CHAPTERONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BackgroundtotheStudy

Theneedforanorganizationtoproperlycoordinateitsmarketingcommunicationsstrategiestodeliverac

lear,consistent,credibleandcompetitivemessageaboutitselfanditsproductshasbecomeachallengetod

ayforeveryresultorientedfirm.Effectivemarketingcommunicationsshouldthereforebeanintegralpart

ofeveryefficientandresult-

drivenorganization.Howinnovativeandcreativemarketingcommunicationspractitionersareinappro

priatelycombining,coordinatingandefficientlyusingmarketingcommunicationtoolswillhavegreati

mpactontheircompanies’products/

servicesandbyextension,onsuchproducts’marketshare.Thisagaincouldposeseriouschallengetocom

petingcompaniesacrossmarketsinthecountry.

Marketingcommunicationoperatesasalinkbetweenasellerorproducerandacustomer.Thesellerusesdi

versepromotionaltechniquestoacquirethetargetmarket,dependingonthefeaturesoftheproduct,psych

ologicalopinionandpointofviewofthetargetaudience(Lin&Chang,2015).Thereactionofcustomersto

themarketingcommunicationmixofafirmhascontinuallybeenaconcernofhugetheoreticalandpractica

lvalueandthatiswhymarketersatalltimesputgreathardworktocoordinatebetweenanorganization’sma

rketingcommunicationactivitiesandsalesperformanceforsustainabilityandgrowthofthefirm(Matthy

ssens&Johnston,2016).Duetocomplexandcompetitivebusinessenvironments,demandchangesconst

antlyhencebusinessentitieshavetoenhancethelevelsofincomebyfocusingattentiononcustomeraware

nessandretention.Alsocreatingawarenessandsuccessivepurchaseisnecessaryfortheachievementand

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continualgrowthoforganizationshencetheneedtoevaluatetheirmarketingcommunicationstrategies(

Okyere,Agyapong&Nyarku,2017).

Marketingcommunicationssymbolizethestatewhichorganizationscanlaunchaconversationwithcons

umersandotherstakeholders,abouttheirgoodsorservicecontributionsand/

orothercompanymatters(Keller,2017).Thesignificanceofmarketingcommunicationshasdevelopedi

nrecentyearsfornumerousreasons.Forinstance,thedevelopmentofnewtechnologyandviewerspartiti

onhasprimarilyalteredthemarketingcommunicationsituation(Schultz,2019;Low,2016).

Manyyearsago,agenciesandclientsseemtobelievethattodelivermessagestoparticularpeople,itwasad

equatetousespecifictoolofcommunicationmix.Itwasacommonbeliefthatitwasnecessarytousepartic

ulartooltoachievespecificcommunicationeffectsonbuyers.Duetothis,clientswererecommendedtous

eadvertisingtocreateawareness,publicrelationstocreateinterestandgoodwilltowardsaproduct,salesp

romotiontogenerateimmediatesalesetc.Potentialcustomerswererequiredtodealwithavarietyoffuncti

onallydifferentandindependentagenciesinothertocompletetheircommunicationrequirementswithth

eirvariousaudiencesascommunicationabilities.

Nowadays,clientsseemstohavebeguntore-

orienttheircommunicationawayfrommassmediaapproachestoincreasedlevelofinteractionwithcusto

mers,thestructuralinadequaciesofthemarketingcommunicationssectorseemstohaveservedtoconstra

inthem.ThisappearstobethereasonwhyMarketingCommunication(MC)wasborn.MarketingCommu

nication(MC)seemstoemergeasareactiontostructuralinadequaciesandtherealizationofclientsthatthe

ircommunicationneedscanbeachievedmoreefficientlyandeffectively.

Intodayeverchangingenvironmentofsocialnetworks,empoweredcustomersandhypercompetition,or

ganizationsneedtobepreparedtoimmediatelyimplementholisticthinkingfortheirmarketingandcomm

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unicationstrategy.Italsoappearstobenecessaryfororganizationstomakepowerfulimpactontargetaudi

encesandmarkets,tobeanincreaseinglobalcompetition,technologicaladvances,andfastinformedcust

omers.TheemergenceofMarketingCommunicationisoneofthemostsignificantexamplesofdevelopm

entinthemarketingdiscipline.Itmaybeoneofsuchsteptowardanintegratedapproachtoachievingeffici

encybysynergy.MarketingCommunicationhaveinfluencedthethinkingandactingamongcompanies.

MarketingCommunicationmaybringaproductinformationtocustomers.TheNigerianmarketplaceco

nsistsofanincreasinglycomplexareaofcompetitionwithinarapidlychangingenvironment.Businessis

nowgettinginternetbasedoperations,portrayingacharmingpictureofsophisticatedandclusteredmark

et.Itisattemptingtospeakwithclearvoicesaboutthenaturesoftheiroperationsandprogramsandthebene

fitsassociatedwiththebrands.IntegratedMarketingCommunicationmaynotbeonlycommunicationpr

ocess,butalsoaprocessconnectedwithbrandandalsomakesthemtohavesomefavorablepositivestrong

anduniquebrandassociationintheirmemory.

SaleofConsumersgoodshadalimitednumberofmediachannelsfromwhichtoobtainproductinformatio

nandwereforcedtorelyonwordofmouth(WOM)andprintmedia(e.g.newspapers,magazines)tolearna

boutproductsinwhichtheywereinterested.Thischangedradicallyinthetwentiethcentury,asthenumber

ofmediachannelsincreasedwiththeadventofradioandtelevision(TV),revolutionizingthewaysinwhic

hconsumerscouldaccessinformation.Overthepasttwodecades,theadventoftheinternethasagainfund

amentallyalteredthequantityandqualityofinformationavailabletoconsumers.Asatypeof“newmedia,

”theinternetcontainsalloftheinformationthatwasavailablefromoldermediaand,whenusedinconjunct

ionwithpersonalmediadevicessuchassmartphonesandTablets,allowsconsumerstoobtaininformatio

nanywhere,atanytime(Woo,2015).

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Whileprintmediaadvertisingexpendituresdecreasedby3percentperyearfrom2009to2016,spendingo

ninternetmediagrewby18percentannuallyoverthesametimeperiod(ZenithOptimedia,2017).Intande

mwiththisevolutionininformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT),saleofconsumergoodsandc

orporateadvertisingstrategieshavealsochanged.Consumersarenowabletogatherinformationthrough

variousmediachannelsincludingtheinternetateachstageofthepurchasedecisionmakingprocess(need

recognition,informationsearch,alternativeevaluation,purchasedecision,andpostpurchasebehavior).

Theinternethasalsofacilitatedsocialnetworkingwhichenablesconnectionswithanetworkofpeoplewh

osharecommoninterestsorgoals(Hsu,2018).

Socialmediahasbecomeanimperativeconduitforglobalmarketingcommunicationsandiscommandin

galargershareofadvertisingbudgets,especiallytoreachtheyoungergeneration.Therefore,thevalueofa

dvertisingonsocialmediasuchasFacebook,YouTube,LinkedIn,Twitterandothersisofgreatinterestto

organizations,managersandacademics(Saxena&Khanna,2016).marketersareincreasingtheirsocial

mediabudgetswithdigitalinteractiveadvertisingforecastedtoreach$138billionin2015,agrowthrateof

nearly15percentincomparisonto2017(Marketer,2019).Furthermore,theMiddleEastandAfricaarepr

edictedtohavethehighestsocialmediaadvertisingspendgrowth(64percent)in2015(Marketer,2018).S

ocialmedia,suchasFacebookandTwitter,haveplayedhugerolesinthewayswework,study,travel,eat,e

ntertainandmakepurchases.Withtheemergenceofsocialmediaandmobiletechnology,customershave

beguntosharetheirthoughtsabout,andassessmentsof,satisfactoryandunsatisfactoryserviceexperienc

eswithouttemporalorspatialconstraints(Stephen,2017).Researchhasdemonstratedthatsocialmediaa

ndmobiletechnologyhavebecomecrucialchannelsofinformationexchangepriortopurchases.

Fastmovingconsumergoods(FMCG)manufacturingisverymuchasthenamesuggests:highqualitypro

ductsthatflyofftheproductionlinesasfastastheyflyoffsupermarketshelves(Anunda,2016).Theycanal

sobereferredtoasconsumerpackagedgoods(CPG);productsthataresoldquicklyandatrelativelylowco

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st.Typicalproductsincludepersonalcareproducts(bathingsoaps,toothpaste,lotion,hairfood,shoepoli

shetc.),homecareproducts(pesticides,laundry,toiletcare,etc.),foods(snacks,grains,etc.)andbeverage

s(cold,hot,alcoholicandnon-

alcoholic).MajorplayersincludecompanieslikeProcter&Gamble,NestleFoods,GlaxoSmithKlinean

dReckittBenckiserwhichproduceawideportfolioofproductstendtofocusonsingleproductareas(Anun

da,2017).

Nigeriahas47FMCGmanufacturershencefacedwithintensifiedcompetitionbecauseofconsumerswh

oaremorevalueconsciousandlessbrandloyal,dwindlingproductlifecyclesandincreasinglypowerfulr

etailers;thismeanthatmanynewFMCGproductsfallbythewayside.Despitethecriticalnatureoftheprod

uctlaunchprocess,verylittleisknownaboutwhatevenmakesanewproductlaunchintheFMCGindustry

successfulinNigeria(Saronge,2018).However,itisnotablethattoday,consumersusemanysourcesofin

formation,andthevalueofthemarketingcommunicationhasgrownconsiderably.Highlytargeted,them

arketingcommunicationcampaignsarebasedonthestrengthsofexistingcommunicationtools,tofavora

blyinfluencethebehaviorofthetargetaudience(Saronge,2017).

Researchsuggeststhatcustomersgothroughafive-

stagedecisionmakingprocessinanypurchase.FiveStageModelinitiallyproposedbyCox(2018)isconsi

deredtobeoneofthemostcommonmodelsofconsumerdecisionmakingprocessanditinvolvesfivevario

usstages.Thesestagesare:recognitionofneedorproblem,informationsearch,comparingthealternative

s,purchaseandpostpurchaseevaluation.Itisthereforeimperativetohaveimpactfulcommunicationatall

stagesinordertopositivelyinfluencehowconsumersmakedecisionsontheFMCGproductstheypurchas

efrequently.Amarketer’scommunicationshouldinfluencetheirdecisionmakingbefore,duringandafte

rthepurchaseprocess.Beforethecommunicationtomakethemconsider,duringtoinfluenceactionandaf

terforrepeatpurchase(Cox,2018).

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RantitoDiarieshasbeenproclaimedbysometobetheultimategoalofmarketing.Inmarketing,RantitoDi

ariesconsistsofaconsumer’scommitmenttorepurchasetheproductandcanbedemonstratedbyrepeated

buyingofaproductorservicesorotherpositivebehaviourssuchaswordofmouthadvocacytrueRantitoDi

ariesimpliesthattheconsumeriswilling,atleastinoccasion,toputasidetheirowndesiresintheinterestoft

heproduct.

Havingstartedtheabove,RantitoDiaries,isapersuasivecommunicationaboutanorganizationanditspro

duct.Thecommunication,themedia,theaudience,therespondentandthefeedback,whichmakeuptheco

mmunicationprocesselement,arethefoundationofRantitoDiariesstrategy.Thisgivescredencetothefa

ctthatthemarketerandthebuyercontributesomethingandeachwanttogainsomethingfromRantitoDiari

esactivities,thusdescribingmarketingasaprofitableexchangebetweentwointerestedparties.

Thusinasense,whenconsumerbuyerproducts,theybuywiththeseexpectations,though,theorganizatio

nwanttoremindconsumers,itequallyhaveobjectiveswhichmustatallcostbeinconsonancewithcorpora

tegoals.RantitoDiariesLtdasastrategicbusinessprocessusedtoplan,develop,executeandevaluatecoor

dinatedmeasurablepersuasivecommunicationprogrammesovertimewithcustomers,prospectsandot

hertargetedrelevantexternalandinternalaudience.

Inthelightoftheabovenotion,thattheresearcherconsidereditpertinenttostudytheeffectsofmarketingc

ommunicationonsaleofconsumergoodsinBenueStateasaparameterofthestudy.

1.2.StatementoftheProblem

Therearedivergentofopinionsintheeffectivenessofmarketingcommunicationsinpromotingconsume

rs’patronageofproducts.Somescholarsbeliefonthetraditionalapproachofusingsolelyanyofthepromo

tionalmixelementswhileothershavestrongbeliefinthesynergythattheintegrationoftheelementswoul

dcreate;

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(Reid,2015;Copley,2017)amongstothers.Theneedforanorganizationtoproperlycoordinateitsmarket

ingcommunicationsstrategiesinordertodeliveraclear,consistent,credibleandcompetitivemessageab

outitselfanditsproductshasbecomeanissueofconcern,whicheveryfocusdrivenandresultorientedfirm

wishestoovercometoday.Similarly,themarketingenvironmentisbecomingmorehighlycompetitive,a

ndtheonceglamorousworldofadvertisingisloosingouttomarketingcommunicationsunderwhichman

agerscancombineapproachesandallowbrandstospeakwithasinglevoiceacrossallmediaformats.

