This thesis was written in the fall of 2019 and discusses the optimalisation of the online customer journey for a large online website. The company specializes in designing physical journals that can be customized by anyone. The problem: potential customers dont seem to understand what the company does. Solution: how can storytelling and online marketing branding help to position the company online in the most favorable manner? This thesis was graded an 8 and comes complete with interview questions for field research. All sources for the theoretical framework are mentioned as are the results of the field research.

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Executive summary
This research paper contains improvements for X B.V.’s marketing communication. X is losing
out on revenue opportunities because visitors to their websites’ don’t understand what X is for,
and this may be due to the current marketing communication methods.
X has had some success with word of mouth marketing in the past, and is looking for ways to
increase their customer communication by improving the customer journey for target groups of
differing cultures. Due to the nature of the past successes, the methods explored in this research
paper are story branding, and storytelling marketing, since these methods are effective at
increasing word of mouth marketing.
The storybranding model lends itself very well to being turned into a customer journey map, which
can be used to find the problems in the customer journey preventing the comprehension of X. There
was little to no information available on storybranding and storytelling marketing geared towards
different cultures, until now.
Secondary research (desk research) provided the data needed to identify the culture segments
that have the most opportunity to grow, which are the Dutch, US and German cultures, along with
the specific problems they face during their customer journey. Problems arise primarily in the
awareness and comprehension level. Prospects have trouble understanding what X is, what they
can use it for, how to use it and where to find information on the website.
Primary research (qualitative interviews) provided the data needed to develop methods that can
solve these problems. The differences between the cultures are that US citizens prefer imagery of
people younger than themselves in order for them to relate to the image, and they prefer true
stories and stories that engage the mind. Germans find birthdays very important compared to the
other cultures. The data collected also provided insights into improvements that can be made to
solve the problems faced during the customer journey for all three cultures, the most important
being that prospects must be able to relate to the image being shown or message being
communicated to them. Other improvements that can be made are using visual storytelling and
community content, using storytelling methods that are memorable, making the message clear,
improving website navigation, improving instructions and improving customer reviews.
X should implement storybranding strategy and storytelling methods which can solve the
problems faced during the customer’s journey.
Table of Contents
Executive summary ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... 3
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1. Main research question ................................................................................................................... 6
1.2. Sub questions .................................................................................................................................. 6
1.3. Research paper description ............................................................................................................. 6
2. Literature review ........................................................................................................................................ 7
2.1. Story ................................................................................................................................................ 7
2.2. The science of story ......................................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Storybranding .................................................................................................................................. 8
2.4. Storytelling marketing ..................................................................................................................... 9
2.5. Customer journey .......................................................................................................................... 11
3. Research Method Strategy ....................................................................................................................... 11
3.1. Orientation .................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2. Data collection ............................................................................................................................... 11
3.3. Data analysis .................................................................................................................................. 12
3.4. Population & sampling .................................................................................................................. 13
3.5. Limitations ..................................................................................................................................... 14
3.6. Delimitations ................................................................................................................................. 14
3.7. Ethics ............................................................................................................................................. 14
4. Findings .................................................................................................................................................... 15
4.1. Cultural segments .......................................................................................................................... 15
4.2. Problems faced during customer journey ..................................................................................... 17
4.2.1. Awareness .......................................................................................................................... 18
4.2.2. Comprehension .................................................................................................................. 18
4.2.3. Association ......................................................................................................................... 19
4.2.4. Affiliation ............................................................................................................................ 20
4.3. Customer journey improvement ................................................................................................... 21
4.3.1. Interview Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 21
5. Discussions & Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 24
5.1. Target group and relevant cultural differences ............................................................................ 24
5.2. Problems during customer journey ............................................................................................... 25
5.3. Customer journey improvement ................................................................................................... 26
5.4.1. Awareness .......................................................................................................................... 27
5.4.2. Comprehension .................................................................................................................. 27
5.5. Main Research Question ............................................................................................................... 28
6. Recommendations ................................................................................................................................... 30
6.1. Storybranding strategy .................................................................................................................. 30
6.2. Storytelling methods ..................................................................................................................... 31
7. References ................................................................................................................................................ 33
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 35
Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 38

Document Outline

Executive summary

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Main research question

1.2. Sub questions

1.3. Research paper description

2. Literature review

2.1. Story

2.2. The science of story

2.3. Storybranding

2.4. Storytelling marketing

2.5. Customer journey

3. Research Method Strategy

3.1. Orientation

3.2. Data collection

3.3. Data analysis

Visual appeal

Online behavior

Story significance

Birthday behavior

3.4. Population & sampling

3.5. Limitations

3.6. Delimitations

3.7. Ethics

4. Findings

4.1. Cultural segments

4.2. Problems faced during customer journey

4.2.1. Awareness

4.2.2. Comprehension

4.2.3. Association

4.2.4. Affiliation

4.3. Customer journey improvement

4.3.1. Interview Data Analysis

Common results

Differences

5. Discussions & Conclusions

5.1. Target group and relevant cultural differences

Story similarities

Birthday similarities

5.2. Problems during customer journey

Awareness

Comprehension

Association

Affiliation

5.3. Customer journey improvement

5.4.1. Awareness Improvement

5.4.2. Comprehension Improvement

5.5. Main Research Question

6. Recommendations

6.1. Storybranding strategy

6.2. Storytelling methods

Methods for all three cultures

Exceptions for US citizens

Exceptions for Germans

7. References

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Interview 1 - Dutch

Interview 2 - Dutch

Interview 3 - Dutch

Interview 4 - Dutch

Interview 5 - Dutch

Interview 6 - German

Interview 7 - German

Interview 8 - German

Interview 9 - German

Interview 10 - German

Interview 11 - American (US citizen)

Interview 12 - American (US citizen)

Interview 13 - American (US citizen)

Interview 14 - American (US citizen)

Interview 15 - American (US citizen)

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Specifications

Level: HBO
School: Hogeschool Utrecht
Course: Marketing Communicatie
Subject: Online marketing plan improving customer journey
Type of report: Thesis online marketing improving customer journey
Document
Section: Studies & Theses
Made on: 04-11-2020
Type: .pdf
Pages: 85
Language: English
Tags
thesis dissertation marketing storytelling customer journey marketing optimalisation online customer journey

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