Abstract:

Marketing is a strategic tool for the success of small & medium enterprises. Large enterprises have adequate resources to hire manpower to cater for the marketing activities of their products and services. However, SMEs lack these resources and thus requires institutional support for providing these inputs in the area of marketing. This study explored the impact of marketing support programmes on the performance of SMEs across three states in Nigeria. Mixed methods approach was adopted using the survey and semi-structured interview methods. A total of 400 copies of questionnaire were administered to SME operators, out of which only three hundred and sixty (360) were retrieved and adjudged usable for the analysis while 20 interviews were conducted on SME operators. Multiple Regression was used for the analysis of the returned copies of questionnaire. Thematic analysis was also used to analyze the qualitative interviews. The results showed marketing support has significant impact on performance of SMEs. However, the findings of the qualitative analysis revealed important gaps. Based on these findings, it was recommended that marketing assistance should give priority to strong digital presence.