The present study explored the association between the intensity of online digital marketing tools use for online loyalty (Customer Retention) and the business performance satisfaction of Thai microenterprises. The survey data were collected from 217 owners of the small shops at major marketplaces in NCR, India. The results from partial least square regression analysis showed that the SME Owners who used online digital marketing tools intensively for loyalty tended to report higher satisfaction with their business performance. Furthermore, the results from the moderating effect analyses found that the positive relationship between online digital marketing tools use intensity for loyalty and business performance satisfaction tended to be significantly higher for the SME Owners who exhibited lower levels of social competency in business, as well as for the companies that generated more sales from online digital marketing tools. The main findings of this research provide practical implications for microenterprise SME Owners. Given that communication in online digital marketing tools tends to involve less interpersonal interactions than face-to-face communication, using online digital marketing tools for loyalty activities might be essential in enabling SME Owners with low social competency to interact with customers to improve customer satisfaction. Also, this finding implies that using online digital marketing tools for loyalty tends to be more crucial for companies that primarily target customers who are online digital marketing tools users.
Impact Factor
2017: 6.614
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