The effect of adoption of electronic marketing practices on organizational performance of the mobile telephony companies in Kenya

Abstract

Electronic marketing platforms give companies an opportunity to access millions of consumers. Companies in Kenya are aware of the potential of E-marketing and are beginning to explore the different platforms available in the market. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of adoption of electronic marketing practices on organizational performance of mobile telephone companies in Kenya. This study was cross-sectional in nature and included all three mobile telephone companies in Kenya; Safaricom Limited (Safaricom), Airtel Kenya Limited (Airtel), and Orange Telkom Kenya Limited (Orange). A total of 90 individuals were targeted across the consumer business, marketing and customer service departments in the three companies. The researcher used a self-administered questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. Descriptive statistics analysis was used to analyze quantitative data. In addition, the study conducted a regression analysis to establish the relationship between the variables. The study found that social network marketing influenced organizational performance to a very great extent this is driven by Kenyan mobile company’s use of facebook and twitter. Mobile phone marketing is also important and is used to channel targeted text (SMS) messages to millions of users Website marketing is considered important for enhancing consistent corporate image, while email marketing on the other hand influenced organizational performance of Mobile telephone companies to a moderate extent. The study recommends the companies use more social network marketing platforms to reach an even wider and diverse market. The companies should also embrace video technology on mobile to give more effective communication than sms. Websites remain important for internet presence, for corporate image and search engine marketing. Partnerships arrangement should be considered for email marketing as they are considered more effective than traditional opt in/opt out emails.