A method of potential customer searching from opinions of network villagers in virtual communities
Abstract
Purpose
Customer acquisition and retention methods are the most critical issues for any enterprise. By identifying potential customers and targeting them through marketing activities, enterprises can minimize marketing costs and maximize transaction probability. However, because market surveys are labor- and time-consuming, and data mining is ineffective for obtaining competitor data, enterprises may be unable to understand real-time changes in market trends and consumer preferences. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a mechanism that automatically searches for potential customers in virtual communities. In addition, a common product attribute (CPA) model was developed based on the five dimensions of the theory of consumption values and a questionnaire survey was conducted to verify the corresponding relationships. Subsequently, the authors quantified and applied the relationship between the proposed CPA model and consumption values theory.
Findings
During the experiment, functional and social values yielded more accurate predictions. Contrary to our expectations, emotional value yielded an inaccurate prediction of potential customers. The overall precision was 0.74, with a threshold of 0.5.
Research limitations/implications
Due to each industry including the distinctive characteristics and attributes regarding its products, the methods and models were only adopted in food industry for testing effectiveness.
Practical implications
Considering the food industry as an example, this study adopted the case study method to screen potential customers based on 400 articles from virtual communities, and combined a latent semantic analysis method with a backpropagation neural network to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Originality/value
By adopting the proposed enterprise-product profile model, enterprises can compile basic information related to their products and industry. The proposed system can be used by enterprises to identify potential customers in areas with potential for market development.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of China, Taiwan for financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 101-2221-E-343-001-MY2 and No. MOST 103-2221-E-343-003-MY3.
Citation
Chen, T.-Y., Liu, Y.-C. and Chen, Y.-M. (2016), "A method of potential customer searching from opinions of network villagers in virtual communities", Online Information Review, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 146-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-12-2014-0295
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited