From customer intelligence to sustainability: management feature of SMEs in Almaty City

The aim of this study is to obtain data on the perception and use level of customer intelligence (CI) tools, including customer database, customer journey map, customer feedback from Kazakhstan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). Furthermore, this study aims to examine the impact of these tools on the marketing activity effectiveness through indicators of marketing performance, and, as a result, on the SME's sustainability in Kazakhstan. Expert interviews (owners and managers of middle and top levels) with 25 Kazakhstani companies and a literature review are conducted to achieve the research objectives. This research presents how SME experts understand and apply CI features, estimate the potential and probability of changes and the agents restraining these changes in marketing activities from the CI lens, and enumerate marketing and business performance indicators. Based on the findings, the model of SMEs' value and the importance of CI applications in marketing activity is created and presented.