SwanandWilliam,

(2018)arguedthatamajororganizationalproblemthatmostcompaniesfaceisthatthevariouscomponent

softhepromotionalmixareoftenseenastheresponsibilityofdifferentdepartmentsoragencies.Compani

esandagencieshavedifferentperceptionsastotheusesandbenefitsofintegrationofmarketingcommuni

cationelements(Nowak&Phelps,2015;BelchandBelch,2017).Consequently,manyorganizationexec

utivesarecravingforwaysofminimizingcostofmarketingcommunicationswithbetterresults.Oneofth

etrendsinrecenttimeaccordingtoPelsmacker,GeuensandBergh(2017)istheincreasingneedbycompa

niestobuildcustomerrelationshipinordertosustainbrandloyalty.

ManyNigerianbeverageproducersareusingdifferentpromotionalmixeswithoutdueconsiderationfort

hecostandappropriatenessofthestageofproductinitslifecycle(Thomas,2016;Fadipe,2019),etc.Theya

reoftenskepticalastohowtoproperlycoordinatethecommunicationmixatdifferentstagesofaproductlif

e(Thomas,2016).Manybeverageproducershavenotfullyappreciatedthefactthatcommunicatingeffec

tivelywithcustomersandotherstakeholdersinvolvesnotonlyamixofthetraditionaltoolsbutratheraneff

icientcoordinationthroughtheadoptionoftheMCapproach.ManyNigerianBeverageproducersarecon

stantlylookingforhowtocatchandretaintheyouthespeciallyschoolchildren(catchthemyoungsyndro

me)andbuildstrongbrandloyaltywiththeseschoolagechildren(Achumba2019;Thomas2018).Swan2

017arguedthatcompaniesfacethechallengeinidentifyingwhatcouldefficientlypromoteorhinderMCi

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mplementationasvariousdepartmentsarefacedwithbulkpassingofmarketingcommunicationrespons

ibilities.

TheneedforNigerianbeverageproducerstofullyadopttheMCapproachisthereforeborneoutofthefactt

hattherearefinancial,competitiveandeffectivebenefitstobeachievedthroughthesynergyaffordedbyth

eprocessofintegration.

(PicktonandHartley,2018).DespitethebroadeningofmarketingintomanyfacetsofNigerianeconomyt

oday,andthesensitivepositionthatmarketingpromotionoccupiesinthestrategicmanagementofafirm’

smarketingcommunicationefforts,noknownattempthasbeenmade,locally,toinvestigateempirically,

theimpactoftheuseofMarketingCommunicationsonconsumerspatronageofbeverageproductsintheN

igerianFoodandBeverageIndustry.Moreover,despitethehugeamountoffundspentonAdvertisingand

InformationSysteminthesameindustry,nobodyseemedlocallytobeinterestedinevaluatingthealternat

ivecomparisonbetweentraditionalmethodofpromotionandthenewMCmethod.Thisproposedresearc

htherefore,intendstofillthatintellectualgap.

1.3ObjectivesoftheStudy

Thespecificobjectivesofthisresearchamongstothersareto:

(i) DeterminetheeffectofsalespromotionconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi.

(ii) AssesstheeffectofpublicityonsaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi.

(iii) FindouttheeffectofdirectmarketingonthesaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi.

(iv) ExaminetheeffectofadvertisingonthesaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi.

1.4 ResearchQuestion

i. TowhatextentdoessalespromotionhaveeffectonsalesonconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,M

akurdi?

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ii. TowhatextentistheeffectpublicityonsaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi?

iii. TowhatextentdoesdirectmarketingaffectsalesofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi?

iv. TowhatextentdoesadvertisingaffectsaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi?

1.5ResearchHypotheses

Thestudysoughttotestthefollowingresearchhypothesis:

H01: SalespromotionshavenosignificanteffectonsalesofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,

Makurdi.

H02: Publicityhasnosignificanteffecton saleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,Makurdi.

H03: ThereisnosignificanteffectofdirectmarketingonsaleofconsumergoodsinRantito

Diaries,Makurdi.

H04: AdvertisinghasnosignificanteffectonsaleofconsumergoodsinRantitoDiaries,

Makurdi.

1.6SignificanceoftheStudy

Thestudyof“effectonmarketingcommunicationonsalesofconsumergoodsinBenueState.”willbeofsi

gnificantimportancetocompanies,theirmanagement,marketingdepartments,educationalandresearc

hinstitutions.

Throughthisstudy,itcanbeestablishedwhetherornotmarketingactivitiescarriedoutbycompaniesarer

eallyusefultotheirproductsalesandwhethermarketingprogrammesneedtobeextensivelycommunica

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tedtomaketherightimpactonconsumersandtheaudience.Thiswayitwillbepossibletoknowwhetherth

emoneyspentonmarketingandmarketingcommunicationsbycompaniesareworthit.

Inaddition,marketingdepartmentswillbeabletoknowwhethertheirmarketingcommunicationactiviti

esreallyinfluencetheconsumersandthebestwaytopackagetheirmarketingcommunicationactivitiest

oachievetheirmarketinggoals.

Theoutcomeofthisstudywillalsobeusefultoeducationalandresearchinstitutionsinderivingdataneed

edtoteachstudentsofmarketingcommunicationsandfurnishmarketingcommunicationexpertswithd

ataneededtomakeprofessionaldecisions.

Tothestudentandacademicpublic,itwillenhancestudentperformance,whichtendtocarryoutfurtherre

searchonthetopicinfuturewithinformation’scollected.Again,itwillmakestudentstandinabetterposit

iontounderstandwhatmarketingcommunicationsisandmeasuresthatcouldbeadoptedinpromotingpr

oducts.Asastudent,thisstudywillhelptheresearcherfortheawardofdegreecertificate.Itwillhelpimpro

vecustomer’sloyalty.

1.7.ScopeoftheStudy

ThisresearchwillberestrictedtoRantitoDiariesNigeriaLtd,Makurdi.Itwasconstrainedbyfourindepe

ndentvariablesofmarketingcommunicationwhichincludedsalespromotions,publicity,directmarket

ingandadvertising.Theindependentvariablesdeterminedtheoutcomeofadependentvariable;salespe

rformanceofaproductinrelationtothemoderatingvariablewhichwasthemacroenvironmentfactors.D

ataforthestudywerecollectedfrommarketingmanagersandmarketingpersonnelinthemarketingdepa

rtmentsintheRantitoDiariesNigeriaLtd,Makurdi.

Fourdimensionofmarketingcommunicationprogram:Varietyofmedia,synergyofmultiplemedia,ma

rketingcommunicationmessageschannelplanningandRantitoDiariesperformancewasselectedforth

estudy.Theperiodofthisstudyis2018to2022

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1.8DefinitionofTerms

Marketingcommunication:Marketingcommunicationisdefinedasaprocessforplanning,executin

gandmonitoringthebrandmessagesthatcreatecustomerrelationships.

Targetmarketing(targeting):Theselectionofoneormoremarketssegmenttowardswhichmarketin

geffortscanbedirected,sometimescalledMarketTargeting.

VerticalCommunication:Happensupanddownthehierarchicalorganizationstructuree.g.salesman

agercommunicateswithsalespeopleandviceversa.

SalesPromotion:Ashort-termspecialofferorincentivestoencouragethepurchaseofaproduct/

service.

Feedback:Apartofthetwo–

waycommunicationprocesswherebythereceiversendsamessagebacktotheoriginalsender.

Directmarketing:Allactivitiesthatmakeitpossibletooffergoodsorservicesortotransmitothermessa

getoasegmentofthepopulationbypost,telephone,e-mailorotherdirectmeans.

Customer’sOrientation:Thewholeorganizationisfocusedonthesatisfactionofitscustomers’needs.

ConsumerBuyingBehavior:Consumerbuyingbehavioristhestudyofhowandwhypeopleconsumep

roductsandservices.Italsoinvestigatesbehaviorwhichistheearlierprocessofbuying,theprocessofpur

chasingandthenextpurchaseafterbuying.

SocialMedia:SocialmediamarketingisaboutusingsocialnetworkingplatformssuchasFacebook,Twi

tterandPinteresttodeliveramessage.Ittakesadvantageofthesechannels’massiveuserbases,innateeng

agementopportunities,andpotentialforviralitytoconnecttoconsumersdirectlyandspreadinformatio

nrapidly.

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Advertising:Advertisingisanypaidformofnon-

personalpresentation&promotionofideas,goods,orservicesbyanidentifiedsponsor.Insimplewords,

Advertisingisameansofinformingandcommunicatingessentialinformation.

CHAPTERTWO

LITERATUREREVIEW

2.1Introduction

Thischapterpresentsthereviewofrelatedliteraturetothestudyunderthefollowingsub-

headings:ConceptualFramework,TheoreticalFramework,andReviewofEmpiricalStudies.

2.2ConceptualFramework

2.2.1SalesPromotions

Salespromotionconsistsofadiversecollectionofmostlyshort‐

termincentivesdesignedtomotivateconsumersorthetradetopurchaseaproductimmediatelyand/

orinlargerquantitiesbyloweringthepriceoraddingvalue(Lamb,2016).Theseincludecoupons,samples

,premiums,contests,point‐of‐purchasedisplays,andfrequent‐

buyerprograms,etc.ItisestimatedthatFMCGmanufacturersspendabout$1trillionannuallyonpromoti

ons.Inaddition,promotionsplayanimportantroleintheFMCGindustryasasignificantdriverofsales(Ni

elsen,2015).Forexample,Cohen,

(2017)illustratetheeffectivenessoftemporarypricereductionsinboostingsalesusingrealdatabyinvesti

gatingthepricesandsalesforaparticularbrandofgroundcoffeeinasupermarketover35weeks.Theyobse

rvethatthisbrandwaspromotedduring8outof35weeks(i.e.,23%ofthetime);andthatpromotionalsalesa

ccountedfor41%ofthetotalsalesvolume(Cohen,2017).

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It’sanincentivebasedcommunicationactivitythatofferscustomers,salespromotion,orresellersordirec

tinducementforpurchasingaproduct.Salespromotionisaspecificmarketingcommunicationactionthat

islimitedintime,offeringamaterialadvantage,anddirectedatcustomersandprospects.Thisinducement

,whichaddsvaluetoorincentivefortheproduct,mighttaketheformofacoupon,sweepstakes,refund,inst

antgiftordisplay.

SchultzandBlock(2015)alsoconfirmthatsalespromotionsaffectconsumerpurchasebehavior.Oneoft

hequestionstheyaskedintheirstudyintheU.S.was“Whatsalespromotionaltoolmostinfluencedyourpu

rchasebehaviortowardbrand?”55.8percentoftherespondentsreporteditwas“couponsinnewspaperso

rinserts”thatinfluencedorgreatlyinfluencedthem.Thiswasfollowedby“productsamplesdeliveredtot

hehome”,thethirdonewas“productsamplesinthestore”at48.2percent,andthefourthmostimpactfulpro

motionalactivity,storeloyaltycards,with47.7percentofallrespondents.Themostsurprisingpromotion

altoolfoundinthisanalysiswastherapidandcontinuinggrowthofconsumersreportingthatretailstoresh

oppercardshadamajorinfluenceontheirpurchasebehaviors;anapproximately70percentgrowthrate

Heilman(2016)alsoreportsonfreesamplingasveryeffectiveininducingtrial,especiallyamonglowered

ucatedconsumers.Forconsumerswhoareplanningtobuytheproductinthepromotedcategory,freesamp

lingcanencourageswitchingfromtheplannedtothepromotedbrand.Forconsumerswhodonothavesuc

hpreviousplans,freesamplingcan“draw”themintothecategoryandencouragecategorypurchase.Sam

plers'interactionswiththepersondistributingthesampleorwithothersamplersatthescenealsoseemtobo

ostpostsamplepurchaseincidence(Heilman,2015).

LoweandBarnes(2017)alsoconfirmthatsalespromotionsinducepurchaseintentionintheirstudyonline

extensions.TheyestablishedthatitwouldbemoreeffectivetopromotelineextensionswithaBuyOneGet

OneFree(BOGOF)salespromotionthanwitha50percentoffpromotion.ThissuperiorityoftheBOGOF

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promotiontothe50percentoffpromotioninthecontextoflineextensionsisbasedonthefindingsthat:the

BOGOFpromotion,whichrequiresconsumerstobuyatleasttwoproducts,ismorelikelytoacceleratepur

chasequantityandinducestockpilingthanisthe50percentoffpromotion,whichdoesnotmakeanyquanti

tyrelatedrequirements(Lowe&Barnes,2016).

Numerousstudiesconfirmtheglobalprevalenceofimpulsebuyingbehaviorandthatoverhalfofconsum

ersvisitingashoppingmallwillmakeimpulsepurchases(Hultén&Vanyushyn,2017).Clotheshavebeen

reportedtobeamongthemostfrequentlyimpulsepurchaseditems(Pornpitakpan&Han,2017).Consequ

ently,itisthenormforretailerstodesignstoresanddisplayproductsinwayswhichencourageimpulsebuy

ingi.e.throughsalespromotions(Hultén&Vanyushyn,2016).Furthertothis,TifferetandHerstein(2016

)foundthatfemaleshoppersmakemoreimpulsepurchasesthanmen.Whichcanbeexplainedbyfemalesb

eingmoresusceptibletosensorycuesfromtouchinganitemthanmen.

