Author:
Akwudiri, Nnanna-Ohuonu, Arachie, Augustine Ebuka, Sarah, Elechi Jeff-Anyeneh, Francis, Nkemdirim Egede

Doi: 10.26480/csmj.02.2025.38.44

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Many large businesses have deployed digital marketing strategies, while SMEs, especially in Nigeria, appear to be lagging in this aspect. Hence, this study aims to examine the effect of digital marketing adoption on the sustainable growth of SMEs in Nigeria, with a broad objective. A survey research design was adopted for the study, with a population of 12,301 SMEs across the five South-Eastern states of Nigeria, and a sample size of 372, arrived at after applying Krejcie and Morgan’s 1970 sample size determination formula. A self-structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and it was subjected to both validity and reliability tests. The analysis of data was done using a combination of descriptive statistics inferential statistics, and the hypothesis was tested at a 5% significance level. The findings revealed that the most significant barriers to DM adoption by SMEs are electricity challenge, lack of knowledge on how DM works. The least challenges are lack of believe in online stuff and not having knowledge about the existence of online marketing. The result of the hypothesis test showed that DM has a statistically significant relationship with the business expansion of SMEs (R = 0.952; indicating a very strong positive relationship between digital marketing and business expansion. R Square = 0.906; F-statistic = 3066.902; t-value = 55.380, p < 0.001). Going by this, the study concluded that a strong and statistically significant relationship exists between DM and business expansion of SMEs. Sequel to this, among others, the study recommended that government agencies, SME associations, and private stakeholders need organize regular training workshops and digital literacy programs to equip SME operators with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively use DM tools.