The state of QR codes

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Degree of Master in Fashion Management with specialization in Fashion Marketing and Retailing The Swedish School of Textiles

2012-05 -21 Report no. 2012.13.4

The state of QR codes

A qualitative research on Swedish premium fashion brands

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Title: The state of QR cod es: a qu alitative research on Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion brand s Pu blication year: 2012

Au thor: Filip e Migu el Álvaro d e Lim a Su p ervisor: Anita Rad ón

Abstract

Brand s are now m ore aw are of the im p ortance of im p lem enting a m obile m arketing strategy by em p loying a QR cod e cam p aign w ith the intent of enhancing brand aw areness and strength the relationship w ith cu stom ers. Thu s, an extensive research has been cond u cted on this su bject w ith focu s on the Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion m arket.

Research purpose: The p u rp ose of this research stu d y is to analyze a new m obile m arketing

tool called Qu ick-resp onse (QR) cod es, and u nd erstand this p henom enon on the p rem iu m fashion segm ent in Sw ed en, w hile relating at the sam e tim e w ith concepts su ch as cu stom er relationship m anagem ent and brand aw areness.

Research method: In this stu d y a qu alitative research m ethod w as chosen, by ap p lying

qu alitative sem i-stru ctu red interview s and qu alitative content analysis.

Conclusions: The research show s that there is a p roblem w ith cu stom ers‟ aw areness

regard ing QR cod es and its u sage. Com p anies shou ld also be ed u cated for the im p ortance of integrating a m obile m arketing p rogram w ithin their m arketing and com m u nication strategy. N onetheless, the stu d y has show n that brand s m ay increase brand aw areness and d rive CRM if all the requ irem ents above stated are fu lfilled , since all of the p articip ants in this research acknow led ge the relationship betw een a brand and its cu stom ers extrem ely im p ortant.

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Acknowledgments

I w ou ld like to thank everyone w ho h elp ed m e throu ghou t this stu d y and thereby enabled this research, esp ecially to all the resp ond ents w ho kind ly took tim e from their bu sy sched u les and answ ered m y qu estions: Marie Sjöberg (Panos Em p orio), Sebastian Westin (Sand qvist), Oliver Sau nd ers (Ou r Legacy), Zeynep Ahm et and H enriette Cram er (Mobile Life Centre), and N icky L. (Ralp h Lau ren). Finally, I w ou ld like to thank m y su p ervisor Anita Rad ón for her gu id ance, and m y fam ily for the m oral su p p ort.

Borås, May 21st 2012 Filip e Lim a

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Table of Figures

Figure 1 – QR code ... 7

Figure 2 – Victoria‟s Secret ”Sexier than skin” campaign ... 9

Figure 3 – A framework of marketing communications ... 12

Figure 4 – CRM: a strategic approach ... 16

Figure 5 – Theoretical framework of initiation of mCRM ... 20

Figure 6 – Theoretical framework summary ... 22

Figure 7 – Demographic profile of QR code user by age, gender, and household income ... 32

Figure 8 - QR awareness: East Asia and North America ... 34

Figure 9 - QR code scanning reasons ... 35

Figure 10 - Polo Ralph Lauren US Open campaign ... 35

Figure 11 - Percentage of smartphones by operative system ... 36

Figure 12 - QR code hype cycle ... 38

Figure 13 - Ralph Lauren Rugby QR and SVT1 Melodifestivalen campaigns ... 42

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1. Introduction

In this introductory chapter it is fundamental to discuss the background of the chosen topic and the inherent problems when doing research about it – the use of Quick-Response (QR) codes and its relation with customer relationship management (CRM ) and brand awareness within Swedish premium fashion brands. Thereafter, a presentation of the main research question will be stated and explained in order to guide this research in a more proficient way, and then, delimitations and contributions of this research for Swedish premium fashion brands and future scientific papers regarding this matter.

1.1. Background

Qu ick-resp onse cod e or QR cod e is a tw o-d im ensional sym bol invented in 1994 by Denson, a m ajor Toyota grou p com p any. Originally this tw o -d im ensional sym bol w as intend ed for u se in p rod u ction control of au tom otive p arts. H ow ever, it has becom e w id esp read in other field s, su ch as in the fashion ind u stry, and m ore sp ecifically, as a m arketing tool for p rem iu m brand s. One of the reasons that m ad e QR cod es so p op u lar is the fact that D enso released the p atent for p u blic d om ain, m eaning that everybod y can u se QR cod es free of charge. Moreover, this cod e su p p orts a m u ch higher d ata d ensity, w hich enables the access to the Internet sim p ly by read ing an URL (Uniform Resou rce Locator) encod ed in the QR cod e (Soon, 2008).

The p rocess itself is very intu itive. Consu m ers can u se their sm artp hones to scan/ take a p ictu re of the barcod e p laced in variou s m aterials, for instance, p rom otional p osters, or ad vertisem ents, and throu gh a d ow nload able ap p lication for the p hone, consu m ers are able to exp lore the content.

Besid es its variou s characteristics that w ill be fu rther exp lored later on in this research p ap er, w hat it is interesting to p oint ou t is that m ajor lu xu ry and p rem iu m brand s are now ad ays u sing

this typ e of m obile bar cod e to com p lem ent a 360-d egree m obile strategy. Thu s, alongsid e w ith the u se of QR cod es, lu xu ry m arketers are looking to other op p ortu nities to stay ahead in the m arket, d evelop ing location -based m arketing and com m erce op tions (Mobile Marketer, 2012 p p . 18). The aim of these com p anies is natu rally to gain consu m er recognition and d evelop a long-lasting relationship w ith consu m ers. N evertheless, location is everything. Lu xu ry brand s and d iscou nt brand s have realized that a m obile-op tim ized Web site is extrem ely im p ortant, and that m obile ap p lications can increase consum er attention and traffic in-store. Overall, a m arketing strategy based on QR cod es is obviou sly not enou gh. Several marketers point out that “[marketers] should take advantage of integrating mobile w ith other channels” (Mobile Marketer, 2012 p p . 19), p lu s “m obile is a gam e -changer as it can be leveraged across all channels” (Low den, n.d., cited in Mobile Marketer, 2012 pp. 19). H ence, it is clear that d esp ite of the great fu nctionalities that so far have been m entioned , the w orld of QR cod es is a vast an d com p lex w orld that is im p ortant to u nveil.

Com p anies are alw ays keen on find ing new w ays to exp ress them selves and leverage their valu es in creative and p ow erfu l w ays. Thu s, fashion brand s have com prehen d ed that QR cod es cou ld be an interesting tool to u se w ithin their m arketing strategy. Althou gh there is no inform ation regard ing the first fashion brand to u se QR cod es, there are several

Figure 1 – QR code (Staffan, 2012)

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com p anies that w ere in the foray, for instance, Uniqlo, Top shop and H &M, “w hose target audience is young and active online” so they constitute the best initial target (Kansara, 2009). N evertheless, lu xu ry and p rem iu m brand s have also recognized the im portance of this fairly new tool w ithin their m obile strategy. In recent years, brand s like Ralp h Lau ren, Calvin Klein, or Selfrid ges qu ickly ad ap ted QR cod es in their strategy. Ralp h Lau ren, for instance, took ad vantage of cu stom ized 2-d im ensional cod es to com m u nicate their stores in the United States (US), althou gh it w as not their first attem p t as in 2008 the brand p rinted cod es on their tags, billboard s and catalogs. Thu s, Ralph Lau ren took a w ise step by trying to allu re (w ell-off) m en into visiting stores “and allow them to engage w ith the brand throu gh a chance to w in tickets to the US Op en tennis tou rn am ent” (Lam b, 2011). In reality, other p rem iu m brand s have been u sing this typ e of cod es w ith the sam e p u rp ose. Bang & Olu fsen is now u sing QR cod es in several com m u nication instru m ents, su ch as in its p rints, w ith the aim to d eep er the consu m ers‟ brand exp erience therefore engaging them w ith the brand . H ow ever, and being a com p any that is in the forefront of high -tech gad gets and electronics, accord ing to McKenna cited in K. H u tzler a “[abou t Bang & Olu fsen] m obile-op tim ized site could have better reflected the brand‟s style” (Luxury Daily, 2011). H ence, QR codes are often m isu sed and com panies are trying to m ake an effort in d evelop ing new w ays to fu rther their brand aw areness or in -store exp erience, as m entioned before.

