Impact Of Sales Promotion On Consumer Brand Loyalty

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Promotion is an important aspect of marketing activity which has created a lot of impact through the use of some incentives, mostly designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particulars products and services by consumer. In today’s marketing, organization are concerned on what should be done to advance sustained level of sales. This means give close attention to how consumers can be motivated through such means as rewards, incentives, leadership and Importantly satisfaction they derive from sales promotion. As a matter of facts, sales promotion is a vital factor in marketing and one of the important communication variables in the marketing mix.
Marketing managers often use sales promotion conjunction with advertising, personal selling and public relation to increase the effectiveness of their promotion efforts. Among all the elements that makes up the marketing mix, sales promotion is likely that most significance. It can be described as those short term incentives offered by the company to encourage the purchase or sales of a particular products.
According to Agbonifon BA etal (1999) sales promotion is a term used broadly to refer to those marketing activities, other than personal selling and publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and deals effectiveness such as displays, shows and exhibitions, demonstrations and various non-recurrent selling efforts, not in the ordinary routine. However, based on recent development be it electronic, out door media like billboard usually placed on the side walks or the express ways, well posters, handbills and so forth have contributed a lot to the prevalence of lots of commercial slots usually either advertising some old or new in improved product or brands making announcement which seeks to draw public attention to some sales promotion currently going on and promoting mouth watering, exciting and highly fascinating prize and reward to be won by consumers who wish to participate.
The reason for the upsurge in sales promotion by most firms could be traced primarily to the depression in the Nigerian economy culminating in the adoption of the structural Adjustment programme (SAP) which was initiated in 1986 by General Babargida government with objective of
i. Restructure and diversify the productive base of the economy so as to reduce depending on the oil sector and imports.
ii. Achieve fiscal and balance of payment viability over the medium term.
iii. Promotion non-inflationary economic growth
A major fall out form SAP is the prevailing a cute low consumer disposable income which has also manifested in very low patronage for with industrial and consumer product.
General, some people do have the impression that constant highly fascinating and beautifully packaged sales promotion exercises usually allow consumers to increase their trails of these bands, products or services and with services trails, there might be brand, product or services satisfaction and eventual conversion to that brand, product or services. To others the question of conversion does not arise because as far as they are concerned, the “ONLY” effect of sales promotion is the positive drive it exerts on the consumers initial purchases, which results in increase sales of brands, products and services. They further content that this effect on sales is vary transient, unending and will eventually and gradually fade out as soon as the sales promotion activities on the brands, goods and services are over. This study therefore emanated form the desire to find out which is the correct position of the effect and impact of sales promotion on consumers brand loyally using star lager beer and guineas extra smooth for the study.

1.2 BACKGROUND HISTORY OF THE FIRM
The background history of star lager beer in Aba metropolis Abia state.
The star lager beer is a product of Nigerian breweries plc. It is the pioneer largest breweries company in Nigeria which was incorporated in 1946 and it recorded a land mark when the first bottle of STAE LGER BEER rolled off the bottling lines in its Lagos breweries in June 1946. this was followed by Aba brewery which was commissioned in 1957, Kadun|a brewery in 1963 and Ibadan brewery in 1982.
Star lager beer is the Nations favourite beer brewed with its special cold filtration process that brings you a million sparking golden bubbles every time enjoy. Their mission is to be the leading beverage company in Nigeria. The Nigeria breweries Plc has a rich portfolio of high quality brands star lager beer (1949), Gulder lager (1970) and maltina (1976) etc. RC: 613, IGANMU HOUSE, LAGOS. NIG. It contain ALC 5.1% vol and 60 cl.
The background history of Guinness extra smooth known as extra stout in Aba metropolis Abia state.
Guinness extra smooth known as foreign extra stout produces in year of 1759 at St. James gate dubline in Ireland. Originally brewed to a special recipe in 1759 by Arthur Guinness in Dublin. The Guinness is enjoyed by millions of people all over the world today.
The Guinness extra smooth contains the finest quality of barley, hope and malt. Its these wholesome natural ingredients which give Guinness its rich and satisfying good taste. The Guinness extra smooth contain ALC 7.5% Vol to 325ml.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study set out to examine the impact of sales promotion on consumers brand loyalty using star lager beer and Guinness extra smooth consumers for the study. Sales promotion is one of the strategies that a firm can use to satisfy its market and improve its profits or maximize its profit. Through it helps a firm to advice its sales turnover, there are some problems that hamper its success in a firm.
Such problem are resources that will enable the firm to meet the needs of the chosen market.
Competition that exist in the chosen market can also constitute a problem to the firm.
Many business organization also lack the foreign in identifying the various need of consumers and difference that exist in there Market.
For a firm to succeed, it must have in depth knowledge of the market and must be ale to map strategies to satisfy the consumer of their product.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are to examine
i. To find out if sales promotion is able enough to stimulate demand and increase sales in a particular market area.
ii. Determine the relationship between sale promotion and sales turnover of the firm.
iii. To give meaningful suggestion where necessary for the improvement in cases where sales promotion adopted are not viable.
iv. Which of the sales promotional tools or techniques can induce consumers towards trying new product instead of not having the current ones.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study set out to answer the following research questions.
I. Does sales promotion activities have positive affecting the consumer?
2. Do consumers really care about the brands, product and services they buy?
3. How effective are sales promotion activities on brand, products in stimulating and changing increase in sales ?
4. Does sales promotion activities on brand, product or services have any effect in shifting consumer loyalty?

