| Abstract [eng] |
Brief Description and Problem: This Master’s Thesis focuses on how inbound marketing strategies are perceived in terms of their effectiveness by experts working in up coming fashion e-commerce brands in Pakistan. While inbound marketing is commonly adopted because of its cost-effective nature and strong reliance on digital channels, there is still limited empirical research that reflects the perspectives of marketing practitioners in the Pakistani fashion e-commerce context. As a result, smaller and developing fashion brands often face uncertainty when making decisions about how to allocate their marketing resources to support lead generation and customer acquisition. Aim and Objectives: The objective of this study was to know how inbound marketing strategies are perceived by marketing experts in relation to their contribution to lead generation and customer acquisition. Specifically, the study sought to identify the inbound marketing strategies most commonly used by emerging fashion e-commerce brands, to explore how these strategies are perceived to influence lead generation, and to analyse the perceived relationship between lead generation and customer acquisition. Research Methods: This study adopts the quantitative, cross-sectional research design to address the research objectives. Data were gathered using a structured online questionnaire, which was completed by 52 marketing professionals working in emerging fashion e-commerce brands in Pakistan. The collected data were analysed using a range of statistical techniques, including descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, in order to examine the relationships between the key variables. Results: The results show that search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing are the inbound strategies most frequently used by the fashion e-commerce brands as compare to social media and email marketing. The correlation analysis suggests strong positive relationships between inbound marketing strategies and lead generation, as well as between lead generation and customer acquisition. Moreover, the multiple regression analysis shows that, when all strategies are examined simultaneously, SEO and social media engagement demonstrate the strongest perceived association with lead generation. Conclusions: Overall, the study suggests that inbound marketing is perceived as a valuable approach for supporting both lead generation and customer acquisition among growing fashion e-commerce brands in Pakistan. Among the various strategies examined, SEO and social media engagement appear to show the strongest perceived associations, whereas content marketing and email marketing may benefit from further strategic development. In addition to contributing to the existing literature on inbound marketing within an emerging market context, the findings also provide practical insights that can assist fashion e-commerce managers in making more effective marketing decisions. |
