ABSTRACT
The study determined the effect sales promotion on patronage of some industrial products in Umuahia urban. Thus, determined the effect of trade shows on customer patronage of some industrial products in Umuahia urban; examined the effect of Coupon on customer loyalty of some industrial products in Umuahia urban and ascertained the effect of price discount on customer satisfaction of some industrial products in Umuahia urban. The study involved the use of structured questionnaires designed on a 5-point Likert scale to measure the responses of the respondents on the influence of brand equity on marketing performance. Responses generated were analyzed using correlation coefficient with the aid of SPSS. The result provided the following findings that there is relationship between trade show as a dimension of sales promotion and customer patronage as a measure of marketing performance is significant and very strong as a result of some committed and loyal customers of the industrial products under study in Abia State as a result of the customer consistent in re-patronage; there is a moderate relationship between Coupon and customer loyalty, and lastly it was shown that a very weak relationship exists between price discount of industrial products and customer satisfaction. Therefore, the study recommends that industrial product marketers should take cognizance of the impact of each of the dimensions of sales promotion as they influence non-financial elements of marketing performance and allocate resources in order to stand out or match the competition in the dynamic manufacturing industry; government should take additional measures at intra-professional and consumer levels to further ensure the maintenance of ethical standards in sales promotion campaigns in Nigeria; industrialists should reposition their industrial product quality to be in consonance with the expectations of their customers and lastly industrial firms should adopt integrated marketing communication strategy in reaching out their customers about benefits and values attached to their different Products.
TABLLE
OF CONTENTS
Title i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of
contents vi
List of
tables viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of Research Problem 3
1.3 Objectives
of the Study 5
1.4 Research
Questions 5
1.5 Research
Hypotheses 6
1.6 Significance
of the Study 7
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE 9
2.1
Conceptual Framework 9
2.1
Overview of Sales Promotion Strategy 9
2.1.1 Price Discount 11
2.2
Sales Promotion in Industrial Marketing 12
2.2.1 Need for
Sales Promotion in Industrial Marketing 12
2.2.3 Sales
Promotion Methods in Industrial Marketing 13
2.2.3.1 Trade
Shows (or Exhibitions) 13
2.2.3.2 Coupon 14
2.2.3.3 Samples 15
2.2.3.4 Promotional Letters 16
2.2.3.5 Sales Contests 17
2.2.3.6 Seminars 17
2.2.3.7 Promotional Novelties 17
2.3.1 Understanding Customer Patronage 18
2.3.2 Customer Patronage 18
2.3.3 Customer Loyalty 18
2.3.4 Customer Satisfaction 20
2.4 Sales
Promotion and Purchases 21
2.5
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 22
2.6 EMPIRICAL
REVIEW 24
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY 27
3.1 Research Design 27
3.2 Area of Study 28
3.3 Population of the Study 28
3.4.1 Sampling Technique 29
3.4.2 Sample Size Determination 29
3.5 Validity of Instrument 29
3.5.1 Reliability of the Instrument 29
3.6 Sources of Data Collection 30
3.6 Method of Data Analysis 30
3.6.1 Model Specification 30
3.6.2 Decision Rule 31
CHAPTER 4
DATA PRESENTATION
AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 32
4.1 Results and
Discussions 32
4.1.1 Response
rate and demographic outcomes 32
4.2 Analysis of Research Questions 33
4.2.1 Validity 33
4.3.
Frequencies on Relationship Marketing and Marketing Performance 34
4.3 Test of Hypotheses 37
4.3.1 Test
of Hypothesis 37
4.3.2 Test
of Hypothesis 38
4.3.3 Test
of Hypothesis 39
4.4 Discussion of Findings 39
4.4.1 The
Degree of Relationship between Trade show and
Customer Patronage 40
4.4.2 The
Extent of relationship between Coupon
and customer patronage 40
4.4.3The
Extent of relationship between Price Discount and
Customer Satisfaction 41
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 42
5.1 Summary of Findings 42
5.2 Conclusion 43
5.3 Recommendation 44
5.4 Limitation/Suggestions for Further
Studies 45
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
LIST OF
TABLES
Table
4.1 Reliability
Analysis of the Variables. 33
4.2 Descriptive
Analysis of the Variables 34
4.3 Trade Shows, items and scores 34
4.4 Coupon, items and scores 35
4.5 Price Discount, items and scores 36
4.6 Customer Patronage/Loyalty, items and
scores 36
4.7 Customer Satisfaction, items and scores 37
4.8 Correlation Analysis of the Relationship
between Trade show and
Customer patronage. 38
4.9 Correlation Analysis of the Relationship
between Coupon and
Customer Loyalty. 38
4.10 Correlation
Analysis of the Relationship between price discount and
Customer Satisfaction. 39
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Sales
promotion has become an integral part of the promotion schemes of both
manufacturers and retailers of durable as well as non-durable consumer goods
(Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). It consumes a very significant portion of the
promotional expenses of marketers. In some of the developed countries
allocation of promotion budget to sales promotion has far exceeded spending on
advertisement. Brand managers are now relying heavily on sales promotion
because its impact on sales is more direct, immediate, and quantifiable as
compared to advertisement. Marketers use both price and non-price promotions
either independently or in association with each other. Price promotions allow
buyers to make some savings of money where as non-price promotions like premium
add value to the offer. Point-of-Purchase promotions like feature
advertisements and displays lead to impulse buying.
Sales
promotion is the process of persuading a potential customer to buy the product
(Isabella, 2012). Sales promotion is designed to be used as a short-term tactic
to boost sales – it is rarely suitable as a method of building long-term
customer loyalty. Also it is a short term incentive which is induced to enhance
sales of a product.
