Date of Conferral

12-19-2024

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Business Administration

Advisor

Dr Gwendolyn Dooley

Abstract

Despite the significant advantages of using social media marketing, an estimated 25% of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) promote products and services through social media. However, the lack of use by many convenience store managers often results in missed opportunities for increasing sales revenue and reaching a broader customer base. Grounded in the technology acceptance model, this qualitative descriptive study explored convenience store owners' social media strategies to increase brand awareness and grow sales to improve performance. The participants were eight convenience store owners in the Midwestern United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of public documents. Three themes emerged through thematic analysis: (a) diverse, cost-saving social media strategies; (b) social media strategies tend to increase customer base and revenue; and (c) social media strategies increase brand awareness and positive customer-employee interactions. A key recommendation is for convenience store owners to incorporate social media tools that would help promote the brand and reach more consumers, resulting in an overall increase in sales. The implications for positive social change include the ability to help small business owners, especially convenience store managers, learn to apply social media marketing strategies to increase their customer base and revenue, thus helping the community they serve.

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