HorváthandBirgelen(2015)investigatedthebehaviordecisionsofcompulsivebuyersandfoundthatthe

yvalueemotionalandsocialbenefitsbutoftendecidetobuy“moreandcheaper”itemstoachievevarietyin

theirpurchases.Forexample,clotheshavebeenreportedtobeamongthemostfrequentlyimpulsepurchas

editems(Pornpitakpan&Han,2016)apersonwhoentersashoptobuyasuitmaymakeimpulsepurchases

ofotheritemssuchasshirtsandtieswhichareperceivedasinexpensiveincomparisonwiththemainitem(t

hesuit).Theylikedtotryandbuynewthings–

whetheradifferentcutfromtheirusualbrandoradifferentbrand.Theyengageinmorebrandswitchingtha

nnon-

compulsivebuyers,eveniftheyweresatisfiedwithabrand.Thehigherdegreeofsalepronenesscharacteri

zingcompulsivebuyersandthetransactionvaluetheyexperiencefrompricepromotions(Kukar,2015)hi

ntatthishigherbrandswitchingtendencies.

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Liu(2018)pointsoutthatwhenthetimetopurchaseisshort,consumersbecomeeasilyinfluencedbyagoo

ddealevenifthetotalutilityislessornegative.Additionally,consumersexperiencingshortversuslongti

metopurchaseprocesspositiveandnegativeinformationdifferently.Whenconsumersexperiencelimit

edinformationprocessing,theymakedecisionssimplybasedontheattractivenessofthedealratherthant

heoveralldesirabilityoftheproduct(Liu,2017).Forexample,consumersincreasinglyrelyonconsumerr

atingsasimportantsourcesofinformationwhenmakingonlinepurchasedecisions(Godes&Silva,2015)

.Whilehighconsumerratingstypicallyenhancetheattractivenessofaproduct,productswithlowconsum

erratingsusuallysufferfromlessconsumerinterestand,subsequently,lowersalesandprofitability.How

ever,aneffectivepricepromotionmaycompensateforthenegativefeaturesoftheproductandpotentially

increaseconsumers’perceptionsoftheproduct’svalue.

2.2.1.1.DiscountsandPriceCutsasCommonPromotionTactics

Apromotiontacticthatiscommonlyusedbyretailersistemporarypricereductions.SomervuoriandRava

ja(2015)measuredpsychophysiologicalresponsestodifferentpricelevelsandfoundthatlowpricesindu

cedpositiveemotions.Furthertothis,LuongandSlegh(2017)reportthatconsumersperceiveanattractiv

edifferencebetweencertainpercentageleveldiscounts(e.g.10and50percent)butnotatotherlevels(e.g.

50and75percent).Pricediscountsareinterestingbecausetheyaremorecomplicatedforconsumerstoint

erpretandbecausetheysignalmeaningsuniquefromprice.Bytheirverynature,pricediscountsareharder

forshopperstoevaluatethanpricebecausetheyrequireuseofamoredemandingcognitiveprocess(Biswa

s,2016).

Whencustomersseeaproductthatsellsatlistprice,theyreceiveonlyonepieceofpriceinformation.Incont

rast,pricediscountsrequirecustomerstoprocessseveralpiecesofpriceinformationtocalculatethesellin

gpriceandthenevaluatethedeal;pricediscountinformationtoprocessincludespercentageand/

15
ordollaramountofpricediscount,originalpriceandcalculationofthesellingprice.Inthecaseoftheperce

ntagediscountamount,customersalsoneedtoconductanadditionalcognitivetasktoFigureouthowmuc

hmoneytheyactuallysave,suchassubtractingthesellingpricefromtheoriginalprice(Biswas2017).

Competitionamongpotentiallymoreconvenientbrickandmortarestablishmentsandonlineretailershas

resultedinsignificantpricereductions,especiallyforonlineretailers(Petro,2016).However,inhigherris

kchannelslikeonlinestores,pricediscountsmayhavemoresignificanteffectsoncustomers’negativeper

ceptionsthanpricepromotionsinbrickandmortarstores(Lee&Stoel,2015).Experientialinformationis

missingfromanonlineshoppingexperiencebecauseshoppersareunabletoinspectortrytousetheproduc

ts.Thus,manyonlineshoppersrelyheavilyonpricerelatedinformationtoevaluateproducts;andshopper

smayinferahighlydiscountedproductashavingsomeunknowndefectorrisk.(Lee&Stoel,2015).

Whenitcomestobundledofferings,HarrisandBlair(2018)reportthatconsumersmaynotprocessitempr

iceinformationwhenevaluatingbundledofferingsunlesscircumstancesareconducivetodoingso.Thisf

indingaddstoanemergingperspectivetothebundlingliterature,whichhasbyandlargeassumedthatcons

umersprocessiteminformation.Wefindthatresponsivenesstobundlediscounts(andthelikelihoodofpi

ecemealpriceprocessing)is,ingeneral,enhancedwheniteminformationismoresalientandwhenthepur

chasesituationisunfamiliar(Harris&Blair,2017)

HuangandYang(2015)presenttwocaseswhereasintheirfirstexperiment,theresultsshowthatofferingq

uantitydiscountse.g.“4for30%off”canresultingreaterwillingnesstobuyasingleproductatthefullprice

thanofferingpromotionswithalowquantitydiscounte.g.“2for30%off”.Intheirsecondexperiment,ther

esultsshowthatwhenthemissedquantitydiscountisbasedondollarsratherthanonthenumberofpieces“

Buy$100,get30%off”versus“Buy4,get30%off”,theeffectofpurchasequantityonwillingnesstobuyis

enhanced(Huang&Yang,2015).

16
Inhisjournal,Huang,

(2016)findsthatpricepromotionactivitiesatStarbucksinTaiwanhadafavorableeffectoncustomerquali

tyevaluationsandpositivelyinfluencedrepeatpurchaseintentions.PriortoHuang’spaper,Tong,

(2015)examinedladies'buyingbehaviorduringshoessalespromotionsinMalaysia,usingthehighlyvali

datedBelk'sModel.Despitethemultiracialsocietyinthecountry,ethnicgroupinteractiononthemodeldi

dnotindicateimpactonconsumerdifferencesaffectingthesalespromotionpurchaseduringaspecificfes

tiveseasonsale;allethnicgroupstakefulladvantagesofthesale(Tong,2017).

2.2.1.2SalesPromotionandImpulsiveConsumerBehavior

Numerousstudiesconfirmtheglobalprevalenceofimpulsebuyingbehaviorandthatoverhalfofconsum

ersvisitingashoppingmallwillmakeimpulsepurchases(Hultén&Vanyushyn,2017).Clotheshavebeen

reportedtobeamongthemostfrequentlyimpulsepurchaseditems(Pornpitakpan&Han,2017).Consequ

ently,itisthenormforretailerstodesignstoresanddisplayproductsinwayswhichencourageimpulsebuy

ingi.e.throughsalespromotions(Hultén&Vanyushyn,2016).Furthertothis,TifferetandHerstein(2016

)foundthatfemaleshoppersmakemoreimpulsepurchasesthanmen.Whichcanbeexplainedbyfemalesb

eingmoresusceptibletosensorycuesfromtouchinganitemthanmen.

HorváthandBirgelen(2015)investigatedthebehaviorandpurchasedecisionsofcompulsivebuyersandf

oundthattheyvalueemotionalandsocialbenefitsbutoftendecidetobuy“moreandcheaper”itemstoachi

evevarietyintheirpurchases.Forexample,clotheshavebeenreportedtobeamongthemostfrequentlyim

pulsepurchaseditems(Pornpitakpan&Han,2016)apersonwhoentersashoptobuyasuitmaymakeimpul

sepurchasesofotheritemssuchasshirtsandtieswhichareperceivedasinexpensiveincomparisonwithth

emainitem(thesuit).Theylikedtotryandbuynewthings–

whetheradifferentcutfromtheirusualbrandoradifferentbrand.Theyengageinmorebrandswitchingtha

17
nnon-

compulsivebuyers,eveniftheyweresatisfiedwithabrand.Thehigherdegreeofsalepronenesscharacteri

zingcompulsivebuyersandthetransactionvaluetheyexperiencefrompricepromotions(Kukar,2015)hi

ntatthishigherbrandswitchingtendencies.

Liu(2018)pointsoutthatwhenthetimetopurchaseisshort,consumersbecomeeasilyinfluencedbyagoo

ddealevenifthetotalutilityislessornegative.Additionally,consumersexperiencingshortversuslongti

metopurchaseprocesspositiveandnegativeinformationdifferently.Whenconsumersexperiencelimit

edinformationprocessing,theymakedecisionssimplybasedontheattractivenessofthedealratherthant

heoveralldesirabilityoftheproduct(Liu,2017).Forexample,consumersincreasinglyrelyonconsumerr

atingsasimportantsourcesofinformationwhenmakingonlinepurchasedecisions(Godes&Silva,2015)

.Whilehighconsumerratingstypicallyenhancetheattractivenessofaproduct,productswithlowconsum

erratingsusuallysufferfromlessconsumerinterestand,subsequently,lowersalesandprofitability.How

ever,aneffectivepricepromotionmaycompensateforthenegativefeaturesoftheproductandpotentially

increaseconsumers’perceptionsoftheproduct’svalue.

2.2.1.3SalesPromotionasaDependentChannelinInfluencingConsumerIntention

Asearlierestablished,pricedealsarerecognizedasthemostpowerfulformofsalespromotion;however,

marketersshouldbecautiousindeterminingapricepromotionscheme.Itissuggestedthatpricepromotio

nsbeusedincombinationwithadvertisingorothersalespromotiontoolstoincreasebrandawarenessandi

mageandtodiminishnegativeeffectsonbrandevaluations(Huang,2018).Huangconfirmedthatshoppe

rswithafavorableviewondirectmailmarketingandTVcommercialsrespondmorepositivelytoinstorep

romotion.Hence,theinteractiveeffectofthethreepromotionalchannelsincreasestheshoppers'generali

mpulsepurchasetendency(Hultén&Vanyushyn,2015).

18
AstudydonebyMillwardBrownin2017withSouthAfricanmillennialsestablishedthatFacebookadvert

isementsthatareconnectedtoaphysicalinstorepromotionwouldactivelydrawthosewhoarenotinclined

tomakeonlinepurchasestotheactualstoretopurchase.45%percentagreedthattheypurchasebrandsons

aleasopposedtotheirpreferredbrands(Symphony,2016).Marketersshouldthereforeattempttostimula

teinteractivityandwordofmouthbyproactivelyendorsingthesharingofmarketingcommunicationcont

entbetweenFacebookusersbylinkingittocompetitions,discounts,giveawaysandothersalespromotion

s,whichwouldstimulateanincreaseinbehavioralactivities(MillwardBrown,2015).

2.2.2DirectMarketing

AccordingtoSymphony,

(2016)directmarketingisaprocessofusingdirectformsofcommunicationwithcustomers.Itcantakethe

formofdirectmail,onlinemarketing,catalogues,telemarketing,anddirectresponseadvertising.Similar

topersonalselling,itmayconsistsofaninteractivedialoguebetweenthemarketing/

salesrepresentativeandthecustomeritsobjectiveistogenerateorders,visitstoretailoutlets,orrequestsfo

rfurtherinformation.

AccordingtoBrown(2017)directmarketingistheprocessofplanningandexecutingtheconception,prici

ng,promotionanddistributionofideas,goodsandservicestocreateexchangesthatsatisfyindividualand

organizationalobjectives.”Inthisdefinitionofmarketing,creationofexchangeisseenasavitalpartofma

rketing.Bythisfunction,marketingisabletoimpactonsales,marketshareandprofitability.

Inanotherdefinition,KotlerandKeller(2016)saidthatdirectmarketing“istheartandscienceofchoosing

targetmarketsandgetting,keepingandgrowingcustomersthroughcreating,deliveringandcommunicat

ingsuperiorcustomervalue”.Thisdefinitionemphasizestheimportanceofdeliveringandcommunicati

19
ngsuperiorcustomervalueasintegralpartsofmarketingwhichimpliesthatmarketingisveryusefulinbett

eringthelifeofthecustomerbyofferinghimwhatheneedsandlettinghimknowaboutit.

Mbah(2015)ontheotherhandopinedthat“marketingisaboutidentifying,anticipating,conductingand

managingthedeliveryofvalueinexchangeprocessthatbenefitsorsatisfiesbothpartiesandtheirsociety”.

Hetriedtoestablishthatinmarketingthereisneedforthesatisfactionofbothparties–theproducer/

sellerandthecustomer.Thissatisfactionbreedsgoodrelationshipwhichensurestrust,continuityandabil

itytowithstandcompetition.

InVarey‟s(2017)definition,“directmarketingisconcernedwithcreatingandsustainingmutuallysatisf

yingexchangesofvaluebetweenproducer/

serversandtheircustomers.Ithasbothmanagerialorientationandanorganizational/socialfunction.”

Together,thesedefinitionsshowthatmarketingisaprocessandnotaonceinawhilething,aimsatsatisfyin

gandcreatingwealthforallthepartiesinvolved.Thisthereforeshowsthatmarketingisamustforeveryorg

anizationorcompanythatwantstoexcelandsurvive.Hence,Onyebuagu(2019)remarkedthat“without

marketing,businessexistencewouldbeunwholesome”

Acompanymayproducegoodsandservicesbutifitdoesnotsellthemitwillsurelygooutofbusiness.Alsoi

tisnotenoughtojustsellaproduct,careshouldbetakentoensurerepeatpurchasebystrivingtomakesureth

ecustomerissatisfied.Thatiswhytheimportanceofmarketingstartsfromthetimetheproductisconceive

dnotwhenitisproduced(Usman,2016).