As p resented in the exam p les above, there are several concepts that serve as a backgrou nd in this top ic. Cu stom er relationship m anagem ent (CRM) is one of them . Cu stom ized cod es, for instance, can help increase brand aw areness and consu m er engagem ent w ith a certain brand . These consu m ers that are m ost active are u su ally “technically savvy” (Lam b, 2011), and are w illing to take p art of an exclu sive exp erience that u ltim ately can benefit both, the brand and consu m er. Thu s, m obile m arketing is now extrem ely im p or tant to m any brand s. Bloomingdale‟s, for example, created a mobile program that includes QR codes, mobile site offering and MMS (Lam b, 2011) as a w ay to d rive CRM, or m obile CRM. Moreover, this can be seen as an intelligent m ove since m obile phones are a p erson‟s m ost p ersonal d evice and com p anies are able to reach ou t consu m ers w ith u niqu e a nd tailored one-to-one m essages that u ltim ately w ill lead to brand aw areness (Lu xu ry Daily, 2012).

1.2. Problem discussion

A stu d y d evelop ed by the Sw ed ish Institu te of Com p u ter Science (SICS), in Stockholm , rep orted som e resu lts regard ing the aw areness of QR cod es of the general p u blic in the sam e city (SICS, 2011). The sam p le w as constitu ted by 108 p assersby (67 m ale and 41 fem ale) w ith age ranges betw een 16 and 64, inclu d ing stu d ents (47), p rofessionals of variou s areas, su ch as cu stom er care exp erts (9), jou rnalists (3), researchers (2) and hair d ressers (5), and other occu p ations (SICS, 2011). The aw areness of the total sam p le concerning QR cod es and how to u se them end ed u p being rather low . Accord ing to the su rvey, tw enty-tw o p ercent of the total 67 m ale p articip ants are fu lly aw are of how to u se QR cod es against only tw o p ercent of the fem ale p articip ants.

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9 The stu d y w as an inform al su rvey, w hereas the cod e w as presented w ithou t a context, it can give u s a hint regard ing the p ercep tion or aw areness of the Sw ed ish (or better said , the Stockholm ) p op u lation concerning QR cod es. The research has revealed that still som e cu rrent sm artp hones d o not com e w ith a QR cod e scanner ap p lication p re-installed , ad d ing extra hu rd les for u sers (SICS, 2011). H ow ever, there are several lim itation s w ith this stu d y, su ch as the fact that it d oes not conclu d e if the u sers

that are aw are of QR codes do know how to “follow instructions to d ownload a scanner app onto a p hone, start the ap p lication, scan the cod e, and then get to the actual content” p ossibly ind icatin g that p erhap s the final resu lt cou ld even be low er (SICS, 2011).

N onetheless QR cod es are still a grow ing trend (Rachid , 2012). In theory, these cod es are a great and innovative id ea that aim s to bring com p anies and consu m ers together, enhancing their exp erience w ith the brand . In fact, it is u nd eniable that som e brand s w ere very su ccessfu l w hen u sing 2-d im ensional cod es in their m arketing strategy. It is p ossible to p oint ou t the case of Victoria‟s Secret “Sexier than skin” cam p aign, for instance, that p lays w ith the old adage “sex sells” show ing a model apparently nude, with the intent to intrigue and entice consu m ers to scan the cod e and reveal w hat is behind it. N evertheless, and albeit the su ccess of this cam p aign (Ed w ard s, 2011 and Eaton, 2011), this topic is now broad ly d iscu ssed am ong m arketers and on d ifferent Web sites, su ch as on Luxu ryd aily.com and Bu sinessoffashion.com , regard ing w hether QR cod es are a fad or here to stay (Lam b, 2012). Althou gh this stu d y can give a p ow erfu l insight on the top ic, there are several concep ts that are intrinsically related w ith this phenom enon. Overall, QR cod es are connected w ith the m obile m arketing p rogram of a com p any that, on the other hand , it is inclu d ed w ithin a m arketing and com m u nication strategy. Fu rtherm ore, technology allied w ith a p roficient online marketing program can “change the w ay consumers process communication s, and even w hether they choose to p rocess them at all”. The fact that the stu d y aforem entioned conclu d ed that consu m ers, d esp ite of having a sm artp hone d o not scan bar cod es, m ay p rove this theory. The p roblem in fact lies on the challenges that som e m arketers encou nt er especially related w ith “commercial clutter”, and the invasive feeling that consumers may feel w hen being bom bard ed w ith d ifferent typ es of m arketing com m unication cam p aigns (Kotler and Keller, 2012, p p . 499). Therefore, com p anies are still qu estioning them selves w hether they shou ld , or shou ld not, incorp orate a m obile m arketing p rogram d u e to the hu rd les that this m igh t present now ad ays to their cu stom ers.

Another top ic that need s to be d iscu ssed is the im p ortance of brand aw areness since brand s w hen d evelop ing a m obile m arketing strategy by im p lem enting QR cod es in various p latform s, exp ect consu m ers to engage w ith this technology. H ow ever, if the cam p aign is not su ccessfu l, or if consu m ers are not aw are of these cod es and their p otential, it is unlikely that

Figure 2 – Victoria’s Secret ”Sexier than skin” campaign (Edwards, 2012)

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brand aw areness w ill increase. Kotler and Keller (2012, pp. 504) suggest that “recognition is easier to achieve than recall” and com bined they form brand aw areness that “p rovid es a fou nd ation for brand equ ity”. Thereby, it is fund am ental to qu estion the connection betw een the im p lem entation of QR cod es, in ord er to enhance brand aw areness. Accord ingly, com p anies acknow led ge the fact that w hen incorp orating a m obile m arketing p rogram , they aim to increase brand aw areness and reinforce brand equ ity, bu t w hether these cod es help to im p rove both it is still qu estionable, esp ecially w ithin certain m arket segm ents.

Know ing you r cu stom ers is also extrem ely im p ortant for the su ccess of a m arketing com m u nication p rogram . Cu stom er relationship m anagem ent (CRM) enables a com p any to manage “detailed information about individual customers and all customer „to uch points‟ to m axim ize loyalty” (Kotler and Keller, 2012, p p . 157). The w id esp read of the Internet allow ed marketers to approach new marketing practices and personalize marketing by “making the brand as relevant as p ossible to as m any cu stom ers as p ossible”. QR cod es are therefore inherently connected w ith CRM (in this case, e-CRM) d u e to the fact that m any com p anies realized “once customers make actual contact w ith the company”, they can form strong bonds w ith customers by “individualizing and person alizing relationships”. H ence, and in virtu e of this research stu d y, it is essential to retain the id ea that CRM and e-CRM (w hen linked to an online marketing communication program) requires “building a customer database (…), segments, and individual needs” (Smutkupt, Krairit, Esichaikul, 2010, pp. 133:135). N onetheless, e-CRM is one of the top ics that requ ire attention w hen d oing research abou t the p resent top ic d u e to its uniqu eness. Fashion brand s, as m entioned before, are now ad ays incorp orating these cod es w ith the objective of “creating brand recognition and inspiring user engagement” (Lamb, 2011), however, there are still some doubts regarding how these black and w hite cod es can d rive e-CRM if m ost of the u sers cannot id entify clearly the brand‟s name.

