PUSH AND PULL MARKETING STRATEGIES: A BLUEPRINT FOR MICROENTERPRISES

Microenterprises play an important role in the economy by creating jobs and economic opportunities but their failure rate is high as many owners lack the resources and knowledge to promote and sustain their businesses. Traditional marketing tools such as mass advertising and promotional campaigns are often not cost-effective options for the microenterprise owner. These small business owners often use social networking such as Facebook or Instagram as their main source for lead generation. Five microenterprise owners participated in the qualitative case study. The marketing push and pull will be discussed as a social media marketing strategy. The pull strategies include consumer-generated communication, word-of-mouth marketing, branding, and content marketing. The push strategies are invitations, coupons storefront, and virtual menu. The researchers recommend microenterprise owners utilize both social media push and pull methods in order to engage customers in today’s competitive environment.