RUNNING HEAD: CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 1 Consumers’ Attitude towards Viral Marketing in Pakistan Name Institutional Affiliation CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 Consumers’ Attitude towards Viral Marketing in Pakistan

Owing to the overwhelming rise of technology, effective and efficient market site for marketers to advance their products has been realized. Popular among latest trends is the realization of popularity or viral marketing used by many in the world that marketers ought to identify themselves with especially with consumers’ appreciation for it is widely acknowledged today the world is a global village. This research entails the Pakistanis marketing advertising and its reception by the market in the country. With a population of more than 150,000,000 people, the country offers a perfect benchmark for our study owing to its vast market and its balanced demographic distribution. Mode of data collection was by a combination of both questionnaire and sampling method. This mode of data collection was ideal because we did want to target both the learned persons and those who are not, the old and the young and also those who live in posh and shanty towns in Pakistan. Four hundred twenty respondents participated in this exercise with most of our respondents being those who reside in urban areas with a well-balanced approach based on age, location, wealth status, and region. From our findings, there exists a feel-good inclination towards independent variables anchored on entertainment, credibility, and informativeness which is the glue that holds product promotion to the level where the populace make an informed decision when the three factors mentioned above are addressed. On the other hand, dependent variable leans towards popularity in marketing with crucial ingredient being the availability of information and its accessibility coupled with a critical ingredient referred to as authenticity of credibility being an epitome to the whole process of viral marketing. However, it is essential that we admit that the older class were skeptical owing to the whole issue of viral marketing being online because it may be a dangerous exposure to the CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 youths with regards to the internet. That being the case, important lesson derived was that marketing strategists should design their viral marketing that contains adequate informatics, authentic and authoritative to customer needs and above all sensitive. If this can be addressed, then it is a guarantee that there rating will increase and more Pakistani citizens will subscribe to viral marketing. Introduction As a result of rapid growth of mobile phones and the internet technology over the entire across the continental spheres of the earth and their fast absorption by the populace world over, companies and business organizations have been quick so as not to be left behind by this significant wave of development (Pelau&Zegreanu,2010). With this, business organizations and companies have seen a window of opportunity; they view it as a free and a game-changing means with which they can effectively apply the new modern way of advertising and branding owing to the flow of technological advancement (Haghrian et al.,2005). Upon doing this, expectations grow owing to the accessibility of the broad market that lies in their hands. One undisputed fact is that more persons are likely to receive this new mode of advertising primarily because it is being carried out over the internet and there is no doubt that mobile phone and internet sales are a boom at the present moment in time thus the availability of a broader market as opposed to the conservative approach such as personal selling which is slow and cumbersome especially to the fast-moving world of today coupled with advancement of technology and literacy skills. As such businesses and companies have had a gold-rush-like a moment with hunger and zeal of tapping the newly-realized paradise of advert thanks to the technology. Most notable of these modern forms of advertising is viral marketing. Its usage as a tool of advertising has made it earn itself the recognition as the most important market trend in CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 communication and its auxiliary services. Viral as a ‘type of marketing that infects customers with the advertising message which is like a communicable disease that will affect one after the other like a rampant flu virus. ’ This statement on the definition of viral marketing was fronted by Palka (2009P.172). For viral marketing to effectively and efficiently operate, information must be fed to a social network site notably Facebook or Twitter making it a prime objective to product awareness by the populace. The fact that over half the world population can access the internet or do have access to mobile phones is an incentive for viral market operators all over the world. Having done that, an individual has the capability of making an informed decision on the product to buy given the fact that he or she can freely consult with his or her friend who at times may be very far away (Cruz&Fill,2008). If the product gets approval from many persons, then it is a guaranteed jackpot. The more a product has received favorable ratings and recommendations, the more people are likely to purchase that particular product. Feedback information has also been addressed where one may seek additional information regarding the product and easily obtain it. This is done through say blogs, Skype and message pop-ups. Nearly over half the world population have social network accounts with hundreds joining every day and more and more social media platform arising. Additionally, much time is spent on this sites with a sizeable number of at least 52 percent of world’s population being online within a single period thus sharing with friend’s information through the social sites (Facebook statistics,2011). This information can be translated to Pakistan, the second largest mobile phone user in the Middle East and lower Asia with nearly 62 percent having access to mobile phones (World Bank,2011). For the product promotion of this kind to effectively take root, the message transmitted should be authentic and easily traceable to its source of origin (Cruz &Fill,2008). A platform where the CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 consumer can easily refer to as opposed to the unreliable platform which tends if not do discourage more consumers thus lowering sales. Inculcating with it aspects such as captivating language, and having realistic target groups and knowing what they do like and most appropriate times they can be accessed is critical. Language applied should be sensitive as to the needs of the targeted group and not generalizing the information transmitted. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development Viral Marketing Their merits of viral marketing are countless. However, I shall address the relevance of sequentially. Its transmission is high-speed thus able to reach a sizeable number of persons within a twinkle of an eye (Eckler&Bolls,2011). The message transmitted via viral marketing is mostly personalized thus able to address an individual as a specific entity and not generalize (Woerndel et al.,2008). This along with proper response as to the needs of a consumer are important. The determination of information via it is also very cheap and to top it up it covers a large number of persons’ world over, and it lacks geographical boundaries to curtail it thus it is world information. As usual, there exist two sides of a coin. It also has its demerits, for example, many online users view it as a destructive agent since it mostly pops-up when one is browsing (Woerndel et al.,2008). Similarly there exist no measures to curtail the excesses it comes with. Owing to this loophole, moral decaying adverts are all over the internet for example online prostitution when this negative information spreads about viral marketing, there is bound to be a negative impact regarding sales resulting in spreading of negative information. CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 As such, the ball is in the court of the viral marketers. It is up to them to know what makes the consumer happy and at the same time what frowns him or her. As such, it can be observed that there exist a need for them to be sensitive to the plight of those persons whom they send adverts to. Failure to this, consumers may in the long rum breed resentment which will brew with older generation complaining of moral decay, young people complaining of nuisance and in the long run, they do end up losing the market. Consumers’ attitude towards viral marketing In order to gauge the effectiveness of the advertisement put forth, one has to apply the aspect of informative (Saadeghvaziri & Hosseini, 2011) . This tool is of very great essence as it is it that can adequately be used to enable a client to make an informed decision regarding a particular item he or she may want to purchase. Information is key to the buyer as lack of it is characterized by low sales because it is only through it that buyers can know that a particular product exists, that this set of a product is better when it comes to quality than the other one and even where that particular product can be found (Tsang et al., 2004). In order to really address key concern, the quality of information shared should be that that entail salient features such as the form of timelessness that is it should go with the current timings, accuracy in the sense that it should be reliable and should be a meter used to gauge information regarding the product in the market (Muzaffar&Kamran, 2011). Customers will be more receptive to that platform that spreads quality and accurate information thus much emphases ought to be put on the information given out since poor quality information CONSUMERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS VIRAL MARKETING IN PAKISTAN 2 makes consumers develop a dislike on the information conveyed (Blanco et al. 2010). Addressing customer preferences is also critical as it generates positive attitudes thus creating enthusiasm and w