Previou s research on this area is scarce, althou gh several au thors alread y ap p roach the p otential of m obile m arketing and other typ es of m arke ting and com m unication p rogram s, althou gh w ithou t d iscu ssing any p articu lar m arket nor segm ent (Shankar and Balasu bram anian, 2008; Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010; Lep p äniem i and Karjalu oto, 2008). Kotler and Keller (2012, p p . 565) p rovid e som e statistics that su stain the im p ortance of this su bject in ou r tim e. World w id e, in 2009, there w ere “4.1 billion m obile su bscr ibers”, and m obile p hones rep resent the m ain op p ortu nity for m arketers to reach ou t consu m ers. The new generation of sm artp hones althou gh being faster and p resenting better softw are cap abilities, still can show som e d eficiencies (e.g. d ow nload p rob lem s, sm all screen sizes, etc.). H ence, despite of a “grow ing population segment using mobile phones for everything, different people have different attitudes and experiences w ith mobile technology”, therefore in this stu d y the focu s lies on und erstand ing if QR cod es are the next big thing w h en it com es to m obile m arketing, based on w hat w as m entioned throu ghou t this section w hich aim ed to p inp oint the m ain id eas w hen d iscu ssing this su bject.

1.3. Purpose

The p u rp ose of this research p roject is to analyze a new m obile m arketing tool: QR Cod es. Thu s, the intention lies on u nd erstand ing this p henom enon on Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion

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brand s, and m ore sp ecifically, if those can u se QR Cod es in their m arketing strategy in ord er to d rive an efficient cu stom er relationship m anagem ent, enhancing their brand aw areness.

1.4. Research questions

Despite being an interesting and relevant topic in today‟s marketing agenda, it is important to narrow d ow n the research in ord er to elim inate u nnecessary d ata. Fu rtherm ore, and based on the inform ation p resented above, the research qu estion has to be clearly stated in ord er to gu id e this research p roject. For the effect, the statem ent inclu d es tw o p ersp ectives w ithin the m ain issu e that it is in d iscu ssion:

 How can Sw edish premium fashion brands use QR Codes in the overall marketing

strategy, in order to drive customer relationship management and enhance brand aw areness?

1.5. Delimitations

In this p roject it w as necessary to d elim it the research to Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion brand s, consequ ently exclu d ing d iscou nt brand s (e.g. Lind ex and Kap p ahl), and m id -p rice brand s (e.g. Velou r and Cos), d u e to tim e constraints and valid ity factors that have a hu ge influ ence in the resu lts. Moreover, the reason w hy it w as d ecid ed to d elim it this p roject to the Sw ed ish m arket has to d o w ith logistic reasons and d ifferences betw een this m arket and other m arkets, in Scand inavia or overseas. Finally, albeit being interesting to u nd erstand the consu m ers‟ p ersp ective, this p roject is lim ited to organizations therefore it d oes not consid er the Sw ed ish consu m er p oint of view regard ing QR Cod es and the segm ents aforem entioned .

1.6. Contribution

The su bject d iscu ssed in this research p ap er concerning QR cod es as a m arketing tool u sed by Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion brand s is p ossibly the first stu d y abou t this m atter. Consequ ently, relating this topic w ith other concep ts, su ch as cu stom er relationship m anagem ent (CRM) and brand aw areness, m akes this research extrem ely relevant w hen lookin g at tod ay‟s m arketing agend a. Fu rtherm ore, the intention is to correlate this typ e of barcod e w ithin the Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion m arket, and to u nd erstand if there is a connection betw een QR cod es as a tool to bu ild brand aw areness and m anage CRM.

N ow ad ays, as seen in the backgrou nd chap ter, brand s are increasingly using QR cod es as a w ay to reach ou t to their consu m ers. For instance, a stu d y d evelop ed by Insight Exp ress at “Mobile Marketer‟s Mobile First Look Strategy 2012 Conference”, published by Luxurydaily.com (2012, pp. 13) states that “[QR codes] will become increasingly necessary to beating out competitors”, therefore it is important to apply and analyze all the data su rrou nd ing this top ic in ord er to u nd erstand if these cod es cou ld also be u s ed in the Sw ed ish m arket, and if yes, in w hich w ay cou ld brand s benefit from their u se. In ad d ition, it is p ertinent to m ention that som e of the brand s m entioned in this research alread y u se or u sed in the p ast QR cod es w ithin their m obile m arketing strategy. H ence, the contribu tion of this stu d y lies on und erstand ing if the chosen com p anies cou ld p ossibly engage consu m ers w ith the brand by em p ow ering them to exp lore and u nd erstand the form er.

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2. Theoretical framework

In this chapter different concepts are approached that are closely related to the main topic. The aim is to connect them to each other, in order to construct a solid foundation that serves as a guide for this research. The subjects have been organized in a coherent way for the purpose, starting off with an explanation of mobile marketing, presenting its implications, strategies and implementation process, followed by an elucidation on customer relationship management, and finally an overview on the concept of brand awareness.

2.1. Mobile Marketing and Communications

As p ointed on the introd u ction above, the introd u ctory top ic is m obile m ark eting and com m u nications. This subject is extrem ely relevant and fairly new am ong au thors, esp ecially w hen it com es to the effectiveness of m obile m arketing d espite of the effort and m oney sp ent on this kind of activities (Lep p äniem i and Karjalu oto 2008, p p . 50). One-to-one m arketing com m u nication is now ad ays very im p ortant for com p anies that w ant to su ccessfu lly target consu m ers, and one of the reasons is that m ass com m u nication has becom e fragm ented and less effective (Webster, 1992; Pep p ers, Rogers and Dorf, 1999; Shaw n, Su bram aniam , Tan and Welge, 2011 cited in Lepp äniem i and Karjalu oto, 2008). The au thors Lep p äniem i et al. (2006) cited in Lep p än iem i and Karjalu oto (2008, p p . 51) have p rovid e u s w ith a review o n m obile m arketing research , concep tu alizing in fou r d ifferent su bjects: “(1) m obile m arketing, (2) m obile ad vertising, (3) w ireless m arketin g, and (4) w ireless ad vertising”.

N evertheless, before taking a closer look to som e of the literatu re regard ing m obile m arketing, it is essential to m ention that accord ing to Lep p äniem i and Karjalu oto (2008, p p . 52) a “marketing strategy drives integrated marketing communications (IMC) planning p rocess and u ltim ately lead s to a p lan that ou tlines d ecisions abou t m arketing communication activities and resource allocation”, therefore, it is relevant to present a concep tu al fram ew ork (fig. 3) by the sam e au thors, in ord er to get an overview of the top ic.