Intotality,thefundamentalbasisofanaveragebusinessisfinancialsuccesswhichcomesfromincreaseds

alesandcustomersatisfactionwhichareachievedthroughmarketing.AccordingtoKotlerandKeller(20

16)“Financialsuccessoftendependsonmarketingability.Finance,operations,accountingandotherbus

20
inessfunctionswillnotreallymatterifthereisnotsufficientdemandfortheproductsandservicessotheco

mpanycanmakeaprofit.”

Thesuccessorfailureofmarketingoramarketingactivityliesinitsabilitytomeettheobjectivesetoutinthe

marketingplan.Whenacompanywantstocarryoutamarketingcampaignitfirstdrawsupaplanofactiviti

eswhichwillshowwhatactionsneedtobecarriedout,thecostofthecampaignandwhatthecompanyplans

togainfromthecampaignwithinaspecificperiod.Whatthecompanystandstogainbecomesitsobjectivei

ncarryingoutsuchacampaign.

AccordingtoBelchandBelch(2015)“marketingobjectivesareusuallydefinedintermsofspecificmeasu

rableoutcomessuchassalesvolume,marketshare,profitorreturnoninvestment.

Theeffectivenessofamarketingcampaignthereforeisdeterminedandmeasuredbytheextenttowhichth

emarketingobjectivesareachievedattheendofthecampaign.Generallymarketingeffectivenessortheef

fectivenessofamarketingprogrammeorcampaignismeasuredontheimpactofthatcampaignonthecom

pany‟ssales,marketshare,profitabilityandreturnoninvestment.

Marketingactivitiescanbeexplainedfromthefourmarketingpsofproduct,price,placeandpromotion.T

hesearethevariablesavailabletothemarketertouseandachievemarketingandsalestargets.

Themarketerusestheproductbyconceiving,designingandpackagingaproductthatwillmeettheneedsa

nddesiresoftheconsumerandalsocompetefavorablyagainstcompetingproductsinthemarket.

Heusespricebyensuringtheproductispricedinsuchawaythatitconveysthemeaningintendedtomotivat

etheconsumerintobuyingorwantingtobuytheproduct.Assuchcareshouldbetakennottopricetheprodu

ctbeyondtheconsumer’saffordabilityandnottopriceitsolowthatitendsupappearinglikeaninferiorpro

duct.

21
Placeotherwiseknownasdistributionisusedbythemarketertoensurethattheconsumerhaseasyaccessto

theproduct.Todothisheusesmeansthatallowshimbringtheproductasneartothecustomeraspossiblewit

houtcheapening,damagingordiminishingthevalueoftheproduct.

Promotionontheotherhandisaimedatcreatingawarenessandknowledgeofwhatthemarketerhasbeend

oingintheothermarketingeffortssothattheconsumerbecomesinformed.Themarketerhandlesthisbyen

suringthathegetsthemessagetotheconsumerinawaythatwillmakeitattractiveandunderstandabletothe

consumer.Itiswithinthispromotionthatthecommunicationfunctioninmarketinglies.

2.2.3Publicity

Publicityisanon-

personal,indirectlyrewardedperformanceofacompany,goods,orservice.Withpublicityanorganizatio

nhaslittlecontrolofwhatissaid,itsaudienceandtimingofthecommunication.Grasby(2018),describesp

ublicityasutilizationofthemediumtofacilitatefreereportingofstorieslinkedtoaproduct.SalesPromoti

onisatemporaryinducementorenticementofvaluepresentedtostimulatecuriosityinbuyingaproductor

service(Blythe,2016).Coupons,samples,rebates,andsweepstakesarejustafewexamplesofsalesprom

otions.Theadvantageofsalespromotionstrategyisthattheshort-

termmanneroftheseprogramssuchasacouponorsweepstakesoftenstimulatessalesforonlyaspecificdu

rationoftime.Publicityitinvolvesofcreatingawarenessofaproduct'susesandbenefitstoothers.Doingth

ismakesaproductavailabletothoseinneedofthemandthissatisfiestheneedsoftheadvertiser;increasing

sales.AccordingtoCohen,publicityisabusinessactivitythatemployscreativetechniquestodesignpersu

asivecommunicationinmassmediathatpromoteideas,goods,andservicesinamannerconsistentwithth

eachievementoftheadvertiser'sobjective,thedeliveryofconsumersatisfactionandthedevelopmentofs

ocialandeconomicwelfare(Cohen,2018).

22
2.2.4Advertising

Advertisingisaformofcommunicationwhichisusedtopersuadeaspecificgroupofpeopletotakespecifi

caction.Advertisingisconsideredasamajorandimportantelementfortheeconomicgrowthofthemarket

ersanddifferentcompaniesincompetition(Ogundele,2016).Advertisingisusuallyapaidformofpublici

tybysomesponsorandreachedthroughvarioustraditionalmediasuchastelevision,commercialradioad

vertisement,outdooradvertising,newspaper,magazinemailormodernmediasuchasblogs,websitesan

dtextmessages.Furthermorethedevelopmentsandtechnologicaladvancementshaveturnedadvertisin

gtoamorepervasiveandpowerfulinitsimpactandaffect(Leiss2016).

Earlyadvertisersassumedthatadvertisingisverypowerfulwhatissaid“getsthroughandstronglyachiev

estheintendedandpersuasiveobjectivesastheearlybulletor“hypodermicneedle”modelsofcommunic

ationwhichhasgivenrisetotheearliestconceptofcommunicationeffects,“whosayswhattowhomthrou

ghwhatmediumwithwhateffect.AdvertisingwasintroducedbyEgyptianswhousedPapyrusforsalesm

essagesandwallposters,billboards,signboardsandoutdooradvertisingasthemostancientformofadvert

ising.ThetraditionofwallpaintingandwallchockingisfoundintheancientcultureofGreeceandRomans

andaswellinIndia,whichcouldbenowseeninmany,partsoftheworldaswell(Kotler&Armstrong,2008)

Modernadvertisingisdevelopedwiththedevelopmentofmassproductioninthelate19thandearly20thc

enturies.Afterthesuccessofprintadvertising,theideaofradioadvertisingprevailedthiswasthenfollowe

dbythetelevisionadvertising.Intheearly1950stheDuMontTelevisionNetworkinitiatedthetrendofgiv

ingadvertisements.Withtheadventof21stcenturytheonlineadvertisinghasprevailedtheworldmarketa

ndconsumercommunityaswell(Ryans,2016).

23
Advertisinghasproveditseffectsandimpactonconsumers'patronage/

buyingbehavioursandmarketersneedsallovertheworld.After1920,advertisingbecameasourceofguid

anceforconsumers,whichwasconsideringnotonlyasourceofguidanceforbuyingbutalsointhematters

ofsocialroles,improvementindressingsense,styleanddevelopmentoftasteofgoodfoods(Marchand,2

015).

Incontemporaryadvertising,consumersarefinalenduserofproducts.Theypatronizecompany'sgoodan

dservicesandkeepstheproductioncyclemoving.Consumersdoplayavitalroleintheeconomicsystemof

anynation,thus,anynationwillfacecrisisifconsumersdon'thavetheeffectivedemandforgoodsproduce

d.Consumersdemanddifferentcommoditiesbasedontheirtasteandpreferenceforthem.Awarenessofg

oodinfluencesconsumerspurchaseofthatgood.Otherfactorsthatinfluenceone'stasteandpreferencefor

agoodarepsychologicalandenvironmental.Tasteandpreferenceforagoodchangeovertime.Awarenes

sofaproduct,thus,advertisements,playsaroleininfluencingthetasteandpreferenceofconsumers'choic

e(Ogundele,2015).

Researchshowsthatconsumersareknowntoberationalwithregardtotheirpurchases,wantingtomaximi

zetheirsatisfactionwhenitcomestoconsumergoods.Aconsumerwillthereforenotpurchaseacommodit

ywhosepriceisabovetheadditionalsatisfactionthathederivesfromthegood.Howmuchofagooddeman

ded,dependsonthesatisfactiontheconsumergainsfromspendingextramoneyonthegood.Rationalcons

umerswillspendonagoodtilltheirgainsequalthecosttheypayfortheproduct(SlomanandWride,2017).

Consumersarenotaffectedmuchbythepublicityonsuchitemsastheyconsumesuchproductsonadailyba

sis.Thehighertheconsumptionofaproduct,thelesseffectiveisadvertisingonthem(SharmaandSharma,

2009).Producersoftenadvertisetheirproductwiththeintentionofincreasingtheirsaleswhichallowsthe

firmstogaineconomiesofscaleandkeeppricesdown.Italsomakestheirproductswellknownonthemark

et.

24
Advertisingisthemasspublicityofaproduct.Itinvolvescreatingawarenessofaproduct'susesandbenefit

stoothers.Doingthismakesaproductavailabletothoseinneedofthemandthissatisfiestheneedsoftheadv

ertiser;increasingsales.AccordingtoCohen,advertisingisabusinessactivitythatemployscreativetech

niquestodesignpersuasivecommunicationinmassmediathatpromoteideas,goods,andservicesinama

nnerconsistentwiththeachievementoftheadvertiser'sobjective,thedeliveryofconsumersatisfactiona

ndthedevelopmentofsocialandeconomicwelfare(Cohen,2018).

FromCohen'sdefinition,itcanbefoundthatadvertisingsatisfies3objectives;toincreasesalesofthefirms

,toguaranteeconsumersagreatdealofserviceandfinallytoensurethesocialandeconomicwelfareofsoci

ety.Advertisingisseeninvariousways.Oneencountersthemmostlywhilewatchingtelevision,reading

magazinesandnewspapers,surfingtheinternet,andontheradioorevensimplywhilewalkingdownthestr

eet(SharmaandSharma,2019).Advertisinghasthus,astimulatinginfluenceonthepurchasingbehaviou

roftheconsumers.

Advertisingaremosteffectiveonproductsthathaveintrinsicqualities.Thesequalitiesarenotknownatth

etimeofpurchaseandittakesonetodiscoverthisuponusingtheproduct.Also,whenthereisasubstantialc

hanceofdifferentiatingaproduct,itbestsuitstoadvertiseonthatproduct.Again,whenthereisastrongem

otionalpurchasingmotivesuchastoprotecthealthorenhancesocialposition,itpaystoadvertiseonsucha

product.Inthesamewayemotionalassociationalsoputaninfluenceonthemindofcustomers.Inthelastcu

stomersalsobuyasaproblemsolver,theyseekstheproductswhichcansolvetheirproblem(Gupta,2018).

2.2.4.1FactorsthatInfluenceAdvertisementPractice

Advertisementisanattemptatcreativitywhichinfluencestheconsumer'smotivetobuyaparticularprodu

ctandchangeormaketheperceptionoftheproductinthemindoftheconsumers.Advertisementappealact

asasuppliertoarousethepsychologicalmotiveoftheconsumerforbuying.Advertisementinvolvesratio

25
nalandemotionalappeals.Inrationalappealstheproductcanbeemphasizedmainlyonitsbenefitsandthe

problemswhichitcansolvewhileontheotherhandemotionalappealmeettheconsumer'spsychological,

emotionalandsocialrequirements(Gunjan,2016).

Rafique(2017)arguedthatadvertisementisawaytocommunicatewiththeaudience.Theybelievedthatc

ulturehighlyinfluencethebuyingbehaviorsofthepeoplebecauseeverypersonhasdifferentwantsandtre

ndsaccordingtotheirlifestyles.Thusifwesaythatadvertisementislikeamagicthanitwillnotbefalsebeca

useadvertisementactuallychangestheneedsandwantsofthepeopleandsometimesitcreatestheneedam

ongthepeople(Yasir,2015).Peoplearehighlyaffectedbytheadvertisementsandorganizationsaretryin

gtotargetthemassesofthepeople.Organizationsareusingabovethelineandbelowthelinetechniquesoft

headvertisementwhichfitbestwiththeirproducts.

AresearchconductedinIndiafoundthatadolescentsarehighlyattractedtowardstheTVcommercial.Alo

ngwiththatteengirlsalsoinfluencedbytheTVcommercialsandtheytendtobuytheproductswhichtheys

awincommercials.Soitgivesusideathatmassmediahasthegreatimpactontheadvertisements.Organiza

tionsaremovingtowardsthecreativecontentwhichattractstheteenagegirlsaswellasboystobuytheprod

ucts(Kotwal,2018).

Withthemoderneratherehasbeenseenaremarkableboomintechnology,withthistechnologyadvertiser

snowconsideringthenumberofmassmediachannelsandmeansofcommunicationswhichprovidethem

theeasyandfastaccesstotheconsumers.Othersideofthistechnologyadvancementisthatcustomersaren

owhavingplentyofinformationandtheycangetthethingwhichbestsuitstothem.Soitbecomesverydiffi

cultfortheadvertisertobuildthebrandawarenessandconditionthemindofthecustomerstomakefinalpur

chasedecision,ascustomersaregainingmorecontrolovertheproductsandinformation(Raju,2016).

