University of Nigeria
Author
Research Publications
OKEKE, Ogonna Blessing
Title
Faculty
Business Administration
Department
Marketing
September, 2003
Signature
Critical Factors Influencing Brand Choice
of Toothpastes in Enugu Metropolis
Date
PG/MBA/95/18841
Ezema Jonas
Uwakwe
Digitally signed by Ezema Jonas
Uwakwe
DN: CN = Ezema Jonas Uwakwe, C =
NG, O = University of Nigeria, OU =
University Library
Reason: I have reviewed this document
Date: 2008.11.20 02:53:31 -12'00'
CRITICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING BRAND
CHOSE OF TOOTHPASTES
IN ENUGU METROPOLIS
OKEKE, OGONNA BLESSING
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED
IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR AWARD ~
,
~ OF BUSINESS
~
~
ADMINISTRATION
E
R
Cn;n,x)&L&EE IN MARKETING
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
UNNERSITY OF NIGERIA
ENUGU CAMPUS
SUPERVISOR: PROF. IKECHUKWU E. NWOSU, Ph.D.
SEPTEMBER, 2003.
CERTIFICATION
OKEKE, OGONNA BLESSING, a postgraduate student of the
Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, University of
Nigeria, Enugu Campus with Registration Number PG/MBA/95/18841, has
satisfactorily completed the requirements for research work for the award of
Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree in Marketing.
b
I confirm that the work is original and has not been submitted in full
y institution as a research project.
..........
(Project Supervisor)
.'
iii
DEDICATION
To my Family
Especially to the memory of my late father, Mr. Daniel 0. C. Okeke,
whose love and pieces of advice were inexpressible. The blessings you
b
pronounced on me before your death is gradually being fulfilled.
To my mother, Mrs. F. 0.Okeke, and my brothers, Wilson, Dozie,
Ugochukwu and Chibuike.
And also to my sisters, Ifeyinwa and Chiamaka. For all your love and
patience.
Since I cannot direct the wind, I better learn how to adjust the sails.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Writing this piece of work is not an easy task.
I was initially
overwhelmed but later sailed through. Many hands had worked behind the
scene to see that this work is a success. I must not fail to express my sincere
appreciation t o all whose effort, comments and pieces of advice helped me
in one way or the other towards completing this project.
My profound gratitude goes to my supervisor and lecturer, Prof.
b
Ikechukwu E. Nwosu, who made this work possible by painstakingly
reading through every piece, made useful suggestions and insisted on high
professional and ethical standards and because of this, a new vista in the
quest for knowledge was sincerely opened to me, courtesy of this research
work. I thank you once again for the opportunity of growth presented to me.
My special thanks also go to my friends, Mrs. Nonye Obianuko and
Mr. Victor Onyebueke who made this research possible through all manner
of encouragement and support that boosted my morale during the trying
periods. I thank these two great friends for their invaluable contributions.
May God bless you both.
I also appreciate greatly the input made by Mrs. Geraldine Ugwuonah
of REMS KONSULT who provided a guide on the appropriate analytical
methods employed in data analysis.
I cannot forget all the encouragement and prayers given by my
brethren at the Nigerian-ChristianGraduate Fellowship, Enugu Chapter.
I also owe a lot of thanks to my family - my mother, Mrs. F. 0.
Okeke, my brothers, Wilson, Dozie, Chibuike and my sisters, Ifeyinwa and
Chiamaka for making the environment conducive when I was writing this
work and for all their love q d effort which they gave in their very special
ways towards making this research work possible.
b
My appreciation also go to my friends, Mrs. Tonia Eze, Mrs. Tina
Ozoekwem, Mrs. Oby Chukwuemerie, Mr. George Nwozor, Mr. Israel
Monyei and many others too numerous to mention, who made this research
possible through their numerous contributions. I also thank immensely,
Nkechi Osondu and staff of REMS KONSULT that typed this project for
me.
Finally, I want to appreciate the love and support given to me by my
husband, Dr. Sam Nkachukwu Uwaemoke who apart from providing the
needed succour, painstakingly proohad this work. May the good Lord
reward you all in Jesus Name, Amen.
Above all, my immeasurable thanks goes: to God Almighty who had
given me the immense grace, knowledge and strength throughout the period
I embarked on this work. To Him be all the glory forever and ever, Amen.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
.
..
Certification.
11
.
iii
Dedication
Acknowledgements
iv
Table of Content; .
vi
List of Tables
ix
List of Appendices.
xi
Abstract
.
xii
,
CHAPTER ONE
1.0
Introduction.
1
.
.
3
1.1
Statement of Problem
1.2
Goal and Objectives
1.3
Statement of Research Hypotheses
1.4
Significance of the Study.
6
1.5
Limitations of the Study
.
7
4
.
5
CHAPTER TWO
2.0
Review of Related Literature
.
10
2.1
Quantity and Quality of Available Literature.
2.2
Foci of Available Literature
.
2.2.1 Identi%ing Consumer Needs and Motivation.
2.2.2 Models of Consumer Behaviour
2.2.3 The Decision-Making Process
.
2.2.4 Product Differentiation and Branding .
vii
2.2.5 Theoretical Framework
2.3
Summary
.
27
.
32
CHAPTER THREE
3.0
Research Design and Methodology
.
38
3.1
The Study Area
.
38
3.2
Brands Covered
.
38
3.3
Type of Data Used.
39
3.3.1 Prirnm; Data
39
3.3.2 Secondary Data
.
40
3.4
Population and Sample Size Determination
3-5
Sampling Procedure
.
40
.
41
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0
Presentation and Analysis of Data
.
43
4.1
Introduction.
43
4.2
Consumer Survey Results
44
4.3
Discussion of Results
.
67
4.3.1 Brand Choice and Attribute Influence .
4.3.2 Brand Perception with Respect to Attribute
4.3.3 Brand Choice and Socio-Economic Status
67
.
.
CHAPTER FIVE:
5.0
Summary, Implications, Recommendations, Areas
for Further Studies and Conclusion .
72
.
5.1
Summary of Findings
5.2
Implications of the Study and Recommendations
72
.
73
68
69
b
...
Vlll
5.3
Areas for Further Research
5.4
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendices
.
.
Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Price
Consumers resporises on socioeconomic
Indicators .
Influence of occupation on consumers choice
of toothpaste brand
Influence of income on consumers choice
of toothpaste brand
Influence of education on consumers
choice of toothpaste
Consumers Responses on Attribute Influence
Consumers Responses on Brand Influence
Consumers Responses on Brand Influence
according to Occupation .
Consumers Responses on Brand Influence
according to Income
.
Consumers Responses on Brand Influence
according to Educational Attainment .
.
LIST OF TABLES
Table
4.1
Response ratio of survey questionnaires
4.2
Usage ratio of returned questionnaires.
.
4.3a Degree of attribute influence on consumers in
their choice of toothpaste brands
4.3b ANOVA Table for Means of Attribute.
4.4
Consumers responses on attribute influence .
4.5
Consumers overall preference ranking of
toothpaste brand .
4.6
Multiple comparisons of means of preference
of toothpaste brand
4.7a Consumers perception of toothpaste brand
4.7b Anova table for Means of toothpaste brand.
4.8
Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to attributes .
4.8a Consumers ranking of brands with respect
.
toBrandName
4.8b Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Protective Strength .
