Case Study of Samsung Cell Phones: Social Media Marketing

Samsung Inc.

Customer Empowerment:

Samsung strives to nurture its customers as brand advocates, particularly on Facebook and Twitter. It uses promotions to encourage customers to market their products beyond their own profiles. In a recent promotion, Facebook fans were required to market the Galaxy phone brand by unlocking hidden pixels about a certain image product in a contest on the Samsung official page, and then recommending the contest to their followers and friends. Those who correctly revealed the highest number of pixels, and referred the greatest number of people were rewarded with various brands including the Galaxy 11, the S4, and the S3. In another instance, Samsung staff identified Apple customers who had raised concern or complaints about their iPhones on Twitter, and sent them an unlocked, free Samsung S. To replace their Apple device (Moth, 2013). This marketing strategy helped the brand earn the loyalty of customers outside its fan base. Nonetheless, the company could improve its social media campaign by being as active in YouTube as it is on Facebook and Twitter - their content will most likely appeal to YouTube users given that most of is in video form.

2. Customer Satisfaction:

Samsung clearly communicates, through its corporate mission, that it values its customers and strives to ensure their satisfaction (Samsung, 2015). For this reason, the company provides ample mechanisms for customers to express their dissatisfaction. On its corporate website, the company provides contact details through which disgruntled customers can voice out their concerns (Samsung, 2015). Besides contact details, the company also receives and responds to customers' complaints on social media. Disgruntled customers can post their complaints directly on the specific brand's wall, or as a comment on the brand's daily posts.

3. Customer Relationship Management:

Samsung's CRM strategy focuses on rewarding the company's most loyal customers as a way of getting them to maintain their loyalty. Loyalty is defined in terms of the total amount spent on the company's products over a particular period. The highest spenders are rewarded in a variety of ways. Through the 'My Samsung Rewards' Program, for instance, loyalists of the Galaxy phone brand are allowed to earn points on the purchase of selected Galaxy products throughout the year; at the end of the year, they are given an opportunity to redeem the same in exchange for other Samsung products that include refrigerators, TVs and tablets (Samsung 'My Rewards', 2015). Such rewards help to increase loyalty among all customers.

4. Customer Privacy