MARKETING STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY AGRICULTURAL TRADING COMPANIES IN KENYA AND THEIR EFFECT ON FIRM COMPETITIVENESS
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to determine the marketing strategies adopted by agricultural trading companies in Kenya to gain competitiveness. This research problem was studied through the use of a descriptive research design. The target respondents included management staffs working in selected agricultural trading companies’ offices in Nairobi. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 68 top and middle level management staffs (30% of the 228 possible respondents) from the target population. A survey questionnaire was employed as the sole research instrument. The researcher randomly dropped the questionnaire to the staffs who were deemed to be conversant with the firms’ operations. Data collected was both qualitative and quantitative and it was analyzed by descriptive and content analysis techniques. The descriptive analysis employed descriptive statistical tools such as SPSS and MS Excel which helped the study to describe the data and determine the extent used. The findings were presented using tables and charts. The study found that the agricultural trading companies’ marketing strategies are effective and provide opportunity to work together towards achieving the competitiveness of the firms. The study recommends that the management of the agricultural trading companies should ensure that their brands attain certain standards of quality. The firms should continuously review their brands in consideration of aspects like product relevance and awareness, product quality and product brand rejuvenation. The study recommends that the companies should embrace pricing strategies to increase volume sales by increasing their efforts to sell more products which will enable them gain competitive advantage.
Key Words: Marketing strategies, Agricultural Trading Companies, Competitiveness
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v2i2.168
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