BRAND SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS IN THE HAIR CARE SERVICE
ABSTRACT
This project work was an attempt to investigate the brand switching behavior of a consumer in the Hair Care Service Market in Enugu Metropolis. The main objectives were: Establish the impact of the marketing mix on the brand switching behavior of Hair Care Service Consumer.
Determine the factor or variable that promotes brand switching among hair care service market consumers. Based on the objectives above, four hypotheses were formulated. The populations of the study were drawn from the consumer (users) of hair care services in Enugu Metropolis.
Top man’s formula methods were used to determine the sample size. Questionnaire and personal interview were used to elicit information from respondents simple tables and percentages were sued to analyzed data collected.
Based on the analysis, the following findings were made: it was observed that consumers will probably switch away from their brands because of the increase in price… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background of The Study
Brand switching is perhaps one of the most ignored and undiscussed issues underlying branding decision which are regularly encountered by manufacturers and products of brand products.
This situation may exist due to the nature of the produces or brand owner’s goals of objectives. One of which usually Is to generalize a positive and sustained brand preference and loyalty.
Mc Carthy and Perrault (1990:235), defined branding as the use of a name, term, symbol or design or a combination of these to identify a product it includes the use of brand names, trade-marks and practically all other means of product identification.
The advent of branding in the middle ages was according to them as a result of medieval guide efforts to require crafts people to put trade work on their products to protect them and their customers from inferior quality.
Today, branding is such a strong force that hardly anything goes unbranded. In developing marketing strategies for products branding has become a major products strategy facing manufacturers and markers of hair care services market in Enugu metropolis.
Semenik and Bamossy 1993, as noted earlier, the most Obvious aim of manufacturers and owners of Hair care services in Enugu metropolis from branding their products has been to develop brand loyalty or positive brand associations which to a great extent explain the influence on a consumer to repeatedly choose a particular company’s product over competing products. … (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
Statement of The Problem
Studies of consumer behaviour revealed that consumers generally exhibit three different kinds of purchase behaviour.
They include expensive problem solving, limited problem solving, routine problem solving and these buying behaviour have important marketing implications.
The routine problem solving or habitual purchase behaviour connotes a situation where a consumer does not devote much attention to his purchase task, often refered to as low involvement behaviour.
According to Howard (1998)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
Objective of The Study
With the discovery and identification of the twin consequences of short, medium and long term marketing strategy overtures towards the consumer namely; brand loyalty and brand disloyalty (switching), it therefore becomes the prime purpose of this study to:
- Establish the impact of the marketing mix on the brand switching behaviour of hair care services consumers… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Conceptual review – Brand Switching Behaviour
Brand switching is the process where consumers starts using another brands of goods or services and quit their routine brands of similar products which they are using for many times. (Mazursky et al., 1987).
Many consumers are brand loyal and it is very difficult to encourage them to switch brands. Additionally consumers switch brands because of attractiveness towards alternative brands (Grover & Srinivasan, 1992).
Brand switching is largely affected by extrinsic motivations. Mostly many brand switches occur not only because they are key to attaining or avoiding another purchase or consumption goal but also promotional mix measures used by the marketers (Nagar, 2009).
Recent researchers tried to establish the bases for improving the understanding of customers’ brand switching behavior and can be articulated in three main areas:
(a) the processes of underlying customer switching decisions;
(b) the specific factors that motivate switching; and
(c) the heterogeneous nature of the firms’ customer base and its relevance in order to analyze the differences between switchers and continuers (Lopez et. al., 2008).
Researchers in this study, was guided by these factors to find out reasons for brand switching behaviour over different tea brands by consumers.
In order to take steps to stop switching by consumers, companies should attempt to find out ways to proactively understand what their consumers really desire and build up a strong long term relationship with them by building brand equity.
According to Kevin Lane Keller (2008), building brand equity needs a brand to be a perfect blend of rational fact and emotional attachment, measured in terms of performance characteristics and imagery.
Customers’ relationship to a brand can be plotted in terms of their attitudes on the pyramid of engagement and their relative bias towards a rationally dominant or emotionally dominant relationship.
Therefore, in this study, Kevin Lane Keller’s branding block (figure-2) was used to identify different factors that develop consumers’ relationship with the brand from brand salience to brand resonance if the factors contribute in a positive manner.
