sĩ (KINH tế) digital marketing in the irish construction industry

Company levelofdigital marketinginteraction...38 4.2.7.. Consumer attitudetodirectcontactfromcompaniesfollowingwebsitevisit..47 4.3.6.. Consumer concernsregardingonlineshoppingforconstru

MichaelKelly 10154832

I,MichaelKelly,declarethatthisresearchismyoriginalworkandthatithasn e v e r beenpresentedtoanyinstitutionoruniversityfortheawardofDegreeorDiploma.I naddition,Ihavereferencedcorrectlyallliteratureandsourcesusedinthisworkand thisworkisfully compliantwith

theDublinBusinessSchool’sacademichonestypolicy.

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Irishconstructionindustryhaslongbeenrecognisedasoneofthemaindrivingforcesb e h i n d theIrisheconomy.Themodernconstructionbusinessischallengedwithcompetingi n thissometimesharsh,fragmentedsector.TheIrishconstructionindustryadoptsmoretraditionalbusinessapproaches,thereforeisoftenviewedasbeingcynicalinnatureandreluctanttochange.Theuncertaintythathascloudedtheconstructionindustryinparticular

sincetheIrisheconomiccrisisseemstobediminishingandrecentforecaststentativelysuggestthefutureisnowlookingpromising

ThisresearchaimstoprovideaninsightintotheIrishconstructionindustryandtheroled i g i t a lmarketingcanplaywithinthatindustry.ThedigitalmarketingindustryinIrelandhasg r o w n overthelastnumberofyearsinconjunctionwithcontinuedadvancementsintechnologyand

infrastructure.Thisstudywillinvestigatetheattitudesofconstructionindustryprofessionalstowardsdigitalmarketingandwillalsoanalysewhatbenefitsdigitalm a r k e ti n g canbringtothe industry

Thisresearchwillalso

examinehowtheconsumerviewstheIrishconstructionindustry’sc u r r e n t digitalpresence.Irishdigitalconsumers’useoftheexistingdigitalandsocialmediap l a tf o r m s willbeexplored.AsthetargetendusergroupfortheIrishconstructionindustryt h e Irishconsumercanoffervaluableinsightthewantsandneedsofthepotentialbuyerasr e g a r d s anyfuture

digitalmarketingcampaignsbytheIrishconstructionindustry.ThisresearchaimstohighlightifthereisanichefordigitalmarketingwithintheIrishconstructionindustrytofacilitatefuturegrowthofthisrecoveringsector

SCSI SocietyofCharteredSurveyorsIrelandSEO SearchEngineOptimisation

CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 ResearchAims 2

1.3 Motivationfortheresearch 3

1.4 Theoreticaljustification forthis topicofresearch 4

1.5 Noveltyofresearch 5

1.6 Dissertationroadmap 6

CHAPTER2:LITERATUREREVIEW 8

2.1 Introduction 8

2.2 Irishconstructionindustry 8

2.3 Digitalmarketing 9

2.4 DigitalStrategies 13

2.5 IrishDigitalConsumers 15

CHAPTER3:RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY&METHODS 18

3.1 Introduction 18

3.2 ResearchPhilosophy 18

3.3 ResearchApproach 19

3.4 ResearchStrategy 21

3.5 TimeHorizon 21

3.6 DataCollection 22

3.6.1 SecondaryDatacollection 23

3.6.2 PrimaryQualitativeDataCollection 26

3.6.3 PrimaryQuantitativeDataCollection 27

3.6.4 DataAnalysis 31

3.7 Populationand Sample 32

3.8 EthicalIssues 33

3.10.Limitations totheresearch 34

CHAPTER4:DATAANALYSIS/FINDINGS 35

4.1 Introduction 35

4.2 Analysisofquantitativedataobtainedfromindustryprofessionals 35

4.2.1 Responseratesbyindustryprofessionals 35

4.2.2 Importanceofdigitalmarketingandpromotionactivitiestobusiness 35

4.2.3 Communication channelscurrentlyemployed 36

4.2.4 Existinguseofdigitalmarketingtogrowbusiness 37

4.2.5 Presenceofadesignatedmarketingdepartment 38

4.2.6 Company levelofdigital marketinginteraction 38

4.2.7 Company’sSocialmediaPresence 39

4.2.8 Influenceofadigitalmarketingpresenceondecisionstodealwithacompany40 4.2.9 Reasons forcompanyuseofsocialmedia 40

4.2.10 Effectofsocialmediacampaignonbusinessgrowth 41

4.2.11 Likelihoodoffuturedigitalmarketingcampaign 42

4.2.12 Employeesincompany 42

4.2.13 Additional feedbackfromindustryprofessionals 43

4.3 Analysisofquantitativedataobtainedfromconsumers 44

4.3.1 Responseratesbyconsumers 44

4.3.2 Occurrenceofrenovationsorabuildingprojectintheprecedingyear 44

4.3.3 Expenditureonrecentbuildingorrenovationproject 45

4.3.4 Consumer viewontheuseoftheinternetinarecent renovationorbuildingp r o j e c t 45 4.3.5 Consumer attitudetodirectcontactfromcompaniesfollowingwebsitevisit 47

