The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Small Businesses, with a Focus on Customer Relationship Management

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect that social media marketing has on small businesses, specifically focusing on customer relationship management. The following literature review lays the groundwork for terms and vocabulary later used in this study. The main highlights of the literature review are all terms for “Social Media,” as this is the main topic around which this study revolves. The main focus group of this study was small businesses within the geographical area of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Topics of discussion focused on their marketing efforts through social media channels and how active their businesses were on these networks. As social media becomes increasingly more popular and advantageous for businesses, there will be more significant sources regarding this topic. Marketing strategies are still in transition from traditional media marketing to social media marketing, but it is believed and supported in the sources referred to below that social media marketing will become one of the biggest ways to market for businesses of any size in the coming years. Social media is developing at a rapid pace and it is connecting people from all walks of life in the most remote areas of the world. Through qualitative and quantitative research and data, this study will show how social media is being used by small businesses to market their product or service. Customer relationship management is the narrowed focus within this study, as social media allows companies the platform to access millions of people and communicate with them on a daily basis.