Marketing channel transformation in Italian SMEs

In 2020, the global health emergency situation accelerated companies’ digital transformation process. Digital channels became a fundamental aspect for managing relationships with their customers and stakeholders, so rethinking of structures and channel management requires more in-depth knowledge. This research analyses and explores the impact of digital channels in strategies of SMEs. The study is conducted on Italian medium-sized enterprises, also known as ‘micro-multinationals’ or ‘pocket multinationals’, considering the key industries that are part of the Made in Italy brand. The research investigates how marketing channels are transforming in Italian SMEs through impact of digital channels in terms of benefits and limits that influence direct and indirect marketing channels as well as how new technologies will impact the transformation of marketing channels in Italian SMEs. The grounded Delphi method is applied, combining aspects of the grounded theory with the Delphi method to explore current needs and future ones in perspective.