Project work on

ANALYZING THE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES OF LIBERIAN OWNED

BUSINESSES: A CASE STUDY OF J-PALM LIBERIA

Submitted by:

Batch No. Fall 2023

Princess Diana Tarpeh. 302921920756

Submitted to

Department of Business Administration Bluecrest

BLUECREST UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LIBERIA

(AUTONOMOUS)

Monrovia Liberia 12345

Supervisor Head of Department

Prince Kennedy oguche Ph.D. Bhimsing Bohara

School of Graduate studies Head of Department
BlueCrest University BlueCrest University
Congo town, Monrovia Liberia Congo town, Monrovia Liberia
Abstract
Technology has forced businesses to digitize their operations, thus taking advantage to
promote and create better brands and more awareness of their products/services offered to
customers and potential clients. We are also experiencing some mis-treatment in the
system, Seller giving the wrong information to clients on the products and information are
not given in details (contact, price etc..) for the customer to understand what? They are
buying.

This research is focused on the (Digital marketing Strategies of Liberian owed

Businesses: A Case study of J-palm Liberia) a Qualitative research method, the researcher
used a case study design. The population of this study was all employees in the Marketing
department at J-palm Liberia’s Head office on the Du port Road. According to the Human
department, they are twenty-five 25 (employees) the sampling size for this research were
eight (All eight 8 employees in the marketing department) The primary objectives of this
research is to identify the challenges, benefits, and determine the marketing strategies of
Liberian owned business using J-palm as a case.

The researcher used ten (10) self-developed open-ended question contain in a

questionnaire as the key instrument to collect data for the study as the presentation of the
data. The researcher also interprets the data by using twelve tables to better explained the
data with in numbers according to the answers of the respondents.

With the information gathered this research will give an insight of Liberian businesses
digital marketing strategies plans and up-coming improvement to better compete with the
world standards of digital marketing.

Keywords: Digital / online Marketing, Business, J-Palm Liberia, Strategies,

social media, product, services,

 INTRODUCTION
A marketing strategy is a course of action a company uses to promote and sell its products or

services (XXX, 20xx). Businesses create marketing strategies primarily to better communicate

awareness of their product or service to consumers. By developing a marketing strategy,

businesses create clear objectives that attract the consumers/customers most likely to purchase

their products or services. For a marketing strategy to be successful, it must provide information

on the

 Product: describe the product or service, the functionality and warranty etc.

 Price: the cost of wholesale, retail, and seasonal pricing, bundling etc..

 Place: information on the location or distribution, delivery, including transportation.

 Promotion: information on advertising, public relations, sales, promotion etc.

There are many types of marketing strategies and businesses often use multiple strategies at a

time, to survive in the competitive world. They could employ:

Business to business (B2B) is marketing strategy where businesses sell to other businesses

(a small business sells its product/ offer service to a department store).

Direct marketing is when a business communicates directly with customers (via mail,

emails, flyers etc., (a business leaves promotional flyer at the doors of homes).

Freebie involves free giveaways or the selling of products at a low cost to encourage the sale

of a more valuable product. Freebie marketing increases brand visibility and allows customers to

try new products or services before committing (a cable service gives a 14-day free trial of their

services before monthly subscription).

 Online Marketing includes the use of digital technology to market goods and services (pop-

up banner on a website or in a mobile game that advertises something of a company).

For the sake of this research, Online and Digital (Marketing) shall mean the same thing and

were be used interchangeably. It will mean a wide range of activities used by businesses.

A Digital Marketing Strategy, then, is a plan which details the methods, media, or steps a

business uses to achieve its marketing goals through online channels (email, social media,

website vlogs, blog, etc.,). The plan should contain information on all necessary aspects of the

outlets, medium, duration of the ads, how long and even the amount needed to invest in the

whole strategy. Businesses that master their digital marketing strategies can improve their

methods of reaching their target audience as well as their goals.

Background of the study

Importance of Digital Marketing

Primarily, Digital Marketing is important because it provides businesses the chance to

communicate directly with their customers in real time. But more importantly, it allows

customers to interact with businesses in real time, thus providing timely, critical feedback. For

example, a business makes a post and gets many likes. This is good. However, what is even

better is when the customers message the business to make an order on the spot, or makes a

critical correction to the post. The business can reduce the damage quickly. The act of customers

making on spot purchasing decision, checking for stock availability, or comparing prices have

endeared DM to businesses.

