Assessing the impact of e-marketing on business performance and customer relationship in livingstone district, Zambia

In today’s world, businesses are increasingly relying on electronic marketing to support their marketing efforts, due to the increase in online users. This research is set out to assess the impact of e-marketing on business performance of service and manufacturing enterprises and the relationship with customers in Livingstone Zambia. The main objectives of this study are to assess the effects of e-marketing on business performance, business to customer relationship and the efficiency of e-marketing in Livingstone. This study will utilize the descriptive research design as the study is intended to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The targeted groups for this study comprise of employees from the one hundred forty-seven (147) selected service and manufacturing enterprises in Zambia’s Livingstone town. The study will employ convenient sampling to select the 147 companies. The study will use both SPSS and Microsoft Excel to analyze data. 

Purpose: Marketing has always been about utilizing tools to connect with the business audience at the right place and time. While traditional marketing methods are still relevant in our modern age, the sheer amount of time spent relying on the internet has meant that e-marketing has boomed. Despite the growing importance of digital marketing, many businesses in Livingstone District struggle to effectively leverage e-marketing strategies to enhance their business performance, customer engagement and revenue growth. According to the Tourism Statistical Digest by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2015) Zambia failed to meet its annual target of attracting 1 million tourists and only received 1.7 % of total tourist arrivals despite having world class attractions such as the Victoria falls, diverse wildlife in the national parks and historical heritage sites. This study will assess the impact of e-marketing on business performance and customer relationship. By addressing this problem, businesses can gain insights into optimizing their e-marketing efforts to drive growth and success in their businesses.

Methodology: The research approach adopted a mixed research design using both qualitative and quantitative research design which applied an integrated E-marketing model with two hypothesis tests using the sample size of 147 business entities. This helped fulfil the aim of gathering information regarding numerical data and frequency as well as quantity, to measure the variables. The advantages of a mixed method research approach support the decision to undertake combined method research as it allows a freedom to use numerous methods to address the difficulty of the research problem. While undertaking a mixed method design for this study, a rigorous effort was made to collect both types of data in a timely way and to make certain that the data is integrated in a correct and accurate way. 

Findings: The research indicated that the majority of the respondents (72%) recognized that the use of e-marketing in the form of their company’s website had increased their business performance. Owning a website as a business for marketing had a significant influence on business performance and customer relationship with p = .001.

This is consistent with Loda, Teichmann and Zins (2009:70) who highlight that a website is one of the most crucial tools businesses or individuals can use to nurture their digital presence. Whether they are a small firm, a large corporation, or a freelancer, making a website is a highly effective way to make the business more visible and a website design focused on visual appeal and smooth functioning can encourage visitors to explore more and visit again.