ABSTRACT
This research on consumer brand preference and the purchase of beverage, the study of Milo is a very crucial study for the consumer's in Umuahia north in Abia State. The general objective is to examine consumer brand preference and the purchase of beverages. Specific objective of this study (1) to examine the impact of brand awareness of the consumer purchasing of a product (2) to determine the effect of price on consumer attitude towards purchase of products, (3) to access the extent to which quality of a product influences consumer demand for a product. To solve the research problem, primary data were collected. The research instrument used in collecting data was questionnaire. The sample size was 287 and the study area was Umuahia north which has a population of 359,230 according to 2006 Nigeria census. In organizing and presenting data collected, tables frequencies and percentages were used. The various hypothesis and interpretation grave the following findings. Majority of consumers said that brand has significant impact on consumer demand for product, that price has a significant effect on consumers attitude towards purchase of products. That quality of products has a significant influence on consumers demand for a product. Based on the findings of this result, the following recommendations were made: companies should insure that brand awareness is created to enable consumers to prefer their brand to other brands, companies should make price of their product affordable to enable consumers purchase their product against other company's product, companies should always maintain or improve in the quality to enable the consumer to make repeat purchases and also become loyal to the brand.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Cover page
Title page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of contents vi
List of tables viii
Abstract x
CHAPTER
ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of Study 1
1.2
Statement of Problems 4
1.3
Objectives of the Study 5
1.4
Research Questions 5
1.5
Research Hypotheses 5
1.6
Significance of the Study 6
1.7
Scope of Study 6
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1
Conceptual Framework 7
2.1.1
Brand/ Branding 7
2.1.2
Consumer Behaviour 13
2.1 3 Effect of Branding on Consumer Behaviour 20
2.14 Effect of Price on Consumer Behaviour 28
2.1.5 Effect of
Quality on Consumer Behaviour 31
2.2 Theoretical
Framework 32
2.3
Empirical Review 34
2.4 Summary of Related Studies 39
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1
Research Design 40
3.2.1
Source of Data 40
3.3
Primary
Source of Data 40
3.4
Collection
of Data 40
3.5
Design
and Administration of Questionnaires 40
3.6
Population
Determination 41
3.7 Operational Measures of Variables 41
3.8 validity of instrument 42
3.9 Reliability of Instrument 43
3.10 Model specification 43
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Test of Hypothesis 62
4.2 Test of Hypothesis One 63
4.2.1 Statement of Hypothesis One 63
4.3 Test of hypothesis two 65
4.4 Test of hypothesis three 67
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1
Summary of Findings. 69
5.2
Conclusion 69
5.3
Recommendations 70
References 71
LIST TABLES
Table 4.1 A Total Of 400
Questionnaire Was Distributed Among Consumer Of Milo Tea. Out Of Which 287 Was Returned As Shown In The 'fable Below. 44
Table 4.2 Response Of The
Respondent's Gender 44
Table 4.3 Response Of The
Respondent's Age 45
Table 4.4 Response Of The
Respondent's Marital Status. 45
Table 4.5 Response Of The
Respondent's Educational Level 46
Table 4.6 Response Of The
Respondent's Occupational State 46
Table 4.7 Response In Whether
The Respondents Likes This Branded (Mid) More Than Any Other Brands Of Tea.
Table 4.8 Response On Whether
Milo Is Respondents Preferred Milo Over Any Other Brands Of Tea
Table 4.9 I Would Use This
Brand More Than Other Brand Of Tea 49
Table 4.10 Response On Whether
Milo Meets Respondents 50
Table 4,11 Response In Whether
Respondent Were Interests In Trying Other Teas For Now
Table 4.12 Response On Whether
Milo Is The Most Referred Tea When Purchasing Tea,
Table 4.13 Response On The Milo
Tea Is Very Important In Defining The Respondents Choice Of Tea
Table 4.14 Response On
Whether The Respondents Will Make
Milo Their First Choice In The Future
Table 4:15 Response On Whether
The Respondents Like The Tea Because Of Quality 54
Table 4:16 Response On Whether
Respondents Like Milo 54
Table 4.17 Response On Whether
There Is An Emotional Bond Between Respondent And This Milo Response On Whether There
Table 4.18 Response On Whether
The Respondents Are Pleases With Milo Tea 56
Table 4:19
Response On Whether The Respondents Feel Relaxed When Consuming Milo Tea
Table: 20 Response On Whether
Milo Is Part Of Respondents Daily 57
Table 4.21 Respondents On Whether Milo Is Reasonable Price The Brand Is Reasonable Priced
Table 4,22 Whether Milo Tea
Offers Value For More Response On Money 59
Table 4.23 Respondent On Whether
The Prices Of Milo Is A Good Indicator Of Quality
Table 4.24 Response On Whether
The Brand Has An Appealing Design This Brand Has An Appealing Design
Table 4.25 To Test The Above 1 lypothcsis, Data On Table 4.16
Table 4.26 Chi-Squarc Table One
Table 4.27 To Test The Above
Hypothesis, Data On Table 4.2 Was Used
Table 4.28 Chi-Square Table Two
Table 30 (HI-Square '1 able.