26
2.2.4.2Techniquesusedinadvertisements

Severaltypesoftechniquesareusedintheadvertisementsandpromotionofthecosmetics.Someofthema

reexplained(Oakley,2019):

Aspirationaladvertisement:Thistypeofadvertisementismostsuccessfulinyoungagepeople.Thiski

ndofadvertisementinvolvestheslogansandtaglineswhichinspirethem.Forexample“mostbeautifulme

”and“trueperfectionhastobeimperfect”.Aspirationaladvertisementsaremainlybasedonthreepillarst

hatareperfection,sexappealandstatus.

CelebrityEndorsement:thiskindofadvertisementisveryimportantandsuccessfulinallagegroupespe

ciallyyoungpeople.Usingthecelebritymayenhancethetrustofthepeopletobuyproductbutitisnotevide

ntthatthiskindofadvertisementalsoprovidesbrandloyalty.

Socialresponsibilityadvertisements:likedovemanycosmeticsbrandareassociatedwiththebenefitso

fthesociety.Accordingtosurveywomenwearingcosmeticfeelconfidentbecausethesebrandsadvertise

themasprovidingtheconfidentinthesociety.

Alongwiththesekindsofadvertisementstrategies,brandshavevarioussloganswhichinfluencethebuyi

ngbehaviorofthecustomersallovertheworld.Brandsusethesesloganscrossculturally.Intheworldnum

bersofslogansareusedinEnglishandFrenchlanguagestoenhancethebrandvalidity,brandappeals,bran

dpositivesandbrandphilosophy.Roleofadvertisementistocarrymessagetothefardistances.Itisalsouse

totargetthescattermassaudience.Theroleofadvertisingonsalesvolumeisveryimportant.Itisprovedtob

everyessentialtoolinenhancingthesalesofbrand.Advertisementisdirectlylinkedwiththesalesofthepr

oducts(Abiodun,2016).

27
2.2.5AdvertisingandConsumerBehaviour

Consumersinallovertheworldareattractedtowardsthebrandandproductswhichareemotionallyattach

edwiththeirbehaviors.Studiesfoundthatemotionalattachmentsputahugeinfluenceonthecustomersan

dtheirbuyingbehavioraspeopletendtoassociatethemselveswiththebrand.Advertisementsshapethebe

haviorsofthepeoplethroughcognition.

Cognitionistheperceptionofapersontowardstheinformationcommunicatedthroughadvertisements.

Thesecognitionsareobservedbytheindividualthroughhissenses,perception,attention,memory,reaso

ning,language,etc.bestwayofattractingthecustomersistounderstandthepsychologicalcognitiveaspe

ctsoftheconsumers(Jakðtienë,2018).

AccordingtoRai(2015),thereareseveralnationalandinternationalbrandswhichpeoplerecognizedand

havestrongperceptionintheirminds.Theseperceptionsarepinchedintheirmindbecauseoftheirculture,

lifestylesandsurroundings.Alsoadvertisementshaveveryimportantroleinshapingtheconsumerbehav

ior.Advertisementsarethesourceofmotivationwhichforcesthemtobuyaparticularproduct.Advertise

mentsarealsoasourceofbuildingtrust.Consumerisinducedsignificantlyifheislookingforthequalityan

dpricesoftheproducts.Purchaseattitudecanalsobebuildupbyproductevaluationandbrandrecognition

(Rai,2015).

Afirm'sprimarymissionistoreachprospectivecustomersandinfluencetheirawareness,attitudesandbu

yingbehaviour.Theyspendalotofmoneytokeepindividuals(markets)interestedintheirproducts.Tosu

cceed,theyneedtounderstandwhatmakespotentialcustomersbehavethewaytheydo.Thefirm'sgoalist

ogetenoughrelevantmarketdatatodevelopaccurateprofilesofbuyerstofindthecommongroupforcom

munications.Thisinvolvesthestudyofconsumerbehaviour(Arens,2016).

28
Proctor(2018)notedthattheprincipalaimofconsumerbehaviouranalysisistoexplainwhyconsumersac

tinparticularwayundercertaincircumstances.Thestudytriestodeterminethefactorsthatinfluencecons

umerbehaviour,especiallytheeconomic,socialandpsychologicalaspectswhichcanindicatethemostfa

vouredmarketingmixthatmanagementshouldselect.Consumerbehaviouranalysishelpstodeterminet

hedirectionthataconsumer'sbehaviourislikelytotakeandtogivepreferredtrendsinproductdevelopme

nt,attributesofthealternativecommunicationmethodetc.

Consumerbehaviouranalysisviewstheconsumerasanotherfactorofproduction,afactorthatproducers

cannotcontrolandthisfactorinterpretstheproductorservicenotonlyinphysicalterms,butalsoaccording

totheirsocialandpsychologicalmakeup.Incorporationofthisknowledgeinanyfirm'sdecisionwillensu

reagreatersatisfactionofthefirm'sobjective.

Mostviewshavecroppedupastomaintainingasustainedprofitanditiswhenfirmsadopttothenewordero

fmakingconsumersapartoftheirdailydecision,otherthanjustsellingproductstothem,willfirmsachieve

thistarget.Firmsinachievingthisstatehaveagreatergaininadvertisingtheirproducts.

2.2.6MarketingCommunicationMix

Marketingcommunicationmixareallmethodologies,strategiesandactivitiesengagedingettingthewan

tedmarketingmessagestointentionaltargetmarkets,despiteofthemediautilized.AccordingtoKotleran

dKeller(2019),themarketingcommunicationmixconsistsofsixmainapproaches,evenifotherauthorsli

stfurther.Thesearepersonalselling,salespromotion,eventsandexperiences(sponsorship),advertising

,directmarketing,publicityandpublicrelations.Thosewhopracticeadvertising,directmarketing,brand

ing,packaging,graphicdesign,publicity,publicrelations,sales,andsalespromotionareexpressedasma

rketingcommunicators,marketingcommunicationsmanagers,orinbriefasmarcommanagers(Graham

etal.,2016).HoweverGabriel(2015)proposedthatco-conceptionandco-

29
deliveryofvaluedirectstoagreaterstageoffulfillmentandthuswillenablepromotiontobeeffective,inter

activeandpersuasivebecausethereisnomeaningofcreatingthepricewithoutpassingitonthecustomers.

Thisresearchusedfivemarketingcommunicationstrategiesortoolswhichareadvertising,salespromoti

on,publicity,directmarketingandpersonalsellingtechniquesusedinthepromotionmix.

Marketingcommunicationisacknowledgedastheapproachmarketersuseinanattempttonotify,convin

ceandremindcustomers,atonceorultimately,aboutthebrandorgoodstheyofferforsale(Shimp,2015).

Marketingcommunicationsassisttodefineanorganization’sassociationswithconsumersnotjustbythe

kindofmessagesexchanged,aswellasbythechoiceofmediumandoccurrencetogowiththeircustomers’

preference(O’Guinn2016).Oneoutcomeofmarketingcommunicationistodecreaseuncertaintyabout

manufacturedgoodsqualitybecausethisaffectscustomers’indirectlyintheirselectionjudgmentsonlyi

nupdatingconsumers’sensitivityaboutproductquality.Theimpliedoutcomeislikelytobegreaterforun

awarecustomersthanforwell-

informedconsumers.Callen(2016)definesmarketingcommunicationassomethinganorganizationdo

esthatinfluencesthebehaviororperceptionoftheircustomers.

Theroleofmarketingcommunicationistoinfluenceacompany’stargetmarketsothattheconsumersfeel

eageraboutwhatthecompanyoffers,thereforepotentialbuyersbecomeinformedabouttheservicesorpr

oductsasaresultoptimizingacompanysalesopportunitiesandproceeds(Shimp,2018).AccordingtoShi

mptherearefiveimportantfactorsinmarketingcommunication;persuasionofthetargetaudiencetotake

action,goalorientationoutcomeexpectedfromthemarketingcommunication,contactpointstoanymess

agethatisreceivedbythetargetaudience,stakeholders/

opinionleadersthatcaninfluencetheacquisitionofgoodsandservicesaswellasthesuccessofanorganiza

tionlikememberofstaffsandthemedia,andalsothemessageiseitherplannedsuchasadvertisingandsales

promotionsorunplannedlikeemployeesattitudeandexteriorsurroundingofthebusiness.Howevermar

30
ketingcommunicationsprovidefivekeyfunctionswhichare:provisionofinformation,differentiatingth

eproduct/

service,stimulationofdemand,highlightingtheproduct'svalue,andmodifyingsales(Cialdini,2017).

Agnihotri,

(2019)arguedthatmarketingpracticehaschangeditsfocusfromdistinctdealingstobuildingrelations;th

ereforesalespeoplewouldbecapabletopleasetheircustomersthroughcommunicationcompetenceand

ability.Marketingmanagersoughttomakesuretheirsalesforceisreceptiveaboutsuccessfullycommuni

catinginformationandpossesssufficientproductinformation(Narayanan2015).Itisanticipatedthatco

nsumersarenotwellinformedaboutproductvalueintheearlystagesoftheintroductionofaproduct,butth

eybecomebetterinformedinduecourse.AccordingtoNarayanan(2015),thedirecteffectcommunicatio

ntechniquesdirectlyinfluenceconsumersperceptionovertheproductandtheindirecteffectcommunica

tiontechniquesaffecttheconsumersindirectlysuchastoreduceuncertaintyaboutaproductquality.Ther

eforetheindirectconsequenceplaysanimportantfunctionintheinitialstagesbutnotinsubsequentstages.

Advertisingisarewardformofnonpersonalizedcommunicationaboutabusiness,productorideabyanac

knowledgedsponsor(Kotler&Armstrong,2015).Thepaidaspectissignificantsincethespacefortheadv

ertisementisbought.Advertisinginvolvesmassmedia(suchasTV,radio,andmagazines).Bypayingfort

headvertisingspace,afirmdecidesonwhattosayand,tosomeextent,themessagetobeconveyed.Wheret

hemessagesubjectmatchesanyspecificdesiredbrandforpublic,theycustomersgetmoreinformationon

itthatresultinpositiveresponsetowardthegoods(Praxmarer,2019).Thebrandandcompanyimagecanb

eenhancedifeffectivemarketingcommunicationispracticed(Kotler,2016).

PersonalSellingisatwo-

waystreamofcommunicationlinkingaconsumerandatrader,designedtopersuadeanindividual’sorgro

31
up’sbuyingdecision.Itisaface-to-

facecontactwithoneormorepotentialbuyersforthepurposeofmakingpresentations,respondingtoques

tions,andacquiringorders(Kotler,2016).AccordingtoJobber(2017),personalsellingisthesellingdutyt

hatinvolvesface-to-

faceconnectionwithacustomer.Advantagesofpersonalsellingstrategyentailthefactthatasalespersonc

anmanagethepartytowhomthepresentationisdone.Alsothesuppliercanseeortakenoticeoftheprospect

ivebuyer’sresponsetothemessage.Iftheresponseisunfavorable,thesalespersoncanamendthemessage

henceitisflexible.

DirectMarketingisnotjustatechnologybutitisaprocessthatdoesnotsimplyseekstomakeasale,butalsob

uildsbeneficialcustomerrelationship.Indoingthisanychannelmaybeusedlikedirectmail,newspaper,

magazinesandmatchbookcovers(Nash,2017).

DirectMarketingappliesdirectcommunicationwithcustomerstocreateafeedbackintheformofanorder

,aclaimforfurtherinformation,oratriptoaretailstore.Directmarketingoftenconsistsofinteractivemark

etingcommunicationsystemwhichutilizesoneormorepromotionmediumtopresentameasurablerespo

nseortradeineverystage(Kotler,2016).Thispresentsadaptablewaywhichcanconveythemessageandta

rgetexceptionalcrowdofconsumersinanefficientway(Hayter,2015).Italsohasthebenefitofbeingtailo

redtofitwiththeneedsofspecifictargetcustomershoweverdirectmarketingjointedwithothermarketing

communicationtechniques,toraisevalueforcustomers(Currie,2016).

Themarketingcommunicationstrategiesafirmcanselectforpromotingitsproductsdependsonavariety

ofinternalandexternalconcerns.Theinternalfactorsincorporatethepromotionobjectives,thenatureoft

heproductandthebudgetallocatedformarketingactivities.Theexternalfactorsconsistofthelegalenviro

nment(policy)governingthemarketingactivitiesoffirmsintheirrespectivecountries(Kotler,2018).

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2.2.7EffectsofPersonalSellingonconsumergoods

Firmsnowadaysfaceanausterecompetitivemarketplacewhereachievingsalesgoalshasbecomeaperpe

tualchallenge.Forexample,empiricalevidencesuggeststhatin2013,only55percentofsalespeopleachi

evedtheirsalesquotas(CSOInsight,2015).Thesalesforceplaysanimportantroleindrivingfirmprofitab

ility(Lassk,2017)andhavenowbeentransformedtoknowledgebrokers(BendixenA,2015)throughper

sonalselling.

Kotler(2013)notesthatpersonalsellingisausefulvehicleforcommunicatingwithpresentandpotentialb

uyers.Personalsellinginvolvesthetwo-

wayflowofcommunicationbetweenabuyerandsellerofteninfacetofaceencounterdesignedtoinfluenc

eaperson’sorgroup’spurchasedecision(Kotler,2016).Agoodexampleofpersonalsellingisfoundindep

artmentstoresontheperfumeandcosmeticcounters.Acustomercangetadviceonhowtoapplytheproduc

tandcantrydifferentproducts.