4 . 8 ~ Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Foaming. .
4.8d Consumers ranking of brands with respect
.
to Taste
4.8e Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Fresh Breath. .
4.8f Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Whitening Effect
4.8g Consumers ranking of brands with respect
to Colour .
.
.
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix
Appendix 1A:
Consumer Survey Questionnaire
Appendix 1I:Testing of Lypotheses
.
85
89
Appendix IIA:
Testing of Hypothesis I
.
89
Appendix IIB:
Testing of Hypothesis 111.
91
xii
ABSTRACT
This study is about the influence of toothpaste attributes on consumers'
brand choice.
Given the background of the problems, this study sought to:
1.
Determine the common attributes of toothpaste (taste, colour,
price, foaming, brand name, protective strength, whitening effect,
and fresh breath) which influence consumers' brand choice.
0
2.
Verify how the product attributes vary between the common
brands of toothpaste in the market.
3.
Determine whether there is any variation in brand choice between
socio-economic groups.
To achieve the above objectives, three working hypotheses were
formulated:
1.
The choice of toothpaste (by consumers) is not significantly related
to the common product attributes such as taste , colour, foaming,
brand name, price, protective strength, whitening effect, and fresh
breath.
2.
The common product attributes (taste, colour, foaming, brand
name, price protective strength, whitening effect, and fi-esh breath)
xiii
are not significantly different amongst major brands of toothpaste
in the market.
3.
.
There is no significant variation in brand choice of toothpaste
amongst different socio-economic groups.
Following an exploratory survey in the markets and other retail
outlets, the study was restricted to seven brands. These were Holdent,
CloseUp, Colgate, Macleans, Pepsodent, Dabur, and Aquafresh. Similarly,
b
eight attributes (taste, colour, price, foaming, brand name, protective
strength, whitening effect, and fresh breath) were identified. With the aid of
computer, the data were analysed to attain the research objectives. The data
were collected through the use of questionnaires and personal interviews. A
total number of 250 respondents randomly selected were studied for the
testing of the hypothesis.
Accordingly, the key findings of the study were as follows:
1.
Consumers of toothpaste are to a reasonable extent influenced by
the attributes in their brand choice.
2.
Consumers consider the following attributes as more important, in
the following wder : whitening effect, fresh breath, and protective
strength (floride content).
Consumers of toothpaste are knowledgeable about the brands on
the shelves.
There was no relationship between the socio-economic status of
consumers and the extent of its influence on the choice of brands
they buy.
CloseUp appears to be the market leader inspite of comparatively
lower prices of other brands. This could be due to its high pand
awareness.
Consequently, the study has the following implications for decisionmarkers:
1.
Attributes vary in the degree to which they influence brand-choice
behaviour and as such do not deserve equal emphasis by
management in the marketing of a brand. Whitening effect and
fresh breath are the two most important attributes the firm must
manipulate.
2.
To fruitfully exploit the relative advantage of a brand with respect
to any of the non-major attributes, the advantage must be glaring.
3.
Owners of brands with whitening effect, protective strength or
fresh breath advantages may not concentrate on the high socio-
economic status consumers since this class is no more sensitive to
these three attributes than other classes of consumers.
4.
Since even loyal consumers are sensitive to price differences due
to the economic hardship in the country, excessive hiking of brand
prices may not be a sound marketing decision by brand managers.
5.
To encourage the purchase of highly priced toothpaste, other
mechanisms such as a modified advertising campaign or
9 new
definition of the target group have to be created.
6.
Since consumers are knowledgeable in their favourite brands, and
are not naYve as advertisers would want us to believe, it will be
futile for managers to operate on that premise that they are likely to
take literally any message presented.
It is the belief of the researcher that this study will provide the participants in
the industry the necessary illumination and guidelines on increasing and
sustaining their market share based on the recommendations that were made
towards the improvement of the quality of the products and level of media
exposure to create greater awareness.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Like many other basic goods, the toothpaste market in Nigeria has
witnessed a massive expansion in the last two decades. This is not only due
to the considerable increase in the number of users but also in the
multiplication of new brands on the retail stand. Competitions are now
stiffer than ever before as the market, which used to be dominated by fewer
@
than about 4 (four) brands, are now flooded with a variety of other local and
imported toothpastes.
Though the benefits of such a market development can be
enumerated, its effects on quality control, administration, consumer
satisfaction and well being are critical. For this reason, marketing managers,
particularly those dealing in product categories represented by numerous
brand with low margins but keen competition, must have an impressive
knowledge of their consumers in order to determine what lies behind the
decision to convert money and effort into purchases.
How can marketing managers predict which specific products
consumers will buy and in what quantities? Why does a consumer choose a
particular product or one brand of a product as against another? According
to Morden (1987:269) the individual consumer is a problem solver who is
influenced by psychological variables, social influences and the purchase
situation making it difficult for the marketer to understand consumer
behaviour.
Consumers, as agreed by many authors, determine the sales and
profits of a firm by their purchasing decisions and as such their motives and
actions determine the economic viability of the firm.
Unfortunately
managers of business firms were not always concerned with consumer
b
motives and actions. There was a time when firms only focused on sales
results with little concern for why consumers do what they do. Today,
however, as noted by Assael (1984:1), business managers realize that they
must gain an understanding of consumers if their marketing strategies are to
be successful. This awareness has created a new and more efficient focus in
developing marketing strategies.
Consumer behaviour has been thoroughly investigated and such can
be predicted with reasonable certainty over time and space. Although these
studies have been done successfully in Nigeria using a wide range of studies
from agricultural produce to manufactured products, the use of toothpaste in
such measures has been rather limited. Hence the underlying need to
understand the mechanisms of this particular market (the toothpaste market).
Such knowledge will throw more light on the exact nature of the market
3
itself and the attitudes of the toothpaste consumers with implication for
consumer protection and. marketing.
1 .
STATEMENT 01: PROBLEM
Sometime ago, the Nigeria Dental Association expressed worries over
the high number of substandard toothpaste in the market (Guardian, August
1998). This alarm call raises further questions about consumer welfare and
b
how it is or can be protected in the system. But beyond these, there are the
more fundamental issues of consumer behaviour in the toothpaste market.
In a sector that can only be described as a buyer's rather than a seller's
market, one cannot but pose the question on the determinants of consumer's
choice of product. How do common product attributes or variables affect
the consumer's predisposition towards specific brands as against the others?
In a Post-structural adjustment programme era when the purchasing
power of the average Nigerian is very low, it may appear on face value that
price is the only determinant factor but experiences and empirical studies
have shown that other variables such as taste, colour, brand name, protective
strength and fresh breath are also important factors. There is therefore the
need to clariG the relative importance of each attribute in the determination
of consumer choice.
4
Accordingly, the specific problems to be addressed in this study are:
1.
The need to b o w how the following product attributes rate as
factors influencing consumers in their brand choice of toothpastes:
taste, colour, foaming, brand name, price, protective strength, fresh
breath and whitening effect.
2.
How the consumers perceive the existing brands with regards to
the identified toothpaste attributes.
3.
b
How the influence of the identified factors vary in terms of
incomes of consumers.
GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
1.2
The goal of the study is to determine the critical factors that influence
the consumers' preference of toothpaste brands in Enugu metropolis with a
view to providing better marketing information. Moreover such findings can
also be usehl to dental health officers.