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
(1) Ho: Sales promotion cannot induce consumers to try new product
(2) Ho: Sales promotion do not have an impact in shifting consumer brand loyalty
(3) Ho: Sales promotion does not require special techniques.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
This study is going to be of a great benefit to the following:
i. Manufacturer/Sales person
ii. Consumer
iii. Policy maker
iv. The researcher
i. Manufacturer/Sales person: it is going to be useful to them to know whether sales promotion activities have any impact in shifting consumer brand loyalty towards that particular brand, product. And also it will serve as a guide to the manufacturers and sales person in developing more skills in their business.
ii. Consumer: They are going to know while they should participate in the sales promotion of a particular brand, product and the benefit they are going to derive from participating.
iii. Policy makers: This study is relevant to economic policy maker in Nigeria to understand the tremendous impact of sales promotion in order to give adequate recognition on any decision they are going to make.
iv. The researcher: it will be useful to the researcher to know the impact of sales promotion and come to conclusion which strategy adopt to advices the corporate goals.

1.8 SCOPE (DELIMITATION) OF THE STUDY
This research focused mainly on “Impact of a sales promotion on consumer brand loyalty using star lager beer and Guinness extra smooth. This was performed by administering questionnaires to consumers in Aba town of Abia state. Interviews sessions were also conducted with marketing and sales managers of the two manufacturing companies of Nigeria breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Brand: Brand is a name, type, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or groups of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
Brand Loyalty: Is deeply held commitment to re-buy or re-patronize a preferred product or service in future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause snitching behaviour.
Consumer: Is a persons who buys goods or uses services. It can also be viewed as individuals who uses or buys a particular product for consumption. They are the last in the chain of distribution.
Competitions: A situation which people or organization compete with each other for something that everyone can have.
Consumer goods: Are those goods that directly satisfy human needs and desires. American marketing association defined consumer goods as goods destined for use by ultimate consumers or households and in such a form that they can be used without further processing.
Consumer Analysis: Examine and evaluating consumers characteristics, needs and purchase processes and selecting the groups of consumers at which to aim market effort.
Consumer Education: Is the process of informing or orienting guiding and instructing consumers or potential consumers in order to make intelligent or wise decision on the product or goods being marketed or sold to them.
Promotion: Refers to series of related activities or function which are organized or integrated into programmes that enables the sales of product or services and which helps bring about increase in ales or turnover.
Promotion planning: Communication with customers, the general public and others through some form of advert using, publicity, sales promotion, personnel selling and direct marketing.
Promotion Mix: This are those elements or tools such as sales promotion, personnel selling, advertising, public relation etc. that are relevant in marketing or goods products and services which allows business firms and organization to communicate their intentions, purpose and marketing agencies etc. in order to ensure the survival, growth and stability of their business.
Questionnaire: A written list of question distributed and answered by a number of people so that information can be collected for evaluation and decision making.