마케팅에서 Network 연구를 위한 탐색적 고찰

초록

If we can group customers based on their relationship strength with other customers, In this study, we attempt to explore how we can apply the concept and measures of social network theory to the context of marketing. The current IT technology and broad internet usage have made companies enable to gather information on the relationship data among their customers. Knowledge on customer relationship can provide marketers a new breakthrough for their marketing strategy in terms of identifying effective targeting approach, identifying influential customers, and identifying effective launching strategy and communication strategy. In particular, we suggest in this study three important ways we can apply the social network approach in the context of marketing. First, if we can understand the structural properties of the social network of customers, we can determine which customer target is the more effective in terms of spreading word-of-mouth or as a seeding target for a new product launch. Thus, the first research issue is to study the network structural properties of various target segments and identify a more effective target for the spread of word-of-mouth or for the diffusion of new products. Second, if we understand who are central customers in their social network, we can identify those influential customers in the target segment. We borrow the centrality measures from social network literature in order to identify the key customers whose social power may have other customers around them to follow their behaviors. It is vital for successful marketing strategy to Identify the central figures in customer's social network. Third, we suggest a new segmentation approach based on the network relationship structure. If we can group customers based on their relationship strength with other customers, we can uncover the latent clusters of customer groups in terms of their network structure. In other words, customers can be grouped into sub-communities with which they are densely connected and across which they are loosely connected. This new approach of customer segmentation will provide marketers an insight of how they target groups of customers in launching a new product or in spreading word-of-mouth in the market.