Micro-Blogging Marketing on Consumer Purchase Intention: Xiaomi Mobile Case Study

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Findings

4.1 Introduction

This chapter makes a quantitative analysis of the primary data. It consists of four parts: the first part is the analysis of the demographic information; the second part is an analysis of the multiple-choice questions in the questionnaire; the third part is an analysis of the means of the five variables, namely, the brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone, the interaction of Xiaomi mobile phone, the information quality of Xiaomi mobile phone, the opinion leader participation of Xiaomi mobile phone and consumer purchase intention; the fourth part is the correlation analysis and regression analysis between consumer purchase intention on one side and brand awareness, interaction, information quality and opinion leader participation these four variables on the other.

4.2 The analysis of demographic variables

Part 3 of the questionnaire contains 4 items of demographic variables information. The statistical results are shown in Figure 4-1, and the analysis results are as follows:

As can be seen from Figure 4-1, the fans of the official micro-blog of Xiaomi mobile phone (fans of Xiaomi micro-blog) participating in the survey are mostly females, and the proportion of females is nearly 20% higher than that of males, implying that the females pay much more attention to Xiaomi micro-blog than males. In this regard, this research believes that in order to improve the influence of Xiaomi micro-blog, Xiaomi official can pay more attention to the needs and habits of female fans in using the micro-blog, thereby further increasing the proportion of female fans. Xiaomi, for example, introduces pink Redmi 1S for female fans, which wins the attention of the majority of female users.

The fans of Xiaomi micro-blog are mainly concentrated in the 18-25 age group, accounting for a share up to 41.5%, followed by the 26-35 age group, which accounts for 29.3%. This suggests that the fan groups of Xiaomi micro-blog are relatively young, and most of them are students or the newcomers working for 2-3 years on the job markets. They have relatively low incomes, but these people, compared with those in other age groups, are in a stronger pursuit of quality life and the things they favour and like to be different from others. The product philosophy of Xiaomi “just for fans” has greatly attracted the younger groups in the pursuit of quality life.

The monthly incomes of fans of Xiaomi micro-blog are mainly concentrated between 2,001 and 5,000 yuan, accounting for a proportion up to 43.9%. This is followed by 5,001-8,000 yuan, with a proportion of 29.3%. This indicates that the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog mostly have a lower or middle income, and they are quite sensitive to the price and in the pursuit of cost-effective products. Relative to its competitors, Xiaomi, relying on the low price and high performance products, just manage to meet the needs of these people.

Most fans of Xiaomi micro-blog have a bachelor degree, accounting for as high as 48.8%, followed by Junior College, with a proportion of 28.0%. This suggests that the people having received the university education and junior college education are more interested in Xiaomi. They are not only able to use a computer skilfully, but also like a variety of online games, technology upgrades as well as mobile phone system reinstallation. Xiaomi Company is the first to develop mobile operating systems via the Internet mode and attract 600,000 fans to be involved in developing and improving systems, which happens to cater to the needs of those fans.

4.3 Analysis of Part 1 of the questionnaire

4.3.1. Respondents’ use of micro-blog

Figure 4-2 How long have you used micro-blog

As can be seen from Figure 4-2, most fans of Xiaomi micro-blog that participate in the survey use micro-blog for one to two years, accounting for a proportion of 41.5%, and there is only a very small difference between fans of Xiaomi micro-blog who have used micro-blogs for six to twelve months and those for over 2 years, with a proportion of 29.9% and 22.0% respectively. The fans of Xiaomi micro-blog who have used micro-blogs for fewer than six months account for the smallest proportion, only 6.7%. It suggests that most fans of Xiaomi micro-blog participating in this survey have used the micro-blog for a generally long time. Therefore, they should be very familiar with Sina micro-blog, Tencent micro-blog, etc., and the survey of these people is able to collect more accurate and more reliable information, which will help to improve the persuasiveness of the results.

4.3.2. Respondents’ use frequency of micro-blog

Figure 4- 3 How often do you use micro-blog

As can be seen from Figure 4-3, the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog that use the micro-blog 3-6 times a week account for the highest proportion, up to 53.0%, followed by those who use the micro-blog every day, with a proportion of 34.1%. Thus, it can be known that most of the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog use the micro-blog quite frequently. This may be because the micro-blog which can be checked at any time has become an inseparable part of people’s daily life, and even become a kind of lifestyle. Micro-blog offers a rich array of useful information, and with the micro-blog one can get the information he or she wants. Therefore, Xiaomi can take advantage of this and post on its official website the information that attracts the attention of fans, or the information about new products, or other information useful for its fans, so as to improve its click rates and forwards, thereby achieving the promotion or marketing effects.

4.3.3. Respondents’ attitude toward the products recommended by opinon leaders on micro-blog

Figure 4-4 The thinking about the products recommended by opinion leaders on micro-blog

As can be seen from Figure 4-4, 34.1% of the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog hold a neutral attitude toward the products recommended by opinion leaders on micro-blog. There is a very small difference between the proportions of the fans who believe that the products recommended by opinion leaders on micro-blog are trustworthy and the fans who believe these products are very untrustworthy, 6.7% and 5.5% respectively. However, the proportions of the fans who express the trustworthy and untrustworthy attitudes are 37.8% and 15.9% respectively, the latter doubling the former. This shows that there are still a considerable part of fans of Xiaomi micro-blog who put much emphasis on the role of opinion leaders and cherish much trust in opinion leaders. This may be because opinion leaders often have highly specialised knowledge, possess a better understanding of the products, and do better in choosing the products on the market, so the adoption of their views can reduce the perceived risks of the product. Therefore, Xiaomi can make more use of opinion leaders to influence the perception of fans of its products and strive to obtain the recognition from a greater proportion of fans.