Digital marketing has become a necessity because it creates a way for innovation and this is

what nurtures the operating of a business (Melo, 2018). The growth of Digital Marketing (DM),

in all sectors, has been well noted (Jadhav et al, 2023; XX, xx; XX, xx). Digital Marketing is
essential to the modern business. For modern businesses, it is now an issue of when, how, and

how much, and not if they should engage. They must organize and manage campaigns if they

intend to survive.

J-Palm Liberia (the Case)

J-Palm Liberia (JPL) is a Liberia business that manufactures Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil

and processes these oils into natural products for food, and personal care. According to JPL

(2023), they started in 2013 with one central goal: “to develop a sustainable model to create

premium quality consumer goods for Liberians while simultaneously creating income-

earning and employment opportunities for Liberians”. It has since built “a robust network of

over 500 smallholder suppliers across 5 counties in Liberia, and have created over 50 jobs”.

Additionally, JPL uses the kernel oil to create a range of beauty and clean energy

products, including Kernel Fresh, a brand of health and beauty products made of Palm Kernel

Oil.

Significance of the Study

This research is significant because of several reasons. First, it adds to the body of

knowledge. Being original research, it can offer scholars, stakeholders and the J-Palm Liberia

management, specific and general knowledge which will improve their digital marketing

strategies. Generically, the system and policymakers can benefit from the new knowledge

garnered from this research in making bater systemic decisions. which include
Literature Review
There are many digital marketing tools available for businesses to use in developing and

implementing a digital marketing strategy. They include the following: affiliate marketing,

content marketing, display/online advertising, e-mail marketing, mobile marketing, online public

relations, search engine advertising (SEA), search engine optimization (SEO), social media and

its communities, viral marketing, and the company website.

The digital marketing toolkit is divided into seven categories, based on the context used in

the original literature, namely (1) marketing strategy, (2) overall customer experience, and (3)

brand management. These three categories have a strategic focus and have a direct impact on the

following categories four to seven.

Channels, platforms, and formats (4) include a large collection of tools available to

marketers. Here, content marketing (5) plays a crucial, all-encompassing role because it provides

valuable and entertaining content for the organization’s digital channels and platforms. Analytics

and monitoring (6) provide the feedback-loop and learning capabilities to the organization.

Finally, all digital marketing capabilities are supported by marketing technology (7), including

CRM and marketing automation.

The most frequently cited tools include the following propositions:

Affiliate Marketing
 The goal of affiliate marketing is to increase the number of channels and the business' market

coverage through partnerships with other organizations/websites. The company will provide a

commission for the promotion and sale of products and services through these third-party partner

websites, or for leads (potential new customers) generated by third-party partners in this

category.

Digital Marketing Toolkit

Vachhani [4] also include in the toolkit, link building. In addition, Demishkevich [14] refers

to lead aggregators, Jensen [26] to sponsorships, and Leeflang et al. [28] to third-party online

stores.

Content Marketing

Content marketing, including blogs, whitepapers etc., is seen as an effective strategy for

branding, developing customer trust and loyalty, and to generate leads through (specified)

targeted, valuable content [5, 14, 23, 33]. Here, Bhayani and Vachhani [4] mention blogs as an

important component of content marketing, Demishkevich [14] highlights the need for video

marketing; and Järvinen et al. [25] and Jensen [26] refer to online events and webinars as a

potential content format.

Display/Online Advertising

Display and online advertising are two of the oldest and most common channels/formats of

digital marketing. They utilize virtual space to promote marketing messages and to drive user

activity; they create a relatively low-cost, agile, and inter- active channel between advertisers and

consumers [6, 14, 24]. New forms of online advertising include video marketing and games [26,

30, 45, 46].

 Methodology
Chapter three focuses on the methodology used in the study. The areas under this section are the

Research Method, the Research Design, the Population of the Study, the Sampling Method and

the Sample Size and Sampling Techniques, the Data Collection Methods and Procedures and

finally, the Data Analysis.

Research Method

A research method is a strategy or technique used in collecting data or evidence for analysis

in order to uncover new information or create better understanding of a topic (Alok, 2022). For

this study, the researcher used Qualitative Research Method.

A Qualitative Research Method is one that aims to gather and analyze non-numerical

(descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality – understanding

their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation (Clair, 2022). This type of research usually involves in-

depth interviews, focus groups, or observations in order to collect data that is rich in detail and

context (Clair, 2022).

