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Faculty of Management Sciences

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Communication tools

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    Influence of social media on consumer behaviour : a focus on Savanna Dry cider customers in the Durban Central Business District in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2023) Shozi, Thobile; Agbenyegah, Albert Tchey
    The popularity of online tools and the advent of social media are critical to modern day business as they assist with the advertising and marketing of products and services. Through social media, consumer behaviour and attitudes towards certain products, companies and organisations are changed based on what other consumers say about those products, services or organisations; hence, social media remains a powerful advertising mechanism (Scholz and Smith, 2019). Organisations that market what they offer through contemporary means and methods like social media increase their competitive advantage over those that use traditional advertising and marketing methods such as billboards, newspapers and magazines. This quantitative research investigated the influence of social media on consumer behaviour focusing on Savanna Dry Cider customers in the Durban Central Business District CBD KwaZulu-Natal. The study used the simple random sampling method to select 120 participants (60 each) from two different liquor shops, Liberty Liquors and Tops North Beach in the Durban CBD. The study gathered its primary data through self-administered questionnaires. The data was processed and coded using Microsoft Excel spread sheets. Thereafter, it was entered into SPSS 27 software and analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings of the study include that Facebook was the most popular online platform used by consumers of SDC, especially ones within the age range of 18 to 25 years. The SDC consumers’ purchasing behaviour was influenced by reviews and information that other consumers presented online pertaining to product, thus this is an important marketing tool. The SDC’s social online platform presence influences the buying decisions of most of its consumers. Evidently, SDC is successfully taking advantage of its social media platform to influence, mostly consumers between 18 to 40 years, to purchase the product. The study concludes that social media influences the behaviour of Savanna Dry Cider consumers in the Durban CBD, KwaZulu-Natal Province. The study further concluded that most people, especially young people between the ages of 18 and 25 years, are swayed to buy or consume Savanna Dry Ciders based on the reviews and comments of other consumers about the product. The findings also concluded that negative reviews of the product deter people from buying it while positive reviews make them want to purchase it more often. The study recommended that Savanna Dry Cider should launch an aggressive social media campaign to market its brand, as this will ensure that many people know about it and change their perceptions.
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    The use of Instagram as a communication tool in the Durban fashion industry
    (2023) Ngcobo, Thandeka; Madondo, Elvis
    Over the years, social media has become an imperative platform in the fashion industry for testing new marketing strategies and monitoring trends. There are thousands of luxury and high street fashion brands around the world that are present online. Despite the fact that fashion brands have unilaterally set their polished brand images through traditional media such as television channels and magazines, social media serves as a very powerful tool for promoting and sharing fashion information to both industry and people (Ha, Kwon, Cha and Joo 2017:418). Undeniably, Instagram is not only used as any other social media platform, but also as a marketing tool for local fashion brands. There are numerous phenomena of Instagram marketing. However, there is still a lack of clarification as to why these phenomena occurred. The aim of this study was to determine the use of Instagram as a communication tool in the Durban Fashion industry. The primary objective of the research was to examine the influence of Instagram as a communication tool in the Durban Fashion industry. The study followed a quantitative research method in order to accomplish the set objectives. Non-probability sampling was used in recruiting participants. Purposive sampling technique was utilised to generate the sample population. Fashion brand owners in Durban who use Instagram as a communication tool were the population targeted by this study. The researcher was able to get a 91.5% response rate as 119 questionnaires out of 130 were collected. The study used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 for Windows to analyse the data. The study revealed that Instagram is an effective communication tool that fashion business owners can benefit from, if used strategically. Furthermore, the findings revealed that Instagram is giving fashion business owners a platform to showcase their best offerings; communicate with their target audience; and increase brand awareness. One of the recommendations was that fashion businesses who are not using Instagram as a communication tool to start using this social media platform. Communication through the use of pictures and videos seems to be a new strategy for marketing. The study also recommended that it is important for fashion owners to prioritise engagement with their target audience on Instagram in order to build friendly relationships and increase the number of followers.
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    An assessment of reporting tools used for corporate social responsibility in the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMME) Sector in Kwazulu-Natal
    (2021-04) Buthelezi, Mthokozisi; Rampersad, Renitha; Gopaul, Roger
    Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are considered as the key role drivers in order to close the gap of inequality, particularly when it comes to investing in disadvantaged communities. In South Africa, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is proposed as a strategy to revive the competitiveness of SMMEs. As global competitiveness continues to be a momentous trend, the notion of CSR is proposed as an impressive strategy to invigorate the operations and competitiveness of SMMEs. The aim of this study was to assess the reporting tools used for CSR in the SMME sector in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In so doing, this study utilised a qualitative research approach to assess the reporting tools used by the SMME sector. Nonprobability and judgmental sampling was used to obtain participants. The target population was selected from the three geographic areas in KZN, namely Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Richards Bay. The population centered on 15 CEO’s, and 15 general public representatives that had benefited from the CSR projects of the 15 selected enterprises. The participants were selected by the researcher based on their involvement on CSR. In-depth interviews, observation, and focus group discussions were conducted by the researcher to collect primary data from the SMME CEO’s and the beneficiaries from their companies. The study revealed that some SMMEs used platforms such as meetings and strategic sessions to report on their CSR engagements. The findings further outlined that social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were the most preferred reporting tools by SMME owners. The fact that these tools did not cost the company much was considered to be a major motivator for the adoption. Given that majority of SMMEs are actively engaged in CSR, most of them did not report their programmes at all to their stakeholders even though there are free tools that can be utilised. The study has provided additional contribution to the current literature on CSR and SMMEs. It further provided recommendations on how SMMEs can implement CSR programmes efficiently and use appropriate tools to communicate and report their CSR activities competently.
