Purpose – The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the application of A/B testing for measuring the effectiveness of online sales in order to determine which changes to a website’s user interface have ...the greatest effect on the improvement of key performance indicators (KPIs) of online sales. Design/Methodology/Approach – A total of five A/B tests were conducted, four of which concerned the manipulation of user interface elements whereas one examined the difference in KPIs depending on the quality of the search engine used. Testing was conducted from January to July 2021 on a sample of a minimum of 7,000 visitors of the website of a company operating on the Croatian market. Findings and Implications – The conducted tests show that sometimes, as can be seen from the results of the first A/B test, the existing version of the website should be kept. However, as shown by the second, fourth, and fifth A/B test, changes to a website’s user interface can be of significant help in improving KPIs. The third A/B test highlighted the need for multiple tests of the same user interface element in order to achieve the full potential of an online business. Limitations – The general limitations of A/B testing, such as its focus on short-term goals, the lack of insights into real consumer behavior, and the use of CMS systems all affect the results of conducted research. Originality – As the analysis of existing research papers established the absence of a unified division of KPIs, their summarization and use for the purposes of the present research is the main contribution of this study.
Ad personalization is becoming the dominant promotional tactic, further enhanced by new technologies applications. Greater efficiency is the main goal of such an advertising approach, but it can ...cause the appearance of the so-called “privacy paradox” that can induce negative consumer reactions in terms of avoiding such ads. This paper investigates the factors influencing the avoidance of personalized ads communicated through the social network Facebook. Part of the research model deals with the impact of perceived personalization, perceived irritation, and perceived privacy concerns on skepticism towards advertising and advertising avoidance. Furthermore, the empirical research was conducted on data collected through the Facebook and WhatsApp mobile applications. Following the obtained results, there is no negative effect of perceived personalization to skepticism towards advertising while it exists toward advertising avoidance. Furthermore, a positive effect of perceived irritation to skepticism towards advertising does not exist, but positive effects to ad avoidance do. The direct positive effect of perceived privacy concerns to skepticism and ad avoidance was not found. Also, skepticism about personalized ads was found not to be positively associated with avoiding personalized ads. In addition to new insights, the results can help design and implement promotional campaigns through social media technologies.
This paper aims to investigate Croatian consumers' attitudes about mobile messenger chatbots (MMC) and their propensity to use them. The proposed conceptual model is based on the Technology ...Acceptance Model (TAM) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). The research was conducted through an anonymous survey questionnaire available on the social network Facebook. The empirical research results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, compatibility, and attitude towards mobile advertisements are statistically significantly related to attitude towards mobile messenger chatbots. No negative correlation was found between internet privacy concern and consumer attitudes about mobile messenger chatbots. A positive correlation was found between attitude towards using mobile messenger chatbots and behavioral intention. In addition to the scientific contribution in better predicting chatbots' acceptance as a communication and promotional tool, the research results will also help marketing experts design advertising campaigns via mobile messenger chatbots.
Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic, and their response to this disruption has impacted their resilience as well as their chances to overcome this crisis. ...Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are changing their business models in order to adapt to this changing environment. Service-based industries have been hit particularly hard. This research investigates how SMEs operating in service industries have been coping with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to gain insights into which transformation drivers they have focused on and which technologies they have selected as a means to respond to the disruption. These insights regarding SMEs are then explored according to their influence on the redefinition of sustainable business models in SMEs. The review data was analyzed via a customized research framework that contains three dimensions and 30 subconcepts. The results show the distribution of drivers and technologies across service sectors. They are organized into a Business Model Canvas and could be considered useful for academia and practitioners. The highly unpredictable environment allows for only a few feasible strategic approaches regarding an SME’s decision on to follow incumbents, to become a challenger, or to reinvent themselves based on their own transformation drivers and readiness to apply digital technologies.
Search engines generate most of their income through sponsored (paid) search results that appear as answers to user queries. Due to the goal of increasing profits, search engines try to reduce the ...ability of users to distinguish between sponsored and organic (unpaid) results. This is primarily visible in the design and structure of sponsored search results in the form of ads, which appear very similar to organic results. Although there are studies on other markets, on the Croatian market is insufficiently covered by existing research. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate how much are users in the Croatian market aware of the difference between sponsored and organic search results, and how this knowledge influences their behavior based on search results.
