Strategic positioning, relational marketing, and brand loyalty: The mediating role of brand image in Indonesia’s telecom sector

The marketing strategy phenomenon improves significantly, narrowing from a general to a specific cultural ethnicity base and from variable to dimension analysis. This study examines the impact of culture, brand image and price on buying decisions. The study population comprised retail consumers in the sampled area of Situbondo, East Java, Indonesia. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to derive a sample of 112 respondents as a primary data source – descriptive statistics allows for the demographic characteristics of retail consumers in East Java, Indonesia. Surprisingly, the data showed that gender involvement in buyer decision-making was dominant. Most retail customers were identified as private-sector employees and indicated for higher income earners. Responses were then analyzed using multiple linear regressions to answer the research hypotheses. The results showed that Hofstede’s culture dimension and the brand image and price significantly affected consumer buying decisions at retail stores in East Java, Indonesia. Regarding the strength of Islamic culture in East Java, price was the primary consideration in buying decisions. Further research, preferably using ethnographic approaches with an emphasis on qualitative research, is needed to investigate the implications of these relationships.

Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the Research Centre (LP2M) of University of Jember, East Java, Indonesia, for their support and funding. We also want to thank Rusdiyanto, a Ph.D. student from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia, for his helpful discussions and contributions.

Social media has revolutionized how businesses connect with consumers, going beyond product promotion to understanding consumer preferences. It is undeniable that social media plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer purchase decisions, as more individuals turn to these platforms to seek advice and opinions from peers. The current study engaged 410 Indian consumers, employing a quantitative approach backed by rigorous statistical methods, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS software. The goal was to unravel the intricate dynamics between social media marketing, brand image, and purchase intentions. The findings highlight a significant and positive relationship between social media marketing efforts and brand image perception. Moreover, it was discovered that brand image significantly influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Surprisingly, it did not find a direct and significant impact of social media marketing on purchase intentions.
Notably, the study revealed a crucial insight: the influence of social media marketing on purchase intentions is fully mediated by the perception of brand image. In light of these results, businesses are encouraged to establish a strong presence on social media platforms to effectively promote their products and services. Organizations can effectively steer consumer purchase intentions by harnessing the synergy between social media marketing and brand image.

Acknowledgment
This study is supported via funding from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University project number (PSAU/2023/R/1444).

The growth of consumerism in the luxury cosmetic industry in India is backed by the ability and willingness of the consumers to spend money, internet penetration, awareness, and consciousness of luxury cosmetics from exposure to beauty brands. Among other methods of marketing, the adoption of experiential marketing is gaining ground. It is specifically relevant in the cosmetic industry as it creates behavioral experience, brand experience, and brand engagement for appealing to the affective, sensory, and intellectual aspects of the consumers. The study examines the impact of experiential marketing on consumer satisfaction while identifying its importance in the industry. With the help of a close-ended questionnaire, a survey was conducted to examine the perception of 820 consumers of luxury cosmetics in India. SEM analysis was conducted to examine the impact of experiential marketing on consumer satisfaction using SPSS AMOS software. Herein, experiential marketing is represented by five components i.e. relate, feel, think, act, and sense while customer satisfaction by three components i.e. overall service quality, individual experience, and service quality, and perceived expectation-actual performance. The findings of the study revealed the presence of a positive impact.