4.3.4. Respondents’ attitude toward the products recommended by friend on micro-blog

Figure 4-5 the thinking about the products recommended by friends on micro-blog

As can be seen from Figure 4-5, 20.1% of the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog hold a neutral attitude toward the products recommended by friends on micro-blog. The proportions of the fans who believe that the products recommended by friends on micro-blog are very trustworthy and the fans who believe these products are untrustworthy are 22.6% and 46.3% respectively. If a comparison is made with Figure 4-3, it can be found that the proportions of the fans who respectively hold a neutral, untrustworthy and very untrustworthy attitude toward the products recommended by friends on micro-blog are significantly lower than those toward the products recommended by opinion leaders, but the proportions of the fans who believe that the products recommended by friends on micro-blog are very trustworthy and trustworthy are significantly higher than those for the products recommended by opinion leaders. This implies that relative to opinion leaders, the fans have more trust in and pay more attention to the advice or recommendations of their friends and family members. This may be because the friends could feel about certain things in a quite similar way as they do, and their recommendations, compared with strangers, enterprises, or experts, etc., can better reduce their perceived risks of certain things. In addition, their friends have a better understanding of them, and know their preferences, and it is very likely that their friends will recommend the most appropriate thing to them according to their preferences. For this reason, the recommendation of friends could often improve one’s perceived value of certain products, that is, people tend to have more trust in the products recommended by friends on micro-blog.

4.3.5. Respondents’ aim to use micro-blog

Figure 4-6 What do you use micro-blog for

As can be seen from Figure 4-6, the mean of the item “To stay informed on the latest news of the stars” is the highest, up to 4.0244, indicating that it is the main objective for the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog to use micro-blog. This is followed by “To kill time”, with a mean of 3.8841, indicating that it is a secondary objective for the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog to use micro-blog. Accordingly, the different purposes and motivations for fans of Xiaomi micro-blog to use the micro-blog are, in a descending order, as follows respectively: to stay informed on the latest news of stars, to kill time, to learn more knowledge, to communicate with friends, to check whether there are any interesting activities, to keep in touch with current events, and to make friends. Therefore, it is found that micro-blog provides a variety of functions and in addition to spreading their own values ​​and behaviour orientations and exhibiting their individuality, it also enables everyone to express themselves freely in their own space, build their own social networks, achieve the convergence of personal and social values, and realise self-image building and curing, such as communicating with friends, making friends, and acquiring more knowledge. Besides, it could also meet the needs of users for sharing, reading, etc., such as staying informed on the latest news of stars, checking whether there are any interesting activities, and keeping in touch with current events, etc., thereby increasing the adhesion of individuals to the society as a whole.

4.3.6. The aspect consumer pay most attention when buying a product

Figure 4-7 To which aspect do you pay most attention when buying a product

As can be seen from Figure 4-7, the mean of the item “pay attention to product quality” is the highest, up to 3.9085, indicating that the fans of Xiaomi micro-blog is most concerned about product quality in the purchase of products. This is followed by “pay attention to word-of-mouth”, with a mean of 3.8598, indicating that the fans also pay attention to the word-of-mouth of the products. The mean of the item “pay attention to product function” is the lowest, 3.2500, indicating that the fans are not particularly concerned about the product’s functions relative to few other factors. Thus, it can be known that when consumers buy products, they are more concerned about product quality, reputation and so on. Therefore, in order for the business to increase product sales, to ensure product quality is the most important task. In this regard, the business needs to ensure its product quality at any cost by making great efforts, enacting strict regulations, and introducing product testing standards. In addition, the business should pay particular attention to the word of mouth, and guide the consumers with real, positive and detailed evaluation information, in order to increase the other consumers’ understanding and perception of the products, reduce their perceived risks, and finally induce their willingness to buy.

4.4 Descriptive statistical analysis of 5 variables

4.4.1 Mean analysis of Brand awareness

Figure 4-8 Analysis of descriptive statistics of brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone

As can be seen from Figure 4-8, the mean of Q1 “Xiaomi micro-blog has a great number of followers” is the highest, up to 3.9573; the mean of Q3 “Xiaomi micro-blog has a great number of comments” is the lowest, 3.3354. It can be seen that all of the 4 items describing the brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone have a relatively high mean, indicating that the brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone is relatively high, and the product is able to attract the public’s attention and win the recognition and the acceptance from the majority of fans very quickly.

This research argues that the reason why the brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone is on a relatively high level may lie in the legendary characteristic of Xiaomi brand. Xiaomi has created a new category “Internet mobile phone”, and it also provides a one hundred billion industry direction for the transformation of traditional industries with the Internet and sets a new record for the growth rate of Chinese Internet companies. The sales revenue has exceeded 10 billion yuan within three years, and a new brand model is created. A well-known brand is created very quickly even in three-tier cities at no cost and few advertisements. To eliminate copycatting via the positioning of “fans phones”, it is now listed one of the first-tier manufacturers, just as the “Chinese version” of Apple and Samsung. Or it may be because Xiaomi chances to meet the golden age of micro-blog explosion in 2010, the tide of smart phones in 2011 and the explosive growth of the electronic commerce on the Internet. Therefore, in order to maintain the brand awareness of Xiaomi mobile phone, Xiaomi, this research considers, first should continue to focus on innovations, guide the trend of Chinese Internet mobile phones, introduce new products constantly, and seize the minds of consumers, thus keeping the fans’ enthusiasm for Xiaomi. Secondly, it should seize every opportunity to grow and develop in order to achieve the ultimate quick leap forward once and again.

4.4.2 Mean analysis of Interaction

Figure 4-9 Analysis of descriptive statistics of interaction of Xiaomi mobile phone

As can be seen from Figure 4-9, the mean of Q8 “Xiaomi micro-blog often forwards relevant micro-blogs of followers” is the highest, up to 3.9085; the mean of Q6 “Xiaomi micro-blog can timely handle user complaints and suggestions on micro-blog” is the lowest, 3.3110. It can be seen that all of the 4 items describing the interaction of Xiaomi mobile phone have a relatively high mean, indicating that the interaction of Xiaomi mobile phone is relatively high, and Xiaomi micro-blog attaches great importance to the interaction with fans, and the interaction is quite frequent and in a timely manner.

