Technology-enabled digital marketing and customer experience in SMEs during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of digital technologies across small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), forcing firms to reorganize customer-facing activities under conditions of uncertainty, restricted mobility, and market disruption. This study examines how technology-enabled digital marketing supports customer experience and business continuity in SMEs during the COVID-19 period. Rather than treating digital marketing as a set of isolated promotional tactics, the paper conceptualizes it as an integrated system composed of digital platforms, customer data, analytics capabilities, and customer relationship processes. A conceptual review design is used to synthesize prior research on social media, customer relationship management, customer experience, digital transformation, and SME marketing. The study develops a framework showing how technology infrastructure, data-driven decision making, and coordinated digital touchpoints shape customer experience outcomes and support organizational resilience. The analysis suggests that SMEs benefit from digital marketing when technologies are aligned with customer relationship processes, when analytics are used to guide decisions, and when firms coordinate social media, web, mobile, and CRM activities as part of a unified system. The paper contributes by positioning digital marketing within a technology and systems perspective suitable for engineering and information systems discussions. It also offers practical implications for SME managers seeking to improve responsiveness, engagement, and continuity during crisis conditions.