As p resented in Figu re 3, the objectives of m arketing com m u nications are intrinsically connected to the objectives of a certain com p any. It is relevant to argu e that all those objectives and strategies that com p anies w ant to implement should be “integrated , and contribu te to the achievem ent of the total m arketing com m u nication objectives for individual brands” (Bickton and Brod erick, 2005 cited in Lep p äniem i and Karjalu oto, 2008, p p . 52), and generally are related to “aw areness, information and attitude generation and / or affecting behavior ”

Figure 3 – A framework of marketing communications (Leppäniemi and Karjaluoto, 2008, pp. 52)

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(Delozier, 1976 cited in Lep p äniem i and Karjalu oto, 2008, p p . 52).

As for now , the focu s is on the m obile m arketing p henom enon that it is inherently p resent in the m arketing com m u nication p rogram that w ill be d iscu ssed both in a strategic as w ell as in an op erative level.

There is a grow ing consensu s regard ing a d efin ition of m obile m arketing that need s to be ap p roached . Therefore, the Mobile Marketing Association (2006, p p . 22) cited in Lep p äniem i and Karjaluoto (2008, pp. 51) defines mobile marketing and “the use of wireless media as an integrated content d elivery and d irect-resp onse vehicle w ith in a cross-m ed ia m arketing communications program”. Plus, the same Association states that this specific type of marketing is “a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage w ith their au d ience in an interactive and relevant m anner throu gh any m obile d evice or netw ork ” (MMA, 2008 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit an d Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 127).

It is ap p rop riate to u nd erstand the basic featu res of the several d evices that d rive m obile m arketing and an insight over those featu res app lied to the context of m obile strategy. This w ill p rovid e significant u nd erstand ing that later on w ill be essential to the analysis on the top ic of QR cod es.

First of all, and accord ing to the au thors Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l (2010, p p . 128), u biqu ity constitu tes the m ain ad vantage of the m obile as a m ed iu m , d ue to its p otential to enable ind ivid u als to receive and cond u ct transactions regard less their location . Moreover, Lau terborn (1990) cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l (2010, p p. 129) p resented a red efined m arketing m ix m od el that is correlated w ith the fou r Ps (i.e. p rice, p rod u ct, p rom otion, and p lace), that the au thor called four Cs , w hich com p rise cu stom ers‟ “need s an d w ants, cost to cu stom er, convenience, and com m u nication”, as a w ay to resp ond to som e criticism regard ing the form er m ix m od el that it is m u ch m ore p rod u ct -oriented . Therefore, and in line w ith the u biqu ity inherent to a m obile m arketing strategy, a com p any is able to offer a product or service that aims to “meet customer needs and wants” (Bovee, H ouston and Thill, 1995; Kotler and Arm strong, 2006 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaikul, 2010, p p . 132). Throu gh m obile m arketing there is an intrinsic int eractive p otential for m arketers to bu ild a solid cu stom er netw ork by inciting and inviting cu stom ers to p articip ate actively in a cam p aign, su ch as w hen scanning a QR cod e. Ralp h Lau ren, for instance, w as p ioneer w hen su ccessfu lly u sed cu stom ized 2-d im ensional cod es “to lu re consu m ers into its stores locations” (Lamb, 2011). Consequently, customization has led to a positive response tow ards som ething that it is being ad vertised , p rod u cing high resp onse rates, and u ltim ately bu ild ing stronger and closer relationship s betw een brand s and their cu stom ers (Xu , 2007; Baru tcu , 2007; Vesanen, 2007 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 133).

H ere, it is p ossible to introd u ce another tw o uniqu e characteristics of m obile m arketing ad d ing to the alread y m entioned u biqu ity. Personalization and tw o -w ay com m u nication are tw o fu nd am ental featu res of m obile m arketing, and are closely related to cu stom ization. First of all, m obile p hones are very p ersonal and seld om shared by m ore than one p erson. Ind ivid u als can p ersonalize their p hone w ith d ifferent ap p lications and store m u ltip le d ata in the SIM card (Su bscriber Id entification M od u le). Thu s, this d evice enables ind ivid u als to engage in a tw o-w ay com m u nication (and som etim es even m ore, su ch as conference calls),

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m aking p ossible for an ind ivid u al to stay connected 24 hou rs a d ay and 7 d ays a w eek. N evertheless, and retu rning to the fou r Cs, this characteristics p resented abov e allow companies to track customers‟ online orders, respond to queries, and provide an efficient p ost-p u rchase service, su ggesting a p roficient “w ay to satisfy cu stom er need s by enhancing the convenience of shopp ing” (Shankar et al., 2010 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 133). In ad d ition, m obile d evices are now on the rad ar of several au thors that su ggest that this typ e of d evices play a hu ge influ ence on the cu stom ers, an d they “cou ld be related to CRM” (Kannan et al., 2001 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p. 133). This su bject of Cu stom er Relationship Managem ent, or CRM, w ill be d iscu ssed later on in this chap ter, d u e to its relevance to the research.

As m entioned before, the m arketing m ix m od el of the fou r Ps is no longer the m ain concern of m arketers, esp ecially the cost and convenience inherent to a m arketing cam p aign. Thu s, customers when purchasing a product or service are also concerned with “the total costs of acquiring, using, and disposing” an item (Kotler and Armostrong, 2006 cited in Smutkupt, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 133), and these costs are evid ently related to m any im p ortant factors, su ch as tim e and energy sp ent on p u rchase, and activities allied w ith the p u rchase d ecision -m aking p rocess. Therefore, and linked to the cu stom er fou r Cs, convenience is vital for the m od ern consu m er, p lu s it constitu tes a key ad vantage w hen u sing their m obile d evice to p erform a broad range of activities in a m ore op p ortu ne w ay, thu s red u cing costs as m entioned before. As pointed in the introd u ctory ch ap ter, QR cod es are used in several ways and w ith different objectives, but ultimately aim to provide “a better purchasing decision” by giving extra information about products and services no m atter the location of the cu stom er (Mort and Drennan, 2002 cite d in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 133).

Within the cu stom er m arketing m ix m od el p u rp osed by Lau terborn (1990), com m u nicatio n is the last bu t nonetheless im p ortant characteristic of a m obile m arketing cam p aign. The m obile phone is u nd oubted ly an effective tool w hen com p anies w ant to target consu m ers anytim e and anyw here. Thu s, these cond itions are very im p ortant for com p anies, “particularly when there is time or location -sensitive information to be delivered ”. (Clarke, 2011; Anckar and D‟Incau , 2002 cited in Smutkupt, Krairit and Esichaikul, 2010, pp. 134) Therefore, localization is an essential featu re of m obile m arketing, since it refers to the p ossibility to id entify a certain geograp hical p osition (Clarke, 2001 cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 134), and enable com p anies to track and m ap the location of m obile p hones w hen w ireless netw orks are activated (H u and Evans, 2004).

Accord ing to Barnes (2002, cited in Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 134), there are tw o w ays w hen consid ering m obile m arketing com m u nication strategies: p u sh and p u ll. In the first one, for instance SMS ad vertising, consu m ers get inform ation via SMS from com p anies w ithou t p rior requ est. Barw ise and Strong (2002) and Rettie, Grand colas and Deakins (2005) cited in the au thors above, em p irically found that this typ e of ad vertising “is highly effective for generating brand aw areness and consumer response”. On the other hand, in a p u ll strategy cam paign, consu m ers requ est inform ation by scanning a QR cod e or an im age recognition -based cod e in ord er to get m ore d ata from the com p any.

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N evertheless, no m atter the strategy in u se by a com p any, m obile d evices are a great w ay to stay connected w ith the w orld , since com p anies have realized that there is a hu ge p otential in u sing m obile m arketing to facilitate a m eaningfu l com m u nication w ith their cu stom ers , and that can be achieved “by providing customized, timely and location -specific information w ithou t restriction of tim e and p lace” (Sm u tku p t, Krairit and Esichaiku l, 2010, p p . 134).

