PENGARUH CITRA MEREK, WORD OF MOUTH, PEMASARAN DIGITAL TERHADAP PEMILIHAN SEKOLAH DASAR SWASTA DI KOTA TANGERANG - Putri, Intan Anjali; Alexander (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, Universitas Tarumanagara, 2025)
Persaingan sekolah dasar swasta di Kota Tangerang semakin meningkat, sehingga mendorong orang tua untuk lebih selektif dalam memilih sekolah bagi anak-anak mereka. Pemilihan sekolah tidak lagi hanya dipengaruhi oleh pertimbangan akademik, tetapi juga oleh berbagai faktor eksternal seperti citra merek sekolah, rekomendasi dari orang lain, dan pemasaran digital yang dilakukan oleh pihak sekolah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh citra merek, rekomendasi orang lain, dan pemasaran digital terhadap keputusan orang tua atau wali dalam memilih sekolah dasar swasta di Kota Tangerang, dengan niat memilih sebagai variabel mediasi. Rekomendasi orang lain diukur menggunakan indikator word of mouth, niat memilih dengan indikator purchase intention, dan keputusan memilih dengan indikator purchase decision. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik pemodelan persamaan struktural (SEM) dan melibatkan 219 responden orang tua atau wali murid dari sekolah dasar swasta di Kota Tangerang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa citra merek berpengaruh positif terhadap purchase intention dan purchase decision. Rekomendasi berpengaruh signifikan terhadap purchase intention, tetapi tidak terhadap purchase decision. Pemasaran digital berpengaruh terhadap purchase intention dan purchase decision. Purchase intention mampu memediasi hubungan antara pengaruh rekomendasi melalui word of mouth dan pemasaran digital terhadap purchase decision, tetapi tidak pada hubungan antara pengaruh citra merek terhadap purchase decision. Competition among private elementary schools in Tangerang City is increasing, encouraging parents to be more selective in choosing a school for their children. School selection is no longer solely influenced by academic considerations, but also by various external factors such as the school's brand image, recommendations from others, and digital marketing conducted by the school. This study aims to examine the influence of brand image, recommendations from others, and digital marketing on parents' or guardians' decisions in choosing a private elementary school in Tangerang City, with intention to choose as a mediating variable. Recommendations from others were measured using word of mouth indicators, intention to choose using purchase intention indicators, and decision to choose using purchase decision indicators. This study used a quantitative approach with structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques and involved 219 respondents, parents or guardians of students from private elementary schools in Tangerang City. The results showed that brand image had a positive effect on purchase intention and purchase decision. Recommendations had a significant effect on purchase intention, but not on purchase decision. Digital marketing had an effect on purchase intention and purchase decision. Purchase intention was able to mediate the relationship between the influence of recommendations through word of mouth and digital marketing on purchase decision, but not the relationship between the influence of brand image on purchase decision.