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    Communication tools used by municipalities to communicate with external stakeholders : a case of King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality (KSD)
    (2021) Fuzile, Lethu; Rawjee, Veena; Ngubane, Zwakele Baldwin
    South Africa has experienced an increase in service delivery protests during the last decades. Ineffective communication tools are considered, inter alia, the factors fuelling these protests. The most important function of this study is to assess the effectiveness of communication tools used by King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality (KSDM) in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. This study employed a mixed methods approach whereby a structured questionnaire was distributed to KSDM external stakeholders and an interview was conducted with the KSDM Communications Officer. The structured questionnaire was distributed to a 434 households; all the questionnaires were returned, leading to a response rate of 100%, and a sample size of 434. The Cronbach’s alpha score of the test items was 0.979 which exceeds the recommended Cronbach’s alpha of 0.700, indicating high reliability and internal consistency. Interpretation of findings in this study revealed that 32% of respondents felt that council meetings were the most common channel used by the community to communicate with the municipality, while the municipal website was hardly utilised (0.2%). Managerial implications for municipal communication managers is ongoing evaluation of the relationship of the municipality’s communications with the public. The study contributes to the field of academia regarding effective communication in municipalities and improving the municipal effectiveness of policy-making processes in community interventions
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    Stakeholder expectations and perceptions of Work Integrated Learning : a case study of the Public Relations programme at the Durban University of Technology
    (2021) Mavundla, Bajabulile Patricia; Rampersad, Renitha
    Unemployment is currently a global challenge. Therefore, South Africa cannot be exempted. Statistics show that there is a high percentage of unemployed graduates in South Africa due to a lack of required skills as per the industry requirement. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is considered to be the key role driver in order to reduce the high rate of unemployable graduates. WIL was proposed by both the Department on Higher Education and Training and the Council on Higher Education (CHE2011) as a strategy to combat the challenge of unemployment facing graduates in South Africa. The aim of this study was to explore the expectations and perspectives of employers, co-ordinators and students involved in the Public Relations WIL programme at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in Durban, South Africa. The study further aimed to propagate knowledge of stakeholder expectations and to identify gaps and strengths in the expectations of all stakeholders. This study utilised a qualitative approach and a convenience sampling technique to acquire participants. The population centred on N=46 participants, which included N=30 students registered for Public Relations Practice, N=1 DUT WIL Coordinator and N=15 Industry Supervisors. The participants were selected based on their involvement in the WIL Programme in 2016. In-depth interviews, observations and focus group discussions were conducted by the researcher to collect primary data from the focus groups, WIL employers and the DUT WIL Coordinator. The study revealed WIL as an important component of the Public Relations Programme. The findings further outlined that transition was necessary for PR WIL students and that the importance of placement within the Public Relations Industry is a necessity to provide proper opportunities for PR WIL students to experience professional life, with the notion that such experience will promote knowledge development. The study concluded that all students had a common objective of WIL, which was to put into practice what they had learnt in class in a practical working environment. They indicated that the time-frame was too limited to conclude all the tasks in a space of six months. The study makes recommendations for the additional contributions to the PR WIL programme offered at DUT.
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    The role of communication tools in shopping centre management within the greater Durban area
    (2014-07-23) Kanny, Evashnie; Rawjee, Veena P.; Docrat, Suleman
    In South Africa, the competition between shopping centres has increased significantly over the years due to the increase in the number of shopping centres and the changing shopping behaviour. The success of any shopping centre depends on the revenue generated by customers who frequent the mall to make purchases or use the services of the retail/entertainment outlets. To attract customers to shopping centres, management has to ensure that malls are effectively promoted to relevant stakeholders. Communication is important in any promotional, public relations or marketing activity and should be effective, persuasive and managed in a formal and structured way which fits into the overall goals of the mall. Shopping centre management may use a number of communication tools such as (and are not limited to) advertising, sales promotions, public relations, personal selling and sponsorship. However, do these strategies play a role in generating revenue to promote the overall success of a shopping centre? This dissertation, therefore, sets out to identify and examine the communication tools used by shopping centre managers within the greater Durban area in South Africa. It does so by interviewing marketing managers and the tenant mix of five competitive shopping centres within the greater Durban area in South Africa. Data will be collected from the respondents through questionnaires and an interview schedule. One of the significant results emerging from this study is that the function of tenant relations; promotions; publicity; and public relations plays an integral part in the effective functioning of a shopping centre.