Abstract
With a high rate of the evolution of digital technologies, marketing communication has greatly changed in industries. In automobile industry, the digital platform, including social media, online advertisements, brand websites and customer review portal, have been significant sources of information to prospective buyers. Consumers have increasingly been relying on the digital platforms to research on the features of the vehicles and compare them with the alternative brands and their capacity to perform their own credibility research. The proposed conceptual paper will consider the impact of digital marketing activities on customer perception in the case of automobile dealerships. The study is based on the premise of the existing marketing theory and previous scholarly literature that suggests the formation of a conceptual framework explaining the connection between digital communication tools and customer perception. Online information effectiveness, digital platform accessibility, social influence of the use of online communities, and customer comfort to use digital media are determined as some of the key constructs that are important in determining consumer perception. The paper indicates the extent to which these elements define the customer attitude of the automobile brands and credibility of its dealerships. Theoretical and managerial implications of adoption of digital marketing in automobile retail sector are also discussed in the paper. The research framework suggested offers a platform upon which subsequent empirical studies into the effect of digital communication strategies in consumer behaviour in the automobile industry can be conducted.
Keywords: Customer Perception, Digital Marketing, Automobile Industry, Online Consumer behaviour, Social Media Marketing.
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