Developing organic digital marketing processes in SMEs: A single-case study of a Finnish SME

Abstract

This thesis has two main objectives: 1) To determine the methods, tools and considerations needed to implement effective organic digital marketing and then relate them back to SMEs through a three-phase process model, and 2) to analyse and assess the digital marketing of Company X, investigating whether it adds any new insights to the area of study and offering suggestions for improvement. The main focus of the thesis is on SMEs in general but, as Company X is a B2B company, some extra attention will be paid to the B2B sector. Concerning the first objective, the thesis investigates, in-depth, four areas of organic digital marketing: Content marketing, social media marketing, search engine optimiza-tion and permission email marketing. The research literature for each area is presented in detail, extant models and frameworks are introduced, and the results are placed in the context of SMEs. After a discussion on the relevant metrics, each area is related back to a digital marketing framework created in the 1990s. The still-relevant frame-work is updated with the tools and methods of today. Based on this, the researcher developed a three-phase organic digital marketing process model for SMEs to utilize.

The thesis then uses the single-case study method to analyse the organic digital mar-keting of Company X and compares it against the marketing efforts typical of most SMEs. Along with the creation of the process model, the research involved a semi-structured interview with the company’s SEO as well as a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the company’s digital marketing efforts. It uses the three-phase organ-ic digital marketing process model as a guide to offer pragmatic, actionable solutions on how the company can effectively implement its organic digital marketing.

The researcher hypothesized from the start that SMEs, overall, don’t utilize digital mar-keting methods and tools effectively. The reason is due to a variety of factors, including ownership factor, time factors, financial factors and lack of digital marketing skills. Company X was found to be a typical SME in this regard. However, it differs from most other SMEs in that financial factors were not an obstacle to them, and they reported having the right IT- / marketing skill-set. By investing more time and effort, as well as following the concrete steps presented in this thesis, Company X can greatly benefit from organic digital marketing.