IntroductionBackground of StudyThe environment in which brands are operating is changing rapidly posing great challenges to firm decision making. This has led to a complicated market climate with consumer behavior changing at a very fast pace mainly because of the ease of switching from one brand to another. The ever-changing …
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IntroductionBackground of StudyThe environment in which brands are operating is changing rapidly posing great challenges to firm decision making. This has led to a complicated market climate with consumer behavior changing at a very fast pace mainly because of the ease of switching from one brand to another. The ever-changing nature of the business environment coupled with stiff competition has led to the adoption of aggressive marketing strategies by firms/brands. Brands in recent times have sought to adopt short-term marketing campaigns that consist of various incentives to stimulate the quicker or greater purchases of their products. In the mass market, direct marketing has become one of the marketing strategies used by companies to affect consumer choice, enhance the usage of a specific product, increase sales of current items, maintain and reward loyal consumers, and facilitate the introduction of new products. (Ofosu-Boateng et al., 2020). Along with advertising, personal selling, and media affairs, personal selling is one of the four parts of the promotional mix. Marketers utilize sales promotion, often known as below-the-line promotions, to entice consumers. (Mullin & Cummins, 2008). Sale promotion has been seen as a planned and executed marketing activity that increases product or service attractiveness and favorably alters consumer behavior in exchange for an extra incentive for sale or involvement. (Yeshin, 2006). Sales promotion has been recognized among the most significant aspects of the marketing mix, and its purpose is to encourage customers to buy a product more quickly, often, and in bigger quantities than they would without the promotion. Sales promotion has also been described as a marketing. Recent literature has established that sales promotions are adopted by brands to improve sales revenue. Firms have in recent years invested a huge chunk of their marketing budget for sales promotion. It is therefore important to establish how these techniques influence consumer purchase through brand preference. Brand Preference has been seen as a significant strategy for identifying a product or encouraging customers' purchases of a product brand that is typically defined by the consumers' views. Considered a marketing plan that can be developed and maintained for the brand's advantage. Brand preference refers to the tendencies of consumers to favor a certain brand. (Overby & Lee 2016). It refers to the behavioral trends that indicate the degree to which customers prefer one brand over another. Brand preference demonstrates a consumer's allegiance to the preferred brand. However, when customers get more acquainted with a brand, they will develop stronger brand preferences, which may influence their purchase decisions. (2011). (Bowman & Wright). In expanding the idea of brand preference, it is discovered that promotional instruments, among other aspects, impact it. Brand preference is in and of itself a marketing strategy that may be built and maintained for a brand's advantage. (Rahmani, et al., 2012). Building brand preference requires promotional actions that provide value to the brand and improve its recall or recognition. Since sales promotion has been recognized as one of the most often employed promotional methods by companies and brands, it is essential to understand the impact of sales promotion on customer brand choice. The consumption of alcoholic beverages has increased over the years with Ghana recording a very high Alcohol Per Capita (APC) of 10litres and a prevalence of alcohol consumption of about 39% which has been greatly associated with the influx of various brands such as Joy Daddy Bitters, Adonko Bitters, Alomo Bitters, and Pa Kum liquor on the consumer market. This has resulted in stiff competition within the alcoholic beverage market space. The competition has led to the adoption of various promotional tools, dominant among them is sales promotion. Various alcoholic beverage brands have channeled huge parts of their marketing budget on different sales promotional techniques all for tilting brand preference towards their products. It is however important to assess whether or not the various sales promotional techniques adopted have any influence on consumer brand preferences. This study, therefore, seeks to assess the impacts of sales promotion on consumer brand preferences using alcoholic beverages consumers within the Sunyani Municipality as a case study.
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