Digital marketing management in Ukrainian SMEs: Tools, barriers and strategic readiness for transformation

Type of the article: Research Article AbstractThis study examines the state of digital marketing management among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine under conditions of prolonged economic instability and wartime disruption. This paper aims to assess the level of digital marketing tool adoption, identify key organizational barriers, and examine how firm-level characteristics influence strategic readiness for digital transformation among Ukrainian SMEs. The study is based on a structured quantitative survey conducted in 2024 among 100 owners and managers of Ukrainian SMEs operating in the service, trade, and manufacturing sectors across several regions of Ukraine affected by differing levels of full-scale wartime disruption, with data analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.The research results show that the basic digital tools are widely adopted, with 98% of SMEs having a website and 79% using online marketplaces for sales, including enterprises from manufacturing, trade, and service sectors. At the same time, the adoption of advanced marketing management tools remains limited: only 19% of enterprises report regular use of CRM systems, 25% use marketing analytics tools, and merely 1% apply email marketing on a regular basis. Strategic digital planning is also weak, as only 11% of surveyed SMEs have a structured digital marketing strategy and 7% report having an SMM strategy. Digital skills among marketing personnel are assessed as low or moderate, with only 15% of respondents indicating a high level of digital competence among staff.Based on correlation analysis, the findings indicate that digital marketing transformation among Ukrainian SMEs is constrained primarily by organizational and human capital limitations rather than firm size or financial performance, underscoring the need for targeted national support programs to enhance strategic digital capabilities.