Analyzing the effects of social media, customer-to-customer interactions, and traditional marketing on customer decision-making through brand preference

The customer journey towards purchase has received substantial attention from businesses and academics, especially in relationship marketing and customer engagement. This interest has intensified due to the rise of social media, enabling customer-to-customer interactions alongside conventional marketing strategies. Customers increasingly seek information independently in the life insurance sector, and comprehending the decision-making process is critical. In Indonesia, low insurance literacy and inclusion add to the challenges of the traditional, face-to-face sales process. This research empirically investigates the impact of social media and traditional marketing communications on customer-to-customer interactions and subsequent customer decision-making. Brand preference is examined as a mediating variable. Quantitative methods, including online questionnaires and expert interviews, were employed in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia, targeting non-life insurance customers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via LISREL was utilized to analyze data from 310 respondents. Results indicate that while social media communications have an insignificant impact on customer-to-customer interactions (t-value 1.15), traditional marketing communications positively influence customer-to-customer interactions (t-value 11.87). Customer-to-customer interactions also found to positively influence brand preference (t-value 10.14) while brand preference positively influences customer decision-making (t-value 3.86) Additionally, customer-to-customer interactions positively affect customer decision-making (t-value 3.54), with brand preference mediating this relationship (t-value 3.85).