Research Design

For this research, the researcher will use a Case Study Design. A case study is a detailed

study of a specific subject, person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. A case
study is often used in social, educational, clinical, and business research (McCombes, 2019). A

case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth

knowledge about a specific real-world subject McComber (2019). It allows you to explore major

characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Population of the Study

In research, a population is a group of individuals having the same characteristic (Creswell,

2012). For example, all students would make up the population of students, and all high school

administrators in a school district would comprise the population of administrators. The

population of this study was all employees in the Marketing Department at J-Palm Liberia’s

Head Office on the Du Port Road. According to the Human Resource Department, they are 25

(employees)

Sample Size and Sampling Technique

A Sample Size is the number of subsets/subjects selected from a larger population. The

sample size for this research was eight, (all 8 employees in the Marketing Department) of J-Palm

Liberia. Sampling is the process of selecting subsets from a given population. It constitutes the

entire population that is of interest to the researcher (Kothari & Garg, 2014). For this research,

the researcher will use Purposively Sampling Technique. Purposive Sampling is a method where

the researcher uses the most knowledgeable people with the most experience or information on

the subject matter (XXXX, XXX). Purposive Sampling is mostly used in qualitative research,

when a researcher wishes to focus deeply on a certain phenomenon, event, occurrence

(Nikolopoulou K., 2022).

Data Collection Methods

 The researcher collected data for this study using a structured, face to face interview guide

which contained ten (10) open ended questions. Open ended questions allow respondents to

include more information, giving the researcher, more useful, contextual feedback. Open ended

questions allow one to better understand the respondent’s true feelings and attitudes about the

subject (Cleave, 2017). Additionally, the researcher will use a mobile phone, recorder, writing

pads etc.

DATA ANALYSIS

The key objective of the Qualitative Study was to determine, identify and access the Digital

Marketing Strategies of Liberian Owned businesses using J-Palm Liberia as a Case. The study

targeted 8 respondents from whom to collect primary data. All eight (8) sampled respondents

filled-in and returned the questionnaires making a response rate of 100%. This researcher made

multiple personal calls, wrote several emails, and conducted face-to-face interviews as well.

The researcher analyzed and arranged the qualitative data collected from the field using

tables to present the data. The findings are presented below.

Presentation of the Data

The research was conducted on the topic, “Analyzing the Digital Marketing Strategies of

Liberian Owned Businesses: A Case Study on J-palm Liberia in Duport Road, Kingdom Care

Community’’. The researcher used ten (10) self-developed, open-ended questions contained in a

questionnaire as the key instrument to collect data for the study. Kerlinger (2015) reported that

this instrument is widely used for collecting data in any Social Science research.

Introduction of the Respondents

In this section, the researcher introduced all the respondents and coded them as follows: from

R1-R8
 R1 is between the age rage 30-39yrs. has work for the past six (6) years and is a BSc holder.

R2 falls in the age range 18-29yrs, has worked for the past one month now. and is a BSc

holder

R3 falls in the age range 18-29yrs, has worked for the past three months and is a BSc holder.

R4 is between the age range 18-29yrs, has worked for the past five months and has a BSc.

R5 is in the age rage 30-39yrs, has worked for the past six (6) months and is a BSc holder

R6 is a BSc holder, age ranges from 30-39yrs and has worked at J-Palm for a month now.

R7 is a BSc holder, age ranges from 30-39yrs, has worked for the past three (3) months now.

R8 is in the age range of 30-39yrs she has worked for the past few months now.

interpretation of Data

The study ask respondent about their gender, age range, level of education and length of

service to the organization. In order to better understand the issue at hand and find more practical

solutions, a profile of the responders was created.

Table 1: Gender of respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 3 37.5

Female 5 62.5

Total 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Table 2: What is your Age?

Age Range Male Female Frequency Percentage

18-29 0 3 3 37.5
 30-39 3 2 5 62.5

total 3 5 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

The results from Table shows the Age range of the respondents of the study. Out of the (8) eight

respondents. The Age range “between”18-29 were three respondents representing 37.5 precent

out of the total respondent. The age range between 30-39 were five respondent representing 62.5

percent out of the total population.

Table 3: What is your education level?

Education level Male Female Frequency Percentage

High school certificate 0 1 1 12.5

Bachelor degree 3 4 7 87.5

Master Degree 0 0 0 0

PhD degree 0 0 0 0

Total 3 5 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

The results from table three shows educational level. The high school certificate (1)

respondent representing 12.5 precent, from Bachelor degree (7) respondents representing 87.5

out of the total population. Master degree no respondent representing 0 precent out of the total

population while PhD degree no respondent representing 0 precent out of the total population.
 Table 4: How long have you worked here?

