Abstract:
The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of social and traditional
media on customer decision-making and to find out which of these two in times of
pandemics affect more on customer decision-making. A survey was conducted
using 250 respondents from Ampara District, Sri Lanka, aged between 20-30. The
questionnaires were divided equally into three sets, the first part containing social
media-related questions, the other part containing conventional media related
questions, and the third aspect of customer decision-making. Results from a survey
of 250 young people in Ampara, Sri Lanka show that in times of pandemic where
both social and traditional media affect consumer decision-making but social media
influence is much greater than the traditional media,. The findings show that
advertisers need to carefully pick the media to communicate with target customers
in order to achieve their marketing communication goals. In this research, the author
acknowledges limitations. However, these limitations provide additional guidelines
for future studies in the same field. Directions for future studies are given for the
discussion of these constraints. Most significantly, this research has important
theoretical and managerial consequences. Concerned with the social media sense,
traditional media and decision-making by customers. When customer decisionmaking is concerned, this research delivers important suggestions for better
planning of promotional mix strategy using social and traditional media. Present
study also provides better understanding and extending the current literature on
impact of social and traditional media on customer decision-making.
