Investigating Complimentary E-Marketing Strategy for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises at Growth Stage in Taiwan

Abstract

Globally, 95% of enterprises are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Social media has recently become a powerful marketing tool due to characteristics such as the ability to share digital information and interact with consumers instantly. In SMEs, limited budgets restrict the use of social media as marketing tools. Thus, complimentary use of social media may be an alternative method for SMEs to maximize their marketing strategies. This study identifies what marketing goals are important for SME growth and how complimentary social media are used for attaining marketing goals. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was conducted to confirm the order of local weights and global weights for marketing goals and complimentary social media. We found that the order of local weights for marketing goals for SMEs in the growth phase is brand awareness > online purchase > sales potential. The order of global weights for complimentary social media to meet above marketing goals is Facebook > PIXNET > Twitter > Instagram > YouTube > LINE. Finally, we used an SME from Taiwan as a case study to ensure that the application of the above complimentary social media can meet above marketing goals and potentially increase the survival of SMEs at the growth phase in Taiwan.