This research believes that the reason why the interaction of Xiaomi mobile phone could be recognised and sought after by the majority of fans has much to do with the service philosophy of Xiaomi Company to a large extent. For example, there is a rule on Xiaomi customer service micro-blog: fast response within 15 minutes. To this end, Xiaomi Company has specifically developed a customer service platform. Especially on the micro-blog, the users could get the responses and answers from the service personnel of Xiaomi whether it is their recommendations or ridicules, which surprises so many fans. In addition, Xiaomi also has a philosophy of universal customer service and encourages the close contact with its users in effective ways. Even Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, spends one hour a day replying to the comments on the micro-blog. And whether the post on Xiaomi forum can be replied in a timely manner is an important indicator to assess each Xiaomi engineer. In this way, Xiaomi makes the majority of users and fans feel they are taken seriously, and therefore the number of fans has jumped, so that each micro-blog will be commented or forwarded millions of times. The larger the number of comments or forwards is, the greater the influence of the micro-blog on users. Therefore, Xiaomi micro-blog should continue to strengthen its customer service platform development, keep improving its service levels, and make its fans feel they are taken seriously so as to attract more fans and users.

4.4.3 Mean analysis of Information quality

Figure 4-10 Analysis of descriptive statistics of information quality of Xiaomi mobile phone

As can be seen from Figure 4-10, the mean of Q9 “The message released by Xiaomi micro-blog are trustworthy” is the highest, up to 3.8780; the mean of Q10 “The messages released by Xiaomi micro-blog are valuable” is the lowest, 3.2500. It can be seen that all of the 4 items describing the information quality of Xiaomi mobile phone have a relatively high mean, indicating that the information quality of Xiaomi mobile phone is relatively high and wins the acceptance and recognition of the majority of fans and users, and that the fans can get relatively valuable, credible and understandable information from Xiaomi’s micro-blog such as the information on the latest products or on the latest promotional activities, etc.

This research argues that the micro-blog itself is a medium to spread a variety of information and there will be a lot of inborn advantages in information dissemination on the basis of customer service management. It can be said that the process of information dissemination on the micro-blog is essentially the process of brand marketing. Each piece of information released by the enterprise on micro-blog represents its value judgments and stances, and the audience would also generate brand awareness and affection toward the business releasing micro-blogs while judging the value of each micro-blog message. Therefore, the information quality of the micro-blog released by the enterprise is directly related to the marketing effectiveness and image of its own brand. With this in mind, Xiaomi should continue to make efforts to improve the information quality of Xiaomi mobile phone, in order to achieve better marketing effects and brand publicity and get more fans and greater visibility.

4.4.4 Mean analysis of Opinion leader participation

Figure 4-11 Analysis of descriptive statistics of opinion leader participation of Xiaomi mobile phone

As can be seen from Figure 4-11, the mean of Q16 “Some micro-blog users with many followers often release message related to Xiaomi products” is the highest, up to 3. 9451; the mean of Q15 “Some micro-blog users with many followers often interact with followers on Xiaomi micro-blog” is the lowest, 3.1402. It can be seen that the opinion leaders regularly release micro-blog messages on Xiaomi products, but the frequency of interaction with their followers is obviously not as high as the frequency of their self releasing micro-blog information. This may be because if the opinion leader frequently releases product information on the micro-blog, it could first promote the product and increase corporate and personal income, and second, the regularly updated micro-blog could attract the attention of more people, thus getting more fans and leading to better publicity. However, the opinion leader has so a large number of fans that it is difficult to reply to most fans or interactions even though a lot of time is spent in doing so. For example, the number of micro-blog fans of Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, reaches 11,006,100, and even he spends an hour a day replying to the comments on micro-blog, it is still difficult to reply to each fans’ comments frequently. Be that as it may, given the significant impact of the opinion leader on his or her fans, this research believes that as long as the circumstances permit, the opinion leader should reply to or comment on as many messages of fans as possible. For example, the opinion leader can spend another half an hour or one hour a day to reply to or comment on the message of the fans, or attract other opinion leaders to join Xiaomi team, so that Xiaomi will have more opinion leaders, thereby increasing the responses to and comments on the message of the fans.

4.4.5 Mean analysis of Consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-12 Analysis of descriptive statistics of consumer purchase intention of Xiaomi mobile phone

As can be seen from Figure 4-12, the mean of Q20 “I will continue to buy the products of Xiaomi” is the highest, up to 3.8476; the mean of Q17 “The products of Xiaomi are my first choice when shopping” is the lowest, 3.4207. It can be seen that all of the 4 questions describing the consumer purchase intention of Xiaomi mobile phone have a relatively high mean in general, indicating that Xiaomi fans have a high intention to purchase Xiaomi mobile phones. They are not only willing to buy or continue to buy Xiaomi mobile phones, but also willing to recommend them to others. This research argues that the reason for such a high-level purchase intention of Xiaomi fans is probably that Xiaomi is doing well in product quality, pricing, features, personality, service, marketing mode as well as micro-blog publicity. For example, Xiaomi’s mobile phone system has reached the top mobile phone standards, and the MIUI interface is suitable for Chinese people, and its price is much lower than the mobile phones of other brands with the same configuration. Therefore, in order to improve the fans’ purchase intention, Xiaomi should proceed further in terms of product quality, pricing, features, services as well as micro-blog publicity, for example, to improve product quality and increase product life, so as to further reduce the user’s perceived risks.

4.5 Correlation analysis and unary regression analysis

The correlation coefficient indicates the degree of correlation between variables (Rodgers and Nicewander, 1988), and this research represents the correlation coefficient with R. The size of the R-value indicates the degree of correlation. R=0 indicates there is no correlation between the variables; 0<R<0.1 indicates a weak positive correlation; 0.1<R<0.39 indicates a low positive correlation; 0.4<R<0.69 indicates a moderate positive correlation; 0.7<R<0.99 indicates a high strong positive correlation, R =1 indicates perfect positive correlation; -0.1<R<0 indicates a weak negative correlation; -0.39<R<-0.1 indicates a low negative correlation; -0.69<R<-0.4 indicates a moderate negative correlation; -0.99<R<-0.7 indicates a strong negative correlation; R =-1 indicates perfect negative correlation (Osburn, 2000).

4.5.1 Impact of brand awareness of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention

4.5.1.1 Correlation analysis of brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-13 Correlation analysis between brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

As can be seen from Figure 4-13, the correlation coefficient between brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is R = 0.515 with a sig. = 0.000. It indicates that at the 0.01 significance level, the brand awareness of micro-blogging is moderately and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention, and that there is a very close relationship between brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention, that is, the impact of brand awareness of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention is relatively obvious.

4.5.1.2 Regression Analysis of brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Since the regression analysis and regression equation can show the influencing relationship between the two more clearly, this research also carries out the following regression analysis.

Before the regression analysis, two values need to be noted first. One is the R Square, representing the coefficient of determination, determining the degree of fit of linear regression, and indicating the explanatory power of one variable to another (Wei, Lin and Weissfeld, 1989). The other is the F value, which is used to test the size of the significance of the regression equation. Compared with the significance level (Sig.), the larger the F value the more significant the regression, and the smaller the F value the less significant the regression (Cleveland and Devlin, 1988).

The unary regression analysis conducted between the brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention:

Figure 4- 14 Model Summary of the unary regression analysis for brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4- 15 ANOVAb of the unary regression analysis for brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4- 16 The unary regression analysis for brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

As can be seen from Figure 4-14, R Square = 0.265, indicating that the variations in the brand awareness of micro-blogging could explain 26.5% of the variations in consumer purchase intention. As can be seen from Figure 4-15, F = 58.479> Sig. = 0.000, indicating that the regression equation for brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is very significant. As can be seen from Figure 4-16, the regression equation for the brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention could be expressed as follows: consumer purchase intention = 2.033 + 0.427 brand awareness + ε, where ε is a constant. The equation could be understood as: consumer purchase intention will vary along with the variations in brand awareness of micro-blogging, and every time the brand awareness of micro-blogging varies by 1 unit, consumer purchase intention will vary by 0.427 units.

4.5.1.3 The relationship between brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

The result shows that this research finding is the same as the views of Sumarjan, et al. (2014) and Tariq et al (2013) who believe the brand awareness of micro-blogging plays a significant role in promoting consumer purchase intention. The higher the level of brand awareness of micro-blogging, the stronger the consumer purchase intention. This research argues that as the merchandises in modern society are becoming increasingly similar, only the products with high brand awareness could stand out in so many products and win the favour of customers. This kind of attraction is just the foundation for the consumer’s purchase intentions and purchase behaviours. For example, relying on its more than 7 million fans on Xiaomi forums, 5.5 million fans on Xiaomi’s official micro-blog, 7.7 million micro-blog fans of Xiaomi’s partners and staff, as well as more than 1 million Xiaomi fans on Wechat, Xiaomi continues to improve its brand awareness, keeps attracting the concern of more users and fans, and finally achieves the ultimate success of Xiaomi marketing myth – the sales exceeds 10 billion over 3 years. In addition, the brand awareness can also directly affect consumer’s consumption psychology and behaviours, and a positive and good brand image will certainly generate good brand memory and perception among consumers, reduce the perceived risks of consumers, increase their perceived values, and strengthen the consumer’s purchase intention. For instance, Xiaomi MIUI is the first to make use of the Internet to develop mobile phone OS, which, coupled with the phone’s popular appearance and powerful configuration, has satisfied the demands of players in the pursuit of cost effectiveness, so these groups naturally become the target market for Xiaomi mobile phones.

4.5.2 Impact of interaction of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention

4.5.2.1 Correlation analysis of interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-17 Correlation analysis between interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

As can be seen from Figure 4-17, the correlation coefficient between interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is R = 0.799 with a sig. = 0.000. It indicates that at the 0.01 significance level, the interaction of micro-blogging is strongly and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention, and that there is a very close relationship between interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention.

4.5.2.2Regression analysis of interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

The unary regression analysis conducted between the interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention:

Figure 4-18 Model Summary of the unary regression analysis for interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-19 ANOVAb of the unary regression analysis for interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-20 The unary regression analysis for interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Similarly, as can be known from Figure 4-18, 4-19 and 4-20, the interaction of micro-blogging could explain 63.9% of the variations in consumer purchase intention, and the regression equation for interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is very significant. The regression equation for the interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention could be expressed as follows: consumer purchase intention = 0.986 + 0.717 interaction + ε. The equation could be understood as: consumer purchase intention will vary significantly along with the variations in interaction of micro-blogging.

Lee et al. (2014), Ari and Nasir (2014) and Chen (2012) hold that the interaction of micro-blogging could increase customers’ understanding of the products, improve their trust in the products, and enhance their affection toward the enterprise, thus inducing consumer purchase intention. The results of this research have also demonstrated there is a very significant correlation between the interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention, and the regression equation is extremely significant. The findings of this dissertation are similar to their conclusions.

4.5.2.3 Relationship between interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

This research maintains that first of all, the micro-blog message has largely replaced the online technology posts, and it is shorter, more concise and offers a more targeted description of the product performance. The positive message on the micro-blog will make the other users feel the product is quite cost effective, while the negative message will give the customer a more comprehensive understanding of the product and help them make the right purchase decision. Second, the frequent interaction between enterprise’s micro-blog and its fans and users can contribute to a good relationship and improve its fans and users’ trust, so that the released product information can easily win the customer’s recognition and induce their purchase intention. Thirdly, the micro-blog users’ forwarding micro-blog messages implies their recognition of the message, and the comment on micro-blog is the reaction made after deep processing of the message, so the users could convey their views on the products either by commenting or forwarding these product micro-blog messages.

When there are quite a number of comments or forwards, it will deepen the other users’ goodwill and trust in the product and then generate purchase intentions. For example, there are more than 8 million fans on the official micro-blog of Xiaomi mobile phone, more than 2.5 million fans on Xiaomi’s micro-blog, and more than 19 million fans on Xiaomi’s QQ Zone, so Xiaomi receives tens of thousands of micro-blog messages or QQ Zone messages every day, and each message will be forwarded for thousands or even tens of thousands times. It is just the high frequency interaction between Xiaomi and its fans and the interaction among these fans that create a marketing myth of Xiaomi.

4.5.3 Impact of information quality of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention

4.5.3.1 Correlation analysis of information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-21 Correlation analysis between information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

As can be seen from Figure 4-21, the correlation coefficient between information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is R = 0.549 with a sig. = 0.000. It indicates that at the 0.01 significance level, the information quality of micro-blogging is moderately and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention.