Based on the above goal, the study will pursue the following
objectives.
1.
To determine the common attributes of toothpaste (taste, foaming,
colour, price, brand name, protective strength, fresh breath and
whitening effect, which influence consumers brand choice.
5
2.
To verifL how the product attributes vary amongst the common
brands of toothpaste in the market.
3.
To determine whether there is any variation in brand choice
amongst socio --economic groups.
STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Three major null hypotheses are formulated and they are as follop:
The choice of toothpaste (by consumers) in not significantly
related to the common product attributes (as defined by taste,
colour, foaming, brand name, price , protective strength, fresh
breath and whitening effect.
The common (product) attributes taste, colour, foaming, brand
name, price ,protective strength, fresh breath and whitening effect
are not significantly different amongst major brands of toothpaste
in the market.
There is no significant variation in brand choice of toothpaste
between different socio- economic moups.
,
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will be of immense value to the producers in the toothpaste
industry. Facts about consumer preferences and attitudes make for better
product planning, marketing and enhanced consumer satisfaction.
In
advanced economies, such consumer indicators are useful for defining
company policies, as well as its immediate and distant goals. In other
words, such feedbacks enable the firm to identi@ their target customers,
b
what their needs are, their preferences, where, when and how the product is
needed and of course, those factors that motivate a consumer to buy.
This study will also be of great benefit to those companies seeking to
introduce new products.
With the identification of existence or non-
existence of brand loyalty among consumers and the factors contributing to
it, the company can now find out a suitable unique selling proposition (USP)
to use and appeal to their desired target market. This will also enable them
decide whether to enter the market competing with the leaders or be a
follower or even nichers in the industry.
Also to benefit fiom this study are the advertising agencies, the print
and electronic media whose input in the promotion of those products
depends so much on consumer perception and choice (response).
7
Finally, it is also expected that this study will be of immense help to
Dental Health Practiti~ners. If consumer attitudes as regards brand choice
are known, dental heal;:h workers would be even in better positions to offer
useful advice either to their patients or to the government. The consumers
really need some expert advice for the overall dental health care especially
given to such wide variety of products, many of which are suspected to be
substandard.
1.5
b
LIMITATlONS OF THE STUDY
This study is limited to the examination of how the common product
attributes affect the consumers predisposition towards specific brands of
toothpaste as against the others in Enugu Urban and since brand choice is
more of an attitude and behavioural measurement, the factors which will
require specialist knowledge or testing like dental impact and chemical
allergy will not be considered.
Scope of Study
Even though the expected findings will reveal some clues for the
rationality or irrationality of consumer perception and choice, the study does
not plan to probe into the fact of whether such perception or responses are
real or imagined.
Since the emphasis of the study is to isolate the
8
determinant factors of consumer choice of toothpaste, it may be necessary
within the scope of this .~tudy
to comment on but not to question the validity
upon which this choice is made.
The researcher encountered a number of daunting problems, which
tended to militate against the scope of the study. These constraints ranged
from personal, environmental, institutional cum technical factors. The most
significant among them are those relating to time, finance, attitude of
b
respondents, and sampling limitations.
9
REFERENCES
Assael, Henry (1984). Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Action.
Edition (Bodon: Kent).
Morden, A. R. (1987). gements ofMarketing. 2"' Edition (ELBS).
znd
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The literature related to the subject are discussed under the following
sub-headings: quantity and quality of available literature, foci of the
available literature and the summary.
2.1
QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF AVAILABLE LITERATURE
0
The volume of literature dealing with the subject under consideration
and other related issues is enormous. This is not surprising considering the
important role trade and commerce play in the modern economy. In all,
about 40 (forty) literature materials were reviewed. A disproportionate
portion (about 70%) of this number are from western sources because of
their consistent dominance in the fields of behavioural sciences and
business. The literature with a local or Nigerian treatise are mainly text
books, degree thesis and dissertations, and articles.
Even then, their
optimum usage was seriously hampered by the inherent poor information
and documentation in the country.
A good number of the foundation theories of consumer behaviour
were based on empiricd studies carried in western societies. Since most are
based on fundamental reflexes of a rational man, their worldwide
11
.
applicability is not in doubt. However the prevalence of socio-economic and
cultural differences calls for certain caution in the application of some of
these theories and models. Fortunately, the Nigerian experience which was
drawn from the available local works helped to balance these distortions.
The fact that most of these studies are based on a single or few products
analysis and that they have very narrow area (survey) coverage are serious
limiting factors.
2.2
b
FOCI OF AVAILABLE LITERATURE
The entire literature can be classified into five subgroups for the sake
of clarity. They are as follows:
2.2.1 Identifying Consumer Needs and Motivation
A varied number of psychological factors (learning rate and pattern,
perception, motivation, beliefs and attitudes) influence a person's buying
choice. While it is true that a combination of these factors interact to
determine consumer behaviour, it is the motivational process that is critical
to the consumer in the determination of the final consumption decision
(Sanford and Wrightsman, l970:24O; Kotler, 1986:177; Assael, l992:7O).
Kotler (1986) refers to motive as "a need that is sufficiently pressing
to direct the person to seek satisfaction of the need". In a more picturesque
12
language, Sandford and Wrightsman (1970) had explained a motive as "a
restlessness, a lack, a yearn and a force". Once the consumer is gripped by a
motive, he or she is compelled to act in such a way as to "reduce the
restlessness, remedy the lack, alleviate the yearn and mitigate the force".
Hence this explains why the satisfaction of such needs reduces tension.
Although human beings have many needs at any given time, these
needs do not all constitute motives at the same time. Only those of them that
are stimulated or activated become motives. This line of thought is also
shared by Kotler et a1 (1992:116) when they opined that "a consumer is
motivated when his system is energized or made active and the behaviour is
directed towards some type of goal. This motivation can be thought of
simply as the force that activates goal - oriented behaviour. However, this
does not in any way suggest that motivation - behaviour relationship is a
simple one.
In fact, it incorporates a complex interplay of physical,
economic, socio-culturd and psychological factors, as indicated earlier on
leading to motivation in a person's buying behaviour.
Though economic factors are dominant, age plays an equally
outstanding role in consumer need determination. Age differentiation of a
population is a key to a better understanding of the structure and dynamism
of consumer needs as well as motivation (Reinecke, 1964:60; Goldstein,
1968:62;Business Week, l976:74; Onyebuagu, l996WO).
Marketing management is highly interested in needs. One of the basic
assumptions in marketing is that consumer needs are the starting points of all
logical plans and strategies because customers - whether they are acting as
personal consumers or as buying agents for organization - experience all
kinds of needs. An appreciation of the nature of such needs would offer a
'
valuable aid to the study of motivating influences in buying behaviour.
Similarly, the way in which consumer motivation changes with varying
b
situation make it necessary to focus on the motives behind consumer actions
rather than on the actions themselves (Hawkins et al, 1989:384). The motive
gives us an insight into the needs of the consumer. In this respect,
commentators like Larnont (1974:427) and Fennel (1978:47) contend that
marketing research should be based on the 'need' structure rather than on the
'product attribute' structure. The inherent weakness in using product
attribute structure is that, such analysis tend to compare competing brands
instead of the specific needs being satisfied.
