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THE IMPACT OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES ON THE PURCHASE OF A COMPANY’S PRODUCT

Abstract

This research seeks to explore “The impact of promotional activities on the purchase of company’s product using Nigeria Bottling Company Plc. as a case study. It has other objectives such as exposing how promotional activities impact positively on the purchase of a company’s product and the effect these promotional activities have on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling company’s product. Primary data were gathered via the administration of questionnaire and personal interview to staffs, consumers and distributors of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product to help seek opinions on the research topic. Among the findings were that promotional activities have a significant effect on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product, it has a positive impact on the purchase of the firm’s product etc. The researcher based on her findings therefore recommended the use of promotional tools by companies.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

The impact of promotional activities on the purchase of a company’s product cannot be over emphasized, this has prompted the researcher to write on this topic with the aim of finding out various promotional activities that affect the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product and to discover if Nigeria Bottling Company has employed any form of promotion about which customer feels particularly strong. The researcher’s interest in choosing this topic is to provide a better understanding on the impact of promotional activities on the purchase of a company’s product.

At the end of this work, the researcher will be more enlightened on the impact of promotional activities on the purchase of company’s product. The research will help more organization also to be enlightened on the impact of promotional activities. This intensive research will highlight on promotional tools and techniques and also recommend on an ideal techniques to be employed by company. Hence the researched company can also use this research to know the merits and demerits of each promotional technique and unify these in order to achieve their goals.

There has been extensive research on promotional activities over time. This mainly manifests itself in the importance of promotion in the up keep of many of the businesses around. Marketers use promotional activities as a major tool for communicating their intentions. A lot of literatures has been written in promotional activities by outstanding people like Kiley (2012). In order for promotional program to be effective, it should lead to an increase sales and survival of the business and change in consumer attitude towards the product.

In order to achieve this target, company like Nigeria Bottling Company employs promotional tools which include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, publicity, public relations, direct marketing etc. But among them, advertising and sales promotion is the most effective and notable which is the focus of the research. According to America Marketing Association (AMA) 2010, promotion is any way a marketer communicates with the public and particularly the set target market. Marketing thrust has accepted the term promotional mix or promotional blames to classify the tool available to communicate with and persuade current and potential customer Belgah, (2008). A promotional mix would be consensus including personal selling, advertising, publicity or public relation and sales promotion.

Different researcher has made various findings on promotional activities on the purchase of a company’s product. This research is aimed at continuing this trend and as such the aim of this study is to employ the impact of promotional activities on the purchase of a company’s product.    

1.2     Statement of the Problem

1.       Promotional activities are all geared towards gaining customer loyalty or strengthening customer relation. However this term has been fully embraced by firms in Nigeria.

2.       A connected effect need to be made to employ the usefulness of all promotional tools in the purchase of a company’s product.

3.       This project is tailored to explore how useful promotional tools can be to companies like Nigeria Bottling Company.

1.3     Research Questions

1.       What impact has promotional activities on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product?

2.       What effect have these promotional activities had on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company?

3.       What is the most effective promotional tools used by Nigeria Bottling Company?

1.4     Research Hypothesis

          Hypothesis 1

Hi:    Promotional activities impact positively on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product.

Hypothesis 2

Hi:    Promotional activities have a significant effect on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product.

Hypothesis 3

Hi:    There is a positive relationship between the most effective promotional tools to be used by Nigeria Bottling Company in promoting its product and increase in sales of those products.

1.5     Purpose of the Study

The intent of this research will be to gain a deeper understanding of promotional activities and to analyze promotional methods as they have been applied out by companies.

The objectives of the research are as follows:

1.                 To examine various forms of promotional activities that impacts the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product.

2.                 To evaluate the effect these promotion have on the purchase of Nigeria Bottling Company’s product.

3.                 To determine the most effective tools to be used by Nigeria Bottling Company in promoting its product.

1.6     Scope of Study

Promotional tools of marketing entails advertising, sales               promotion, personal selling, publicity, public relations, direct marketing, etc. This research will look to explore how these various promotional tools of marketing affect the purchase of Nigeria Bottling company’s product. The research is also cover how promotional tools and most especially promotional massages can be design to strategically gain customer loyalties.   

1.7     Significance of the Study

This research will be of great importance to parties when successfully completed.

First on the list is Nigeria Bottling Company as a case study in this project. To benefit are other beverages producing companies in the industry, manufacturing companies and representative, motivational enterprise in Nigeria.

This research will be of great relevance to consumers in the sense that their suggestion and criticism will be taken into consideration. Examples is the deport Heinerger beer, brewed by the Bendel Brewery management of the Nigeria Bottling Company.

This research work will also benefit the producers with regards to the best media to use in promoting the company’s product to the target market.

Finally, it is important to state that this research work will benefit workers, lecturers and to the school since the student of the institution who are intending to carry research on promotion will access required information.

1.8     Limitation of the Study

In the course of conducting this research, on the impact of promotional activities on the purchase of a company’s product, a lot of hurdles were crossed.

Firstly, is a time constraint. There were considerable pressures on time because the researcher was busy with other class activities and seasonal examination which made her to have extra time to do work.

Secondly, are the financial constraints of producing this project as a result of increase cost of buying stationeries, typing and binding of the work.

Another problem was the reluctant attitude of consumers and distributors of Coca-cola product with regard to answering the questionnaire given to them to answer.

1.9     Operational Definition of Terms

·                    Promotional Mix: Promotional mix is the specific blend of advertising, sales promotion, public relation, personal selling and direct marketing tools that the company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build customer relationship (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008).

·                    Advertising: Advertising is paid, non personal communication transmitted through media such as televisions, radio, magazines, newspapers, direct mail, outdoor displays, the internet and mobile devices (Ferrel and Hartline, 2009).

·                    Sales Promotion: Walker and Stanton (2009), see sales promotion as demand stimulating activities design to supplement advertising and facilitate personal selling.

·                    Personal Selling: Personal selling is face to face interaction with one or more perspective purchases for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders (Kotler and Keller, 2008).

·                    Public Relations: According to the Institute of Public Relation, America (2009), public relations is a planned effort established and improves the degree of mutual understanding between organizations or individual and any group or persons with the primary objective of assisting that individual to deserve, acquire and retain a good reputation.

·                    Publicity: This is a special form of public relations that involves the new stories about an organization or its product (Keegan and Etzel, 2010).

·                    Direct Marketing: Kurtz and Boonze (2009), consider, direct marketing as a direct connection with carefully targeted individual consumer to both obtains an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationship.

·                    Product: Product is anything that can be offered to the market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that can satisfy a need or want (Kotler and Keller, 2012).

·                    Consumer Goods: These are products bought for personal consumption by consumers (Pride and Ferreel, 2009).

·                    Promotion: Promotion is a form of communication with an additional element of persuasion to accept ideas, product, services and hence persuasive communication becomes the heart of promotion, the third element of marketing mix (McDaniel, 2008).

·                    Integrated Marketing Communication: Is the totality of the various forms of communication that are employed to project or promote a product or services to its target audience (Momoh, 2013).

·        Viral Marketing .

·        Viral market involves creating a web site, video, email, cell phone massages advertisement, or other marketing event that is so effective that customers will want to pass it along to their friends.

·                    Product Life Cycle: Product life cycle is the course of a product’s sales and profit over its life time. It involves five distinct stages: product development, introduction, growth, maturity (and decline (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders, Wong, 2010).

·                    Media: This is a non-personal communication channels including print media (Newspapers, magazines, direct mail); broadcast media (Radio, Television); and display media (Billboards, signs posters, (Kotler and Armstrong, 2009).

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