4.5.3.2Regression analysis of information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

The unary regression analysis conducted between the information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention:

Figure 4-22 Model Summary of the unary regression analysis for information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-23 ANOVAb of the unary regression analysis for information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-24 The unary regression analysis for information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Similarly, as can be known from Figure 4-22, 4-23 and 4-24, the information quality of micro-blogging could explain 30.1% of the variations in consumer purchase intention, and the regression equation for information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is very significant. The regression equation for the information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention could be expressed as follows: consumer purchase intention = 1.745 + 0.520 information quality + ε. In other words, consumer purchase intention will vary along with the variations in information quality of micro-blogging, and every time the information quality of micro-blogging varies by 1 unit, consumer purchase intention will vary by 0.520 units.

Zhou and Dong (2014), Li, et al (2014) and Zembik (2014) maintain that the information quality of micro-blogging could increase customers’ understanding of the products, improve their trust in the products, allow them to get the information on product activities, and strengthen their goodwill toward the products, thus inducing consumer purchase intention. The results of this research have also demonstrated that there is a very significant correlation between the information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention, and the regression equation is also extremely significant.

4.5.3.3 Relationship between information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

According to this research, first of all, the micro-blog information released by the company contains much knowledge, and it enables the users to have more product knowledge by disseminating product features, uses, and other information, especially for the products with many functions, complex operations and outstanding features, thereby enhancing the trust of customers in the products and inducing the purchase intention. Second, the product promotions, offers and activity information released on corporate micro-blog can evoke customers’ desire to buy. Third, the company can strengthen the users’ understanding of and trust in the company and its products through interactions and emotional communications with the users while releasing informative micro-blogs, so as to effectively promote the purchase intention. For example, Lei Jun released a micro-blog on May 20, 2014 “150,000 youth edition Xiaomi mobile phones will be sold ten o’clock today. First come first served. Please log on in advance on a smooth network”. It was forwarded crazily by fans and the competition for buying the product is extremely fierce.

4.5.4 Impact of opinion leader participation of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention

4.5.4.1 Correlation analysis of opinion leader participation and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-25 Correlation analysis between opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

As can be seen from Figure 4-25, the correlation coefficient between opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is R = 0.279 with a sig. = 0.000. It indicates that at the 0.01 significance level, the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging is weakly and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention.

4.5.4.2 Regression analysis of opinion leader participation and consumer purchase intention

The unary regression analysis conducted between the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention:

Figure 4-26 Model Summary of the unary regression analysis for opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-27 ANOVAb of the unary regression analysis for opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Figure 4-28 The unary regression analysis for opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Similarly, as can be known from Figure 4-26, 4-27 and 4-28, the variations in opinion leader participation of micro-blogging could explain 7.8% of the variations in consumer purchase intention, and the regression equation for opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention is significant. The regression equation for the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention could be expressed as follows: consumer purchase intention = 2.897+0.195 opinion leader participation + ε. In other words, consumer purchase intention will vary along with the variations in opinion leader participation of micro-blogging, and every time the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging varies by 1 unit, consumer purchase intention will vary by 0.195 units.

4.5.4.3 Relationship between opinion leader participation and consumer purchase intention

Zhou and Dong (2014), Kajailista (2013), Chow and Shi (2014) and others believe that the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging can increase customer’s trust in the products, reduce the perceived risks, and therefore promote their purchase intentions. The research has validated their views, and holds that the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging could promote consumer purchase intention, which may be explained in two aspects. First, there are many Internet users taking the micro-blog as a first source of news information, and these news sources include not only the media accounts but also opinion leaders. The opinion leaders on the micro-blog almost have the ability to rally multitudes at one call, so that they can affect consumer purchase intention. For example, Lei Jun, has one of the best reputation and appeal in the IT industry, and he has more than 2 million fans. Every one of his micro-blogs will be received or forwarded by more than 2 million people, and Xiaomi mobile phones are also favoured and purchased crazily by mobile phone enthusiasts. Second, the opinion leader is himself the spokesperson of a company, and it will have better effects if the promotional activity information is published and the corporate values and brand cultures explained by them. For instance, Lei Jun constantly releases relevant information on Xiaomi through his own micro-blog, which attracts the sustained attention on Xiaomi mobile phones from a large number of media and fans.

4.6 Conclusion

This research, through the above analysis, draws the following conclusions: brand awareness of micro-blogging, interaction of micro-blogging, information quality of micro-blogging and opinion leader participation of micro-blogging are all positively correlated to consumer purchase intention. If ranked in a descending order, they are: interaction of micro-blogging (strong correlation), information quality of micro-blogging (moderate correlation), brand awareness of micro-blogging (moderate correlation) and opinion leader participation of micro-blogging (low correlation). The conclusions of this research share the same ground as Sumarjan, et al. (2014), Lee et al. (2014), Zhou and Dong (2014), Chow and Shi (2014) and others scholars. This research argues that these above variables can increase customer awareness of products, strengthen the purchasing trust, reduce perceived risks, and improve perceived values, thereby increasing the purchase intention.

Chapter 5: Discussion and recommendation

5.1 Introduction

This chapter consists of three major parts. The first part summarises the results of the investigations and emphasises the significance of the results. The second part points out Xiaomi’s problems based on its status quo, propose some solutions to these problems, and makes recommendations to help Xiaomi improve micro-blog marketing and strengthen consumer purchase intention. The third part carries out an objective evaluation of the limitations of this research and makes corresponding recommendations for further research.

5.2 Discussion

5.2.1 Discussion of the impact of brand awareness of mico-blogging on consumer purchase intention

As for the research question “Does brand awareness of micro-blogging affect consumer purchase intention”, this dissertation summarises its analysis results in Table 5-1 below.