The differences between the two emphases were illustrated by Fennel
(1978) in her comparison of the choice and need pattern of three motorists
and three facial cleanser users. Even though both groups quoted 'power'
and 'complexion' care respectively as the major attribute factor in their
respective choices, there occurred a wide differentiation within each group
MIP
14
as soon as their actual needs were queried. For instance, even though all
made allusion to 'poweq', motorist 'A' associated power with fast - moving
vehicles, motorist 'B' saw it as a masculine symbol, while motorist 'C'
loved the sensory experience of driving a powerfbl machine. For the facial
cleaner consumers, she suggested that the following reasons might be
responsible for their high rating of 'complexion care'. Consumer 'A' for
instance believed that sun and central heating dried her skin; 'B' believed
b
that a skin that is well cared for is part of her feminine self - expression,
while the third consumer 'C' enjoyed the appearance and feel of a lovely
skin.
Fennel then reasoned that the knowledge that the consumer desired
'power' and 'complexion care' does little other than scratch the surface of
consumer wants. It therc:fore, underscores the need to probe beyond answers
expressed in the context of product attributes in the search for consumer
wants or what factors influence his brand choice. In other words, they
should enquire W e r into those conditions that lead them (consumers) to
ask for attributes like 'power' and 'complexion care'. Such shift in focus
from what the consumers ask for, to the conditions that lead them to want
what they ask for, places marketers in a far better position to understand
consumers wants. It enables them find a "common motivational ground for
15
+ all goods and services" (Fennel, l978:39). In this way also, they overcome
the problem of motivational ambiguity.
Nevertheless, some researchers still favour the use of product
attributes as pointers to derived benefits (Howard and Sheth, 1970; Engel,
Kollat and Blackwell, 1968; Folikwe and Uduakwumo, 1986).
This
approach has two implicit assumptions:
i.
that the consumer is guided by the desire to satisfy personal or
b
individual needs; and
ii.
the he or she has a prior ability to perceive alternative products or
services capable of satisfyingthose needs.
This means that product attributes, despite its limitation is still a very
useful tool for analyzing and predicting consumer choice and preferences
(Scott and Lamont, 1973:427). It is on this basis that the approach was
adopted by the present smdy.
2.2.2 Models of Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is defined as "those acts of individuals directly
involved in obtaining and using economic goods and services including the
decision process that precede and determine these acts" (Kollat et al; 65) or
as 'buying habits or paitems of behaviour of consuming public either in
general or in specific groups'. (Hart and Stapleton:42). The important
attributeslfactors influencing consumers in their choice of toothpaste brands
are invariably related to *e socio-graphic circumstances of the consumers.
Thus the knowledge of how and why the consumer chooses will be usefbl in
any attempt, to predict what he is likely to choose. This in turn enables us to
present only those products and services that are likely to coincide with the
consumers' choice. Kotler (1980; 37 - 45) has identified five behavioural
models for analyzing buyers, namely, the Marshallian (Economic) model,
b
the Pavlovian (Learning) model, the Freudian (Psycho-analytic) model, the
Veblenian (Socio-psychological) model and the Hobbessian (Organizational
factor) model. Of most relevant to this study are the Marshallian, Pavlovian
and Freudian Models' discussed as follows:
a.
The Marshallian (Economic) Model
The model proposes that purchasing decisions are the result of largely
rational and conscious economic calculations. The consumer seeks to spend
his income on those goods and services that will deliver the greatest utility
according to his taste and relative prices.
This he does by carefblly
calculating and weighing the expected pleasure and pains of every
contemplated action. Thus he is always trying to maximize satisfaction with
his limited resources. The factors that influence the consumer therefore are
likely to be price, income and durability.
17
An obvious deduction from this model is that a man faced with two
brands of toothpaste, which are identical on all respect, would definitely buy
the cheaper brand. This consumer can only buy the brand that cost more if
and only if the later has any attribute or quantity, which justifies the extra
expenditure on it. This is purely an economic consideration and does not
take into consideration other psychological variables, which may motivate
the consumer to buy the more costly brand even though the content and
b
other conceivable attributes are the same.
The basic assumptions of this model include:
i.
The lower the price, the higher the sales and vice versa.
ii.
The lower the price of a substitute 'A', the lower the sales of 'By
and vice versa.
iii.
The higher the real income, the higher the sales, and vice versa.
Both previous and recent studies have corroborated the Marshallian
hypothesis. Memmers (1962: part 11) reports that demand equations (based
on price) have often fitted to a wide variety of products such as beer,
chemical and fertilizers. Massey (May, 1985:17 1 - 185) also concluded that
economic variables have significant influence on brands such as coffee,
orange juice and margarine.
18
However, economic consideration alone cannot explain the behaviour
of the consumer. The"first assumption (stated above) ftom this model
implies that a reduction in price may lead to a fall in sales and vice versa.
This is not always true and this is why the model is criticized for ignoring
the fundamental questions of how product and brand preferences are formed.
It fails to explain the mystery of consumer choice. It is rather ambiguous
when it says that the consumer acts in his own best interest since such an
b
assumption is too wide in scope and as such is neither here nor there.
b.
The Pavlovian (Learning) Model
This model which comprises classical and instrumental conditioning
was pioneered by Pr-.vlov, a Russian psychologist who performed
experiments on dogs. The model is based on the conditioned reactions of
dogs to bells, rang before they were fed. A variant of classical conditioning
(instrumental conditioning) by B. F. Skinner, involves introducing an
aversive stimuli of electric shocks to the food-bell response of the dog.
Both Pavloc and Skinner concluded that learning is an associative
process-based on four learning concepts.
i.
Drives, motives or needs
These refer to strong internal stimuli or dis-satisfaction to the individual
which impels action.
19
..
11.
Cues
These are weaker stimuli in the environment and/or in the individual which
determine when, where and how the subject reacts.
For example, a
toothpaste advertisement can serve as a cue because it stimulates the health
drive in a housewife. But her response will depend on this cue and other
cues - time of day and cue intensity.
iii.
Response
b
This is the persons reaction to the configuration of cues. It depends on the
degree to which the experience is rewarding that is drive reducing.
iv.
Reinforcement
If the experience is rewarding, a particular response is reinforced or
strengthened, and there is a tendency for it to be repeated when the same
configurations of cues appear again, otherwise, the response is not
reinforced and the strength of the habit diminishes and may be extinguished
eventually.
He therefore hypothesized that the consumer does not have to be
rational in all his purchase decisions. There is rather a greater tendency for
the consumer to purchase by habit.
This is a direct contrast of the
Marshallian model of the economic rational man.
20
There are many marketing implications of this model. There is a need
for strong cues (such .as free samples, advertisement) in the toothpaste
market and other such products where competition is keen. However,
sufficient product quality is necessary to serve as reinforcement and a buildup habit in the consumers. Firms introducing new brands can as well
identify those cues that have helped in building up such brand preferences
since consumers are likely to transfer allegiance to similar brands.
b
Again the model provides justification for repeat advertising to
generate repeat purchase, fight foregoing and dissonance. It also provides
useful guidelines to ad~~ertising
practitioners and copywriters by helping to
identify product drives that must be emphasized. In toothpaste, for instance ,
drives like healthy gum, and fresh breath may be suggested as strong product
related drives.
c.
The Freudian (Psycho-analytic) Model
Sigmund Freud, based on his study of child behaviour, hypothesized
that a child enters the world with instinctive needs that cannot be satisfied by
the immediate environment. According to him, the mind consists of three
parts, namely:
i.
