Methodology
This study collected data through a survey on digital marketing strategies used by Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Mauritius. A total of 105 respondents participated in the
survey, answering questions about their digital marketing strategies, challenges, and opportunities.
The survey included nominal and ordinal scale variables only. The data were analyzed using IBM
SPSS Statistics. Frequency distribution and pie charts were used to summarize and present key
findings visually. A chi-square test of association was conducted to examine relationships between
different factors, such as the use of digital marketing and the challenges faced.
Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis: There is no association is present among how frequently does your SME update
its digital marketing campaigns with how much of your total budget is allocated to Digital
Marketing.
Alternate Hypothesis: There is an association is present among how frequently does your SME
update its digital marketing campaigns with how much of your total budget is allocated to Digital
Marketing.
Data Analysis
In section of study we will discuss the results of the main statistical analysis like descriptive
statistics and chi-square test of association. We will analyze the hypothesis that there were any
association is present among how frequently does your SME update its digital marketing
campaigns with how much of your total budget is allocated to Digital Marketing.
Table 1 presents the frequency distribution of variables related to digital marketing
strategies among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Mauritius. There were total of 105
participants where 102 were agree to go on survey while 3 participants were disagreeing and did
not continue the survey. The majority of respondents (27.9%) were either marketing
managers/executives or self-employed/freelancers, while 23.1% were employees involved in
marketing, and 18.3% were SME owners. Regarding industry distribution, most SMEs operated
in the IT & Tech sector (25%), followed by retail (21.2%), agriculture (15.4%), manufacturing
(13.5%), hospitality and tourism (11.5%), and other sectors (10.6%). In size of business, 41.3% of
respondents represented small businesses (1-50 employees), while 26% were from medium-sized
businesses (51-200 employees), and 10.6% from large enterprises (201+ employees). Additionally,
19.2% of respondents indicated their business size as other. A large proportion of businesses
(92.3%) reported using digital marketing, while only 4.8% did not. The frequency of digital
marketing updates, 25% of SMEs updated their campaigns daily or monthly, 22.1% did so weekly,
and 20.2% only occasionally.
When the participants were asked about budget allocation for digital marketing, 31.7% of
SMEs allocated 10%-30% of their total budget, followed by 30.8% allocating less than 10%, and
29.8% allocating between 31%-50%. No businesses allocated more than 50% or operated without
a specific budget for digital marketing. The main challenges SMEs faced in implementing digital
marketing included time constraints (23.1%), lack of expertise (21.2%), low engagement on digital
platforms (18.3%), limited budget (17.3%), and difficulty in measuring results (12.5%).
Table 1: Frequency Distribution
Frequency Distribution
Frequency Percent
SME Owner 19 18.3
What is your role in the Marketing Manager / Executive 29 27.9
business? Employee involved in marketing 24 23.1
Self Employed / Freelancer 29 27.9
Retail 22 21.2
Hospitality and Tourism 12 11.5
In which Industry does Manufacturing 14 13.5
your SME operate in? IT & Tech 26 25
Agriculture 16 15.4
Other 11 10.6
Small ( 1-50 employees ) 43 41.3
What is the size of your Medium (51-200 employees) 27 26
Business Large (201+ employees) 11 10.6
Other 20 19.2
Does your Business No 5 4.8
currently use Digital
Marketing? Yes 96 92.3
How frequently does Daily 26 25
your SME update its Monthly 26 25
digital marketing Weekly 23 22.1
campaigns? Occasionally (few times a year) 21 20.2
Less than 10% 32 30.8
How much of your total 10%-30% 33 31.7
budget is allocated to 31%-50% 31 29.8
Digital Marketing ? More than 50% 0 0
We don’t allocate a specific budget 0 0
Lack of expertise 22 21.2
What challenges you Limited Budget 18 17.3
face in implementing Difficulty in measuring results 13 12.5
Digital Marketing Time Constraints 24 23.1
Low engagement on digital platforms 19 18.3
Table 2 presents the frequency distribution of digital marketing platforms used by Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Mauritius and effectiveness of these efforts. Among the
various digital marketing strategies, influencer marketing was the most commonly used, reported
by 14.4% of respondents. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising (12.5%) and email marketing (12.5%)
were also widely utilized. Content marketing, such as blogs, videos, and infographics, was used
by 11.5% of SMEs, while search engine optimization (SEO) accounted for 10.6%. Social media
marketing and affiliate marketing were each used by 9.6% of respondents. Notably, 11.5% of
SMEs reported not using any of these digital marketing strategies. Regarding the effectiveness of
digital marketing, no respondents rated their efforts as “bad” (1 or 2 on the scale). A significant
portion (34.6%) rated their digital marketing effectiveness as moderate (3), while 25% gave it a
rating of 4. 32.7% of respondents rated their digital marketing efforts as good (5), indicating a
generally positive perception of their strategies.
Table 2: Frequency Distribution of Digital Marketing Platform
Digital Media Platform and Effectiveness
Frequency Percent
Digital Social Media Marketing ( Facebook, Instagram,
Marketing LinkedIn etc ) 10 9.6
do you use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 11 10.6
Pay Per Click Advertising ( Google Ads, Facebook
ads) 13 12.5
Email Marketing 13 12.5
Content Marketing (Blogs, Videos, Infographics) 12 11.5
Affiliate Marketing 10 9.6
Influencer Marketing 15 14.4
None of the above 12 11.5
1. Bad 0 0
Effective of 2 0 0
digital
marketing 3 36 34.6
efforts 4 26 25
5. Good 34 32.7
A chi-square test of association was conducted to examine the relationship between the
frequency of digital marketing updates and the proportion of the total budget allocated to digital
marketing. The results are presented in Table 3. The distribution of responses indicates that SMEs
allocating less than 10% of their budget to digital marketing most frequently updated their
campaigns monthly (12) or daily (8). Among SMEs allocating 10%-30% of their budget, the
highest frequency of updates was daily (11) and weekly (10). Those allocating 31%-50% of their
budget most often updated their campaigns occasionally (11) or daily (7). The chi-square test
result, 𝜒 2 (6) = 7.967, 𝑝 = .241, suggests no statistically significant association between the
frequency of digital marketing updates and the proportion of the budget allocated to digital
marketing. This shows that how often SMEs update their digital marketing campaigns does not
strongly depend on their budget allocation.
Table 3: Chi-square Test of Association
Chi-square Test of association
How much of your total budget is allocated to Digital
Marketing ?
Total
Less than
10%-30% 31%-50%
10%
How frequently Daily 8 11 7 26
does your SME Monthly 12 8 6 26
update its digital Weekly 6 10 7 23
marketing Occasionally
campaigns? (few times a 6 4 11 21
year)
2 (6)
𝜒 = 7.967, 𝑝 = .241