2.2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

One of the elem ents that it is p ertinent w hen d iscu ssing the top ic of m arketing com m u nications, and m ore sp ecifically the p hen om enon of QR cod es, is the area of Cu stom er Relationship Managem ent, or CRM, that w as also id entified by the au thors Lep p äniem i and Karjaluoto (2008, p p . 54) as extrem ely relevant in this context. Therefore, this stu d y w ill follow a fram ew ork (fig. 3) that w as p resented before and ap p roach the su bject of CRM from tw o sid es: CRM history and characteristics, and e-CRM or m obile CRM establishing a connection to the aforem entioned top ic.

Before carrying ou t a d iscu ssion regard ing m obile CRM that u ltim ately is m ore relevant to this research stu d y d u e to the su bject of QR cod es, it is im p ortant to und erstand the origins of CRM and the literature over the years concerning this top ic. CRM is a m anagem ent tool especially “targeted to increase corporate profit” and the main goal of companies when u sing this tool is to get a better u nd erstand ing of their cu stom ers in ord er to offer cu stom ized services so organizations can “increase both customer satisfaction and client loyalty in the long ru n” (Gebert et al., 2003; Kalakota and Robinson, 2001; Shani and Chalasani, 1992 cited in Valsecchi, Renga and Rangone, 2007, p p . 755). H ow ever, in this theoretical ap p roach the definition of CRM according to Gartner (2004 cited in Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė , 2006, p p . 72) is the one to be u sed , he states that “[CRM] is a bu siness strategy d esigned to op tim ize p rofitability, revenu e and consu m er satisfaction by organizing the enterp rise arou nd cu stom er segm ents, fostering cu stom er -centric behaviors and im p lem enting cu stom er-centric p rocesses”, p lu s the au thor “em p hasizes, that CRM is not a category of ap p lications or technologies, althou gh technologies are critical to enable CRM strategies”. After the d efinition aforem entioned , it is fu nd am ental to take a closer look to CRM in a historical ap p roach. Back in the 1980s, m any com p anies started to red u ce costs and restru ctu red their op erations to attain their financial goals. Consequ ently they d ecid ed to investigate in w hich w ay the com p anies cou ld satisfy their sharehold ers by ad op ting a series of strategies that aim ed to cu t those costs. H ow ever, this inw ard w ay of thinking “resu lted in a loss of focu s on the m ost im p ortant reason w hy enterp rises are in bu siness: to s atisfy customers‟ profitability” (Gartner, 2004 cited in Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė , 2006, pp. 70).

Later on in the 1990s, relationship m arketing em erged as a new strategic ap p roach d u e to the valu e of establishing long-term relationship s w ith cu stom ers from an organization p oint of view . Moreover, the concep t of cu stom er relationship m anagem ent w as d evelop ed in ord er to highlight the relevance of “profit-enhancing” interactions with customers. Thus, CRM is u ltim ately based on the id ea that a com p any-cu stom er relationship is a valu able investm ent, and this ap p roach is cond u cted so organizations can achieve an op tim al “cu stom er valu e at the end of the life cycle”. Fu rtherm ore com p anies started to im p rove their cu stom er service by givin g incentives instead of m erely gather d ata abou t them , w ith the goal of enhancing

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cu stom er loyalty (Becker, Dreiling and H olten, 2003; Stone, Wood stock and Wilson, 1996 cited in Tamošiūnienė and Jasilionienė , 2006, pp. 70).

After this concep tu al and historical context of CRM as a m anagem ent tool, the vision of cu stom er relationship m anagem ent w ill be exp lained , as w ell as its goals and im p lem entation p rocess, before connecting this su bject to e-CRM and other im p ortant m atters. For this effect, a theoretical fram ew ork (fig. 4) d evelop ed by Mu kerjee and Singh (2009, p p . 78) is p resented in ord er to illu strate the strategic ap p roach that w ill be d iscu ssed in this section.

First of all, a CRM p rogram begins w ith a vision. In term s of CRM, Mu kerjee and Singh (2009, pp. 67) suggest that this vision aims “to ensure that a competitive position ca n be created in the m arketp lace”. Likew ise a bu siness p lan, a CRM vision should be incorp orated before starting a p roject, and in this m atter, accord ing to Mark et al. (2005) cited in Mu kerjee and Singh (2009, p p . 67), a vision m u st be integrated w ith the overall p rogram strategy and the bu siness strategy, as w ell as other CRM gu id elines, valu ations and cu stom er segm entation that are fu nd am ental. Moreover, after im p lem enting the CRM, the vision shou ld be m od ified and u p d ated throu ghou t the p rogram , esp ecially d u e to the need of d evelop ing new cu stom er bond ing cap abilities, a stronger relationship and a com p etitive ad vantage (Gord on, 2002 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 67).

As m entioned before, com p anies in the 1980s w ere w illing to red u ce costs and em p loy less tim e in m anaging their relationship s w ith cu stom ers, how ever, now ad ays it is clear that organizations und erstand the im p ortance of com m u nicating w ith consu m ers, resp ond p roactively to their requ irem ents and sell ap p rop riate p rod u cts or services attend ing to a tw o-w ay relationship , no longer based on, for instance, a p u sh strategy, w here com p anies entice consu m ers to p u rchase p rod u cts by only creating need s. Thu s, the objective is to enable p rofessionals to u nd erstand the m arket (e.g. by segm enting consu m ers), and enable p roficient interactions by offering m u ltip le online and offline channels. In ad d ition, in o rd er to u nd erstand the p erform ance of a CRM p roject, a m etric system to analyze the su ccess of a p rogram constitu tes a fu nd am ental tool that com p anies shou ld take in consid eration (Botw inik, 2001; Rogers, 2003 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 68).

In a CRM p rogram , the com p any need s to focu s on its cu stom ers. As Bu rnett (2001 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 68) su ggests, the key customers are “those whose need s can be fu lfilled by the com p etencies p ossessed by the firm ”. Plu s, in the existing m arket p lace w here com p anies fight to d istingu ish them selves from their com p etitors, this goal of attend ing peop le‟s

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need s has now a totally new m eaning, since com p anies can op erate in m u ltip le segm en ts d ep end ing on their strategy. H ence, the m ain issu e is u ltim ately to w ork w ith consu m ers and stakehold ers so the com p anies can fit their sp ecific need s, em p hasizing the p ow er of a tw o-w ay relationship in a company‟s success (Knudsen, 2006).

Follow ing the fram ew ork p resented before (fig. 4), the CRM goals are d ivid ed into three d ifferent areas: cu stom er p rofitability, behavior p red iction/ segm entation, a nd p ersonalization.

The cu stom ers can be segm ented in several w ays, for instance, based on “characteristics, behaviors, need s or w ants that affect their d em and for, or u sage of, the p rod u ct being marketed”, hence demographic (e.g. gender) and psychographic (e.g. lifestyle) characteristics (Wood , 2007, p . 7). N onetheless, it is essential to highlight that, as m entioned by H elgesen (2006 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 69) and Brond m o (2000, pp . 103), com p anies have to und erstand that a p ositive rela tionship “betw een satisfaction and p rofitability cannot be taken for granted ”. For this reason, som e of the m ost com m on strategies to gu aranty su ccessfu l cu stom er p rofitability are p ersonalization, cu stom er loyalty, and cross and u p -selling.