The Id:-house3 the basic instinctual drives, most of them, antisocial.
The ego - a conscious, rational control centre that maintains a
ii.
balance betwe~nthe uninhibited instincts of the Id and social
oriented super-ego.
The super-ego - the conscience accepts moral standards and
iii.
directs instinctive drives into acceptable channels.
The basic implication of the above model to marketing is that the real
motive of a consumer for buying a specific product or brand may well be
b
hidden.
Consumers should also be provided with socially acceptable
rationalizations for their purchases. Brand appeal can as well be directed to
the sub-conscious: to the consumers' dreams, hopes and fears.
d.
A Contingency View
The above models clearly show that there is no single explanation for
certain consumer behaviour. In buying a product, the consumer seeks to
satisfl a variety of needs, psychological, social and even spiritual needs. In
any case he may be ratio.~alor irrational.
It is possible that in one case a consumer purchases out of habit those
products perceived to possess the highest utility value based on his limited
resources. It is also possible that the consumer's preference is a complex
function of that Lewinian dictum;
B = F (P, E)
meaning that behaviour B is a function of the interaction of the person P,
with the environment E, The expectancy models implicit in the assumption
of a value structure as a description of P and a belief as an environmental
measure of E can no lonser be accepted as adequate in explaining consumer
behaviour. The expectancy theory posits that motivational efforts of an
individual to select one behaviour from a large set are a function of the
perceived likelihood that behaviour will result in the attainment of various
b
outcomes weighted by the desirability (Valence) of these outcomes to the
person.
Other evidences now abound that there are significant influence of
psychological variables in the behavioural pattern of the consumers (see
Berelson and Steiner, 1964 and Bindra, 1959).
Therefore a clearer
understanding of consumer behaviour requires a combination of both
conscious rational hypot,lesis and the psychological related hypothesis.
2.2.3 The Decision-Making Process
Many models of consumer decision making exist. Researchers have
explored the factors that determine the choice of a particular information
processing strategy.
(1985:3
Prominent among them, Oshvalsky and Richards
- 29) proposed that the eventual strategy employed is contingent
upon characteristics of the consumer, the market place, the social
23
environment and the physical environment.
Given that the above
proposition explains the. factors influencing choice of information processing
strategy, a relevant question becomes:
How does the consumer go about making up his mind to buy a brand
in the first place, and how does he narrow this decision to a particular brand?
According to Udcagha and Okeke (1993:192), a consumer who has
decided to spend a particular proportion of his income on a consumer good
b
(say toilet soap) will soon discover that many brands of the product and
sources of purchase are in competition for his patronage. There are over a
thousand brands of bathing soap in the market and these could be bought
from any of the ubiquitous neighbourhood kiosks, supermarket, department
stores, specialty stores, and shopping centres around, just to mention a few.
He cannot buy all the brands and from all the sources at any one given time.
This is because he does not need so many and the satisfaction each gives
differs somehow from others. The consumer has to choose one of the brands
and buy from one of the sources.
Traditional decision making theorists posit that the consumer is an
active problem solver. He recognizes a need, searches for information,
evaluates alternatives and then makes a choice, and reacts to the outcome of
that choice. This search for information is assumed to be intensified under
*conditionsof high risk, high price, or low degree of experience with the
potential satisfiers (brmds) (Assael, 1984). Supporting the above model,
Lutz and Bettman (1977: 137 - 149) added that to reach a purchase decision,
the consumer actively weighs alternatives and expends a great amount of
cognitive effort.
The above views however, contrast the 'Low Involvement' posture of
some consumer theoristslresearchers who particularly argue against an
b
across-the-brand generalization of the models of decision-making. To them,
many purchase decision-making can best be approached using models of
passive learning. The basis of their argument explains Solomon (1980:209)
is that consumers "conserve cognitive effort when choosing fiom among
products not central to their belief system or having little risks or value".
The phenomenon of impulse purchase lends credence to this view.
One cannot say yet if toothpaste is a "low involvement" or "high
involvement" product. But because only a small portion of income is
expended on them, and because there seem to be little functional differences
in the brand, the indication is that the product may not be a 'high
involvement' one.
From another dimension, Vroom (1964) identified three conditions in
choice behaviour. First, the consumer must have high 'expectancy' that the
,f
I
brand w ill ahhieve the desired objective. In other words, the product
characte&ti~$ as perceiyed by the consumer must be seen as sufficient to
faciliat,e the attainment of the objectives. Secondly, the objective must be
perceive >d to have 'instrumentality', that is must be seen as resulting in the
attaim, mt of desired end-goals. Finally, there is the 'valence' which refers
to fie preference for attaining one outcome over another. Thus, valence
implied that there exist for the individual consumer a meaningful preference
b
hiqFirchy (scale). Agair. Solomon (1980:210) argues that this may not be
I
m e for "low involvement" products earlier on discussed.
The C
O ~ ~ ~ O Vnotwithstanding,
~ ~ S Y
there is no doubt that before making
a (:hoice of a particular brand from alternative brand, the aroused consumer
I
bpcornes alert to, or sometimes actively searches for information bearing on
his need mci its gratification.
2.2.4 Pnwluct Differentiation and Branding
The extent of product differentiation affects its acceptability.
Products can be differentiated on packaging basis such as family size brands,
low
'edition, colour, or taste.
P.T. Bauer (1954: 52 - 64) found that the salt marketed by a partitular
wthem Nigerian based merchant were more acceptable to customers
bet awe he supplied them in sacks of slightly heavier material to those of
26
another since heavier sacks make for better shirts. He also observed that the
brand name influences product acceptability because acceptability is a
recognition of the reliability of quality from a particular source.
A.R. Morden (1937:269) agrees with Bauer that the potential
influence a brand n&e can have is enormous. According to him the use and
promotional support of brand names is a major factor in sustaining
manufacturer capacity to identi@and market his own consumer goods in the
0
face of pressure from retailers and their preference for retail own brands.
Consumer recognitions and perception of different products are affected by
their response to brand names. Different brand names will cause them to see
broadly similar products or services in different ways.
People regard
Kellogg's cornflakes or Nescafe as better than their competitors and will pay
more for them. The Nigerian consumer has no easy means of testing and
comparing the different p;roducts. He therefore prefers the brand which has
performed satisfactorily for him.
Marketing firms have traditionally been interested in customer
satisfaction. Consumers continue to purchase those products with which
they are satisfied and they may influence the brand perception of those
whom they communicaca.
Richins (1983 :68) observed that potential
responses to customers' dissatisfaction may include:
i.
Switching brands or refusing to re-patronize the offering store,
ii.
Making a complaint to the seller or to a third party, and
iii.
Telling others .?bout the unsatisfactory product or retailer.
2.2.5
Theoretical Framework
The consumer sees a product as a bundle of product attributes and has
his expectation about the attributes of a particular brand given the product
class. For example, some research findings suggest that the following
0
attributes are of intere:t to buyers in some familiar product classes and
influence their brand choices for such products. (Kotler, 1980:157, Ibe,
1984; Kotler, 1986:193).
-
Beer
Toothpaste
-
Taste, alcohol content and price.
Taste, foaming, price, dental protection (Fluoride
content) and colour.
Cocoa Based
Food driik
-
Milk and sugar contents, dissolvability, Nutritive
value, taste and price
Cameras
-
Picture quality, ease of use, camera size, price.
