Logistics SMEs’ marketing budget re-engineering for sustainable digital marketing development

Nowadays, the survival and sustainability of SMEs and the promotion of their services have become key goals for the economic growth of many countries. Logistics SMEs seek to improve their digital marketing development, by managing the re-engineering process of their marketing budget. To achieve this goal, logistics SMEs should capitalize on big data from their websites that are capable of depicting their digital development level. The authors selected 5 SMEs from the logistics sector and collected big data from their websites for 365 days. Then, statistical analysis tools (correlation and linear regression models), as well as Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) models were utilized. It is highlighted that various marketing budget levels affect the digital development of logistics SMEs differently. More specifically, a marketing budget of 500$ to 2500$ could bring more users (new and returning) to logistics SMEs’ websites, but only if the investments transcend 5000$ could help these firms rank higher in the search engines (authority score). Thus, logistics SMEs could simulate the course of specific digital development metrics by setting the desired levels of their marketing budget.