Table 5- 1 brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Correlated variables Analysis approach Statistical results
The brand awareness of micro-blogging Consumer purchase intention Correlation analysis Sig.=0.000 R=0.515
Regression analysis R Square=0.265 F=58.479 consumer purchase intention=2.033+0.427 the brand awareness +ε

The brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention are moderately and positively correlated to each other, and the brand awareness of micro-blogging has significant positive impacts on consumer purchase intention. The research also comes to the regression equations for these two variables and obtains more accurate results. This research confirms the conclusions of Chi et al. (2009), Sumarjan, et al. (2014) and Tariq et al (2013) who believe that the brand awareness of micro-blogging could affect consumer purchase intention through brand image, brand trust, brand satisfaction and attractiveness, etc. This research enriches the relevant theory on brand awareness of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention.

5.2.2 Discussion of the impact of interaction of mico-blogging on consumer purchase intention

As for the research question “Does interaction of micro-blogging affect consumer purchase intention”, this dissertation summarises its analysis results in Table 5-2 below.

Table 5- 2 interaction of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Correlated variables Analysis approach Statistical results
The interaction of micro-blogging Consumer purchase intention Correlation analysis Sig.=0.000 R=-0.799
Regression analysis R Square=0.639 F=286.817 consumer purchase intention=0.986+0.717the interaction +ε

The interaction of micro-blogging is strongly and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention. Moreover, the interaction of micro-blogging has extremely significant positive impacts on consumer purchase intention. Lee et al. (2014), Ari and Nasir (2014), and Chen (2012) explore the impacts of interaction of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention from the perspectives of the number and strength of reviews and ratings online, social interactions and word of mouth, etc., and this research conducts a more comprehensive study. It believes that the interaction of micro-blogging can increase customer awareness of products, increase customer trust in the product, enhance customer affection toward the enterprise, and thus induce consumer purchase intentions, which greatly enriches the previous studies.

5.2.3 Discussion of the impact of information quality of mico-blogging on consumer purchase intention

As for the research question “Does information quality of micro-blogging affect consumer purchase intention”, this dissertation summarises its analysis results in Table 5-3 below.

Table 5- 3  information quality of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Correlated variables Analysis approach Statistical results
The information quality of micro-blogging Consumer purchase intention Correlation analysis Sig.=0.000 R=0.549
Regression analysis R Square=0.301 F=69.805 consumer purchase intention=1.745+0.520 the information quality +ε

The information quality of micro-blogging is moderately and positively correlated to consumer purchase intention. Moreover, the information quality of micro-blogging has a very significant positive impact on consumer purchase intention. This research verifies the views of Zhou and Dong (2014), Li et al (2014) and Zembik (2014) and concludes that the information quality of micro-blogging can increase customer awareness of the product, strengthen customer trust in product purchase, offer timely access to information about product activities, and improve customer goodwill of the product, thus contributing to consumer purchase intention. Apart from this, it has also worked out both the strength of correlation and the specific regression equations, so that the research in this field becomes more specific and more accurate.

5.2.4 Discussion of the impact of opinion leader participation of mico-blogging on consumer purchase intention

As for the research question “Does opinion leader participation of micro-blogging affect consumer purchase intention”, this dissertation summarises its analysis results in Table 5-4 below.

Table 5- 4 opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention

Correlated variables Analysis approach Statistical results
The opinion leader participation of micro-blogging Consumer purchase intention Correlation analysis Sig.=0.000 R=0.279
Regression analysis R Square=0.078 F=13.665 consumer purchase intention=2.897+0.195 the opinion leader participation +ε

There is a low positive correlation between the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging and consumer purchase intention. Moreover, the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention. This research verifies the conclusions of Zhou and Dong (2014), Kajailista (2013) and Chow and Shi (2014) and believes that the opinion leader participation of micro-blogging can increase customer trust in the products and reduce the perceived risks, thereby improving consumer purchase intention. In addition, it has also worked out both the size of correlation and the specific regression equations of the two, so that the relationship between the two is much clearer, thus enriching the previous studies.

In addition, this research also compares the strengths of the correlation between consumer purchase intention and the other four variables, and if ranked in a descending order, they are: interaction of micro-blogging (strong correlation), information quality of micro-blogging (moderate correlation), brand awareness of micro-blogging (moderate correlation) and opinion leader participation of micro-blogging (low correlation). Therefore, in order to improve consumer purchase intention via micro-blogging marketing, this research proposes the following recommendations.

5.3 Implication of micro-blogging for Xiaomi

Based on above research conclusion, Xiaomi mobile phone can implicate micro-blogging marketing through the following ways:

Firstly, it should constantly improve the platform of Xiaomi micro-blog and continuously enrich the micro-blog information on it. It should also choose more micro-blog platforms suitable for Xiaomi mobile phones, such as Sina micro-blog, Tencent micro-blog, Sohu micro-blog and NetEase micro-blog.

Secondly, in order to attract the attention of fans or to clearly express certain ideas, the exquisite, appropriate pictures, videos and other multimedia forms can be used to achieve better results. Besides, Xiaomi should treat its customers in a friendly way. For example, Xiaomi could make its brand more humane, establish and maintain a good relationship with its fans and users through the micro-blog.

Thirdly, it should focus on the timeliness of the micro-blog content and promptly update the information on Xiaomi mobile micro-blog, so as to enhance the attractiveness and always attract the attention of fans. It can resort to pictures which can effectively attract the attention of fans, deepen their understanding of the content, and make the message more convincing. In addition, it can pay attention to the language style of the micro-blog information. The colloquial language style should be more used.

Last but not least, Xiaomi should increase the number of opinion leaders, it could choose the customers with a higher social status, public familiarity and good reputation in different sectors as opinion leaders and ask them to recommend Xiaomi products.

