The impact of web 2.0 technologies on marketing strategies: an exploratory study on SMEs in Made in Italy

Social media and web 2.0 technologies and services have gained prominence in the current debate on marketing strategies. Following consolidated lines of research both in marketing and in consumer research, these technologies are held responsible for a significant transformation in the ways in which relationships with consumers are managed. Information and communication technologies at large and social media in particular have provided consumers with effective and affordable communication instruments that enable the creation of consumer communities on line. Within communities, consumers share their interest for specific products and brands, create collective identities which are influenced by the brands they prefer that in turn influence brand communication, they create innovative knowledge that can be leveraged by companies in order to innovate their products and offerings. Similarly to what happens in the consumer arena, intermediaries, professionals, experts in several industries use social media and web-based communication instruments to engage in an ongoing conversation regarding specific products, industries and technologies. The contribution of consumer communities to product innovation has been at the center of a large number of studies (e.g. Von Hippel, 2005). Less attention, though, has been devoted to the contribution of these actors to the other levers of marketing strategies such as communication and branding, distribution and product innovation in low- and medium-tech industries such as fashion and furniture, in which the symbolic and aesthetic content is as important, at least, as products’ technical and functional dimensions. In this paper, after a review of the prominent research streams concerned with the impact of consumer communities on marketing and innovation, we will propose a conceptual framework aimed at deepening the understanding of the changes occurring in marketing strategies as a consequence of the increasing importance and contribution of consumer communities and social media. In particular, we will focus on how consumer communities impact on product innovation in mature and highly symbolic products, in the management of distribution channels and in communication and branding. Our work is grounded on three exploratory case studies of SMEs in the so-called Made in Italy industries (furniture, sporting equipment and fashion) from which we will derive hypotheses for further research