Hotels
Tyres
-
Location, cleanliness, atmosphere, cost.
Safety, tread life, ride quality, price.
Consumers attach different importance weights to the relevant
attributes and this normally vary fiom consumer to consumer. Kotler
28
.
(1986: 193) reports that the consumer develops a "set of brand beliefs about
where each brand stand8 on each attribute" constituting what is known as the
brand image.
It seems then tha? it is that brand image that the consumer may bring
into his 'choice'set' or 'evoked set' from which he makes his final purchase
decision. As defined by Campbell (1978:49), an evoked set is the set of
alternative brands of a product, which the buyer actually considers when
b
making a specific brand choice. Asking consumers to list say, five brands
they know of a product class may well give an idea of their evoked set.
Kotler (1986:193) however cautions that the consumer's beliefs may be at
variance with the true attributes due to his particular experience and the
effect of selective perception, selective distortion, and selective retention.
The phenomenon has an important implication in the definition of
product quality. Product quality is often defined or measured in terms of the
purity or the grade of materials used, the technical perfection of design, and
exacting standards of production. The quest for this kind of product quality
on the part of technically trained and oriented people is understandable, and
within limits, highly laudable. However, thinking of product quality simply
as a fbnction of the colnmercial grade of materials used or the technical
perfection of design and manufacture without adequate consideration of
additional attributes, real or imagined is a denial of consumer orientation.
29
Consumers do not make chemical or physical analysis of the products
they buy. In reality, &heyhave little knowledge of, or concern for the
technical standards established by chemists, physicists, and engineers in its
manufacture. In fact, considerable evidence supports the allegation that
consumers may 'prefer products made with certain lower cost ingredients
while management is equating higher cost with higher quality (Kuehn,
1982:101 - 110). In t t 3 final analysis, the quality of a product depends on
b
the situation in the market place, vis-A-vis consumer perception.
However, the above argument does not suggest that quality in the
technical sense is unimportant. Rather, consumers generally wish to be
reassured that they are not getting inferior materials or shoddy workmanship.
In truth, lack of consistency in the product characteristics, which they regard
as important, may alienate consumers (Kuehn and Day discussed this
phenomenon extensively). By implication, therefore, there are always basic
characteristics which consumers of a product class must find in a brand
before additional featurzs may make the difference. Thus consumers may
not be as gullible and as they are apparently believed to be especially by
critics of advertising.
To be sure, Keuhn and Day ( I 982: 101) and other researchers have
established that it is only when brands are characterized by minor product
.
differences, or differences in unimportant attributes, that advertising and
other marketing prograws (such as heavy emphasis on brand name) can
precondition the consumer's feelings and attitudes towards a particular
manufacturer or brand and thereby influence his evaluation of, and reaction
to a product. ?his power of brand names and marketing programmes to
make the difference in consumer brand choice decision when there are no
significant functional difc'erence in brands is very crucial to this study, and
b
based on this line of thought, the second hypothesis was formulated:
Hii
The common (product) attributes (taste, colour, foaming, brand name,
<
price, protective strength (floride content) whitening effect and fresh
breath do not vary significantly amongst major brands of toothpaste in
the market.
However, as noted earlier on, consumers' judgment of product
attributes may be based on grounds that differ from those of laboratory tests.
Their perception is based on brand name associations derived fiom
advertising and social stimuli. In fact authors like Kotler (1980), Levitt
(1960), Keuhn and Day (1982) have recognized that consumers are not
perfectly consistent in their choice behaviour. Keuhn and Day particularly
reported instances when housewives had chosen two different brands of a
product as their choices in two different trials under paired comparison.
31
,
Evidence however indicate that the ability to recognize preferred brand is an
inverse function of the Pistance between the preferred brand and alternative
brands (Assael: 115). Because of the allegation of little or no functional
differences in the attributes of toothpaste brand therefore, the first hypothesis
was formulated.
Hi
The choice of toothpaste (by consumers) is not significantly related to
the common product attributes (as defined by taste, colour, foaming,
b
brand name, price, protective strength (floride content), whitening
effect and fresh breath).
Research on brand loyalty and brand switching has shown some
general trends in the area though there is no sure way to predict consumer
behaviour in a given situation. One trend suggests the conditions in the
market are often more influential than the features of a particular product.
When one product dominates a market, consumers are more likely to remain
loyal to that brand despite the introduction of attractive alternatives (Oslon,
1993:295). Another observation is that whether or not consumers tend to be
brand loyal seems to be unrelated to their personality characteristics and
socio-economic status (Oslon, 1993:285). Consumers may be bored with
familiar products, may want a change or may just want to try something
different. They may then switch to another brand or variety. This behaviour
.
happens even in stable markets with established competitors as Oslon (1 993)
indicated. It is therefore .dong this line of reasoning that the third hypothesis
was advanced;
Hiii There is no significant variation in brand choice of toothpaste amongst
different socio-economic groups.
It is expected that the research findings will help answer these
hypotheses and enable l;s to determine the critical factors which influence
b
brand choice of toothpaste,
2.30 SUMMARY
Toothpaste is one of the most important household products in
Nigeria. This is because 3f its increased usage in the country over and above
other methods of oral hygiene like chewing stick, saline (salt) water and
charcoal. Today, the market is flooded with so many different brands of
both imported and locally produced toothpastes that a good number of them
are feared to be substandard (Akanbi &Olusanya, 1996). A few of the
common ones are close-up, colgate, macleans, flourish, Angola, Holdent,
Dentoclean, Pepsodent and Dentex. It is therefore imperative to understand
the toothpaste market in Nigeria, especially as it affects the factors that
influence the consumer choice and preferences.
This study is crucial in view of the over concentration of research on
such products as toilet soaps, detergents, cosmetics soft drinks and beer in
Nigeria.
The few studies on toothpaste like Onyemauche (1989) are
concerned more about comparisons of consumer preference between two
competing brands. Stdies of this nature do not accommodate the users of
unpopular brands or brands that are not selected for the study. This
underscores the need to cover a wider spectrum of the product in order to
b
verify the determinants of toothpaste preference in the country.
REF'ERENCES
Akanbi, F. and Olusmya 0. (1996). "Consumer shift," Business Times
(Monday, fdarch 11).
Assael, Henry (1993). Consumer Behaviow and Marketing Action: 4'h
Edition (Boston: Kent).
Bauer, P. T. (1954). West African Trade. (London: Cambridge University
Press, 1954).
Berelson, B. and Steincr, G.A. (1964). Human Behaviour. (New York:
Harcourt, Lrace and World Inc).
$
Bindra, D. (1959). Motivation: A systematic Reinterpretation. (New York:
Ronald).
Campbell, F, M. (1978). "Towards Behavioural Behaviouristic Models".
Behavioural and Management Science in Marketing. (eds.)
N.L Davies and A.J. Silk (New York: John Wiley and Sons).
Chisnall, Peter M (197.':). Marketing: A Behavioural Analysis. (London:
McGraw-Hill Book Company Ltd).
East, Robert (1993). Changing Consumer Behaviour. (Cassel Educational
Limited).
Egekwu Stanley C (1985). Market Acceutance o f Soft Drinks in Imo State.
(MBA Thesis Unpublished, University of Nigeria, Enugu
Campus, April).