This paper explores the role of educational content marketing, within a digital marketing strategy, applied by software and application development companies for their business-to-business ...communication. Qualitative research for collecting primary data was conducted through in-depth interviews on a non-probability sample of experts. Considering the complexity of the products and business models of the companies from the sample, the purpose of the research was to determine how those companies establish a business relationship, how they use educational content marketing and what is its role in communication with other companies. The results indicate that the role of educational content marketing, for the companies in the sample, is crucial in expanding the market, creating new business opportunities, as well as in the sales process, especially in operations of high financial value.
Companies in today's market, especially in the service sector, require constant monitoring and adaptation to the more dynamic needs and desires of their customers. Therefore, companies use all their ...resources to achieve their goals and competitive advantage. This paper shows a theoretical review of CRM concept with a focus on the telecommunications industry and the results of quantitative research conducted through a questionnaire, on a purposive sample, a sample of experts. The aim of this paper is to show, whether there is a difference in the perception of CRM by 170 employees at different managerial levels in selected telecommunications companies in Croatia.
Internet se u ranijim fazama svog nastanka koristio u specifične svrhe poput razmjene
informacija unutar velikih poduzeća ili državnih ustanova. Proširenjem dostupnosti krajnjim
korisnicima povećavao ...se i broj informacija koje su se na internetu mogle pronaći.
Kako bi korisnici mogli brzo i jednostavno pronaći za njih relevantnu informaciju koriste
se tražilice. Korištenjem tražilica u prvi plan vlasnici web stranica stavljaju optimizaciju za
tražilice, što je ujedno i fokus ovog rada.
Analizom dostupnih sekundarnih izvora podataka postavljena je teorijska osnova
pojma i uloge optimizacije, kao i osnovnih dijelova i tipova optimizacije za tražilice. U
sklopu empirijskog istraživanja stvoren je anketni upitnik pomoću kojeg je provedeno
kvantitativno istraživanje na mikro i malim poduzećima u sjevernoj Hrvatskoj. Anketni
upitnik odaslan na e-poštu stručnjaka (za digitalni marketing ili marketing općenito) 52
poduzeća, od čega je 10 stručnjaka u potpunosti odgovorilo na sva pitanja te je na njihovim
odgovorima provedena statistička analiza. Cilj je rada spoznati razinu korištenja
optimizacije za tražilice kod poduzeća koja posluju na sjeveru Hrvatske uključujući i upoznatost
sa samim pojmom optimizacije.
Temeljem dobivenih rezultata može se zaključiti kako su poduzeća većinom upoznata
sa pojmom optimizacije, te istu koriste u svom poslovanju. No, iako koriste brojne faktore
koji su važni za povećanje pozicije na tražilicama ipak svjesnost prednosti i uloge optimizacije
u poslovanju još uvijek nije u potpunosti formirana.
This study aims to investigate the effect of consumer innovativeness, need to belong, and source credibility on the receipt of information within WOM and eWOM communication. Empirical research was ...conducted on 370 respondents in Croatia. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the structural relationship between variables from the proposed model and to test hypotheses. The study results confirm the positive association of proposed variables with WOM and eWOM, except the association of need to belong with WOM, which has not been established. In addition to new scientific knowledge, practitioners can use the results in implementing activities to increase customer engagement with the brand and company.
In the earlier stages of its creation, the Internet was used for specific purposes such as the exchange of information within large companies or government institutions. By expanding the availability ...to end users, the amount of information that could be found on the Internet also increased. In order for users to be able to quickly and easily find relevant information for them, they use search engines. By using search engines, website owners prioritize search engine optimization, which is the focus of this paper. By collecting secondary data, the theoretical basis of the concept and role of optimization was created, as well as the basic parts and types of optimization. As part of the empirical research, a survey questionnaire was created with the help of which a quantitative research was conducted on micro and small companies in northern Croatia. The questionnaire was sent to the e-mail of experts (digital marketing or marketing experts in general) of 52 companies, of which 10 experts fully answered all questions and their answers were subjected to statistical analysis presented in the paper. The aim of this paper was to get acquainted with the level of use of optimization by companies operating in the northern Croatia, including familiarity with the concept of optimization. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that companies are mostly familiar with the concept of optimization, which is used in their companies. However, although they use a number of factors that are important for increasing search engine rankings, yet the awareness of the benefits and role of optimization in business is still not fully formed.
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