Effect of marketing strategy and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on customer engagement for Japanese specialty coffee brands in Bangkok

Abstract

          The purpose of this research is to study the effect of customer engagement on Japanese specialty coffee brands in Bangkok using the 5A marketing strategy and Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM). The questionnaire was employed as a research instrument to collect data from 413 customers who had purchased products from the shops. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistic (i.e., mean, and standard deviation) and Multiple Regression Analysis. The results showed that the majority of customers were female, aged 30-39 years, married, a bachelor's degree, employed, and with a monthly salary of 30,000-40,000 bath. Moreover, the majority of customers were interested in specialty coffee ranking from KURASU, % ARABICA, HARIO CAFÉ, UCC COFFEE ROASTERY and CAFÉ KITSUNE. In hypothesis testing, it was found that the terms in the 5A marketing strategy, including Appeal, Ask, and Advocate had a significant positive influence on customer engagement with Japanese specialty coffee brands in Bangkok at a significant level of 0.01 and Aware at a significant level of 0.05. In contrast, eWOM and the Act in 5A marketing strategy had no significant influence on customer engagement with Japanese specialty coffee brands in Bangkok.