Engel, J; Kollat, D. and Blackwell, R (1978). Consumer Behaviour. (New
York: Holt, Richard and Winston).
Fennel, Geraldine (1978). "Consumers Perception of the Product Use
Situation". Journal qfMarketing. (April).
Folikwe, Bunrni Peter (1989). Consumers Assessment o f the Marketing o f
JOY Toilet Soap and Elephant Blue Detergent: A Case Study o f
Paterson Zochonis (PZ) Nineria Ltd. Lanos. (Enugu: UNN.
Dept. of Marketing).
Goldstein, Sidney (19i5). "The Aged Segment of the Market, 1950-1960":
Journal o f Marketing. (April).
Hawkins, K.I.; Best, k.J; and Kenneth, A. (1970). Consumer Behaviouc
Implications for Marketing Stratem. (Boston, IRWIN).
Hart, N.A. AND Stapleton, J., Glossav o f Marketing Terms. (2"* Edition),
(London).
Howard, John A. and Sheth Jagdish, N. (1970). The Theory o f Buver
Behaviour. (New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc).
'
"How the Changing A6e Mix Changes Markets." Business Week. (January
12, 1976).
Ibe, L. 0. (1984). Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Powdered Milk in
Port Harcourt. (B.Sc. Thesis Unpublished, Rivers State
University of Science and Technology).
Kotler, Philip (1986). M a r k t i n Management, Planning, Analvsis, Control
and Implementation. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J. Prentice Hall).
Kotler, Philip (1980). Principles o f Marketing (4m Edition), (N. J. USA,
Prentice Hall).
Kuehn, Alfred and Day, Ralph (1982). "Strategy of Product Quality,"
Harvard Business Review. Vol. 40, No. 6, (Dec).
Lamout, Laurence M. and Scott, Jerome E; "Relating Consumer value to
Consumer Behaviour: A Model and method for investigation".
A paper presented at the fall conference, American marketing
Associatio:~1973, as reported in Stanton and Lawenhar. "A
Congrauerse model of Brand Preference: A theoretical and
Empirical Study", Journal o f Marketing Research. Vol. XI
(1974).
Levitt, Theodore (1980). "Marketing Myopia". Harvard Business Review.
(July - August).
Lutz Richard J. and Bettman James R (1977). "Multi-Attribute Models In
Marketing: A Bicentinnialo Review," Consumer and Industrial
Buvina Behcviour. (eds.) Arch G. Woodside, Jegdish N.Sheth
and Peter i'. Benneth (New York: Noth-Holland Publishing
COY),
Massey, William and Frank, Ronald (1985). "Short Term Price and Dealing
effects In Selected Market Segments," Journal o f Marketing
Research. Vol. 2 (May).
Mernmers Erwin E (1982). Managerial Economics. Part I1 (New York:
b
John Wiley and Sons Inc).
Morden, A. R (1987). Ekments o f Marketing. (2"" Edition), (ELBS).
Onyemauche, C.U. (1989). Comvarative Analvsis o f Consumer purchase
preference for Close-uv versus Macleans: A Case studv o f
Beemcham Limited and Lever Brothers Nigeria Limited. (An
Unpublished B .Sc. Thesis, Department of Marketing University
of Nigeria)
Oslon, Peter (1993). Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Stratem.
(Boston, Richard Irwin Inc).
Osvalsky S. and Rich~rdW. (1985). "Perceived Quality in Consumer
Decision-making: An integrated Theoretical Perspective" in
Perceived Oualiiv: How Consumers View Stores and
Merchandise. (eds), J. Jacoby and C. Oslon (Lexington:
Lexington Books, 1985).
Renecke, John A (1984). T h e Older Market-Fact or Fiction?" Journal o f
Marketing. (January).
Richins, L.M (1983). "Negative Word of Mouth by Dissatisfied
Consumers.' Apilot study in the Journal o f Marketing.
American Marketing Association. Vo1.47, No.1 (1983).
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Solomon Micheal R. (1'980). "The missing link: surrogate Consumers in
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Vroom, Victor H (1964). Work and Motivation. (New York: John Wiley
Inc. and Sons).
b
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
THE STUDY AREA
3.1
Enugu has remained a capital city in the south eastern part of Nigeria
since the 1960s. It is currently the capital of Enugu State. With a population
of 509,192, about three institutions of higher learning, government offices
and some industries, the city is the most important administrative centre East
B
of the River Niger. The inhabitants of the city are people with diverse ethnic
background and different social, educational and income classes.
Enugu was chosen as a case study because it is a typical Nigerian city.
It has similar characteristics like dense population, diverse socio-economic
attributes and a well-developed market structure with other big Nigerian
cities.
3.2
BRANDS COVERED
An exploratory consumer survey was carried out at various retail
outlets (including supermarket and open market) to ascertain the number of
brands in the market on a significant scale. Based on this, 7 (seven) brands
have been chosen for this study and they are:
i.
Closeup.
..
11.
Macleans.
iii.
Pepsodent.
iv.
Aquafresh.
v.
Colgate.
vi.
Holdent.
vii.
Dabur
3.3
.
TYPE OF DATA USED:
Primary and secondary data were used for the study.
33.1 Primary Data
The primary data was collected through an exploratory survey,
questionnaire survey and personal interview.
The exploratory survey
yielded information on the different retail outlets in Enugu and the different
brand names available.
The questionnaire was structured with both
multiple-choice and open-ended questions in order to obtain the
respondent's opinions and views on a number of issues like teeth-cleaning
habit, toothpaste preferexe and the reasons for such preferences among
other things.
Personal interview was conducted with some sales executive. The
information obtained were helpful in clarifying certain areas of inquiry
relating to their companies' marketing policies and strategies.
40
3.3.2 Secondary Data
The secondary sGurces are articles, textbooks, journals, magazines,
weeklies and dailies, unpublished theses as well as materials on related
subject.
3.4
POPULATION AND SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION
The population is defined to include all adults who use toothpaste.
4
The respondents were sdected across different categories of neighbourhood
to achieve a representative sample, which is made up of mainly housewives,
bachelors, spinsters, students who play a definite role in the purchase of the'
toothpaste consumed in their homes.
The population size cannot be
estimated precisely and hence its standard deviation and other characteristics
are as well difficult to ascertain. An appropriate technique which gives the
highest possible sample size irrespective of the tolerable limit of error and
level of confidence is therefore used, At a confidence level of 95% and
tolerable limit of error of 5% the sample size is determined using,
where n = sample size.
Z=
value of standard deviation of the desired confidence
level (in this case 1.96).
P = proportion of success. (0.8)
q = proporti~nof failure (0.2)
e = limit of tderable error i.e 5% (0.05)
Therefore,
3.5
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
A combination of cluster and simple random sampling were
employed. The different neighbourhoods in the metropolis were considered
as separate clusters. The xwious neighbourhoods or clusters were assigned a
number of questionnaires based on 2% of their population.
The
questionnaires were then distributed randomly in the selected buildings. The
choice of respondents in each house was based on the willingness of the
respondents.
42
REFERENCE
National Population Commission, Enugu State: 1996 Projection of
Population Census of Nigeria.
43
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0
4.1
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
INTRODUCTION
Presented in this shapter is the primary data generated for this study
through consumers' survey.
