EFFECT OF DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES ON GROWTH OF SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS DISTRIBUTION IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jbsm.342Keywords:
Mobile Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Media Marketing, Email Marketing And Growth of SMEsAbstract
Purpose: The currents research sought to establish the effects of digital marketing strategies on growth of SMEs in LPG distribution in Nairobi County, Kenya.The research specificifically sought to establish the effects of mobile marketing, search engine marketing, media marketing and email marketing on the growth of SMEs in LPG distribution in Nairobi County, Kenya.
Methodology: The research was anchored on Technology Acceptance Theory, Transaction Cost Innovative Theory, Expectation Confirmation Theory and Resource Based View Theory.The target population comprisedof 895 SMEs dealing with LPG distribution in Nairobi County. Fisher's sampling formula was adopted in acquiring a sample of 268 SMEs. The unit of observation comprised of owners/managers of the SMEs under examination.The instrument for primary data collection in this research was a numerical 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. The research used Cronbach alpha threshold value of 0.7 for internal consistency of the research instrument. The information collected was analyzed by employing descriptive statistics and inferential analysis using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 21 and MS Excel Software. Descriptive statistics involved calculation of the mean, frequency, percentages and standard deviation while Pearson correlation coefficient and a multiple regression was the inferential statistics applied in the study. The results and findings were presented in tables, figures and charts.
Results:The study found that most of SME ensures timely sending of messages to their customers on availability of products and contacts both existing and prospective customers directly to inform them on the availability of their products. The study also found that most of SMEs have a Facebook page for advertising their products, have a twitter account for their SME and post their range of products to various Facebook pages to enhance their customer reachability. The study concluded that mobile marketing had the greatest influence on growth of SMEs in LPG distribution in Nairobi County, Kenya followed by email marketing, then search engine marketing while social media marketing had the least influence on the growth of SMEs in LPG distribution in Nairobi County, Kenya.
Contribution to theory, policy and practice: The study recommends that management of SMES in LPG distribution should make sure that the application on which the content is created should be versatile and compatible with mobile devices, that SMES in LPG distribution in Nairobi County should mix and match various mediums such emails, social media and mobile phones to reach their desired target audience and that SMES in LPG distribution should make use of social media such as Twitter for promoting their products and services and offering real time response to customers' complaints.Downloads
References
Akrimi, Y., & Khemakhem, R. (2012). What Drive Consumers to Spread the Word in
Social Media? Journal of Marketing Research & Case Studies, 33(3), 1-14
Anna, K. & Ken, Y. (2013). The (Short) Guide to Email Marketing Success. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Ayyagari, M., Beck, T. & Demirgüç-Kunt, A. (2007). Small and medium enterprises
across the globe. Small business economics, 29, 415-434.
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
Bharat, R., & Louis, M. (2014). Search Engine Optimization: Marketing Strategies in the
Information Economy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education
Bhattacherjee, A. (2001). Understanding Information Systems Continuance: An Expectation
Confirmation Model, MIS Quarterly, 2001, 25 (3), 351-370.
Cant, M. (2012). Challenges Faced by SME's in South Africa: Is Digital Marketing Needed? International Business & Economics Research Journal, 11(10), 1107-1116.
Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. (2010). E-marketing Excellence: Planning and Optimizing Your
Digital Marketing. New Jersey, NJ: Routledge.
Chong, W. K., Shafaghi, M., Woollaston, Ch. &Lui, V. (2010), "˜Search engine
marketing (SEM): A Digital Marketing Framework for B2B Commerce',
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28 (3), 310-329.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. psychometrika, 16(3), 297-334.
Cronin, M. (2014), "˜Doing Business on the Internet: Search Engine Marketing Is
Transforming American Companies', New York: Van Nostrand Rienhold.
Du Plessis, C. (2017). Mobile Marketing: Building Blocks for Mobile Content Marketing to Add Value and Relevance for Mobile Users. Communitas, 22(1).
Fritz, W., Sohn, S., & Seegebarth, B. (2017). Broadening the Perspective on Mobile Marketing: An Introduction. Psychology & Marketing, 34(2), 113-118.
Goliger, H. (2014), "˜The Essential E-mail Marketing Metrics You Should be Tracking',
Hubspot, 3(5): 56 - 67.
Jain, R. (2014). Impact of mobile marketing on growth of SME in India. Journal of business and management, 10(3), 124-140.
Jobber, D. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2013). Principles and practice of marketing. 7th
Edition, McGraw-Hill Education.
Kimani B. (2012), When social media does the marketing. Management magazine, March
issue. 36 - 37.
Kirkpatrick, D. (2012), "˜Email Marketing: Factors that Influence Open Rate', USA: McGraw-Hill Education.
Laroche, M., Habibi, M. R., Richard, M. O., & Sankaranarayanan, R. (2012), "˜The
Effects of Social Media Based Brand Communities on Brand Community
Markers, Value Creation Practices, Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty', Computers
in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1755-1767.
Lin, J.C, & Hsieh, P.L. (2007).The influence of technology readiness on satisfaction and
behavioural intentions toward self-service technologies. Computers in Human
Behavior, 23, 1597-615
Miller, J. W., D. (2013), "˜Engaging Email Marketing', Journal of Advertising Research,
(5): 63-68.
Mugenda A. &Mugenda O. (2013). Research Methods: Quantitative & Qualitative approaches. African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Nairobi, Kenya.
Mugenda, A. G. (2008). Social science research: Theory and principles. Nairobi: Applied Research.
Nachmias, C.F., Nachmias, D. (2012). Research Methods in the social sciences. Great Britain: Replika Press Pvt
O'Donnell, A. (2011). Small firm marketing: synthesising and supporting received
wisdom. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 18(4), 781-
Onyango, K. (2016). Influence of digital marketing strategies on performance of cut flowers exporting firms in Kenya. MBA Thesis, University of Nairobi.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Report (2011)
Ott, W., Steinemann, A., & Wallace, L. (2007). Exposure analysis. Boca Raton: CRC/Taylor & Francis.
Pergelova, A., Prior, D., &Rialp, J. (2011). Assessing advertising efficiency. Journal of
Advertising, 39(3), 39-54
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. (5th ed.). Harlow: Prentice Hall.
Shih, B.Y., Chen, C.Y., & Chen, Z.S. (2013), "˜An Empirical Study of Search Engine
Marketing Strategy for Optimization', Human Factors and Ergonomics in
Manufacturing & Service Industries, 23(6), 528-540.
Simpson, M., Padmore, J., Taylor N.&Frecknall-Hughes, J. (2016), "˜Marketing in small and medium-sized enterprises', International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 12(6), 361-387.
Van Scheers, L. (2016). Is there a link between economic growth and SMEs success in South Africa? Investment Management and Financial Innovations, 13(2), 249-353.
Vargo, S.L. &Lusch, R.F. (2004). Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing.
Journal of marketing, 68(1), 1-17.
Wanjuki, C.W. (2014). The growth of digital marketing and its impact on customer service at Barclays Bank of Kenya, Meru Branch. Unpublished, University of Nairobi.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
