The Role of Digital Marketing Adoption and Online Customer Experience in Enhancing SME Performance in Emerging Economies: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are very important for economic growth, especially in developing countries where they create a lot of jobs and income. In recent years, the rapid shift to digital technology has changed how small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) work, mostly by using digital marketing tools and making the online customer experience better. This study seeks to investigate the influence of digital marketing adoption and online customer experience on the performance of SMEs through a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. The research relies on secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2020 to 2025, sourced from Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases. Using pre-set rules for what to include and what to leave out, 22 relevant articles were chosen and analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results show that using digital marketing greatly increases market reach, brand visibility, and operational efficiency. Also, a better online customer experience leads to higher customer satisfaction, trust, and loyalty. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies still have problems like not having enough digital skills, not having enough money, and not having enough infrastructure. The study finds that for SMEs to do better and stay in business for a long time, they need to combine digital marketing with good customer experience management.