Prospects of E-marketing for SMEs in Africa
E-marketing has the capability of offering numerous benefits to SMEs in Africa. Using the research conducted by Bostanshirin (2014), the prospects that e-marketing offers to SMEs in Africa include the following:
- Cost Effectiveness:
It goes without saying that, compared with traditional advertising media channels, which are very resource consuming, online marketing is clearly cost-effective and can accomplish its objectives at a fraction of the cost (Godes and Mayzlin, 2004; Sheth and Sharma, 2005; Buhalis and Law, 2008; Poon and Jevons, 2010). For instance it is obvious that the cost of launching an advert online is far less than placing an ad in a magazine or on a billboard. The cost of establishing one’s virtual presence, networking with other institutions and communication with consumers is significantly low. Consequentially, internet marketing enables the companies to save their resources, an aspect which is highly appreciated by companies since the online marketing campaigns do not require massive investment.