Number of years Male Female Frequency percentage

One month-one year 2 5 7 87.5

2-6yrs 1 0 1 12.5

7-13yrs 0 0 0 0

According to table 4 the results show the length of time the respondent worked at the

organization 1-12months seven (7) respondents representing 87.5 percent, 2-6yrs one (1)

respondent representing 12.5 precent out of the total population of eight (8) respondents.

Table 5

Existing digital marketing strategies

Online Male Female Frequency percentage

Strategies

Facebook 3 5 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation From R1

Facebook is used to sell and create awareness for existing customer and potential clients

The Existing digital marketing strategies J-palm Liberia is involved in are content creating on

Facebook and Instagram where they paid for adds to promote their online presence
 Online Male Female Frequency percentage

Strategies

Instagram 3 5 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation from R2

Instagram allows the customer to be updated of their new products and promotes ex (they are

offering package for the independence July 26)

Table 6

J-palm Hoping to accomplish with digital marketing

Top 3 Male Female Frequency percentage

Expand their 3 3 6 75

market

Create 2 0 0 25

awareness on the

product

Total 5 3 6 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Table 7

Quotation From R3
 They are hoping to expand their market and create awareness on their products through their

Outlet store and words of mouth

Target Market

Location Male Female Frequency Percentage

Monrovia 3 5 8 100

Ghana 0 0 0 0

International 0 0 0 0

market

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation From R7

Their target market are woman, man and children but geographically they are also hoping to

export their products to the (U.S, Ghana and Nigeria)

Table 8

Marketing Channels

Social media Male Female Frequency percentage

Facebook 3 5 8 100

Quotation R1

According to the respondent Facebook is the most popular channels they used to sell their

products, and it allows they to interact with the customer through the (Facebook Meta for

Business Platform) and it give direct feedback from clients about the product and services offers.

Table 9
 Percentage of annual budget investing in digital marketing

Annual Budget Male Female Frequency Percentage

65% 1 1 2

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation from R8

The Annual budget spent are 65% on digital marketing and influences

Table 10

New Clients that have been added annually

New clients Male Female Frequency Percentage

12,000 Clients

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation from R 4

Their target new clients monthly is one thousand customers they hope to achieve, annually

the new clients will be twelve thousand

Table 11

Market Share

Market Share Male Female Frequency Percentage

7% 3 5 8 100

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation from R
 According to R5 they have 7% of the market share in the cosmetics industry in Liberia (Skin

and beauty).

Table 11 is involved with the market share percentage the organization has in the beauty

industry in Liberia.

Table 12

Techniques used to get client’s feedback

Clients Feedback Male Female Frequency Percentage

Called after the 3 5 8 100

product has been

delivered after a

purchase

Source: Researcher field survey 2023

Quotation from R3

According to respondent three (3) its best to always called the clients after the product has been

delivered to check for satisfaction and making sure there were no missing items form the

package

Findings

After analyzing the data collected from the respondent on the field the following are the

findings. Table (1) gave the gender distribution of the study at 3 respondents were males
reparenting 37.5 percent while 5 respondents were female representing 62.5 precent of the total

population.

Table (2) gave the age range of the respondents 62.5 precent between the age of 30-39 years,

37.5 percent between the age of 18-29years

Table (3) gave respondents educational level 12.5 precent High school certificate. 87.5

percent had Bachelor Degree, Master Degree no respondent and PhD degree no respondents

representing 0 precent of the population.

Table (4) gave How long the employees has worked for the organization One (1) month -

12months 87.5 percent of the respondents had worked during this time while 12.5 percent have

worked two (2) to six (6) years out of the total population.

Table (5) gave The Existing Marketing Strategies used are Facebook and Instagram 100

percent of the respondents said through this social platform they used to advertise their Brand

Table (6) gave, what is J-palm hoping to accomplish with digital Marketing, 75 precent of

the respondents said to expand their Market while 25 percent respondents said to create

awareness of their product.

 Table (7) gave, Target Market geographically 100 percent of the respondent said their target

audience are in Monrovia to be precises and hoping to expand their target market in Ghana,

Nigeria and the United States in the nearest future.

Table (8) gave, Marketing Channels 100 percent of the respondent said their most used

marketing channels are Facebook and Instagram

Table (9) gave, Percentage of Annual budget investing in digital Marketing 87.5 percent of

the respondent don’t know the budget of the digital marketing 12.5 percent said they spent 65%

of their annulling income is spent on digital marketing.

Table (10) gave, new clients that have been added Annually 87.5 percent of the respondents

don’t know how many clients that are added to their customer list 12.5percent of the respondents

said 12,000 clients are added annually.

