EVANGELISM AS A STRATEGY IN THE CHALLENGING AND INNOVATIVE BUSINESS SCENARIO: A THEORETICAL OVERVIEW

Gopika G1, K. G. Rajani2 1,2 Assistant Professors, Department of Commerce and Management,

Amrita School of Arts And Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amrita University, Kochi, (India)

ABSTRACT

In the modern era, where people’s culture is being influenced by Web, the most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth. In a highly populous market where various companies sell homogeneous goods, it is crucial to find a business which performs an exemplary service. Transforming a customer into an media is a marketing dream. As there are several companies with more or less similar products, and the present business environment is really a challenging one, more connections with the customers have become need of the hour. Always prospective customers depend on the existing customers recommendations while they are making a purchasing decision. With the onset of Social Networking, evangelism marketing has taken a crucial role, where companies compete to spread their influence through the social networks of their customers. The term product evangelism means to build reputation for the company through the existing customers by the word of mouth method. This article expounds the importance of evangelism marketing in the challenging and innovative business scenario thus pointing out the virtue of this apparatus.

Keywords: Business, Customer, Evangelism, Marketing, Products, Purchasing Decision.

I INTRODUCTION

The term “evangelism” is derived from three words, 'bringing good news'. Evangelism marketing is an innovative method of word-of-mouth marketing. Here the customers who are happy after using a particular product or service may convince others to make a purchase decision use the same. In this way the customers act as voluntary advocates for the product by spreading the merits of the product for the company. and Evangelism Marketing are two terms used synonymously. Affiliate marketing is a marketing which is based on the performance, where each and every customer will be provided with an incentive in the form of money or money‟s worth for every new customer brought in by him. But, an evangelist customer communicates their opinion and attracts new customers voluntarily on the basis of belief towards the customer. Here the evangelist thinks for some other‟s benefit while affiliator works for own benefit. An evangelist works deliberately and so they are known to be key influencers of a company‟s product or service. As they work for no

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incentives, their recommendations are perceived by the new customers as more credible and trustworthy. evangelists give opinion about a brand from a previous positive experience with the product or a brand. The customer who keeps on influencing the wants and desires of other, prospective customers are known as “Customer Evangelists”.

History: The concept of evangelism marketing was first put forth by Guy Kawasaki in his books “The Are of the Start” (2004) and “How to Drive your Competition Crazy” (1996).

II RESEARCH OBJECTIVES  To explain the method evangelism marketing.  To study components of evangelism marketing.  To understand the benefits of evangelism marketing to customers and marketers.  To analyze how efficaciously evangelism works in present marketing scenario.

III CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 Evangelism Marketing as a Boon to Marketers Evangelism marketing is an upcoming trend in the marketing arena. Even though customers depend on existing customer‟s feedback for making a purchasing decision. The advantage, a corporate entity would derive from this may certainly based on the extent to which the business includes evangelism as a marketing tool in implementing a strategy. The merits derived from evangelism marketing are as follows: 1. Unbiased Feedback System: Evangelist customers are good sales representatives working without monetary benefits. The prospective buyers may not be much skeptical about the feedback given by evangelists as these people are not associated with the company. Thus, the evangelists is at the competitive edge of converting the potential customers into positive customers 2. Committed Customers: The burden of the company is transferred to better enthusiastic customers. Evangelists acts as advisors and they provide free information regarding the products to the potential customers. 3. Long Term : Almost all the marketing tool has an expiry date, but evangelism marketing is a never ending process whereby, the customers keep on influencing other prospective customers. 4. Increased Goodwill: As the customers are constantly boasting about the company‟s products, the goodwill and brand image of the company increases. 5. Management of Expenses: The cost involved in the marketing strategy can be reduced as evangelism is a non monetary service provided by the customers. The return on investment of the organization increases as there is no much investment of funds in evangelism marketing. Evangelism marketing is a low cost marketing tool in comparison with other strategic tools.

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3.2 Hindrances faced by Marketers in implementing Evangelism Marketing 1. The problems in product designing, customer service, product experience may have a negative impact on the product advocacy to other prospective customers. 2. The management may not have control over the message an evangelist will convey to the potential customers.

3.3 Building Brand Evangelists: Evangelism marketing is implemented in an organization through the following steps: 3.3.1 Product Adoption: Consumers who are satisfied and impressed with a product or service will be ready to adopt their product for evangelism. 3.3.2 Brand Loyalty: The prospective consumers must make the choice of the product and reasonise the advantages of the product over the other leading products in the market. 3.3.3 Ownership: The consumer must perceive a shared benefit with the success of the product or brand, and want to associate their credibility with the product. 3.3.4 Product Assistance: The consumer must recommend the benefits to those in his or her network of consumers, typically to the people they care most about.

Figure Showing the implementation of creating product evangelists

Fig.no:3.3.4

3.4 Strategies of Evangelism Marketing 3.4.1 Web Base: Customer feedback websites is a strategic tool for evangelism. 3.4.2 Social Media: Social media sites play a crucial role in brand advocacy. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have provided a strong base for evangelism.

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3.5 Challenges to Evangelism Marketing It is cumbersome to transform a customer into an evangelist. The customers need to be honest while recommending a product or service to potential customers. Some customers may either find it difficult to communicate with others or may be busy with their personal work.  Customer’s Loyalty: Loyalty of customers is a necessity for the customers in this challenging business environment. Customers may switch between products before accepting a specific brand. This is a hindrance in evangelism marketing.  Attitudinal Difference: The needs and attitude of customers may be different. It is strenuous to influence every customer as the taste and preference may vary considerably.  Change in product line: Evangelism Marketing does not suit well when the product line changes very often. When product changes the interest of the customers may also change.

3.6 Inclusion of Evangelism Marketing as an Apparatus in Framing the Marketing Strategy

There are several methods to be followed in the inclusion evangelism marketing to produce positive result. 1. Design Social Media Forums. 2. Promote events for customers. 3. Include References and experiences of customers on internet sites. 4. Include unbiased and critical reviews about the product or service. 5. Encourage the existing customers to gift the product or service to other potential customers.

IV SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Further researches may give answers to certain issues like factors responsible for the acceptance of evangelism marketing as a marketing apparatus, the dependency of potential customers on information provided by internet sites, effect of evangelism marketing on consumers when compared to that of traditional marketing tools. All these issues need to be taken into consideration while selecting the evangelism marketing as a tool for boosting sales.

V LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Evangelism marketing is an improvised form of word of mouth marketing, where companies depend on existing customers‟ feedback as a marketing tool. An experience shared by a customer is influential than thousand advertisements. Small and limited budget may often depend upon evangelism marketing. It provides better return on investment to the organization. This research article summarizes the benefit an organization may derive from word of mouth communication of a customer and how it can be implemented using the internet platform. Further research in this marketing arena may serve good in the dynamic business environment.

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REFERENCES

1. Kawasaki, Guy. The Art of the Start. New York: Penguin Group, 2004 2. John H. Fleming PhD, Jim Asplund, Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter, Gallup Press, 2007 3. Bone P.F., 1995, „Word-of-Mouth Effects on Short-term and Long-term Product Judgment‟, Journal of Business Research, 32, 3, pp. 213-223. 4. www.googlekeywordtool.com 5. www.wikipedia.org 6. www.marketeer.kapost.com/brand-evangelists/

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