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- No of Pages: 103

- No of Chapters: 05

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Introduction:

Abstract

This project work is based on “the analysis of consumer brand switching behaviours in soft drink market. “A case study of Enugu metropolis” The following are the objectives which the researcher set to accomplish and these are:



i. To determine the impact of marketing mix on the consumer brand switching behaviours in soft drink market;



ii. To determine the factors that promote consumer brand switching behaviours in soft drink market: and



iii. To discover the relative strengths of the various soft brands short listed for this study, primary and secondary data were used. The primary data was sourced through specific research instrument (i.e questionnaire) which is distributed and administered to the consumers and dealers of soft drink brands in Enugu metropolis. Secondary data on the other land, was sourced through authoritative textbooks, articles , newspaper and journals, computerized source, library and past research work. The date collected from the respondents through the requestionnaire were analyzed using tables, frequencies and percentages.



Based on the objective on the objective of this study , the bourley’s formular and chi- square (x2) - test tool are been used to determine the sample size and in testing the stated hypothesis stipulated for this study . based on the data analysis, the following findings were made and they are:



i. The amount of soft drinks consumed per zonal areas in Enugu, metropolis



ii. The highest brand if soft drink consumed in Enugu



iii. The reason’s for consumer brand switching, which include the change of price, taste, availability or unavailability of product brand, packaging, quality, introduction of new brand of soft drink, habit and image.



iv. The reason why consumer preferred a particular brand of soft drink .



Based on the finding’s so far highlighted above, the researcher made the following recommendations to manufactures and they are:



i. The is the need for comprehensive review of the pricing method, strategies and policies employed by manufacturers with a view to develop and sustain attractive pricing levels for brands to ensure continuous consumer patronage and also attract new ones.



ii. Manufacturers should also employ all the marketing strategies available to the such as packaging sizes, contents, bottle design, taste, quality, pricing, persuasive advertising, promotion campaign, new brand introduction and line extension to exploit and build the target latend demand and potential market which characterize the Enugu market with a view to increase consumption levels as well as to diminute consumer brand switching and gain brand loyalty. Finally, the research wishes to con that the Enugu soft drink market is highly undeveloped and unsophisticated having one of the lowest per sub zonal consumption levels and currently having high consumer brand switching and cannot sustain high brand loyalty has significant marketing and economic implications for this country marketing and economic implications for this premise that the following recommendation were made above and must be adhere with or else the reasons for brand switching in soft drink market will step up while the benefits of brand loyalty from consumer will drastically fall. And so, manufacturers should be very conscious of recommendations made so far.

Table of Content

1.0 Introduction



1.1 Background to the Study



1.2 Statement of the Problem



1.3 Objective of the Study



1.4 Research questions/ hypothesis



1.5 Significance of the Study



1.6 Scope of the study



1.7 Definition of Major Terms

CHAPTER TWO



Review of Related Literature



Meaning of Consumer Behaviour



2.1 An overview of branding



2.2 Consumer responses to branding



2.3 Nature of brand switching



2.4 Soft drinks brand switching in Nigeria



2.5 Definition of consumer behaviour



2.6 Factors influencing consumer behaviour



2.7 A perception model



2.8 Maslow’s hievachy of needs

CHAPTER THREE



Research Methodology



3.1 Sources of Data



3.2 Primary data



3.3 Secondary data



3.4 Population of the study



3.5 Sample Size Determination and sample techniques



3.6 Sampling Technique



3.7 Research Instrument



3.8 Validity/Reliability of responses



3.9 Questionnaire



3.10 Method of data Analysis



3.11 Limitation of the study

CHAPTER FOUR



Data Presentation Analysis and Interpretation



4.1 Presentation, Analysis and interpretation data



4.2 Testing of Hypothesis

CHAPTER FIVE



Discussion of Findings, Recommendation and Conclusion



5.1 Summary of findings



5.2 Recommendations



5.3 Conclusion



Appendix

Introduction

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY



The chartered institute of marketing (1984) in England defines marketing as “ the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirement profitable.



American marketing association (1960:1) also defined marketing as “the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services to the consumers or users. In other words, all activities that are undertaken to facilitate the flow of goods and services come under marketing. According to Nwaizuggo (2004:8) modern marketing concept is built on three foundation namely:



(i) Consumer satisfaction



(ii) Profitable sales volume



(iii) Integrated marketing



This means that consumers satisfaction must be at the centre of any business motive.



The central aim of modern marketing is all about ensuring the consumer satisfaction and also to ensure that consumers always continue to patronize the marketer’s brnad.



The American marketing association defines branding as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or a services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary



(2006: 170) defined branding as the activity of giving a particular name and image to goods and services so that people will be attracted to them a tool of marketing used for the purpose of product identification among other uses.



Branding is also to win consumers brand loyalty.



Brand name is the name given to a product by the company that produces it and this enable the consumers to easily identify the products.



Modern marketing is facing a lot of challenges which includes growing affluence and change in the tast of consumers coupled with the drift of market from a monopolistic structure to that of a near perfect competition consumer now have lots of products alternative to choose from. The result is a gradual elimination of the “concept called “Brand Loyalty” and the emergency of a new idea called “Brand Switching”.



Brand switching is the act of discontinuing the purchases of a product brand in favour of another brand. The marketing concept and Nigerian market structure (perfect competition or rather monopolistic) brought about product multiplicity in Nigeria. Lots of product close substitutes now exist and consumers are now dangling like pendulum from one product brand to another.



Recently, brand switching has taken its toll on the soft drink market in Nigeria. For instance, we have soft drinks brands such as coke, fauta, sprite, mountain dew, pepsi, 7 up, fayrouz, clubsoda mirinda, shewpse, mirinda apple, kiest and many more. A further study shows also that consumers but switch from one brand to another.



This simply implies that the soft drinks marketers, have been battling seriously on how to over come this trend . Given the above, the aim of the research is to carryout a research into the causative favours of soft drinks.



This will guide marketers against being vulnerable to brand switching behavioiur of consumers.