Three) 68
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of Study
Nigerian consumer has access to several
products from around the world making use of the information on the country of
origin to evaluate these products and this result in the preference of one product
over the other (Asen, Eke, &
Kalejaye, 2013). According to Kayode and Afolami (2013), it is one thing to
persuade and influence customers to buy a product. It is another thing to
prevail on them to keep buying such product. With the intensification of
selling effort and the emergence of consumer empowerment due to better
education and increase in purchasing power, consumers became choosy, refusing
to buy products that do not meet their taste irrespective of the amount of
personal selling or advertising that backed it up. This new behaviour of
consumers according to Aremu and Lawal
(2012), led to massive product failure since consumers buy products to
satisfy their needs and not because the products exist. This then made
companies to identify consumer’s needs before going into production of goods
capable of satisfying those needs.
From time past, businesses all over the
world have faced a great difficulty in getting their products acceptable or
sold in the market. Until recently, producers had always found it difficult to
penetrate freely into the market in such a way that prospective buyers are
convinced to buy their products and stay loyal to the company’s products.
However, the emergence of marketing has paved the way of success for producers
and marketers globally (Aremu &
Lawal, 2012). This era of marketing is where various market strategies
were being employed to win the heart of consumers and maintain their loyalty to
a particular company’s product. Producers have now focused on designing various
strategies that can be used in conquering a heavily competitive market in order
to have the market leadership. Hence, various marketing strategies have been
used over the years (Robert, 2012).
Understanding consumer brand preference
has put companies on their toes at providing quality brand that will stimulate
consumer purchasing behaviour. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines
a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them
intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers
and to differentiate them from those of other sellers". Branding is a
crucial aspect of the marketing process of any product or service. In today's
market, every product has several rivals made by other companies. The fight for
consumers is fierce and the competition cut throat. However, to many, a brand
functions to create awareness, reputation, prominence and so on in the
marketplace (Keller, 2002).
Branding is a crucial aspect of the
marketing process of any product or service. In today's market, every product
has several rivals made by other companies. The fight for consumers is fierce
and the competition cut throat. Branding is generally and traditionally
associated with physical products and services, rather than with countries,
places and cities. Organisations and their marketing communications agencies
have continued to create and use branding as a distinguishing and strategic
competitive factor in the market place. Some organizations in the beverage
industry have used brand to strategically position their companies. Brands such
as Bournvita, Ovaltine, Cowbell,
Milksi, Milo, etc are
beneficiaries of strong and strategic brand building efforts, this may
therefore account for their global brand leadership positions (Bamiduro & Aremu, 2012).
According to Padmanabhan (2012), when a
brand possesses the ability to draw a consumer to itself, by connecting
rationally, emotionally, through communication or creating a desire or
aspiration, the brand is said to possess the quality of brand appeal or
Attractiveness. It is the inherent force of attractiveness of a brand that
interests, pleases or stimulates and it is this force that makes a brand
desirable. Studies have shown that companies who possess powerful brands and
positive personality brands enjoy numerous benefits while a suitable brand
personality has many benefits: it fosters consumers’ preferences, enhances
consumers’ emotions, increases loyalty, and provides a basis for product
distinction (Motlagh, Rabbani, & Nayebzadeh, 2015; Rampl & Kerandnning,
2014). Perepelkin & Zhang, (2011) assert that company brand personality is
a kind of brand specific to each company, and includes values and measures of
the company and business. Thus, having recognised the need to move from mere
sales to customer satisfaction, Nigerian companies are now adopting various
measures and strategies to improve the demand of their products as well as meet
consumer’s satisfaction. Achumba (1996) in his word stated “As our society
undergoes rapid changes and becomes more affluent, newer social forces make
consumers spend a greater part of their income in ways remarkably different
from what took place in the past. Consumers want to take the advantage of the
affluent and latest services that technology and business can offer. It is
therefore not surprising that strategies such as sales promotion, aggressive
advertisement, use of sales force, large network distribution, use of
technology etc are been adopted by Nigerian companies to produce products that
can stand side-by-side with their foreign counterparts (Solomon, 2015).
