Digital Technologies Supporting SMEs – A Survey in Albanian Manufacturers’ Websites

Abstract

Marketing is now the main tool for creating, communicating, and distributing value from producers to customers and consumers. The key element and in many cases the first contact of clients or customers to a manufacturer or product is the website. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how website and internet marketing are used by manufacturing SMEs in Albania and how they can be further improved. The objective of the study is to highlight the current situation in Albanian manufacturing SMEs and to display the opportunities offered by information technology for increasing the effectiveness of internet marketing for them. The study followed the qualitative approach, using the case study method applied to some manufacturing companies. The results show that companies appraise the role of digital technologies and internet marketing and are investing to deploy them. Still, the use of digital systems and tools in communication and marketing by companies is often done spontaneously, without defined goals and poorly aligned with strategic plans or marketing policies. The paper discusses the findings from the observation in the Albanian environment and gives practical recommendations for potential improvements in using of the website and internet marketing by manufacturing companies.