InastudydoneinNigeria,findingsfromthestudyrevealedclearlythatpersonalsellingismorepersuasive

amongthemarketingcommunicationmixelement.Itaimsatconsolidatingcustomersandmaintainingth

ebuyersellerexchangerelationship.Personalsellingasabusinessstrategy,helpsrepresentativesofacom

panytoexplaintotheirclients/customershowwelltheproducts/

servicescansatisfytheirneeds.Therefore,Organizationsshouldfocusmoreonthecustomerbyadopting

personalsellingasamarketingstrategy(zoltanpolla.com,2017).

2.2.7.1TheRoleofTechnologyinPersonalSelling

Withadvancesintechnology,personalsellingalsotakesplaceoverthetelephone,throughvideoconferen

cingandinteractivecomputerlinksbetweenbuyerandseller.Despitethis,itstillremainsahighlyhumani

ntensiveactivitydespitetheuseoftechnologyandscholarsarguethattechnologycannotreplacetheuniqu

33
efunctionsofthesalesperson(Ahearne&Rapp,2016).Effectivesellingishighlydependentuponthesale

sperson’ssellingskillsandaffectivecommitmenttothesellingsituation(Simintiras.S2018).Theevolvi

ngstateofinternetmarketing(Cummins,2017)isaresultofworldwidegrowthinthenumberofWebsitesa

ndusers,from130Websitesand14millionusersin1993toalmost673millionWebsitesand2.8billionuse

rsin2013(Internetlivestatistics,2017).EvolvingInternet,socialmediaandothertechnologyenabledtoo

lsandtheinteractionpatternsbeingcreatedbysuchtoolsaretransforminghowsalespeopleinteractwithpr

ospectsandcustomers,andhoworganizationsmanagetheirsalesforce(Dixon&Tanner,2019).

Sincepersonalsellingmessagesarenotcontrolled,theymayleadtoinconsistencywhichinturnleadstoco

nfusionoftheclient(Cravens,2018).However,managingtheorganization’soranindividual’spresence

acrossmultipleplatformshasbeenrevolutionizedtorelativelysimpleprocesseswiththeadventofsocial

mediamanagementtools(e.g.Hootsuite,Buffer,TweetDeck,SproutSocial)andmobiletechnologies(A

ndzulis,2015).Emergentbuyer–

sellerinteractions,engagementplatformsandsalestechnologieshaveimportantramificationsfortheval

uecreationprocessforconsumers,salespeopleandtheorganization(Kuruzovich,2016).

Theevolvinginternetisalsoreducingtheroleofpersonalsellinginpurchasebehavior.Inthepast,salesper

sonsplayedaroleinboththepre-

purchaseandpurchasestages(Rippé,2015).Wenowseethattheirpersonalsellingrolehasreducedinthep

repurchasestageasconsumersnowhavecontinuousandexcessinformationasthenorm;mobiledevicesa

reusedtomultitaskandmanagetheoverabundanceofavailableinformationthatguidestheirpurchasebe

haviorevenintermsofwhichchanneltobuyfrom(Parment,2015).Instore,itisthesesalespersons’skillst

hatallowconnectionswiththeconsumerthroughverbalandnonverbalcommunicationthatadaptstocon

sumer’sneeds,therebyincreasingtrust(Orth2019)withtrustleadingtoretailstorepatronage.Retailsales

34
peopleoftenhavethemostinteractionwitharetailfirm’scustomers,yetcompensationandtrainingaremi

nimal.

Liu.(2018)reportedthatthestoretrustwasastrongerinfluencingfactorforthein-

storepurchasesthantheonlinetrustwasforinternetpurchases.Hisoverallfindingssustainedthenotionth

atsalespeoplewithhigherlevelsofactiveempatheticlistening(AEL)willhavehigherqualityrelationshi

ps,andberegardedasmoretrustworthy.Further,whenlevelsoftrustworthinessarehighthelevelofrelatio

nshipqualityishigherwhichresultsinhighersalesperformance(Drollinger,2017).

2.2.7.2BuildingTrustforEffectivePersonalSelling

Forretailservices,consumersalwayslookfortangiblecueslikestoreimage(e.g.Hsu,2016)andbehavior

ofsalesstaffthatmayhelpthemreduceperceivedrisk(Jayawardhena&Farell,2011).Theappearanceoff

rontlinesalespersonsrepresentsthefirstimpressionofthecompanyinthecustomer'smind.Theirservice

behaviorandrelationshipwiththecustomeralsoaddvaluetotheproduct/

serviceandprovidepsychologicalandsocialutilities(Lloyd&Luk,2017).Inthisconnection,frontlinesa

lespersonnelserveasriskreliever.Thisriskreductionrolewillbemoresignificantifthesalesstaffispercei

vedastrustworthy(Sirdeshmukh.S2019;Wong&Sohal,2015).

Trusthasbeenconceptualizedasexistingwhenonepartyhasconfidenceinanexchangepartner'sreliabilit

yandintegrity(Arnott,2017).Theimportanceoftrustinretailingoverallhasnotreceivedmuchattention,

althoughafewstudieshavereportedasignificantroleoftrustintheretailcontextincompany‐

customerrelationships(Too,2001),insalesperson‐

customerrelationships(Ball,2018),andinonlineretailers(Nassir,2018).Riskemergeswhentheconsum

erfeelsuncertainoftheoutcomeassociatedwiththepurchasefromaretailoutlet.Previousempiricalstudi

eshaveprovedthatthisisacommonphenomenonintheretailsectore.g.

35
(Diallo,2012)andthetypesofrisksfrequentlyexperiencedbyconsumersincludefinancial,physical,tim

e,andpsychosocial(Mitchell&Harris,2015).

Aconsumer'strustinthefirm/company/

brandcouldbeaffectedbytheperceivedtrustofthebusinesscontextinwhichitoperates(Grayson,2018).

Grayson,(2018)referinterpersonaltrustandorganization‐specifictrustasnarrow‐

scopetrustandtheleveloftrustofanindustry,oracountry,asbroad‐

scopetrust.Interpersonaltrustismoreinfluentialinshapingexchangeactivitiesinabusinesscontextwhe

rebroad‐

scopetrustislowbecauseitwillperformasafeguardingfunctiontoreducetheperceivedriskinherentinthe

purchase(Grayson,2018).InChina,theemergenceofvarioustypesofretailformatsinthepast15yearsha

sofferedmorechoicesforshoppingtoChineseconsumers;butthebloomingofChina'sretailindustryhasr

esultedintheemergenceofsomeretailerswhooperatetheirbusinessinanunethical,andsometimeseveni

llegal,waybysellingfakeproductsandover‐

pricedproducts.SuchbehaviorbysomeretailershaspromptedChineseconsumerstohaveconcernabout

fakeproducts,productsafety,over‐

pricedproductsandpoorproductquality(Lloyd&Luk,2016);assuch,broad‐

scopetrustofthelocalretailsectorislowandinterpersonaltrustthuswillbemoreinfluentialinshapingbuy

ingbehavior.

2.2.7.3StrategicImportanceofaSalesperson

Storeimageismadeupofasetofstoreattributeswhichsignifywhatthestoreisabouttothecustomer(Diallo

,2015;Hsu,2017)anditisanimportantclueofwhatthestorecandeliveratitsbestthatbenefitsconsumersa

ndhelpsminimizetheperceivedrisktofacilitatethechoicedecision(Bigne&Blesa,2018;Mitchell&Har

36
ris,2015;Semeijin,2017).Theemergenceofrelationshipmarketingasaparadigmtoexplainbuyingbeha

viorhasdrawntheresearchattentionfromnon-

humanattributessuchasbrandmix,pricelevels,etc.toservice‐

basedandhumanbasedattributeslikethequalityofserviceandthebehaviorofsalespersons(Semeijin,20

16;Thorbjornsen&Supphellen,2019),toprovideforamorecomprehensiveandaccuratemeasurementf

orstoreimage.Forinstance,whatbecameknownastheConsumerImageofRetailStores(Bearden&Nete

meyer,2017)includesitemsdirectlyrelatedtothefrontlinesalesperson,likeappearanceandservicebeha

vior.

Tomostconsumers,shoppingisanactivitythatproducessatisfactionfrommorethansimplytheutilityoft

hemerchandisebought.Thesocialorpersonalizingshopperenjoysconversationwiththefrontlinesaless

taffandwillseekpersonalrelationshipswithstorepersonnel.Thestoreenvironmentincludinghelpfulper

sonnelmaythuspositivelyinfluencefeelings(Lloyd,2016;Machleit&Mantel,2018;Sharma,2015).Sc

hneiderandBowen(2015)havereportedthattheserviceattitudesandbehavioroffrontlineserviceperson

nelcreatealastingimpressionthatdeterminescustomers'perceptionofthefirmandcustomersatisfaction

Otherstudieshavedemonstratedthatapositiveimpressionandfeelingstowardsthefrontlinesalesperson

nelarecrucialforconsumers'perceptionofstoreimageandapproachingbehaviortowardsthestore(Brow

n&Lam,2018)andtheperceivedvalueofretailserviceandfuturepurchasebehavior(Sweeney&Soutar,

2017).Inparticular,thisrelationshipwouldbestrongerinpeople‐

dominantserviceslikeretailservice(Brown&Lam,2018).

2.2.8EffectsofSocialMediaonConsumergoods

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Consumersoncehadalimitednumberofmediachannelsfromwhichtoobtainproductinformationandwe

reforcedtorelyonwordofmouth(WOM)andprintmedia(e.g.newspapers,magazines)tolearnaboutpro

ductsinwhichtheywereinterested.Thischangedradicallyinthetwentiethcentury,asthenumberofmedi

achannelsincreasedwiththeadventofradioandtelevision(TV),revolutionizingthewaysinwhichconsu

merscouldaccessinformation.Overthepasttwodecades,theadventoftheinternethasagainfundamental

lyalteredthequantityandqualityofinformationavailabletoconsumers.Asatypeof“newmedia,”theinte

rnetcontainsalloftheinformationthatwasavailablefromoldermediaand,whenusedinconjunctionwith

personalmediadevicessuchassmartphonesandTablets,allowsconsumerstoobtaininformationanywh

ere,atanytime(Woo,2015).

Whileprintmediaadvertisingexpendituresdecreasedby3percentperyearfrom2009to2016,spendingo

ninternetmediagrewby18percentannuallyoverthesametimeperiod(ZenithOptimedia,2017).Intande

mwiththisevolutionininformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT),consumerpurchasingbehav

iorandcorporateadvertisingstrategieshavealsochanged.Consumersarenowabletogatherinformation

throughvariousmediachannelsincludingtheinternetateachstageofthepurchasedecisionmakingproce

ss(needrecognition,informationsearch,alternativeevaluation,purchasedecision,andpostpurchasebe

havior).

(Chen&Hsieh,2012).Theinternethasalsofacilitatedsocialnetworkingwhichenablesconnectionswith

anetworkofpeoplewhosharecommoninterestsorgoals(Hsu,2018).

Socialmediahasbecomeanimperativeconduitforglobalmarketingcommunicationsandiscommandin

galargershareofadvertisingbudgets,especiallytoreachtheyoungergeneration.Therefore,thevalueofa

dvertisingonsocialmediasuchasFacebook,YouTube,LinkedIn,Twitterandothersisofgreatinterestto

organizations,managersandacademics(Saxena&Khanna,2016).marketersareincreasingtheirsocial

mediabudgetswithdigitalinteractiveadvertisingforecastedtoreach$138billionin2015,agrowthrateof

38
nearly15percentincomparisonto2017(Marketer,2019).Furthermore,theMiddleEastandAfricaarepr

edictedtohavethehighestsocialmediaadvertisingspendgrowth(64percent)in2015(Marketer,2018).S

ocialmedia,suchasFacebookandTwitter,haveplayedhugerolesinthewayswework,study,travel,eat,e

ntertainandmakepurchases(Bilgihan.S.2017).Withtheemergenceofsocialmediaandmobiletechnolo

gy,customershavebeguntosharetheirthoughtsabout,andassessmentsof,satisfactoryandunsatisfactor

yserviceexperienceswithouttemporalorspatialconstraints(AlJabri&Sohail,2015;Wilcox&Stephen,

2017).Researchhasdemonstratedthatsocialmediaandmobiletechnologyhavebecomecrucialchannel

sofinformationexchangepriortopurchases(Lee.A.2016;Kwon,2016).

2.2.8.1ConsumerEngagementonSocialMediaandItsEffectonconsumergoods

Recentlargescalecommercialstudiesprovideevidencethatconsumerengagementcontinuestobeaprob

lemforsocialmediausers.Forexample,IBM’sCMOInsightsGlobalCSuiteStudyfoundthatfewcompa

niesengagewithcustomersviasocialmediaandmosthavefailedto“exploittheopportunitiesarisingfrom

thedataexplosionandadvancedanalytics”(IBM,2019).Moreover,aTrackMaven’s(2016)studyfoundt

hatwhilesocialmediacontentperbrandroseby35percentacrossvariedplatformsfrom2014to2015,cont

entengagementactuallydecreasedby17percentoverthatsametimeperiod.Evensocialmediavendorsw

hopurportedlymeasureengagementhavebeenunabletoprovewhether,orthedegreetowhich,engagem

entcorrelatestometricslikeloyaltyorsales(Elliott,2018).So,whilealmostnineintenUScompanieswith

atleast100employeeshaveasocialmediapresenceformarketingpurposes,howthistranslatesintocusto

mervalueremainsamystery(Marketer,2015).

