The Construction and Empirical Study of a Brand Marketing Information Technology Maturity Model for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face the dilemma of “vague stage positioning and low transformation efficiency” in brand marketing information technology (IT). 45% of these enterprises suffer from resource misallocation due to the lack of a unified evaluation standard. This paper, with the resource constraints of SMEs as the core premise, integrates the CMMI grading logic and the DTMF dimension framework to construct a four-stage maturity model (“Basic - Growth - Optimization - Excellence”) that includes six first-level indicators (such as “data collection and integration”) and 18 second-level indicators. Through stratified surveys of 192 SMEs across six major regions in China from September 2023 to March 2024 (40.1% in fast-moving consumer goods, 30.2% in catering, and 29.7% in retail), the model’s scientific validity was verified through reliability and validity tests (overall Cronbach’s α = 0.89, KMO = 0.82). The empirical results show that the average maturity score of enterprises is 48.6 points (Growth stage), with “intelligent decision-making application” (2.1 points) and “resource coordination ability” (2.3 points) being the core weaknesses. Enterprises in the fast-moving consumer goods sector, those with a size of 50-100 employees, and those in the East China region have relatively higher maturity scores. This study provides SMEs with a “self-assessment - improvement” tool and offers empirical references for governments to formulate differentiated transformation subsidy policies.