ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ON WORD OF MOUTH IN CLOTHING BRANDS OF PAKISTAN: WITH THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Abstract

Purpose Pakistan’s textile industry is contributing a lot to the country’s growth. Different brands are responsible for their development. Social media has become part of everyone’s daily life. In order to remain competitive, clothing brands are trying to be active in these activities. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of social media marketing on word of mouth with mediating role of customer satisfaction in the clothing industry. Methodology & Design The research is quantitative in nature and based on a deductive approach. This study is based on a convenience sampling technique with a sample size of 384. The questionnaire is used as a data collection method. The questionnaire is adopted from previous studies. Smart PLS is used as a data analysis tool. For hypothesis testing, Structural Equation Modelling is used in this study. Findings The findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between social media marketing and word of mouth in the presence of a mediator which is customer satisfaction. Socially active marketing activities help in grabbing customers, and they get satisfied, which in turn results in positive word ofmouth. Limitations This research is limited to Pakistani clothing brands and the results only discuss opinion of Pakistani people. The findings ofthis study cannot be generalized to any other country, as the research solely considers Pakistan’s clothing brands, their performance and people’s opinion about them. People in western countries may have different opinion regarding social media marketing and word ofmouth. Recommendations Clothing brands should create consistent and focused social media marketing strategies that are aligned with the goals and objectives. It is recommended to clothing brands to initiate innovative and customer- centric advertising approach. The company’s marketing strategies should revolve around empathy. While planning advertising strategies, brands should put themselves in customers shoes. They must know what customer is expecting, questions and how that product will fulfill that desire.