In order to identify consumers’ loyalty of a particular tea brand, the factors in this model were required to measure. After measuring these factors, consumers’ bonding to a particular tea brand was identified by using Brown’s Brand Dynamics (Figure-3).
In this approach, five steps were depicted describing customers’ loyalty base. This figure step by step indicates an increase in consumers’ loyalty toward a brand. When consumers know about a brand then he/she is in the presentation stage.
Then simultaneously if the brand caters for him/her, satisfy him/her, gives advantage then he/she reaches at bonding stage, where he/she has a strong bonding with that brand…. (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
Empirical review
Factors Influencing Consumer Brand Switching Behavior In Telecommunication Industry: An Empirical Study [Prestige e-Journal of Management and Research Volume 1,(April 2014) ISSN 2350-1316 by Khushboo Makwana, Nidhi Sharma and Swaranjeet Arora]:
This study focuses on identifying factors influencing consumer brand switching behavior in the telecommunication industry. On the basis of questionnaires administered to consumers in the telecommunication industry, the study reveals that by providing value-added services and effective pricing strategies; telecom service providers can control consumer brand switching behavior and can retain the customers… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter covers research design, study area, the population of the study, sample size, sampling techniques, an instrument for data collection, sources of data collection, the validity of research instrument, reliability of the instrument, administration of the instrument, method of data analysis, and decision rule.
Research Design
This study employed the use of survey research design. The choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying the attributes of a large population from a group of individuals.
The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to examine subject matters using the Enugu metropolis as a case study.
The Study Area
This study was conducted in Enugu metropolis. The choice of this study area was informed by its involvement in the subject matter in the state.
Population of the Study
The population of this study consisted of all workers involved in hair care service delivery in Enugu metropolis.
Sample Size and Sampling Techniques
As a result of the inability of the researcher to effectively study the whole staff strength (population) of the population, a representative number was chosen as the sample size population.
Twenty Eight(28) workers involved in hair care service delivery in Enugu metropolis was used as the sample size
Sources of Data Collection
Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained through questionnaire and personal interviews with both management and senior staff of the commission.
This method was adopted to enable detailed and independent information not covered by the questionnaire to be expressed by the respondents.
Secondary data were obtained from published reports, books, internet, journals, newspapers and magazines.
For analytical comparison of facts and proper compilation of facts and figures, survey of existing documents was deemed necessary… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
This chapter is devoted to the presentation, analysis, and interpretation of the data gathered in the course of this study.
The data are based on the number of copies of the questionnaire completed and returned by the respondents. The data are presented in tables and the analysis is done using t-Test.
The Pearson correlation method was used in the validation of the hypothesis.
BIODATA OF RESPONDENTS
| GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS | |||||
| Gender | Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | |
| Valid | FEMALE | 20 | 71.4 | 71.4 | 71.4 |
| MALE | 8 | 28.6 | 28.6 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 28 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
Source: field survey, November 2016.
Table1 above shows the gender distribution of the respondents used for this study.
Out of the total number of 28 respondents, 20respondents which represent 71.4 percent of the population are female while 8 of the respondents which represent 28.6 percent of the population are male.
NOTE: from the table above, you see that the numbers of females and males are not the same; this means that there is a significant consideration for the gender difference in the study.
| AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONDENTS | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 15-20 YEARS | 8 | 28.6 | 28.6 | 28.6 |
| 21-30 YEARS | 12 | 42.9 | 42.9 | 71.4 | |
| 31-40 YEARS | 5 | 17.9 | 17.9 | 89.3 | |
| ABOVE 40 YEARS | 3 | 10.7 | 10.7 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 28 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||
Source: field survey, November 2016.
Table 2 above shows the age grade of the respondents used for this study.
Out of the total number of 28 respondents, 8respondents which represent 28.6 percent of the population are between 15.20 years old… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
CONCLUSION
The study made a conclusion that brand switching is influenced by price differences, distributional efficiency, customers’ attitude towards advertisement, and ownership; based on the correlation for the responses of the respondents we found out that there is a statistically significant (0.00) strong relationship… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
RECOMMENDATION
The study recommends that:
- There should be training for customer care since the customer care department plays a major role in brand switching… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One and Five Project Material)
REFERENCES
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