According to Oladele and Arogundade,
(2011), the important role of marketing in determining the success or otherwise
of any organization cannot be over-emphasized notwithstanding the size of such
an organization. Research into the secret of the development of some modern day
corporations which could be regarded as industrial giants, showed that
aggressive marketing made them what they are today (Mbagwu, 1993). Thus,
understanding factors that influence consumers brand preference in their
purchase decision is very necessary to be known by every organization so as to
make effective use of the concept of marketing that states that organization
effort has to be geared towards satisfying the needs of and wants of consumers.
Firms should provide credible evidence of their products benefits, correct
their customers’ misconception, and bring innovation. It is obvious that
business often succeed in altering consumer behaviour by changing attitude
towards a product or service.
1.2
Statement of Problems
Consumer preference for a brand have been
attributed to several factors, some of which includes prices, distribution,
quality, taste, income and so on. However, most companies have failed to
understand these concepts and have failed to take advantage of these to
influence consumers towards purchasing their products. In the knowledge of this,
it is pertinent to study factors that may influence consumer preference for Milo in Umuahia
metropolis.
Brand and branding are major marketing
functions that may provide attractions. However, most companies do not take
branding serious while some simply use fake label on their products. The
question therefore is do consumers themselves take branding serious and are
they attracted by brands of products? These questions have formed a problem the
study seeks to solve.
Production of goods and services is a
management function, which encompasses manufacturing, distribution, and sales
but deals with the interplay of forces that ensures that goods and services
produced are with the view of satisfying human needs. Consumer attitudes and
loyalty towards a brand may change as the
price and quality changes overtime. The
changes in loyalty affects the purchase and sales volume of the company, thus
affecting their profitability.
1.3
Objectives of the Study
The main aim of this study is to examine consumer
brand preference in the purchase of beverage. The following are the specific
objectives:
1.
To
examine the impact of branding on consumer's purchasing of a product.
2.
To
determine the effect of price on consumers’ attitude towards purchase of products.
3.
To
assess the extent to which quality of a product influences consumer's demand
for a product.
1.4
Research Questions
In order to achieve the purpose of this
research work, three research questions were designed to guide the collection
of data. The research questions are:
1.
What
impact does branding on consumer's demand for products?
2.
Does
price has effect on consumers’ attitude towards purchase of products?
3.
To
what extent does quality of a product influence consumer's demand for a product?
1.5
Research Hypotheses
Within the frame work of the above
objectives, the following hypotheses have been put forward.
H01: Branding has no
significant impact on consumer's demand for products.
H02: Price has no
significant effect on consumers’ attitude towards purchase of products.
H03: Quality of product
does not significantly influence consumer's demand for a product.
1.6
Significance of the Study
The trust
of this study will be of significant importance to the followings:
·
Government: It will give the
government an insight on what measures to take to improve the quality of
products and what policy to put in place to ensure demand for products in
Nigeria.
·
Business Organization: the
importance of customers towards the growth of their business will be brought to
fore. Also business managers and marketers will find this study useful especially on the
perception of Nigerian consumers towards products quality, price and branding.
·
Academic: This study will update
the local awareness and knowledge of the academic by adding to the literature
available in the library. It will also serve as reference material for future
purposes.
1.7
Scope of Study
This study focuses on
consumer brand preference in the purchase of a product. It covers consumers of
Milo beverage in Umuahia metropolis.
1.8
Limitations
of the Study
This study
is limited to Umuahia metropolis which implies that most of the responses are
subjected to criticism as it may not be applicable in some other areas of the
country where Nigerian goods may be of preference.
The problem
of time constraints was an issue as lots had to be done within the time frame
required for the completion of this study.
The problem
of finance also arouse as expenses were incurred in getting the required
materials, photocopying and printing of questionnaires utilized for the
study.
1.9
Organization of the Study
Chapter one is the introduction of the
study which covers areas like the background of the study, statement of the
study, purpose of the study, research questions, research hypothesis,
significance of the study and organization of the study.
Chapter two is the literature review which
covers conceptual framework, theoretical framework, empirical studies and
literature review.
Chapter three is the research methodology,
which covers the research design, research population, and sample size, sources
of data, method of data collection and method of data analysis.
Chapter four covers analysis and
presentation of data. It is all about the researchers input in analyzing the
data collected as well as testing the stated hypotheses.
Chapter five covers summary of the
findings, conclusion, recommendations and suggestions for further studies.
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