CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Adeleye
(2003) describes a brand as the name attached to a product or service. The
author added that a brand upon close inspection represents many more intangible
aspects of a product or service: a collection of feelings and perceptions about
quality, image, lifestyle and status. Other researchers argued that a brand
creates in the mind of customers and prospects the perception that there is no
product or service in the market that is quite like yours (Keller, 2006;
Ajagbe, 2007; Solomon et al., 2012). In short, a brand offers the customer a
guarantee and then delivers on it. Kotler (2000) stressed that branding is more
than just a business buzzword. For Keller (2003), the concept of brand name has
become the crux of selling in the new economy. The author added fur old
marketing mantra was,” Nothing happens until somebody sells
something,” the new philosophy could be” Nothing happens until
somebody brands something” (McCarthy, 2002).
Branding
is a major issue in product strategy, perhaps the most distinctive skill of
professional marketers in their ability to create, maintain, produce and
enhance brand. Branding is the art and corner stone of marketing. The American
marketing association defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design,
or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one
seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
Thus a brand identifies the seller or maker. The brand name and trademarks
provide legal protection of improving product features which will otherwise be
copied by competitors. Moreover, branding gives the seller the opportunity to
attract a loyal and profitable set of customers and also gives sellers some
protection from competitor’s greater control in planning their marketing mix.
All these make companies to spend a lot on branding with the sole aim of
product differentiation and identification thereby changing the taste of
customers as a result, making good sales branding.
Branding
has become an essential motivating factor in the area of sales branding in any
organization, whether manufacturers of industrial or consumer products.
The
researcher choice of the subject matter was as a result of the keen interest he
has on sales increase especially on branding involves to identify the level of
dependence of customers to this effort and to the organizations. Hence, the
impact of branding on sales increase, of Nestle foods Nigeria Ltd.
The
researcher also deliberated on the effectiveness, achievement and the results
that branding has brought to the organization in terms of sales volume and
profitability.
Nestle
Plc began simple trading operation in Nigeria in 1961 and ha today grown into a
leading food manufacturing and marketing company. It is a publicly quoted
company listed, since 1978, on the Nigeria stock exchange (now known as Lagos
stock exchange) the main production units were designed in line with modern
manufacturing method which ensure efficient production of the following
products. NESTLE NUTREND, NESTLE CERELAC
MAIZE AND NESTLE CERELAC CHOCOLATE, NESTLE GOLDENMORN, NESTLE MILO, CHOCOMILO,
MAGGI CUBES, etc. nestle Nigeria Plc has its regional sales office in Lagos
region, east region North-West region and north east region. It has its depot
in Ibadan, Benin, Kaduna, Makurdi Kano, Aba and Jos.
Branding
has nothing to do with the design of a product which include both the intrinsic
and extrinsic qualities of a product that is branding, textile, color, names
tastes and so on.
Branding
is in fact the composite of activities in establishing brand names, brand mark,
copyright and the like. In the absence of branding, there cannot be any better
described marketing situation than confastic marketing.
Francis
and Stephen (2003) perceive branding as the creation of three dimensional
characters of a product, defined in terms of name, branding, colors and
symbols. The authors posit that branding aids to differentiate particular
product from its competitors. They also added that branding helps the customers
to build a relationship with the products. Bearden and Ingram (2007) elucidated
that branding is the use of a name, term, symbol or design- or a combination of
all to identify a product. McCarthy (2002) believed that branding is the
process by which a company employs marketing strategies to get people to easily
remember their business and products over another. He mentioned that a brand
promises to consistently deliver specific set of features, benefits and
services to consumers. Worlu et al. (2007) also refer to branding as the use of
a name, symbol or design or a combination of these to identify products and
services. In short, it can be viewed as a conscious and planned process
undertaken to align business processes with the brand identity and values. In
the opinion of Batra and Homer (2004), branding is an activity in which
organizations use a name, phrase, design or symbol or a combination of these to
identify its products and distinguish them from those of competitors. Palmer
(2000) highlighted that branding is the process of creating a distinctive
identity for a product which differentiates it from its competitors. Branding
is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of
consumers (Johnson and Russo, 1984; Blythe, 2001; Ajagbe et al., 2015).
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
The
issue of branding of food products in the Nigeria context cannot be over
emphasized, some are of the view that food product branding and will constitute
a problem to the society at large while other disagree with this issue. To be
more precise, an example is that we have different types of soft drinks which,
when consumed by the customers will give the same satisfaction, but the issue
is, these products have to be branded so as to give each and every product its
own identity that will differentiate it from others or rather its competitors.
It is however the interest of this research to find out the impact of branding
in the increasing sales volume of an organization.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is
mainly to find out the impact of branding as a tool to increase sales volume of
an organization, specifically the study intends to:
1.
Identify method of marketing
branded products in an organization
2.
Find out different styles of branding
used by organization
3.
Find out the impact of branding on the
increase in sales volume of Nestle foods Nigeria Ltd.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1.
What methods can be used to markets
branded products in an organization?
2.
What are the different styles of
branding used by organization?
3.
What is the impact of branding on the
increase in sales volume of Nestle foods Nigeria Ltd.?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Ho: there
is no significance impacts of branding on the sales increase of Nestle foods
Nigeria Ltd
Hi: there
is a significance impacts of branding on the sales increase of Nestle foods
Nigeria Ltd
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
Similar
studies might have been carried out in this area of human endeavor, however,
the simple fact that business environment is never static, a lot of changes
might have rendered parts of the result of these findings obsolete.
This
research work will be beneficial to the organization under review (Nestle Nig
Ltd) as the researcher will search into various aspects of marketing branded
food products within the organization to ascertain whether the huge amount of
money spent to brand food products is justified.
The
study is also expected to serve as a reference material for future research
work in this important aspect of business administration as it can be consulted
as a reference material especially if there is the need to improve on the
study.
Others
that the research work will benefit include lecturers, student and other
researcher that may make reference to the project in future just as the
researcher will review literatures of other authors in the course of this
research work.
1.7 SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The
topic branding as a tool for increasing sales volume of an organizationhas a very wide dimension consequent
to the vast nature of the topic. Therefore, the researcher restricts his study specifically
to Nestle (Nig) ltd.
The
researcher also limits his research works on books and journals. To the
researcher, such restrictions is to enable him come out with accurate findings
as well as saving time and cost to be involved.
1.8 DELIMITATION
OF THE STUDY
However,
in the course of carrying out this research work, the researcher can foresee
some limitations which include; insufficient financing, insufficient data for
the research work and the time required for the project to be concluded.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
BRANDING:
A design of a specific product or service by a brand or company names,
sometimes referred to as selective demand stimulation
PRODUCT: A
product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition,
use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical
objects, service persons, places, organizations and ideas.
BRAND LEADER:
Product which holds the greatest single share of a market
BRAND MARK: This
is described as that part of a brand which can be recognized but is not
alterable, such as a symbol design or distinctive coloring or lettering
SALES:
This is the exchange of products (goods) for money
TRADE MARK:
a brand or part of a brand that is given legal protection because it is capable
of exclusive appropriation. A Trademark protects the seller’s exclusive rights
to use the brand name and/or brand mark.
BRANDGOODS: Goods identified with a
proprietary name, normally by name for promotional security or teaching
purpose. Branded goods offer some protection to the retailer or distributor.
INCREASE: become or make greater in size, amount, or
degree.
ORGANIZATION: an organized group of people with a particular
purpose, such as a business or government department.