ABSTRACT
This project work is based on “the analysis of consumer brand switching behaviors 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 behaviors 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 laten demand and potential market which characterize the Enugu market with a view to increase consumption levels as well as to diminutive 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.