In order to facilitate the implementation of above recommendations, this research prepares a timetable of recommendations as shown in Table 5-5:

Table 5- 5 The timetable of recommendations

Management actions Resources Implementation time Expected results
To continue to improve the platform of Xiaomi mobile phone micro-blog Xiaomi staff Xiaomi executives Micro-blog platform Funds From September 2014 to December 2014 Significant increase in the number of fans Increase in micro-blog comments and forwards Rise of Xiaomi mobile phone market shares Rise of Xiaomi mobile phone popularity
To cooperate with more appropriate micro-blog platforms
To beautify webpage so as to attract fans Design Department Marketing Department Publicity Department Staff Funds From September 2014 to November 2014 Significant improvement in interaction with the fans A lot of useful suggestions from fans Great improvement in mobile phone performance Significant rise in Xiaomi mobile phone sales Significant increase in the number of fans
To treat customers in a friendly way
To conduct market research and interact with fans
To focus on hot topics so as to attract fans’ attention
To focus on the timeliness of micro-blog content Publicity Department Design Department Funds From September 2014 to October 2014 High timeliness of micro-blog content more attention, comments and forwards from fans Significant rise in Xiaomi mobile phone sales
To attract more attention with pictures
To pay attention to the language style micro-blog
To increase the number of opinion leaders and their fields Opinion leaders Xiaomi  Executives Funds From September 2014 to November 2014 The experts and opinion leaders  from almost every sector recommend Xiaomi mobile phones on the micro-blog The special section of opinion leaders has achieved very good results and attracted more fans
To open special sections for opinion leaders

5.4 Recommendation of the research methods and research filed

Regarding the research methods, this research only adopt questionnaire to collect quantitative data, the shortcoming of questionnaire is that it cannot collect respondents’ innermost thoughts, so future researches can consider to adopt mixed methods to collect data, for example, future researches can use both of questionnaire and interview. Regarding the research objectives, this research explores the impact of micro-blogging on consumer purchase intention through the aspects of brand awareness, interaction, information quality, and opinion leader participation, it is suggested future researches to explore more dimensions of micro-blogging marketing, so as to get more understanding of the influence of micro-blog marketing on consumer purchase intention.

5.5 Limitations and prospect of future research

The first limitation in this research is that the data collection method is relatively simple. This research only collects data through the questionnaire, but the data collected via the questionnaire, though extensive, is not intensive enough. Besides, it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the survey results as well as the response rate, which reduces the accuracy of the findings. To make up for the limitations of the questionnaire, the research believes that future research may adopt a variety of methods including interviews, observations, focus interviews, questionnaires and other methods to overcome the limitations of a single data collection method.

The second limitation in this research is that the questionnaires are relatively small in number. This research only collects 164 valid questionnaires, but the views and attitudes of these 164 fans can by no means represent the attitudes of all Xiaomi fans, that is, the sample is not representative enough. In order to improve the representativeness of first-hand data and the accuracy of the findings, this research believes that future research should collect as many questionnaires as possible as long as time, cost and energy permit, for example, to collect 200, 300 or even more valid questionnaires.

5.6 Conclusion

This chapter firstly summarises the conclusion of this research, then implication of micro-blogging for Xiaomi is conducted. At last, this chapter summarises the limitation of this research, and propose recommendations for the research methods and research objectives of future research.

Chapter 6: A review of my own personal development

6.1 Introduction

This chapter is a review of my own personal development, mainly including three parts. The first part elaborates my personal development objectives. The second part describes the professional knowledge I learned and how these knowledge help me achieve my personal development objectives. The third part introduces the skills I learned and how the skills help me in achieving my personal development objectives.

6.2 My Personal Development Objectives

I have always been interested in marketing and marketing management, I like shopping online and browsing the comments made by other consumer on a large variety of products, and I like to guess the consumer psychology of consumers. Therefore, I have always hoped to become a good sales manager. And this dissertation makes me more determined about my original objectives. In the process of writing the dissertation, I have always been studying and researching the factors affecting consumer purchase intention, which is exactly the same with my behaviour of guessing the consumer psychology. Moreover, after a few months’ study, research and writing, I have had a more scientific recognition and understanding of the consumer psychology. I find that consumers are affected by a variety of factors before buying some product. As long as the businesses can grasp the consumer psychology and offer the products consumers need, there is nothing that cannot be sold. Sales work is full of various challenges, and I hope I will be able to meet more challenges, and grow up gradually at work. Therefore, by writing the dissertation, I find that I like to be a good sales manager more and have a stronger will to become a good sales manager. In a word, my personal development objective (PDO) is to become a good sales manager.

6.3 How this research help me to achieve my PDO

6.3.1 The professional knowledge I learned

I have always engaged in sales-related work, so I often read books about marketing or consumer behaviour in the library at school. However, I am still half acquainted with the knowledge about marketing and consumer behaviour, and there is no systematic theoretical framework in my mind. This time, in the process of dissertation writing, I finally have a systematic understanding of the relevant theories of consumer behaviour through learning, searching for literature, and researching constantly.

Through writing this dissertation, I learned that consumer purchase intention is the possibility that consumer are willing to buy some product or service. The stronger consumer purchase intention is, the more likely consumers are to buy goods or services. Consumer online shopping intention refers to the possibility that consumers are willing to buy some product or service in online stores in online shopping environment. There are many theories about consumer behaviour. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and theory of reasoned action (TRA) are two typical ones. Consumer purchase process includes problem recognition / awareness of the need, information search, alternative evaluation, product choice and purchase decision process, and post purchase behaviour. There are many factors affecting consumer purchase intention, such as socio cultural, product attributes, demographic (age, race and gender), brand image and awareness, interaction, information quality, opinion leadership, etc. In this research, the impact of four factors – brand awareness, interaction, information quality, and opinion leadership on consumer purchase intention is studied, and it reaches the conclusions that these four factors all have positive impacts on consumer purchase intention. That is, the higher the brand awareness of goods is, the more interaction between businesses and consumers, the higher information quality provided by businesses or consumers, and the more professional and reliable the opinion leadership is, the stronger consumer purchase intention will be. Therefore, businesses can also take measures in the above aspects to improve consumer purchase intention. In addition, in this research, Xiaomi mobile phone is taken as the research object, and I also have a new understanding of the marketing model in network economy through learning the marketing model of Xiaomi.