One other relevant area is behavior p red iction and segm entation. N ew technologies, for instance, are now a p roficient platform for com p anies to interact w ith cons u m ers becau se they have realized that it is fu nd am ental to get in -d ep th cu stom er know led ge in ord er to attain a m ore collaborative relationship , as w ell as to recognize p rofitable cu stom ers. Thu s, som e researchers have p ointed ou t that it is im p ortant to leverage cu stom ers‟ p u rchase behavior in a certain category so com p anies can m ake assu m p tions regard ing t heir p otential acquisitions in other categories. Consequently, after the analysis of customers‟ purchases is m ad e, it is p ossible to create cu stom er segm ents accord ing to a d eterm ined p u rchase behavior (Parvatiyar and Sheth, 2011; N ew ell, 2000; Iyengar et al., 2003 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 69:70)

Finally, p ersonalization constitu tes the last area w ithin the CRM goals. As seen on the last section, com p anies aim to create d ifferent strategic cu stom er segm ents that enable them to, w ithin a segm en t, p ersonalize p rod u cts and / or services to su it the d ifferent requ irem ents of consu m ers. N evertheless, com p anies need a large am ou nt of inform ation to bu ild an efficient connection w ith cu stom ers, for that effect, organizations that alread y op erate online are able to p ersonalize the cu stom er service (su ch as Asos.com ), enabling a convenient p latform and , therefore, access to them (Cu lnan and Arm strong, 1999; Aw ad and Krishnan, 2006 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 70).

The next step on the CRM p rogram accord ing to the fram ew ork in u se (fig. 4) is the CRM im p lem entation that inclu d es: orientation, technology selection, and d ep loym ent and fu lfillm ent of the CRM objectives.

First of all, w hen consid ering a CRM p rogram , com p anies need to d evelop a sp ecific orientation in ord er to facilitate its im p lem entation. It is im p ortant to integrate unbiased strategies, p rocesses and technology. As su ggested by Anton and Petouhoff (2002 cited in Mukerjee and Singh, 2009, pp. 71) “CRM technologies are enablers of the p eople and

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processes needed to effectively and efficiently manage customers”. Therefore, and as m entioned before, new form s of technology have facilitated com p anies to u se Inform ation Technology (IT) to su stain the CRM p rogram . The u se of technology, such as social m ed ia, has enabled com panies to su p p ort a p rofitable cu stom er rap p ort by assisting d ata integration and sharing inform ation in a m ore efficient w ay. Moreover, the selection of a sp ecific technology cannot be taken lightly by the com p any, instead , shou ld be a carefu l and comprehensive process that, according to Mukerjee and Singh (2009, pp. 73), “should be u nd ertaken by a com m ittee com p rising rep resentatives from all d ep artm ents that are stakehold ers for the CRM im p lem entation ”. Thu s, if cu stom ization and p ersonalization are the goals of the CRM p rogram that a com p any w ants to achieve, the choice of technology must be performed to allow “the fulfillment of these objectives” .

Finally, the d ep loym ent of the CRM p rogram need s to be exam ined and it is im p ortant that p rofessionals take a close look at sp ecific top ics that w ere consid ered by Mu kerjee and Singh (2009, p p . 74). Overall, those issu es aim to fu lfill the CRM objectives, and the stu d y p u blished by the sam e au thors in The Icfalan Journal of M anagement Research (2009) d ivid es them in fou r d ifferent sections: focu s on key custom ers, u se of m u lti-channels, sales force, and cross-selling.

Firstly, com p anies m u st focu s on gaining d eep er know led ge on their clients by sharing and receiving inform ation, th en, it is fu nd am ental to m anage relationship s, no m atter the geograp hical bou nd aries and d iscip lines. Em p loyees m u st w ork in team in ord er to sp ot, coordinate, and create new opportunities to the company‟s customers, by having a proactive and w ell-inform ed ap p roach (Ghazaros, 2009). Second ly, the u se of m u lti-channels is essential to create a coherent p latform , p lu s it is im p ortant to d eliver a consistent valu e to cu stom ers. H ow ever, by com bining m u ltip le channels, com p anies m u st have in m ind that they m u st regard a constant am ount of tim e to each channel, otherw ise cu stom ers m ay be negatively affected and p erceive the com p anies‟ efforts as confu sing and insu fficient, d u e to a d ivergence of m essages throu ghou t the d ifferent com m u nication channels. Third ly, as m entioned before, the use of technology is extrem ely relevant to ensu re p ersonalization for cu stom ers, as w ell as to p rovid e access to vital inform ation regard less tim e and sp ace constraints. Finally, if all of the above sections are satisfied (esp ecially after gathering customers‟ information and preferences), companies can consolidate the CRM program by ad d ing cross-selling to trad e p rod u cts and / or services to existing cu stom ers after having a d eep know led ge abou t each segm ent. H ence, and in ord er to im p lem ent a su ccessfu l cross -selling activity, com p anies shou ld ad d ress fou r fu nd am ental factors: com p ensation, com p etence, control, and com m u nication (H asset, 2007; Stone et al., 2002; Akcu ra and Srinivasan, 2005 cited in Mu kerjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 75:76).

As a final note, accord ing to the fram ew ork in consid eration (fig. 4), p erform ance is the final step in the CRM and it shou ld be m easu red against the m etrics established in the beginning (i.e. vision and objectives). Regard less of the su ccess, there are several m ista kes that p u t the w hole p rogram in risk, they are clarified by the au thor Kale (2004 cited in Mu ke rjee and Singh, 2009, p p . 77): “view ing CRM as a technology initiative; lack of cu stom er-centric vision; insu fficient ap p reciation of cu stom er lifetim e valu e ; inad equ ate su p p ort from top m anagem ent, und erestim ating the im p ortance of change m anagem ent; fail ing to re-engineer

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bu siness p rocesses; and u nd erestim ating the d ifficu lties involved in d ata m ining and d ata integration ”.

2.3. Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

In the line w ith w hat w as m entioned regard ing CRM, ou r research stu d y is focu sed on QR cod es. Therefore, it is im p ortant to sp ecify a relatively new concep t that better su its this m arketing tool, albeit the relevance of having a theoretical ap p roach on CRM as the genesis of Mobile Cu stom er Relationship Managem ent (m CRM). For this effect, the focu s w ill be on concep tu alizing CRM once again bu t, instead , take a closer look to the uniqu e characteristics of m CRM.

Accord ing to the au thors Du ncan and Moriarty (1998 cited in Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i, 2007, p p . 773), w hen researchers p u rp ose a d efinition for m CRM, often u se the concept of technology to conceptualize it. This is inadequate for tw o reasons: “firstly, it does not em phasize su fficiently the critical role of com m u nication in establishing and m aintaining p rofitable cu stom er relationship s. (…) Second , there is confu sion arou nd the t erm s m obile and w ireless”. Desp ite of being p roblem atic to attribu te a single d efinition of m CRM, the au thors Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i (2007, p p . 774) su ggest that m CRM is “communication, either one-w ay or interactive, w hich is related to sales, marketing, and cu stom er service activities cond u cted throu gh the m obile m ed iu m for the p u rp ose of bu ild ing and m aintain cu stom er relationships betw een com p any and its cu stom ers”. Moreover, it p ossesses som e of the characteristics of CRM m entioned above, esp ecially the im p ortance given to bu ild ing a p roficient relationship betw een cu stom ers and com panies. Therefore it only d iverges from the aforem entioned d efinition of CRM d u e to the u se of the m obile as a m ed iu m .

