NABIRYE, MARGARET KANABI

Mobile network operators sell products such as airtime, data bundles and mobile money services that can be marketed, purchased and used without customers entering a shop. This makes them a natural setting for examining whether digital marketing increases sales. This article examines how the digital marketing strategies of MTN Uganda Limited might influence its sales performance. It draws on MTN Uganda's published results and announcements, Data Reporter's account of internet use in Uganda, and Ugandan studies of online marketing, advertising and digital adoption, including four studies concerning MTN Uganda or the telecommunications sector and two concerning small and medium enterprises. The review finds that existing evidence is limited, perception-based and either dated or small in scale, and generally treats digital marketing as a single, undifferentiated variable. The article proposes a framework in which three strategy groups social media and content marketing, targeted and direct digital messaging, and digital sales and self-service channels influence sales performance, measured through revenue, customer acquisition and repeat purchase, with customer digital readiness as a moderating factor. It presents four propositions and outlines a mixed-methods research design for future empirical investigation. Its contribution is a clearer conceptual and methodological approach to studying the relationship rather than an empirical test. No new data were collected.