THE EFFECT OF MOBILE ELECTRONICS WORD OF MOUTH (MWOM) THROUGH WHATSAPP PLATFORM TOWARD CUSTOMERS PURCHASE INTENTION: A CASE STUDY OF SYFO

• Main Author: Salsabila, Itsna
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/75679
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The rapid growth of technology has transformed conventional word of mouth (WOM) into Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM). EWOM on mobile devices is known as Electronic Word of Mouth Mobile Messaging Application (MWOM), such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Line, and WeChat. Many researchers assess the eWOM, but there is very few research about the MWOM. In fact, it is a big opportunity to do MWOM marketing strategies, especially on WhatsApp as the most popular media chat application in Indonesia. SYFO company provides ready to cook products for housewives in Bandung. SYFO company has already applied the MWOM through WhatsApp marketing but it has not been effective. This study aims to study the case of the SYFO company by identifying the MWOM factors through WhatsApp that have an effect toward customer purchase intention and giving recommendations to optimize the MWOM. The researcher assessed nine variables, and a total of 119 respondents were collected from the SYFO’s target market which is housewives in Bandung who are likely to cook. With quantitative methods, the data gained from a survey through a questionnaire. The collected data will then be analyzed using the PLS-SEM feature in SmartPLS 4.0. The results show that information usefulness can have an effect on information adoption. Then, information adoption can have an effect on purchase intention (mobile purchase intention, offline purchase intention, and social purchase intention). Unexpectedly, attitude toward information cannot have an effect on offline purchase intention. The findings showed that for offline, it is suggested to provide mobile ads marketing as messaging applications. For online, using the WhatsApp community is recommended. When providing the MWOM information through WhatsApp, it is better to give the best copywriting that is related to the target market with complete information such as FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), the link social media/website/e-commerce and the offline store. Using affiliate or modest incentives can be chosen to get a broader target market in an efficient way. By the findings of this study, the SYFO company or another company with a similar background may use the results of the analysis of this research to gain insight and implement the findings within the company.