Anumberoffactorscontributetothisengagementgap.First,socialmediaisarelativelynewmarketingph

enomenon,andthereisthusanaivetéforhowengagementshouldbecreated,trackedandmeasured(Barge

r&Labrecque;2019;Schivinski,2016).Second,withitsmanyplatformsandvariedformats,socialmedia

39
hasbecomeafragmentedmedium,makingitdifficultforcompaniestotrackandcoordinatetheirefforts(

King.,2018;Straker,2015).Thisfragmentation,alongwithcontentsaturationacrosschannels,hasplace

dgreatercognitivedemandsonconsumers,forcingthemtoeitherignorecontentorbecomemoreselectiv

einwhattheyviewandprocess(IBM,2016).Lastly,intheirsearchforshorttermsalesgains,marketersove

rrelyonsocialmediatodeliversalespromotionstoconsumers,andthiscontinuestohaveanegativeeffect

onbrandequity(Schultz&Block,2016).

Baker(2016)studiedthevalence,channelandsocialtiestrengthofconsumerengagement.Negativewor

dofmouthhadthestrongesteffectonpurchaseintention,althoughpurchaseintentionwasalsoinfluenced

bythestrengthofthesocialtiebetweenthecommunicatorandtherecipient.Theformatoftheonlinewordo

fmouthplaysaroleaswell;specifically,thepresenceofphotosinpostsresultsinhigherproductinterestan

dhigherpurchaseintentionforbothsearchproductsandexperiencehedonicproducts(Lin2018).

2.2.8.2ConsumerReviewsonSocialMediaanditsEffectonPurchase

GenerationYconsumersinthosecountriesthatprovidesoundinformationinfrastructurevisitFacebook

andTwittertoreadreviewsofservicesandproductswrittenbyfellowcustomers.Theyarealsoemerginga

smicrobloggerswhoshowcaseretailproductsononlineplatformsandgetinsiderinformationaboutbran

dsthroughtweets(Bilgihan,2018).HeandBond(2016)investigatedtheeffectonforecastsofconsumptio

nenjoyment.Theyfoundthatengagementintheformofreviewswasmostlikelytoresultinpotentialpurch

asersadjustingtheirforecasts.Perhapsnotsurprisingly,crediblereviewsleadtohigherpurchaseintentio

ns(Jiménez&Mendoza,2017).

Whatmakesareviewcrediblediffersforsearchproductsversusexperienceproducts;however,reviewsf

orsearchproductsaremorecredibleiftheyprovidedetailedinformationabouttheproduct,whereasrevie

wsforexperienceproductsareconsideredmorecredibleiftherevieweragreeswiththereview(Jiménez&

40
Mendoza,2018).Thelanguageofthereviewalsoaffectsproductchoice(Kronrod&Danziger,2018).Illu

stratingtheimportanceofreviewsingeneral,deLangheetal.

(2016)showedthatconsumersrelyheavilyonaverageratingsofproductstoarriveatpurchasedecisions,d

espitea“substantialdisconnectbetweentheobjectivequalityinformationthatonlineuserratingsactuall

yconveyandtheextenttowhichconsumerstrustthemasindicatorsofobjectivequality”.

Withrespecttobrandattitude,Huang.

(2017)demonstratedthatthelikelihoodofaconsumersharingaviralvideowaslinkedtonotonlytheconsu

mer’sattitudetowardthevideobutalsotheconsumer’sattitudetowardthebrand.Moreover,theimpactof

attitudetowardthebrandhadasignificantimpactonsharing.Ontheoppositeendofthespectrum,Anderso

nandSimester(2018)showedthatbrandattitudemayaffectthelikelihoodofconsumerspostingnegative

productreviewswithouteverhavingpurchasedtheproducttheyarereviewing.

Usergeneratedcontent(UGC)intheformofreviewscanaffectconsumers’willingnesstopay.Intheirstu

dyofthispreferredmarkers(discussedpreviouslyunder“BrandEffects”),Hamilton,

(2018)foundthatthepresenceofdispreferredmarkersinUGCincreasedwillingnesstopayforaproduct.

WuandWu(2016)arguethatwillingnesstopayvariesacrossindividualsandevenwithinanindividualde

pendingonpreferencesforuncertainty.Theyofferaframeworkforquantifyingwillingnesstopaybasedo

nconsumers’preferencesfordifferentreviewstatistics.PositiveWOMoftenresultsinmorepositiveopin

ionsandpurchasingbehaviorsbyotherconsumers,whilenegativeeWOMoftenresultsinnegativeopinio

nsandpurchasingbehaviors(Cantallops&Salvi,2017).

2.2.8.3FacebookastheMostEffectiveSocialMediaTooltoDrivePurchase

CurrentFiguresrevealthatthelargestonlinesocialmediumintheworldisFacebook,with1.32billionacti

vemembers,anditisalsothelargestsocialcommercesitethataccountsfor85percentofallordersfromsoci

41
almedia(Shopify,2016).Duffett(2015)’sresultsconfirmthatadvertisingonFacebookhasapositiveinfl

uenceonthebehavioralattitudes(intentiontopurchaseandpurchase)ofMillennialswhoresideinSA.Ac

cordingtoHsu(2018),theFacebookcommunityhasthefollowingcharacteristics:sharescompany,prod

uct,orserviceinformation;communicatesandsharesmarketingmessages;expandsnetworks;andrecei

vesfeedbackupdates,whichprovidememberswithasmanyopportunitiesaspossibletobecomeinvolve

dandparticipateinthecommunity.Furthermore,Facebookrevenuefromadvertisinghasgrownby59per

centduringthepastyeartoover$5.4billionin2014(Facebook,2016),whichistestamenttotheshiftfromtr

aditionalmediaadvertisingtodigitalinteractivemediaadvertisingbyorganizations.ItisestimatedthatM

illennialswillhaveacombinedpurchasingpowerof$2.45trillionworldwideby2015.Itcanbeassumedth

atsocialcommunicationsintheformononlinereviews,postsandwordofmouth(WOM)willplayalargep

artindrivingpurchasedecisions(Priyanka,2018).

AreviewofFacebook’sglobaladvertisingperformanceindicatedthatclickthroughrateshadimprovedb

y20percentfrom2011to2012(AYTM,2016).Furthermore,thecostperclickhadrisenbyoveraquarteran

dthecostperthousandincreasedbymorethanhalf.However,Greenlight(2016)foundthat44percentofco

nsumersdidnoteverclickonFacebookadvertisements,31percentrarelydid,10percentoftendidand3per

centclickedregularly.WhileAssociatedPressandCNBC(2017)reportedthatovereightoutoftenFaceb

ookusersneverorseldomviewedFacebookadvertisementsortheirsponsoredcontent.However,Reuter

sandIpsos(2017)revealedthatoneinfiveFacebookusershadpurchasedproductsasaresultofadvertisem

entsand/

orcommentsthattheyviewedonFacebook.Thisrateincreasedtonearly30percentwhowereaged18-34.

FacebookandComScore(2016)disclosedthat4percentofconsumersboughtsomethingwithinamontha

fterbeingexposedtoearnedbrandimpressionsfromaretailer.Theexposurealsoincreasedconsumers’in

tentiontopurchase.RichRelevancerevealedthatconsumerswhomadepurchases,owingtoFacebookad

42
vertising,weredoubleincomparisontoPinterestandTwitter.Facebookalsohadthegreatestincomepers

ession.Bannister,

(2015)foundthattheattitudesofUScollegestudentstowardsFacebookadvertisingwerelargelynegative

orindifferent.RespondentsdisclosedthatFacebookadvertisementswerepredominantlyuninformative

,irrelevant,uninteresting,andwould,therefore,notgenerallyclickonthem.Moreover,amajorityofcolle

gestudentsstatedthattheywouldnotmakeapurchaseowingtoFacebookadvertising.Persuad(2019)use

dacontrolledexperimentamong96youngadultstoexploretheimpactofinteractivityandproductinvolve

mentonrespondents’attitudestowardsbrandsonFacebookandtheirintentiontopurchase.Nosignifican

tresultswerefoundforinteractivity,productinvolvementorintentiontopurchase.However,thestudyre

vealedthathighlevelsofinteractivityonFacebookwerepositivelycorrelatedtointentiontopurchaseand

favorableattitudestowardsthebrand.

2.2.9CommunicationandEffectsonMarketingofconsumergoods

AccordingtoHolloway(2015)aresearchreportintocustomersatisfactionfromanalystsGIInsightratest

heLeisure&EntertainmentindustrytopandUtilitiesastheworstatkeepingUKcustomerssatisfied.Mor

eover,itrevealsthattheorganisationsdeemedtoprovidegoodcustomersatisfactionarealsothosethatim

plementrelevantandtargetedcustomercommunications.

Theimpactofcommunicationonmarketingeffectivenesssometimesdependsonhowwellthecommuni

cationispackagedandmanaged.Communicationisgenerallycarriedoutbymodesofspeech,writing,vis

ionandimagery.Theyformthenaturebywhichacommunicatedmessageissentfromoneperson,groupor

pointtoanother.Amarketingcommunicatorneedstomanagetheseelementsadequatelytoachievethede

siredresult.ThatiswhyAunerandWolf(2017)heldthat“withouteffectivewriting,speaking,readingand

listening–communication–eventhebestdecisionmayresultintheworstaction”

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Intoday‟sworldofmarketingcommunication,themessagesofcommunicationarepackagedandsentthr

oughinternet,telephone,radio,television,billboards,newspapers,magazines,books,brochures,packa

ging,signs,pointofsalematerials,facetofacediscussionetc.OnahandThomas(2016)explainedthesem

ediumasfollows:

“Businessmenandwomencanpromotetheirproductsandservicesthroughtheuseofthemedia,suchasra

dio,television,billboards(orsignpostsinthecaseofsmallbusinesses),exhibitionsandtradefairs,direct

mailandpoint-ofsaledisplays.Theycanencourageword-of-

mouthandtheirproductswillbeseenwhendisplayedincompetitionwithotherproducts.Theseactivities

constitutemarketingcommunication.”

Eachofthismediumhasitsstrengthsandweaknesses.Forinstanceradiohastheadvantageofbeingabletot

ravelfarandpenetrateruralareastherebymakingitusefulforreachingtheilliterateaudienceandremotelo

cationswhichiswhyMcAnany(2017)saidthat“novillageseemssoremotethatradioatleastdoesnotreac

hit.”Butithasthedisadvantageofnotreachinghighlyactivepeople,beingflippantandlackingimagery.

Televisionhastheadvantageofusingimagery,visionanddemonstration.InthewordsofCutlipandCente

r(2018)“Amediumwhichpermitstheuseofprintedwork,spokenword,picturesinmotion,colour,music

,animationandsoundeffectsallblendedintoonemessagepossessesunmeasuredpotency.”Howeveritis

flippantandcostlytoown.

Brochures,fliers,books,newspapersandmagazinesarewelldetailedandstorablewhichmakesthemuse

fulforreferencing.Themessagestheycontainthereforehavetheabilitytolastlongerandreachmorepeopl

e.Theirdisadvantageisthattheyarenotusefulforreachingilliterateaudienceandcustomersandhardlype

netrateruralareas.

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Thereisoftensomeconfusionamongprofessionalastothedifferencebetweenaflierandabrochure.Inade

finitionofferedbyDebelek(2016)“Aflierorcircularisasimpleone-

pagesalesbrochurethatstateswhatyoudoandofferssomethingfreetopotentialcustomers,suchasadisco

unt,afreeestimate,orafreeconsultation.”Heequallyexplainedabrochurethus(2018)

“Typicallycustomersmovetowardabuyingdecisioninsteps.Duringthepre-

buyingstage,theyjusttakeinbitsandpiecesofinformation.Oncetheygetclosertoapurchasedecision,ho

wever,theywilloftenrequest,andread,aproductbrochure.”

Internetandtelephonehavetheadvantageofbeinginteractive.Theyhavetheabilityofpickingoutthedesi

redcustomerandreachinghimdirectly.Theyareequallyeffectiveforreachinghighlyactiveandmobilec

ustomers.Howevertheyarecostlyanddonothaveawidespread.OnahandThomas(2018)definedtheInte

rnetas“acomputer-

basedworldwideinformationnetwork.”TocapturethepoweroftheinternetAli(2019)explainedthat“In

itiallytheinternetwasforanoraks.Nownearlyeveryoneusesit–

tofindinformation,tocommunicate,tobuyandtosell.

Face-to-face,packaging,point-of-

sale,andsignshavetheadvantageofcommunicatingtothecustomeratthepointofthetransaction.Thisisi

mportantbecauseitisthetimethepurchaseistakingplaceandthecustomerneedstoberemindedheismaki

ngtherightchoice.

Nomatterthemediumbeingused,themarketingcommunicatorshouldendeavourtopackagethemessag

ewell.HenceMuyiwa(2017)heldthat“Foranystrategytobeeffective,itmustbecreative,firstandforemo

st.Becausetheconsumermarketissucharapidlychangingone,evenwhentimetestedsolutionsarebeinga

dopted,theymustbedonewithsomecreativity.

