Understanding SMEs Owners’ Perceptions on Implementing Social Media tools for Marketing Strategies in the UK: An Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

Many senior SME managers are often reluctant to adopt social media tools to engage in various behaviors such as customer reviews, product/service innovation, and value co-creation. This study was grounded in Roger’s diffusion of innovation theories using the Adopter categories based on innovation. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to investigate the perception of senior managers regarding the application of digital tools in managing CRM programs in SMEs in the past five years in London, UK. The researcher analyzed responses from semi-structured interviews, archival documents, and meeting memos with twenty-five participants from five SMEs regarding digital tools integration. The following four themes emerged: digital network awareness, digital platform, customer relationship, and senior management support. A key recommendation is that adoption between Early Adopters and Late Adopters is affected by social and economic factors such as financial assistance, government regulations on the British currency, and Brexit. The findings showed differences in needs and motivations among the participants according to their degree of innovativeness. The adoption categories among the Innovators, Early Adopters, and Early Majority differ from the Essex, East-end, and Mayfair segments due to social and economic factors. The implication for positive change includes effectively integrating digital analytics into small businesses’ marketing plans to enhance CRM. This finding contributed new ideas to scholars and other fields of higher education by providing anticipated guidance for future researchers towards small businesses’ digital adoption. Further study is needed using in-depth analysis to explore consumer behavior theory with a cross-sectional design in data collection.