4.3.6 Consumer concernsregardingonlineshoppingforconstructionproducts 47

4.3.7 Consumer choiceregardingpurchaseofconstructionmaterials 48

4.3.8 MostvisitedwebsitesrelatingtobuildingorconstructionProducts 49

4.3.9 ConsumerratingoftheIrishconstructionindustry’sdigitalpresence 50

4.3.10 Ageprofileofconsumerrespondents 50

4.3.11 Genderofconsumerrespondents 51

4.4 Analysisofqualitativedata obtainedfromindustryprofessionals 51

CHAPTER5:DISCUSSION 52

5.1 Introduction 52

5.2 Currentindustryattitudestodigitalmarketing 52

5.3 TheDigitalMarketingAwakeningwithintheConstructionIndustry 54

5.3 Motivationtoimplementdigitalmarketing strategies 58

5.4 Barrierstoimplementationofdigitalmarketing strategies 59

5.5 Consumerattitudes and behaviour 61

CHAPTER6:CONCLUSIONS&RECOMMENDATIONS 66

6.1 Conclusions 66

6.2 TheIrishconstructionindustryhasnotembraceddigitalmarketing 66

6.3 Potentialbenefitsfromimplementationofdigitalmarketing 68

6.4 Potentialbarrierswhichpreventimplementationofdigitalmarketingstrategies 68

6.5 Consumerattitudestowards theIrish constructionindustry’sdigitalpresence 70

6.7 Recommendationsforfurtherresearch 71

Chapter7:Reflection 72

7.1 Introduction 72

7.2 MBA 72

7.3 Dissertationprocess 73

7.4 Selfreflection 75

7.4.1 Introduction 75

7.4.2 Self Appraisal 75

7.4.3 ProblemSolving 76

7.4.4 Addedvalue 77

7.5 Conclusion 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY 79

APPENDIX1 86

APPENDIX2 89

APPENDIX3 92

Figure1.1:EmployeeswithintheConstructionIndustry(1000s)from2000-2013 2

Figure2.1:MobileWebUse 10

Figure2.2:Customerdecisionjourney 15

Figure2.3:AIDAmodel 16

Figure3.1:ResearchOnion 19

Figure4.1:Consumerperceptionoftheimportanceofdigitalmarketing 36

Figure4.2:Communicationchannelsemployedforpromotions 37

Figure4.3:Utilisationofdigitalmarkettoexpandbusiness 37

Figure4.4:Employmentofadesignatedmarketingdepartment 38

Figure4.5:Digitalmarketinginteraction 38

Figure4.6:Socialmediaplatformusage 39

Figure4.7:Importanceofdigitalmarketingpresence 40

Figure4.8:Reasonsforsocialmediausage 41

Figure4.9:Perceptionofsocialmediaimpact 41

Figure4.10:Likelinessoffuturedigitalcampaigns 42

Figure4.11:EmploymentFigures 43

Figure4.12:RecentRenovations 44

Figure4.13:Expenditureonrenovationprojects 45

Figure4.14:Consumerattitudes 46

Figure4.15:Follow-upfromcompany 47

Figure4.16:Consumerconcernsregardingonlinetransactions 47

Figure4.17:Constructionmaterialspurchasehabits 48

Figure4.18:Ageprofileofparticipants 50

Figure4.19:Genderofparticipants 51

Figure5.2:IrishRegisteredSocialMediaAccounts 64

Figure5.3:Dailyusageofsocialmediaaccounts 64

Figure5.4:IrelandversusGlobalmobileusage 65

Figure7.1:Theevolutionofthedissertation 73

Figure7.2:PerceivedCareerValue 77

Table4.1:Industryprofessionals’personalresponses Error!

Bookmarknotdefined.T a b l e 4.2:Consumerattitudes Error! Bookmarknotdefined.T a b l e 4.3: Concernsassociatedwithonlineshopping Error! Bookmarknotdefined.T a b l e 4.4:Recentlyvisitedconstructionassociatedwebsites Error!

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n c e d a t a lighteningpace.Manyindustries,includingt h e Irishfashionindustry,havesuccessfullyembracedthesedigitaladvances,employingsocialmediap l a tf o r m s inamovewhichhasmadetheseparticularindustriesasawholemoreaccessible.

However,despitethedocumentedadvancesinthedigitalmarketingfield,digitalmarketingw i t h

i n theIrishconstructionindustrytrailswellbehindotherindustriesinIreland.B i l l i o n s o f Euroares p e n t annuallyonIrishconstructionprojectsencompassingbothp u b l i c a n d p r i v a t esectorspending.TheconstructionindustryinIrelandisveryconservative andtherei s ahugelackoftrustbetweenstakeholders(Gunnigan1999).Thismistrustisunderpinnedb y t h e tenderingprocessthroughwhichmanylargeprojectsa r e awarded,wherebyi n essencet h e lowestb i d d e rsecurest h e contract.Thetenderprocessi s v e r y secretiveands o m e ti m e s meansthecontractisawardedtothelowestpriceratherthantothebestoverallpackageputforward

Currently,thereareapproximately40,000differentregisteredbusinessesintheIrishconstructionindustry,employingapproximately280,000people.T he constructionindustryi s a majord r i v

e r ont h e Irishe c o n o m y , w i t h t h e performanceo f thee c o n o m y a n d t h e constructionindustryverycloselylinked.Duringtheheightofthe“Celtictiger” era,figuresfrom2006indicatethatconstructionoutputrepresented24%oftotalGrossNationalP r o d u c t ( G N P )

(MacAn Bhaird2010).Byl a t e 2008t he Irishb a n k i n g crisisa r o se , a n d t h e

associatedcollapseoftheconstructionindustrywasapparent,withthesubsequentdeclinei n constructionemploymentdirectlyaccountingforapproximatelytwothirdsofthejumpint h e Irishu

nemploymentr a t e after2007( F i g u r e 1.1)

(MacAnBhaird2010).I n d e e d , t h e collapseoftheconstructionindustryhas beenproposedas

oneof the majorcontributingfactorstotherecentIrishrecession,withstudiessuggestingthatIrelandwouldhavebeena b l e t o offsetfiscalactionh a d i t n o t b e e n fort h e collapsei n c o

n s t r u c ti o n - r e l a t e d

t a x r e v e n u e s (Honohan2009).ThereforetheperformanceoftheconstructionindustryanditscontinuedsustainedgrowthwillbedirectlylinkedtotherecoveryofIreland’s economy

Figure1.1:EmployeeswithintheConstructionIndustry(1000s)from2000-2013

1.2 ResearchAims

Theaimofthisresearchistoascertainhowdigitalmarketingisc urre ntly employedwithint h eIrishconstructionindustry.Theresearchwillexaminethed i g i t a l marketingplatformsb e i n g currentlyusedandwilllookattheireffectiveness.Inordertoshowthisthefollowingobjectives/aimswereestablished:

