Effectiveness of Digital Marketing Technology within SMEs

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

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ABSTRACT

Since the mid -1990s, the rise and development of online media have revolutionised the way in which individuals communicate. The world is becoming increasingly digital, networked, and interlaced by myriad communication tools that have taken self-expression to an unprecedented level. These digital tools have suddenly given nearly everyone not only a voice and a stage, but an audience as well. Now, more than ever, individual opinion matters. "We" are now exceedingly difficult to ignore. In the fickle, yet strangely systemic world of marketing and advertising, old models of push marketing have been radically altered to make way for more "pull-centric" approaches. Gone are the days when television ads and radio announcements simply "pushed" products and pre-packaged marketing messages in front of and on to the consumer. Gone are the days when consumers had only limited venues through which to react to marketing communications and assert their individual voices. Today's digital world is an ever-widening two-way street on which the balance of power between marketer and consumer is perennially shifting, changing, even morphing. As a result, marketers have had to repackage their messages to fit the growing demands of evolving communication technology. The main objective for conducting this research is to investigate the concept of digital marketing technology and its implementation and impact on small and medium scale enterprises.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Vodafone2

Vodafone's Global Market2

Research Aims and Objectives4

Structure of the thesis5

Chapter I: Introduction5

Chapter II: Literature Review5

Chapter III: Methodology5

Chapter IV: Data analysis and Discussion6

Chapter V: Conclusion6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Business in the age of Digital Technology7

Consumers and Digital Technology10

Overview of Digital Technology12

Technology and Digital Marketing14

Advantages of Digital Marketing17

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing18

E-Marketing Strategy19

Relationship Marketing22

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY26

Secondary Research30

Research Aims and Objectives31

Data Collection Sources32

Validity and Reliability32

Ethical Concerns33

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ...