Designing online communication mix for machinery manufacturers

Recent global challenges and the development of digital technologies have caused companies to update their business models to incorporate the variety of existing online communication tools. This enables companies to design their communication with customers and other stakeholders in the most effective way based on the company's business goals. This study provides an approach for planning and assessing online communication mix for machinery manufacturers. The authors conducted a series of expert interviews and used the analytic hierarchy process as well as the method of parametric identification to determine the optimal set of elements for online communication in the market of machinery manufacturing. Based on the research findings, the authors developed and tested the model for planning online communication activities and assessing their effectiveness. The research results detect hidden relationships between the individual elements of online communication activities and the impact of those elements on each other. This approach makes it possible to evaluate online communication in terms of achieving companies' business goals, rather than evaluating individual indicators of separate communication elements.  

Keywords: machinery industry; online marketing; communication tools; promotion strategy; Ukrainian market; key performance indicators.
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