N onetheless, there are three u niqu e characteristics of m CRM p ointed ou t by the au thors Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i (2007, p p . 774) that are d u e to the sp ecific characteristics of the m obile, they are: p ersonalization, interactivity, and flexibility.

Personalization is the first u niqu e characteristic of m CRM, esp ecially d u e to the fact that a m obile p hone generally only belongs to one p erson, and a m essage can be sent or received d irectly to the target w ithou t m any p roblem s. Moreover, ad vanced p ersonalization, as in CRM, is extrem ely vital w hen com m u nicating throu gh a m obile. In m CRM there is once again the issue regarding a company understanding the customers‟ needs, preferences and w ants, and w ithou t this u nd erstand ing, cu stom ers becom e invisible and u nm anageable (Park and Kim , 2003 cited in Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i, 2007, p p . 775). Second ly, a m obile d evice enables the interactivity betw een entities. In this p oint, it is esp ecially interesting the relevance of m ed iated interactivity, w here tw o ind ivid u als (or a com p any and cu stom er) interact w ith each other throu gh a d evice. Thu s, variou s stu d ies (Barw ise and Strong, 2002; Barnes and Scornavacca, 2004; Bau er et al., 2005 cit ed in Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i, 2007, p p . 775) have p roven that the m obile m ed iu m is excep tionally u niqu e d ue to its interactive featu re. Finally, the third characteristic p ointed by the au thors above is the flexibility in com m u nication. Throu gh a m obile p hone there are no p hysical and tim e barriers betw een tw o or m ore elem ents, thu s com p anies can reach or be reached by cu stom ers beyond the p ossibilities of m any other d evices.

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As in the CRM p rogram , there are several challenges that shou ld be consid ered w hen d evelop ing and p rom oting m CRM. Few of the m ost com m on lim itations are closely related w ith the m obile m ed ium , su ch as the sm all screen size, lack of m obile op tim ized Web sites, lim ited band w id th, or au d io and visu al d eficiencies, am ong o ther restraints (Jelassi and End ers cited in Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lepp äniem i, 2007, p p . 775). Moreover, a m obile m arketing strategy m u st be com bined w ith other trad itional channels in ord er to attain the goals set by a com p any w hen, for instance, w ants to enhance brand aw areness by u sing QR cod es. H ence, the au thors Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i (2007, p p . 776) p u rp ose a series of three d ifferent issu es that shou ld be taken in consid eration, they are: end ogenou s, exogenou s, and m CRM-sp ecific issu es. In figu re 5, a “theoretical fram ew ork of initiation of mCRM” (2007, pp. 776) developed by the authors is presented.

Accord ing to the au thors of this theoretical fram ew ork, end ogenou s issu es begin from insid e the com p any. The m CRM shou ld be integrated into the overall CRM system of a com p any, as an ad d itional channel. Consequ ently, the form er has to su p p ort the m obile p rogram so this one can function app rop riately. Thu s, it is fu nd am ental that the technology is carefu lly chosen d esp ite of now ad ays being easy to incorp orate a m CRM system in the existing CRM. The p rerequ isite is a cu stom er

d atabase u su ally p rofiled u sing d em ograp hics or p sychograp hics, albeit the increasing u ses of social behavior d ata in a w ay to categorize cu stom ers.

In the exogenou s sid e, m obile m arketing has to follow regu latory restrictions concerning the utilization of customers‟ data and others restraints d u e to, for exam p le, law s in the Eu rop ean Union (EU) area involving “p rotection from

unw anted communications” and the “misuse of mobile marketing techniques and v iolation of core p rivacy rights” (Thom as and Rohlm eier, 2008). Second ly, the m obile infrastru ctu re is fu nd am ental to su stain and contribu te the technology associated w ith the m obile m ed iu m . There are several changes in this area in the recent years that enable the d evelop m ent of activities associated w ith w ireless netw orks, w hich are extrem ely im p ortant as a fou nd ation of m CRM, su ch as the introd u ction of 3G and 4G technologies . Finally, and concerning m CRM-related issu es, it is relevant to em p hasize the im p ortance of stim u lating cu stom ers “to opt in for the mCRM program and subsequently provide the information required to initiate communication w ith them”. Thus, it is essential that companies find the w ays to entice customers‟ attention and convince them to interact through a mobile medium (Sinisalo, Salo, Karjalu oto and Lep p äniem i, 2007, p p . 777:778).

2.4. Brand awareness

Rossiter and Percy (1987 cited in Macd onald and Sharp , 2003, p . 1) d escribe brand aw areness as fu nd am ental for the com m u nication p rocess to be su ccessfu l, and w ithou t it consu m ers

Figure 5 – Theoretical framework of initiation of mCRM (Sinisalo, Salo, Karjaluoto and Leppäniemi, 2007, pp. 78)

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cannot recognize the brand in the first place. In ad d ition, Farquhar (1989 cited in Moisescu , n.d .) consid ers that in ord er to bu ild a strong brand , it is essential t o create a p ositive “brand evaluation, an accessible brand attitude, and a consistent brand image”, and the term “brand attitu d e actu ally refers to w h at the others term as aw areness”. Consequ ently, brand aw areness is vital for consumers to include a brand “in the consideration set” , whereas also it influ ences p ercep tions that consu m ers have over a brand , and “a d river for brand loyalty” (Aaker, 1991 cited in Moisescu , n.d .).

In line w ith the m ain top ic of this research, it is im p ortant to m ention the role of the consid eration set that it is related w ith brand aw areness, since w hen d iscu ssing com p anies‟ interest in a m obile m arketing p rogram , this concep t reveals its significance for the cu rrent stu d y. Consequ ently, Wood sid e and Wilson (1985 cited in Macd onald and Sharp , 2003, p . 2) and Keller (1998 cited in Moisescu , n.d .) su ggest that a high level of brand aw areness resu lts in a higher p u rchase intention, bu t also it is essential in the bu ying d ecision -m aking p rocess since it is connected w ith the aforem entioned consid eration set. Finally, no m atter the typ e of m arketing and com m u nication strategy u sed by a com p any, brand aw areness is consid ered by Macd onald and Sharp (2003, p . 3:4) as being a fu nd am ental goal. The au thors refer that “w ithout brand awareness occurring, brand attitude and brand image cannot be formed”, plus Aaker (1991) mentioned by the same authors, argues that brand aw areness is “one of the fou r m ajor assets w hich ad d va lu e to the p rod u ct or service and / or its cu stom ers”. Overall, and as a su m m ary, it is p ossible to ad d fou r essential p oints to m ention w hen considering brand aw areness: (1) it places the brand in the consumer‟s mindset; (2) it acts as a barrier w hen com p ared to u nestablished brand s; (3) su p p orting consu m er‟s com m itm ent to a brand and ; (4) grants leverage in the d istribu tion channels (Stokes, 1985; Aaker, 1992 cited in Macd onald and Sharp, p . 3).

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Figure 6 – Theoretical framework summary

There w ere several key concep ts that have been d iscu ssed throu ghou t this chap ter that need to be su m m arized in a m od el (fig. 6), since it is clear that these concep ts are all connected w ith each other. As Sam u elson and N ord hau s (1998) cited in Kaew su w an (2002, p . 2) defined, a model is a formal framew ork that aims to represent “the basic features of a com p lex system by a few central relationship s”. In ad d ition, Begg, Fischer and Dornbu sch (2000) cited by the sam e au thors ad d that “[a m od el] is a d eliberate sim p lification of reality”. Du e to the com plexity of the concep ts that have been m entioned in this chap ter, it is p ertinent to com bine all the key p oints that m ake the theoretical fram ew ork of this research abou t QR Cod es and Sw ed ish p rem iu m fashion brand s. Overall, it is p ossible to com p rehend that w ithin a m arketing com m u nication p rogram , a CRM p lan can be incorp orated . Thu s, in a m obile m arketing p lan, also an onlin e CRM p rogram can be established by, at the sam e tim e, recu rring to a cu stom er d atabase. Ultim ately, a com p any by integrating one of the aforem entioned p rogram s has as an objective to increase the brand aw areness thr ou gh d ifferent p ossible op tions p resented above in the m od el.

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3. Methodology

In order to understand the relationship between QR codes with CRM and brand awareness, and this 2-dimensional tool within the Swedish premium fashion market, it is fundamental to examine several components in this research study. Due to time constraints this essay cann ot touch upon all the factors that may be related with QR codes and the use of this tool in the segment of discussion. Therefore it was decided to present only the ones that in the literature emerge as most prominent and relevant. W hereas there is a lack of research regarding this matter in the Swedish fashion reality, the study has been limited considerably per se. Therefore, it was only possible to find one study regarding the perception of QR codes and its use among Swedish consumers although with no relation with any particular industry or market segment. Hence, this subject has required an extensive amount of empirical research combined with a choice of different kind of methodological approaches that will be now described.

3.1. Scientific approach

There are three p ossible w ays to ap p roach a research qu estion, the d ed u ctive, ind u ctive, and abductive method. In the first one, the researcher uses “the literature to help identify theories and ideas” that w ill further on be tested using data (Saunders, Lew is and Thornhill, 2009, pp. 61). Plu s, in this ap p roach the researcher starts “w ith an abstract” (N eu m an, 1997 cited in Ali and Birley, 1998, p. 3), w hereas there is a “w ell-established role for existing theory since it inform s the d evelop m ent of hyp othesis, the choice of variables, and the resu ltant m easu res w hich researchers intend to use”, moreover the researcher formulates a particular theoretical fram ew ork and tests it, in ord er to valid ate the hyp othesis that w ere p reviou sly stated (Ali and Birley, 1998, p . 3). On the other hand , the ind u ctive ap p roach starts by “exp loring d ata and to develop theories” that consequently will be related to the literature. Moreover, the study does not commence w ith any “predetermined theories and conceptual framew orks” (Sau nd ers, Lew is and Thornhill, 2009, p p . 61). Finally, the abd u ctive m ethod refers to a conclusion by “inferring a case from a rule and a result”, and “like induction, this inference is m ore or less p robable” (Svennevig, n.d ., p . 2).

After consid ering the three p ossible ap p roaches it w as clear that the d ed u ctive ap p roach w as the m ost su itable m ethod for this stu d y. The reason lies on the fact that d ata w as collected throu gh relevant and app rop riate literatu re accord ing to the top ic that w as initially p u rp osed for investigation. Thu s, the research w as not intend ed to be op en -end ed and exp loratory, based on observations to end u p in a broad er generalization, nor w as the intention to choose a sp ecific case and form ulate a hyp othesis that w ou ld su stain a sp ecific ru le.

3.2. Research methodology

In the m ethod ology chap ter it is relevant to d ifferentiate tw o typ es of research m ethod s: qu antitative and qu alitative. Desp ite of several au thors p ointing ou t that the frontiers betw een these tw o are no longer u sefu l, it is im p ortant to m ake a clear d istinction. In its essence, a qu antitative research “em phasizes quantification in the co llection and analysis of d ata”(Brym an and Bell, 2011, p p . 11). In ad d ition, accord ing to Valero (1997, p p . 10, 11), “quantitative analysis concentrates on the facts, data, or quantitative aspects associated with problems”, plus it helps to “enhan ce the decision-making process”. This method is extremely interesting when “an exploratory study w ith open interview s precedes the collection of data w ith qu estionnaires, bu t the first step and its resu lts are only seen as prelim inary” (Flick,

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2009, p p . 25). For this stu d y, and d u e to the research qu estion that w as initially stated , it w ou ld have been, for instance, extrem ely d ifficu lt to id entify and access a reasonable nu m ber of Sw ed ish p rem iu m brand consu m ers.

On the other hand , the qu alitative m ethod u su ally u ses w ord s in the p rocess of gathering and analyzing d ata, stressing an ind u ctive ap p roach (Brym an and Bell 2011, p p . 26). This typ e of research strategy is esp ecially interesting in the p resent stu d y. Thus, it is fund am ental to p resent som e of the characteristics that valid ate the u se of the qu alitative research strategy in this case.

Desp ite several d ifferences regard ing theoretical p ositions ab ou t this m ethod , it is far m ore interesting to rather focu s on the com m on p oints that m ost of the exp erts in this field id entify, su ch as the V erstehen as an ep istem ological p rincip le w hich highlights the qu ality of the qualitative research in terms of “un derstanding the phenomenon or event under study from the interior”, thus it is the view of one subject, social situations (for instance, processes of w ork), or cu ltu ral and social ru les that the researcher aim s to u nd erstand (Flick, 2009, p p . 65). This research strategy im p lies the “constru ction of r eality as basis”, w ith this Flick (2009, pp. 66) means that the result of this method “is not a given reality” but instead it is produced by several actors. H ence, it is clear that after review ing the literatu re regard ing both qu antitative and qu alitative research strategies, the form er seem s to su it our p u rp ose better. N onetheless, in term s of research d esign, and attend ing to the research qu estion, a cross -sectional stu d y seem ed m ore ap p rop riate d u e to the reason that it “entails the collection of d ata on m ore than one case and at a single p oint in tim e in ord er to collect a bod y of qu antitative or qu antifiable d ata in connection w ith tw o or m ore variables” (Brym an and Bell 2011, p p . 53). For the pu rp ose, th is typ e of research d esign is extrem ely help fu l d u e to its d istinctiveness. A cross-sectional d esign is su itable w hen the researcher is interested in variation, and in the p resent case, this is p articu larly relevant, since the research aim s to d raw the d istinctions betw een com p anies regard ing the top ic of investigation.

Fu rtherm ore, this typ e of stu d y is sp ecifically conceived to collect d ata m ore or less sim u ltaneou sly u sing the sam e stand ard ize m ethod s for d eterm ine variation, therefore this enables the researcher to benchm ark d ifferent cases not m anip u lating any of the variables in qu estion. In ad d ition , the researcher is able to rep licate the techniqu e to other cases since he or she d efines variou s proced u res that w ants to ad op t throu ghou t the research. H ow ever, there are also som e risks that it is im p ortant to have in consid eration w hen u sing a cross-sectional d esign, for instance the p otential cau sal inferences that can occur from the find ings and the consequ ences of the d isru p tion of ecological valid ity1, w hich m ay invalid ate the conclu sions (Brym an and Bell 2011, p p . 54).

3.3. Data collection

This research stu d y m akes u se of second ary d ata. This inclu d es raw d ata that w as initially collected w hen d oing research on QR cod es and other m atters stated on the p u rp ose section. Thu s, it w as extrem ely im p ortant to gather inform ation from online com p u ter d atabases, su ch as at Stockholm University, University of Borås, and University of Gothenbu rg. As

1 ”Ecological valid ity often refers to the relation betw een real-w orld phenom ena and the investigation of these p henom ena in exp erim ental contexts” (Schm u ckler, 2011 p p . 420).

The state of QR codes