Abstract:
The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of digital marketing adoption
on SMEs’ growth in Azerbaijan. The research is conducted on the quantitative research method
based on primary and secondary data sources to investigate this relationship. In this study, a
questionnaire is used to collect quantitative data from the participants, whereas secondary data
obtained from peer-reviewed articles, journals, statistics, reports and datasets. Quantitative data
was analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics
included frequency distributions, mean and standard deviation while the inferential statistics
were multiple regression analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient and linearity test. The study
population included 109 SMEs in Azerbaijan, with a focus on Baku, which constitute the
sample size of this research by using random sampling method. The study findings indicate
that social media marketing, mobile marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, search
engine optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) all had a significant effect on SMEs’
growth in terms sales and brand awareness. The study results also showed a strong positive
correlation between digital marketing and SMEs’ growth. The findings led to conclusion that
the adoption of digital marketing techniques has a significant and positive effect on SMEs’
growth in terms of increasing sales and brand awareness. The study findings revealed that the
lack of financial resources was the greatest challenge for SMEs in the adoption of digital
marketing, followed by the lack of digital marketing knowledge and the lack of time for
planning and implementation. The study recommended that SMEs should be trained and
educated with the use of digital marketing techniques. The study also recommended that proper
e-business policies should be implemented by the policy makers that help SMEs to adopt digital
marketing. Lastly, the study recommended that SMEs should be provided with programs and
financial support from government and public institutions in order to finance their digital
marketing.