Table (11) gave, The Market share 87.5 precents of the respondents don’t know their market

share in the industry of Beauty and skin care while 10 percent of the respondent said they owed

??? percent of the market.

Table (12) gave, Technique used to get Client’s feedback 100 percent of the respondents said

call after the products has been delivered to check if the customer is satisfied and all package

were correct
4.5 Discussion of Findings

From findings the researcher can now discuss the findings as follows: that there are many Digital

marketing strategies out there but J-palm Liberia choose to stick to Facebook and Instagram.

From the research findings the research discovered that there 8 respondents which means the

research was qualitative and of primary nature. (Yin 2018) noted that when the researcher uses

interview and questionnaire to help in data collections to from primary data collection our

sample size is 8. (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

According to the findings, Table one (1) shows that there were 8 respondents. Three (3) were

males and five (5) were females which is 37.5 precent were males and 62.5 were females.

Table two (2) showed the age group which means the highest group were between 30-39years,

followed by 18-29 years. In Table three (3) The Educational level for the study ranges from High

school graduate to PhD degree. It is agreed that high school certificate was the lowest with 12.5

percent followed by Bachelor degree/BBA 87.5 precent. Table four (4) Asked How long have

You worked here? The highest use 87.5 percent one month -one year and two (2) – six (6) years

12.5 precent. Table five (5) showed the existing marketing strategies used. The first highest that

is 50 precent Facebook followed by Instagram 50 precent. Table six (6) Asked What is J-palm

Hoping to accomplish with Digital marketing. Is to expand their digital marketing in Monrovia,

the highest were 75 precent and 25 precent was to create awareness on the product. Table seven

(7) Asked about the Target Market 100 percent of respondents said their target audience are base

in Monrovia. Table eight (8) Asked about the Marketing channels. The highest used channels are

Facebook and Instagram which is 100 percent. Table nine (9) Asked about the percentage of

annual budget investing in digital marketing 12.5 percent of the respondents said 65% of their
annual budget is spent on digital marketing while 87.5 percent of the respondents don’t have an

idea about the budget. Table ten (10) Asked about new clients that have been added annually,

12,000 new clients are added annually to their customers list according to 25 percent of the

respondents while 75 percent don’t have an idea of the new clients’ record. Table eleven (11)

Asked for the market share 12.5 precent of the respondents said they owed 7% of the market

while 87.5 percent don’t have an idea about their share in the Beauty and skin care industry in

Liberia. Table twelve (12) asked about the techniques used to get clients feedback, 100 precent

of the respondents said calling after the products has been deliver to the clients for satisfaction

and feedback on the package.

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY: CONCLUSIONS RECOMMEDATION

Summary

This study was conducted for purpose of Analyzing the Digital Marketing Strategies of Liberian

Owned Businesses: Case Study of J-palm Liberia. The survey method of the research was to

collect data. The questionnaires served as the instrument for collecting the data the total

population that was used as 25 employees of the J-palm Liberia. The sample size used was 12.5

which is 10% of the total population of the study. The inquiry was conducted over the period of

one month. The case study of J-palm Liberia digital marketing strategies, the research realized

that presently J-palm Liberia are using Facebook and Instagram for their digital marketing

strategies platform.
According to our study apart from Facebook and Instagram there are many other digital

marketing strategies in the world that has been used by businesses all over the globe to promote,

distribute and sell their products etc.…. `

J-palm Liberia needs to improve on her digital marketing strategies Facebook and Instagram are

Conclusion

The topic of the research work (ANALYING THE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES OF

LIBERIAN OWNED BUSINESSES: J-PALM LIBERIA AS A CASE STUDY) and the research

focuses on the advantages, disadvantages and J-Palm Liberia marketing strategies as they were

used as the case in this study. The researcher used a qualitative method and data collection were

Questionnaire: containing 10 self-developed open-ended questions Recorder, Mobil phone calls,

Face to Face Interviews

5.3 Recommendation

Because of the current situation of J-palm Liberia digital marketing strategies in Duport road,

kingdom care community, I therefore recommend the following measure to be put in place by -J-

palm Liberia.

1. There are many digital Marketing strategies platforms that are used worldwide e.g.

(TikTok google, WhatsApp’s, Pinterest, Website, Canvas etc.…...)

2. Marketing and sales should be two (2) different department, to work effectively because

employees will be overload with mutul- functional task

3. Employees needs to know what is happening in the department they are working within,

details information about clients, Products and the organization.

4. Get personal on your social media Channels, and redefine your marketing strategies.

5. We Recommend for you to use 50% of your total marketing budget for digital marketing

strategies.

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