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2.3TheoreticalFramework

2.3.1TheResponseHierarchyTheory

TheHierarchyofeffectstheorywasadvancedbyLavidgeandSteiner(2016),thismarketingcommunicat

iontheoryproposessixstepsfrombroadcastingaproductadvertisementtoproductacquisition.Theadver

tiserpersuadestheconsumertogothroughoutthesixstepsandprocuretheproduct.ThesixstepsareAware

ness,Knowledge,Liking,Preference,ConvictionandfinalPurchase.AsstatedbyLavidgeandSteiner(2

016),itisahierarchyofeffectsbecausethequantityofcustomersdecreasefromonephasetoanotherwhich

impliesthatbusinesscorporationsshouldstruggletoattainalotofcustomerstothefinalphaseofbuyingthr

oughinnovativemarketingcommunicationmessagesthattransmitdistinctivevalueorserviceintentions

tothetargetaudience.

Theresponsehierarchymodelpresumesthatthecustomergoesthroughthreestages;cognitive,affective

andbehaviouralstages.Firstthelearn-feel-

doprogressionisappropriatewhenaudiencehashighinvolvement–

highdifferentiationproductcategoryexampleahouseorfurniture.Secondlydo-feel-

learnsequenceisappropriatewhenanaudiencehashighinvolvementthereisnodifferentiationproductca

tegoryexampleairlineticketsandthethirdislearn-do-

feelsequenceonceanaudiencehaslowinvolvementthereislittledifferentiationexamplesugar.Henceby

decidingontherightsequence,themarketercandoasuperiorjobofplanningmarketingcommunication.

2.3.2Herzberg’sTheoryofMotivation

TheHerzberg‟stheorywasfocusedonwhatmotivatescustomerstobuyaproduct.AccordingtoKotleran

dKeller(2015)“FredrickHerzbergdevelopedatwofactortheorythatdistinguishesdissatisfies(factorst

46
hatcausedissatisfaction)andsatisfiers(factorthatcausesatisfaction).Theabsenceofdissatisfiesisnoten

ough;satisfiersmustbepresenttomotivateapurchase”.

Thistheoryshowsthatintryingtosatisfyacustomeritisnotenoughtoconcentrateeffortinavoidingwhatt

hecustomerdoesnotlikebutthatthecompanyshouldcarryoutactivitiesaimedatgeneratingwhatthecust

omerlikestobeabletopleaseandsatisfyhim.

2.3.3HierarchyofNeedsTheory(Maslow’sTheory)

ThishierarchyofneedstheorywasdevelopedbyAbrahamMaslowhenceitisalsoknownasMaslowstheo

ry.BythistheoryMaslowtriedtoexplainthemotivationofpeoplebycategorizinghumanneedsaccording

totheirmotivationalimportance.

KotlerandKeller(2015)explainedthistheorythus“humanneedsarearrangedinahierarchy,fromthemos

tpressingtotheleastpressinginorderofimportance.Theyarephysiologicalneeds,safetyneeds,socialne

eds,esteemneedsandself-actualizationneeds.Peoplewilltrytosatisfytheirmostimportantneedsfirst.”

Thistheoryshowsthatcustomersatisfactiondependsonthecategoryofthecustomer’sneed.Thatacusto

merwillfirstsatisfyphysiologicalneedsbeforebotheringaboutsafetyneeds,thathisneedchangesasheg

etssatisfiedandthathecannotbesatisfiedbyahigherneedunlessamorebasiconehasbeensatisfied.

Thistheoryisveryimportantforthemarketertoknowhowimportanthisproductistothecustomerbydeter

miningthepositiontheproductoccupiesintheconsumer’sscaleofpreference.

2.3.4PsychoanalyticTheory(Freud’sTheory)

ThepsychoanalytictheorywasdevelopedbySigmundFreudhenceitisalsoknownasFreud‟stheory.Bel

chandBelch(2017)explainsthistheorythus“consumers‟motivationforpurchasingareoftenverycompl

47
exanduncleartothecasualobserverandtotheconsumersthemselves.Manymotivesforpurchaseand/

orconsumptionmaybedrivenbydeepmotivesonecandetermineonlybyprobingthesubconscious”.

2.3.5TheoryofSymbolicInteraction

Varey(2018)remarkedthat“accordingtothetheoryofsymbolicinteraction,ourbehaviourtowardsanob

jectoreventdependsonthesymbolicmeaningascribedbyreferentothersinsociety.Asconsumerswebeh

avetowardsgoodsandservicesaccordingtothistheory,accordingtothesymbolsattachedtothembyothe

rsocialentities(referencegroups,persons,societies)”.

Thistheorypositsthatthemeaningandvalueacustomerwillattachtoacompanyoritsproductswilldepen

donwhatotherrelevantgroupslikegovernment,media,communityetcthinkofthatcompanyorproduct.

Thesegroupsareconsideredvitalinpublicrelations.

Thistheorypositsthatwhatmotivatesacustomerlieswithinhissubconscious.Thisimpliesthattosatisfyh

imwillrequirefeedinghimwithdesirablemessageswhichhestoresinhissubconsciousanduseswheneve

rhewantstomakeabuyingdecision.

2.4EmpiricalReview

KulluvaaraandToruberg(2017)conductedastudyon“marketingcommunicationandtourismacasestu

dyoficehotelAB(Sweden)”.Theynotedthattheincreasingcommunicationoptioninrecentyears,havec

ontributedtothecommunicationcluttertheworldisexperiencingtoday.Thismadeitimportantformarke

terstointegratetheirmarketingcommunicationinordertobreakthroughthebarrierofnoiseandreachthei

rtargetmarket.ThestudyconcludedthaticehotelABwassuccessfulwiththeirIMCstrategyastheirmessa

48
gewasconsistedandreflectedapositivefortheHotel.KulluvaaraandToruberg(2017)addedthatthrough

IMC,icehotelABhasbuiltastrongbrandidentifyandimage.

Bendzovska,Blomgnist,Rubenstein(2018)conductedaresearchonthe“AssessmentofonlineMarketin

gCommunicationofanautomotivecompanyacasestudyofJaguarcar”theynotedovertheyears,thetradit

ionalfaceofmarketinghaschanged.Companiesneedtoadoptongoingmarketingstrategiestostudyahea

doftheirstrategiescontinuetoevolve.Inthisresearchacasestudyhasbeenconductedononecompanywit

hintheautomotiveindustry.ThecasestudywasperformedonJaguarcarsinSwedenandanassessmentoft

heiruseofonlinemarketingcommunication(OMC)asamarketingtoolwasmade.Thecasestudyindicate

dthatJaguarcarsinSwedenonlyinvestmoderatelyinonlinemarketingcommunicationactivities.Afteri

dentifyingtheformerasaproblemtotheirmarketingcommunication,theresearchproposedthatthefocus

forJaguaramoreinvolvedintegratedmarketingcommunication(IMC)approachinordertoutilizetheint

ernetmosteffectively.

Davis(2018)studyoneffectivecommunicationstrategiesinafranchisecompany;acaseofbakers’deligh

tholdingsAustralia,wasacasestudyandasurveywheredatawascollectedbyqualitativequestionnaire.F

ranchiseesupportforpoliciesvariedsignificantly.Thestudyconcludedthatitisrelevantlyeasytocommu

nicatemarketingstrategiesandcorporategoalstothefranchisersthanexpectingthemtorespondtotheiro

wncommunicationstrategies.Aresearchgapofthestudyisthatthestudywasdoneonacasestudyandcond

uctedthroughasurveyofsampledatainformationfromonesourceandcross-

sectionaltypeofresearchwhichdidnotrequirealongtimeperiod.Anoverallreviewofresearchstudiesdo

neonmarketingcommunicationmixcomponentsconcludedthatthereisaconvincingresultofapositiveo

rsignificantrelationshipbetweenmarketingcommunicationstrategiesusedandsalesperformanceofap

roduct.

49
Okyere(2015)carriedoutastudyontheeffectofmarketingcommunicationonsalesperformanceofGhan

atelecom.Thestudydevelopedamodeltoexplaintheconnectionbetweenmarketingtools(independent)

andsalesperformance(dependent),themodelwasdesignedtoexaminetheimpactofmarketingcommun

icationonthesalesvolumeofGT(Vodafone).Theamountofobservationsusedforthestudywas40,deriv

edfromGT’s(Vodafone)salesrecordsandpromotionswithintheperiodof2006to2008.Thestudyfoundt

hattherewasstrongassociationlinkingsalespromotionandadvertisingbudgetsontotalsales.Therewas

ontheotherhandanopposedrelationshipbetweenTVadvertisementsandsales.Additionally,anegative

associationwasalsoestablishedtoexistbetweensponsorshipbudgetandtotalsales.Theoutcomesignifie

sthatVodafonewasnotdedicatingmuchnoticetoitstotalcommunicationcostsandthereturnoninvestme

nt(ROI)onsuchexpenditures.Themainlimitationofthestudywaslackofrelevantinformationtoassistth

estudyandrecommendedfurtherresearchtoestablishrelevantsupportingdataanddefiniteindicationoft

herelationshiponothermarketingcommunicationstrategies.

50
 CHAPTERTHREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1Introduction

Thechapterdealswiththemethodsadoptedinthisstudyunderthefollowingsub-

headings:Researchdesign,populationfortheStudy,SamplesizeDetermination,SamplingTechnique,

Methodofdatacollection,ValidityandReliabilityofinstrumentsandMethodofdataanalysis

3.2ResearchDesign

Thisstudyusedadescriptivesurveydesign.Thepurposeofthisdesignistocollectdetailedandfactualinfo

rmationthatdescribesanexistingphenomenon(Ezeani1998).Datawascollectedbasedontheconceptsd

efinedintheresearchstudy(descriptivesurvey)andhypothesistestedfromtheresponsesonstructuredqu

estionnairewhichweredistributedamongsttheselectedsampleforthestudy.

3.3PopulationoftheStudy

Apopulationismadeupofallconceivableelementsorobservationsrelatingtoaparticularphenomenonof

intereststotheresearcher(Asika,2015).ThepopulationforthisresearchstudywasselectedfromRantito

DiariesMakurdibothownerandstaffs.Thetotalpopulationsizeforthisresearchstudywasfourthousand

(4000).

3.4SampleSize

51
Giventhepopulationnumberof4000.ThestudyadoptedtheYaroYomane’sformulatoarriveatthesampl

esize.

N
S=
1+ N ( e ) 2

Where:S=samplesize(tobedetermined)

N=populationofBenueState=4000

e=expectederror=0.05

1=constant

Therefore,

4000
S=
1+ 4000 ( 0.005 ) 2

4,000
S=
1+ 4000 x 0.0025

4000
S=
1+ 10

4000
S=
11

S= =364

3.4.1SamplingTechnique

52
Atotalofthreehundredandsixtyfour(364)questionnaireswillbedistributedtotherespondents.Thefirsts

egmentofthequestionnaireseekspersonaldataoftherespondents,thesecondsegmentpossessthequesti

onsrelatingtothesubjectmatterofinquiringinastructure

3.5MethodofDataCollection

Thisstudywilladoptbothprimaryandsecondarymethodsofdatacollection.Primarydata–

include;basicallyquestionnairesandobservation,whilesecondarysourcesofdatacollectionentailsdata

collectedfrombooks,newspapers,magazines,journalsetc.Thesesourceswillgreatlyassistinthereview

ofrelevantliteratureontheresearchtopic,andprovidesinsightsthatwillberelevantwhichcouldhardlybe

sourcedusingprimarysourceofdatagathering.

3.6ValidityandReliabilityofInstruments

Validitytestwillbecarriedouttodeterminewhethertheinstrumentcoversthevalidcontentthatitissuppos

edtomeasure.Areliabilitytestwillbecarriedouttocheckoutfortheconsistencyofresearchinstrumentsto

beused.Toensurethatthestructuredquestionnaireinstrumentdevelopedforthisstudymeasureswhatitis

expectedtomeasure,thatistocertifytherequirementofvalidityandreliability,contentvaliditywasadapt

edtoadequatelymeasurecoverageoftheresearchtopic.Forthisstudy,thevalidityandreliabilitywillbete

stedbyuseofpilottestandexpertjudgmentoftheresearchsupervisor.Theconstructivecriticism,advicea

ndsuggestionsofsupervisorswillbeseriouslyconsideredtoensurethevalidityoftheinstrument.

Theinstrumentwassubmittedtothesupervisorforcriticismsandsuggestions.Thecorrectedcopywasval

idatedandreliablebythesupervisorfromwhichfinalcopieswerereproduced.

3.7MethodofDataAnalysis

Theresponsegottenfromthequestionnairesarepresentedintabularforms.Theresponseswereconverte

dtofrequenciesandpercentages.Interpretationwasbasedonthefindingsandtheresearchquestionofthes

tudy.Thehypothesisformulatedinthisworkwastestedwiththeuseofchi-

53
squaremethod,whichshowsthemagnitudeofthediscrepancybetweenthevariables,expectationandobs

ervation.Thetestwascarriedoutat5%levelofsignificance.Chi-squareisrepresentedasfollows:

X2=
∑ E ( 0−E ) 2
E

Here∑=Summation

0=Observedfrequency

X2=Calculated=chi-squarecalculated

E=Expectedfrequency.

54