Abstract
The purpose of the study is to establish understand of digital marketing and its use by SMEs in rural South Africa, the extent of its use, examining contributing factors to its use and their implications. Primary data was collected using a quantitative research technique with the use of a structured questionnaire as the survey instrument. A total of 134 SMEs operating in rural KwaZulu –Natal were selected. Questionnaires were distributed to the business owners/ mangers between august and December 2014. SPSS (22.0) version was employed to for data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that some rural places in South Africa still experiencing ICT problems for being not available make it difficult for SMEs growth through the use of digital marketing. The reliability analysis, reflected coefficient values from 0.70 to 0.833. The analysis of factors limiting use of digital marketing among the rural SMEs, are presented with recommended strategies and implications on how to approach the challenges. Digital marketing of rural SMEs may be strengthened through awareness and providing adequate information about ICT and through diverse of internet marketing programmes.
Keywords
- Digital Marketing Search this journal for Digital Marketing (opens in a new tab)
- Exploration Search this journal for Exploration (opens in a new tab)
- Brand Popularity Search this journal for Brand Popularity (opens in a new tab)
- Rural Search this journal for Rural (opens in a new tab)
- SMEs Search this journal for SMEs (opens in a new tab)
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Copyright (c) 2015 Lawrence Mpele LEKHANYA (Author)
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Keywords
- Digital Marketing Search this journal for Digital Marketing (opens in a new tab)
- Exploration Search this journal for Exploration (opens in a new tab)
- Brand Popularity Search this journal for Brand Popularity (opens in a new tab)
- Rural Search this journal for Rural (opens in a new tab)
- SMEs Search this journal for SMEs (opens in a new tab)
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