 The

attitudeoftheconsumerorendusertowardstheIrishconstructionindustryandt h e digitalpresenceofthatindustrywillbe assessed

 Thefinalobjectivewillbetoidentifythemainbarrierstoeffectiveimplementationo f adigitalmarketingpresenceintheIrishconstructionindustry

1.3 Motivationfortheresearch

TheIrishconstructionindustryisahugecontributortotheperformanceoftheIrishe c o n o m y ,

a s w e l l a st he Europeaneconomya s a w h o l e H a v i n g personallyworkedi n theindustryformanyyearsitisclearthesectorneedstobeadaptableandopentonewideas.TheIrishconstructionindustrybasesitsveryfoundationsonthelowcostmodel,yetfrequentlynumerouscontractsoverrunbothontime andcost.Theuseofeffectivedigitalm e d i a channelsm ay he l p, minimisingdisputesbe tw ee n a l l thedifferentpartiesinvol ve d D u e tothefragmentednatureoftheIrishconstructionindustry,anintegratedapproachisr e q u i r e d O n a typicalconstructionprojecti n I r e l a n d t h e r e couldb e upt o 30differents t a k e h o l d e r s involved,inevitablyresultingi n disputes,disruptionsandh i g h l e ve l s o f inefficiency whicharetotallyunsustainable

Thenumbero f Internetusersi n 2011exceeded225millioninN o r t h America(BusinessM o n i t

o r IntelligenceJ u l y 2012).Theseusagelevels,coupledw i t h o v e r onebillionactiveusersonFacebook (Fisch2010),indicateshowboth internetandsocialmediahave massivelyimpactedon

thedailyliveso f theworld’scitizens.ResearchconductedbyLeeflange t alstatest h a t p o t e n ti a

l customersw i l l carryo u t a t leastf o u r onliner e v i e w s b e f o r e purchasingaproductofservice(Leeflangetal.2014).Additionally, mobilemediaisd r i v i n g asecondinternetrevolution(Hussonetal.2013).AstudybyShyuhasattributedthesurgeindigitalactivitytotheimprovedbandwidthwirelessnetworksandimprovedmobilesignal(Shyu2015).Theseadvancesendowmodernconsumerswithm o r e decisionmakingp o w e r andaccesstomoreinformationwhenmakingpre-

purchasedecisions.Digitalmediah a s expandedthepossiblemarketsfortheIrishconstructionindustry.Thisisana r e a thatcanoffercompetitiveadvantage soisofparticularinteresttobusinessesthatworkwithint h e Irishconstructionindustry

TheconsumermarketinIrelandhaschangeddramatically.Changesinconsumerbehaviourh a v eforcedfirmstorethinktheirmarketingstrategiesinthedigitaldomain.Modernconsumerscannowgainexpertknowledgefromparticipationinpopularsocialnetworks.Ino r d e r tocontinuetoexpandandgrowtheIrishconstructionindustryneedstobeabl e tosurviveandremainrelevantt otheeveryc h a n g i n g marketplace.Theo n l i ne marketplacea l l o w s t h e consumert o b r o w s

e w i t h o u t b e i n g disturbed.Thebusinessesn e e d toe n s u r e t h e y haveapresenceonlineinordertobeabletocommunicatewithpotentialcustomers.Thisresearchwillinvestigatetheeverchanginglandscapeandinterpretthepositioningoft h e Irishconstructionindustry

