<b>Adoption Without Strategy: The Strategy Implementation Gap in SME Digital Marketing in Zambia's Secondary Cities </b>

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies are rapidly adopting digital marketing platforms, yet the gap between adoption and strategic utilization remains critically under researched. This study examines the strategy implementation gap in digital marketing among 101 SMEs in Kabwe, Zambia, using a convergent parallel mixed methods design integrating survey data and 12 semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal a significant 33 percentage point gap between basic digital tool adoption (75.2% use visuals) and strategic optimization (41.6% adjust strategies based on results). While 89.1% of SMEs use WhatsApp and 82.2% use Facebook, only 22.8% post daily, 21.8% respond to customers within one hour, and 16.8% invest in paid advertising. Content strategies remain overwhelmingly transactional product posts (80.0%) and promotions (37.9%) dominate, while educational content (17.9%) and testimonials (13.7%) are underutilized. Regression analyses reveal that content quality perception (β=0.593, p<.001) is the strongest predictor of customer engagement, while perceived ease of use (β=0.507, p<.001) drives adoption. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) explains 52.7% of adoption variance, with Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) adding a significant 12.9% beyond TAM (ΔR²=0.129, p<.001). Infrastructure challenges poor internet (73.3%) and high data costs (58.4%) have caused 79.07% of SMEs to reduce online marketing activities. The study proposes the Digital Marketing Capability Maturity Framework for SMEs and offers evidence based recommendations for bridging the strategy implementation gap through accessible training, data subsidies, and peer learning networks.