The
dynamic nature of sales promotion has inspired many researchers to turn their
attention to study the various issues related to this element of promotion mix.
Many studies have been conducted on the planning, implementation and evaluation
aspect of sales promotion worldwide. These studies are reviewed and presented
briefly under suitable heads like Studies on Consumer Promotion, Studies on
Sales Force Promotion, Studies on Trade Promotion and Other Studies on
Promotion.
Sales
promotion affects the patronage of industrial products and its role in the
competitive marketing environment cannot be over emphasized. Sale promotion is
one of the key elements in marketing mix for many consumers’ products worldwide
that has been used in order to stimulating consumer purchases (Kurtz, 2008).
Usually the budget that allocated to sales promotions has been rapidly growing
with marketers shifting their attentions to the applying sales promotions more
than other devices such as advertising. Increased media costs have been
characterized as the main factor in this change of emphasis.
The
increasing use of sales promotions have influenced consumers to become deal
prone more than past times, and it in turn stimulate marketers to rely more on
sales promotions in order to respond to this consumer behavior trends and to
keep their consumers from competitors’.
Abia
state has abundant of industrial products which includes but not limited to
Paints, Plastics, leather products, shoe sole, comestics products, roofing
sheets, cement, automobile spare parts and so on.
1.2 Statement of Research Problem
A sales promotion is a time bound program
of a seller that tries to make an offer more attractive to buyers and requires
their participation in the form of an immediate purchase or some other action.
Sales promotion impact refers to the changes sales promotion causes in the
mental or physical state or activities of the recipient. Despite all the effort
that the industrialist in Abia state have employed over the years in other to
boast their sales, their activities have been bewildered by low patronage since
the consumers are always price conscious and most times prefer imported
products.
Also the economic situation in
Nigeria have made it very difficult for industrialist to break even and
considering the high exchange rates which have resulted to high cost of
industrial inputs. This in turns affect the cost industrial products and thus
users of such product resort to patronizing foreign products which are cheaper.
Chris (2005) notes that sales promotion enforces a direct inducement that
offers an extra value or incentive for the product to the sales force,
distributors or the ultimate consumer with the primary objective of creating an
immediate sale. Sales promotion involves some type of inducement that provides an
extra incentive to buy.
This incentive is usually the key element in a promotional program; it may be a
coupon or price reduction or rebates. Thus, sales promotion is essentially an
acceleration tool, designed to speed up the selling process and maximize sales
volume. By providing an extra incentive, sales promotion techniques can motivate
consumers to purchase a larger quantity of a brand. Nigeria Industrial sector
has been characterized with reducing average profit, unhealthy competitive etc.
This has put pressure on manufacturers to work hard so as to reduce cost, win
new customers and retain existing ones and increase profit to ensure
sustainable growth of their businesses.
The challenge of marketing/promotion
rests on predicting current and future consumer’s needs and preferring suitable
solution to them. Firm’s efforts for profit maximization have been bewildered
by wrong prediction of consumer variables that will ensure customer’s
preference/patronage of one’s brand over competitors.
There are scanty empirical studies
which have explored the effect of sales promotion on patronage of industrial
products in Abia Sate. Hence, this study was poised to bridge this gap.
1.3 Objectives Of The Study
The main objective of this study was
to determine the effect sales promotion on patronage of some industrial
products in Umuahia urban. The specific objectives are:
1. to
determine the effect of trade shows on customer patronage of some industrial products in Umuahia urban.
2. to examine the effect of Coupon
on customer loyalty of some industrial
products in Umuahia urban.
3. to
ascertain the effect of price discount on customer satisfaction of some industrial products in Umuahia
urban.
1.4 Research Questions
In order
to give the study a direction, the following questions were put up:
1. how
does trade shows affect customer patronage of
some industrial products in Umuahia
urban.
2. to what extent does Coupon
affect customer loyalty of some
industrial products in Umuahia urban.
3. what
is the effect of price discount on customer satisfaction of some industrial products in Umuahia
urban.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The
following null hypotheses were formulated:
HO1: There is no significance
relationship between Trade Show and customer Patronage of industrial
products in Umuahia.
HO2: There is no significance
relationship between Coupon and customer Loyalty of industrial
products in Umuahia.
HO3: There
is no significant relationship between Price discount
and customer satisfaction of industrial products in Umuahia.
1.6 Significance of the Study
On completion, the study shall be beneficial to
industrial product marketers, students of marketing, government and policy
makers, business firms and many research fellows. Industrial product firms will
rely on the study recommendations as a guide that will properly and tactically
design their promotional strategy in the most efficient manner to ensure their
survival and continual existence in their fierce marketing environment and it
will help them to enhance their market share and customer patronage and
loyalty. It is very obvious that sales promotional strategies constitute one of
the functional areas essential in contemporary organization to enhance
performance. It will further help the organizations to monitor the consequences
of their various competitive sales promotional activities and products
performance in term of customer patronage, satisfaction and loyalty.
The research fellows will find this
study very helpful as it will serve as a good foundation of any study in
similar field or topic and will make them come out with reliable and more
elaborate findings for the improvement at our organizations and business in
general.
Future investors in the
confectionery business will be guided as this study will give them an insight
of possible effect of pricing strategies on marketing performance.
Government promotional agencies and
policy makers will also benefit from the findings of this study as it will
guide them on key decision making that bothers around private sector of the
economy so as to create an enabling fair playing ground for private sector
firms to thrive.
Also this study will add to the body
of literature on sales promotional strategy and patronage which will be of
great help to researchers’ who are interested in investigating related issues.
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