6.3.2 How these knowledge help me to achieve my PDO

The theoretical knowledge what I learned in the process of writing this dissertation can help me a lot to become a sales manager in the future. For example, I learned from the definition of consumer purchase intention that consumer purchase intention is the possibility of consumers’ shopping behaviour. Therefore, as a sales manager, I have to be patient enough to my customers, and cannot give up when consumers show purchase intention. I need to raise consumer confidence in me and the products or services I am selling, and promote them to make a purchase decision. Meanwhile, I also learned that the greater the consumer purchase intention is, the more like consumers are to purchase goods or services. So, I have to influence consumers gradually, and improve their purchase intention unconsciously, and eventually lead them to make a purchase decision. A deep understanding of this definition makes me know how to treat my clients. For another instance, the understanding of the purchase process of consumers makes me know that consumer shopping is definitely not a simple act but contains a lot of processes. I should follow this process and respect this process. Consumer purchase process includes problem recognition / awareness of the need, information search, alternative evaluation, product choice and purchase decision process, and post purchase behaviour. It tells me that if I engage in sales work, or really become a sales manager, I should pay attention to the several purchase processes of consumers when selling products or services, and try to help them complete the process and promote their purchase behaviour as much as possible. For example, in the second process of consumer shopping – information collecting, I can publicise the goods or services I sell through various media such as advertisements, periodicals and magazines, television, and the Internet, so that consumers are able to see the information about the products or services I sell anywhere, thus shortening the time of making purchase decisions. I can also start from the last link. Offer good after-sales services, collect opinions and suggestions of consumers, correct or improve the problems actively, and increase consumer satisfaction toward the products or services I sell, thus promoting consumers to make purchase decisions for two or more times.

In terms of the factors affecting consumer purchase intention, brand awareness, interaction, information quality and opinion leadership all have positive impacts on consumer purchase intention, which is quite helpful for me to develop targeted strategies for the products or services I sell. For example, with regard to the impact of brand awareness on consumer purchase intention, I can propose to the companies to do more advertising on brand promotion, and do not adhere to just one form rigidly. Brands should be publicised through the Internet, television, radio, magazines and other sources. Besides, companies should enhance the impact of the brand on consumers, and develop a good relationship gradually between the brand and consumers. Take another instance, as a sales manager, I can carry out promotional activities at the mall, plaza or other crowded places to enhance our interaction with consumers. In addition, a platform on the network can be established for companies to interact with the online buyers frequently, enhance consumer awareness and acceptance of the products or services, promote their purchase intention, so as to induce them to make purchase decisions.

6.4 How the skills help me to achieve my PDO

6.4.1 The skills I learned

Communication skills

The respondents of this research are fans of Xiaomi micro-blog. In order to gain their support and agreement to be investigated, I need to log in Sina micro-blog and find the official micro-blog of Xiaomi mobile phone. Then I communicated with a certain number of fans one by one through private letters, and I was refused by a lot of fans. But through my tireless efforts, I have finally gained recognition and support from a large number of fans. I think this process is quite helpful for me to improve my communication skills. Moreover, by communicating with so many fans again and again, I find my communication skills have been greatly improved unconsciously. Through this practice, I would put more emphasis on techniques and methods in the future communication.

Design capacity

In order to better reflect the relationship of brand awareness, interaction, information quality and opinion leadership with consumer purchase intention, I need to design a rational and effective questionnaire. In order to reduce resentment from the respondents and guide them to participate in the questionnaire survey, I first designed some simple multiple-choice questions at the beginning of the questionnaire. Information about demographic variables is designed in the bottom of the questionnaire in order to collect the basic personal information of respondents. And no topics concerning respondents’ personal privacy or sensitive topics are involved in the questionnaire to eliminate respondents’ worry. In order to better describe the independent variables and the dependent variables, I modified the questionnaire several times and finally decided to describe them with 20 small questions. The process sounds simple, but every step requires me to design carefully. And I also find that my design capability has been greatly improved in this process.

Writing ability

As a student, it is actually a common thing to write papers, articles or reports, but it is really rare to write an English dissertation about nearly twenty thousand words. When I look back after completing the dissertation several months later, I find that the final draft of this dissertation has actually been revised and improved for many times. Compared the final draft with the previous drafts, the final draft is much better in language expressions, text description, and result analysis. Then I suddenly realise that my writing ability has been greatly improved in the process of writing this dissertation.

6.4.2 How these skills help me in achieving my PDO

In order to be an excellent sales manager, he or she needs to win coordination of every side, and has better language skills. For example, sales managers are responsible for introducing the company’s products or services in many cases; sales managers should be good at negotiating at the table of buyers and sellers; in the contact with various kinds of people, in addition to a wealth of experience, sales managers are also required to have good communication skills to look for topics that interest both the two sides and attract some loyal listeners. Fortunately, in the process of communicating with the fans of Xiaomi mobile phone, my communication skills have been greatly improved. I think I would be able to deal with the problems that should be faced by sales managers. I believe that I can maintain good communication with my colleagues, subordinates, superiors, and customers in the sales work and attract customers to buy the products or services I sell.

I believe that in order to sell the products or services, it is quite necessary to have good marketing plans or advertising ideas, while the plans or ideas require the sales manager to participate in. In sales work, no matter it is to develop an overall plan, or print an invitation and a business card, there are different approaches to do it, and sales managers are required to adopt new methods so as to cause the attention of consumers. In a word, sales managers need to have good design capability. The design capacity I have acquired from the process of designing the dissertation and designing the questionnaire is of great help for me to become a sales manager. I believe that by virtue of the capacity I acquired in the dissertation and questionnaire design, I would be able to deal with the problems that sales managers should face.

I know that in order to be a good sales manager, I am not only required to have good verbal skills, but also good writing ability because sales managers need to write a variety of the work programs, reports, speeches and so on in their daily work. So writing ability is essential to sales managers. Fortunately, through writing papers for many times, especially the English dissertation about twenty thousand words, my writing ability has been greatly improved. I think the writing ability I have gained from the writing process is very helpful for me to become a sales manager in the future.

6.5 Summary

Through the above introduction, it arrives at the following conclusions in this research: First, my personal development objective is to become an excellent sales manager. Second, by writing the dissertation I have acquired a more profound understanding of the theoretical knowledge about marketing and consumer behaviour, and have formed a systematic framework in my mind, which is of great help for me to further study and research the theoretical knowledge in this field. Third, the theoretical knowledge I learned is also of great help for me to work as a sales manager in the future. Fourth, in the process of writing this dissertation, many abilities such as communication skills, design capacity, and writing ability are greatly improved. The abilities all have positive impacts on me of becoming a sales manager in the future.

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