Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Management, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, Iran
Abstract
Introduction:
In the present era, customer attraction is one of the most important factors for the success of businesses, because intense competition and the numerous options available to customers have caused companies to make more efforts to attract and retain their customers. Applying new marketing strategies, providing quality services, and creating a unique experience for customers are among the factors that play a significant role in this regard. The need to attract customers and understanding the role of attraction in business decision-making is a key issue that, despite its great importance, has received less attention in the field of service marketing. Social media has become a pervasive communication tool that creates connections and opportunities for interaction with customers. In particular, attracting new customers is a fundamental issue in the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund. The goal of this fund, according to Article 6 of its statute, is to mobilize financial resources and provide facilities to individuals, especially in rural and deprived areas, industrial clusters, and entrepreneurs. In recent years, the fund has played an effective role in supporting production and job creation by increasing capital and financing stagnant production units. For example, in 1403, the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund has included financing 730 stagnant production units on its agenda. From a positive perspective, the use of social media marketing can help the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund to communicate more widely with entrepreneurs and small business owners. By using platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and Telegram, the fund can better inform about financial facilities, loan conditions, and business growth strategies. Also, direct interaction with applicants and publishing entrepreneurs’ success stories increases public trust and attracts new customers to the fund’s services. Targeted marketing on social media also allows for the identification of the needs of different groups and the provision of services tailored to them. From a negative perspective, not paying attention to social media marketing can reduce public awareness of the fund’s services and miss important opportunities to attract applicants. In today’s digital world, many small businesses and entrepreneurs rely on the online space for information; as a result, the lack of an active presence in this space prevents the fund from properly delivering its message to its target audience. In addition, competition with other financial and support institutions requires the fund to use modern marketing methods; otherwise, applicants may turn to alternatives and the effectiveness of its services may decrease. Therefore, the present study answers the key question of what is the customer attraction model using social media marketing at the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund?
Methodology:
The present study was based on interpretive philosophy and conducted with an inductive approach. It is also an applied-developmental research in terms of its purpose and a non-experimental (descriptive) research in terms of its data collection method. A qualitative research design was used to achieve the research objective. The participant population includes university professors and experienced managers of the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund. Sampling was conducted purposively and theoretical saturation was achieved with 18 people. Interviews and a decision matrix-based questionnaire were used to collect data. The results of the qualitative section coding were validated using the Holst method (0.712) and Cohen's kappa estimate (0.655). The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using the formal method and the reliability of the questionnaire was also confirmed by estimating the internal correlation coefficient (0.826). The analysis and coding of the interview texts were performed using the qualitative theme analysis method in MaxQDA 20 software. In the second part, the structural-interpretive modeling method and MicMac software were used to determine the relationships between the structures and design the model.
Results and Discussion:
In the findings section, to facilitate data analysis, the interview transcripts were loaded into MaxQDA software and reviewed several times to extract key points. In the open coding stage, 319 codes were identified and finally, using axial coding, 13 main themes and 67 basic themes were extracted. The results of the thematic analysis identified themes related to the customer attraction model through social media marketing in the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund and presented them.
Conclusion:
The results of the research have shown that strategic factors, artificial intelligence, and technical factors affect media management and media security. The aforementioned factors also affect media customer friendliness and media quality, and lead to the value of content, content management system, and content production principles. Finally, by creating aesthetics and interactivity, the ultimate goal of attracting customers to the Omid Entrepreneurship Fund is achieved.
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