1.4 Theoreticaljustificationforthistopicofresearch

Digitalm a r k e ti n g h a s b e c o m e m o r e mainstreami n t h e lastnumbero f years.Thistypem

a r k e ti n g h a s becomethemostimportantstrategyi n t h e currentbusinesslandscape.C h a

n g e s i n consumerbehaviourrequirefirmsto r e t h i n k t h e i r m a r k e ti n g strategiesin t h e d i

g i t a l domain(Tiagoe t a l 2014).Digitalmarketingi s promotiono f productso r servicesu s i n

g allformso f digital advertisingplatformsto reacht he targetaudience.Thismediumincludesr a

di o, mobile,television,socialme diamarketinga n d othersmallerlessformsofd i g i t a l media.Mobilemarketinghasbecomet h e mostpopularplatformt o engagea n d reachouttothetargetmarket.ThedigitaladvertisingphenomenonbeganinOctober1994w h e n thewebmagazine,Hotwired,soldthefirst“banner advertising” toAT&T,layingthefoundationsforthe“banneradvertising”approachevidenttoday(Oberoi2013).Thism o v e m e n t toonlineadvertisingchangedmarketing approachesforever.Thefocusofbusinesshadtochangeinordertokeepupwiththisfastpaceenvironment

Currentlytherea r e a numbero f digitalm a r k e ti n g frameworksi n existence.Thisresearchw i l linvestigatetheavailableplatformsandtheirimplementationwithintheIrishconstructionindustry.AccordingtoJohnO’Regan,AECOM’sHeadofProgramme,CostandConsultancyinIreland,theIrishconstructionindustryispresentlyexperiencinganupturninbusiness,withfiguresfor2015showinga14%increasecomparedto2014andtheAECOMp r e d i c t s double-

digitg r o w t h for2016(AECOMIrelandAnnualr e v i e w 2016).M a n y o f the

companiesinvolvedi n t h e Irishconstructionindustrywouldh a v e v e r y satisfactoryofflinem a r

k e ti n g campaigns,however,thereneedstobealinkbetweenonlineandofflinecampaigns.Thisresearchwillinvestigatehowthisintegrationcanb e usedtoincreasebusinessvisibility.I n t h i s digitalage,p o t e n ti a l consumersw i l l automaticallysearchonlineforinformationt h e y r e q u i r e ,thereforet h e d i g i t a l marketingplatformscreategreatopportunitiesforbusiness.However,w i t

h som a n y messagesa n d communicationsbeings e n t andreceivedthroughtheseplatforms,thecompanyneedtoensuretheyarereachingt h e i r targetaudience

TheIrishconstructionindustryi s b e g i n ni n g t o t a k e a n interesti n digitalmarketing.Upono b s

e r v i n g currenttrendsinotherindustries,i t i s ob vi ou s thatalltypeso f companiesandt r a d

e r s areutilisingdigitalmarketingtoattractandsecurenewbusiness.TheConstructionI n d u s

t r y Federation( C I F ) , t h e representativebodyfortheIrishconstructionindustry,h a s n o w enteredintopartnershipwithadigitalmarketingfirm,AspireDigital,toenhancethed i g i t a l presenceo f i t s members.A l l aspectso f d i g i t a l marketingwillb e addressedwitha specificemphasisonthesocialmediaaspectofdigitalmarketing.ThisservicewillbeprovidedfreeofchargetoCIFmembers,offeringthemasubstantialadvantageinanincreasinglybusym a r k e t p l a c e Thismovesignifiesa c u l t u r e shiftwithint h e constructionindustryanddemonstratest h e willingnesso ft h e industryt o changetheo l d traditionalm e t h o d s whicharerapidlybecomingoutdated

1.5 Noveltyofresearch

Verylittleresearchh a s beencarriedoutt o d a t e withint h e Irishconstructionindustry,i n p a r t duetotheclosednatureandculturewithintheindustry.However,asadirectresultofAECOM’spredictedgrowthforthisyear,researchintomechanismsofsustainingthisgrowthi s a priority.Therefore,thisresearchwillprovidesomeinsighta s t o t h e positiveimpactd i g i t a l mediacouldh a v eonthefutureo f t h e constructionindustry.Theresultso f t h i s researchwillbeveryinterestingforboththeIrishConstructionIndustryandth e marketingd e p a r t m e n t s

o f allbusinessesassociatedwithconstruction.Theinformationwillrelevanttoa l l stakeholdersfromthebuilderst o theendusersandall theintermediariesin between