Of the 250 questionnaires administered on consumers through the
field survey, 232 were returned giving a response rate of 92.8%. However,
0
14 questionnaires out of this number which represents 6.03% could not pass
the validity and reliabiky tests after editing. This is either because of noncompletion or contradictory information. Thus we were left for this study
with 2 18 valid questionnaires representing a usage rate of 87.2% of the total
survey questionnaires or 93.97% of the returned questionnaires.
It is pertinent to note however that the data presented here and
analyzed subsequently are those considered relevant to the main objectives
and hypotheses of this study.
Presented below are summaries of the overall response ratio in tables
4.1 and 4.2.
Table 4.1: Response Ratio of Survey Questionnaires
"
1 Returned
1
I
Not Returned
Number
232
Percentage
I
92.8%
18
7.2%
250
100.00%
I
Total
I
Table 4.2: Usage Ratio of Returned Questionnaires
I
Number
Percentage,
L
Accepted
218
1 Rejected
I
Total
.4.2
I
232
100.00%
CONSUMER SURVEY RESULT
One of the major objectives of this study was to determine those
attributes that have the greatest influence on consumers in their choice of
toothpaste brands. Bawd on this, consumers were asked to rank each of the
eight attributes namely, Taste, Colour, Foaming, Brand name, Price,
Protective strength (Fluoride content), Fresh breath and Whitening effect to
the degree it influences them which ranged fiom low (one point) to high
(three points).
45
Table 4.3 contains the mean scores of consumers' ratings. The table
thus presents in descending order the relative importance of those attributes
or factors influencing consumers choice of toothpaste brands.
AmibutT
I
Table 4.3a: Degree of Attributdnfruence on Consumers' Choice of
Brands.
Tom1 Score NI Mean Score Relative Position
Taste
463
Colour
414
1
1
Foaming
Brand name
Price
475
464
458
Protective strength
5 13
I
Fresh breath
495
Whitening effect
516
Table 4.3b: ANOVA Table
I
IA
1 Sum of Squares I Degrees of Freedom I Mean Squares I F-ratio I
Source
= between p u p s
E = within groups
Total
j SA = 29 26.2989 j A - I = 7
I
I SE = 11,381 1 N - A = 1736
1 ST = 14307.298 1 N - 1 = 1743
1 6.56
I
I
1I 418.04
I
I
I
I
1I 63.73
1
Whitening effect is rated highest (2.37)' followed by Protective
strength
-
fluoride content (2.35)' Fresh breath (2.27)' Foaming (2.18)'
Brand name (2.13)' Tast, (2.12), Price (2.10) and Colour is lowest (1.go).
Hypothesis 1
The choice of to~thpasteis not significantly related to the common
product attributes (as defined by taste, colour, foaming, brand name,
price, protective strength, fresh breath and whitening effect).
The choice of a prticular brand of good is believed most of the time
to be based on product attributes. This belief was corroborated by the result
of the consumer survey.
b
Table 4.4: Consumer Responses on Attribute Influence
,
Number
Percentage
Influenced by . Not Influenced
Attribute
by Attribute
142
76
65.14%
34.86%
Total
218
100%
Notwithstanding that more than half (65.14%) of the respondents
claim to be influenced by a particular attribute in their brand choice of
toothpaste, for the hypothesis to be accepted or rejected, it has to be shown
that the two values (percentages for those influenced by attribute and those
not influenced by attribute) are not comparable.
To establish this, the results of Table 4.4 are subjected to a X* test for
mutually exclusive proportions. The unequal percentages were found to be
significantly different at both 5% and 1% levels of significance (see
Appendix IIA).
Therefore, having found the two proportions to be significantly
different, hypothesis I was accordingly rejected.
Furthermore, the consumer ranking of the degree of each attribute
influence in their brand choice shows a significant difference in the means of
the attributes. This result was subjected to an Analysis of Variance with the
F-ratio as the test statistic. The unequal mean scores of the attributes was
found to be significant at both the 5% and 1% levels of significance. This is
b
presented in Table 4.3.
From the statistical tables, the critical value of F at 0.05 level of
significance is 2.01 and at 0.01 is 2.64. Since the computed value of 63.73
is greater than the critical values of 2.01 and 2.64, we reject the null
hypothesis. The choice of toothpaste brand therefore is related to the
common product attributes.
Hypothesis I1
The common attributes are not significantly different between major
brands of toothpaste in the market.
Another major outlook of this study is to ascertain the extent that the
attributes - colour, taste, foaming, brand name, price, protective strength,
fresh breath and whitwing effect influence the choice of a particular
toothpaste. Therefore, the import of hypothesis I1 is that for each of those
48
need satisfying attributes mentioned above, consumers' perception of the
ability of any brand to satisfy that need does not differ from brand to brand.
To test this hypothesis, consumers were asked to rank the brands
according to their order of preference. The means for the various brands and
the relative positions of the brands based on the consumers' overall
judgment were as follows:
Table 4.5:
Consumers Overall Prejerence Ranking of Toothpatte Brand
+
95 % Confidence
Interval for Mean
Stcl. Deviation Std. Error Lower Bound Upper Bound
--
18.1332
1 7 1 33.6571 -j2.0728
1 7 1 16.66714 3.2750
I
Close up
I
6.8537
4.563 1
-1.3132
32.2275
I
Colgate
I
Macleans
Pepsodent
1I
7
1I
171
I
I
1
I
I
I
13.8429
4.3239
1.6343
7.0143
2.9151
1.1018
9.5878
3.6238
9.0454
3.4188
1 7 1 6.2286
Aquafresh 1 7 1 7.14229
Dabur
Total
3.5056
I
1 49 1
14.2878
Close up emergel? first followed by Colgate while Dabur among the
seven brands was the least preferred. At 5% confidence level, this ranking
was found to be significant.
These means were also subjected to multiple comparison to give us
the result in Table 4.6.
49
Table 4.6:
Multiple Comparisons of Means of Preference of Toothpaste Brand
I
(1) Type of tooth
paste
Holdent
Close up
(J) Type of tooth
paste
Close up
Colgale
Macleans
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafresh
Holdent
Colgate
Macleans
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafresh
Holdent
Close up
Macleans
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafresh
Colgate
Holdent
Close up
Colgate
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafresh
Pepsodent
Holdent
Close up
Colgate
Macleans
Dabur
Aquafresh
Dabur
Holdent
Close up
Colgate
Macleans
Pepsodent
Aquafresh
Holdent
Close up
Colgate
Macleans
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafiesh
Mean difference
(I-J)
18.2000
-
1
Std.
Error
I 5.575
I
Sig.
I
I
I
.I27 I
95% Confidence
Interval
Lower
I Upper
Bound
1 ~ound
-39.0187 I 2.6187
-
-9.2286
-27.4286*
-10,4429
-7.61 43
-.7857
-.9143
-8.3 143
-26.5 143*
-9.5286
-6.7000
.1286
.9143
,5575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
5.575
,836
.003
.740
.928
1.000
1.000
.893
.004
.814
.960
1.000
1.000
-30.0473
-48.2473
-31.2616
-28.4330
-21.6044
-21.7330
-29.1330
-47.3330
-30.3473
-27.5187
-20.6901
-19.9044
The result shows there is a significance difference at 5% level of
significance.
50
The choice of the various brands of toothpaste actually in relation to
the attributes gave m e q s that may be significantly different by inspection.
However to accept or reject the null hypothesis the means were further
subjected to ANOVA test as shown in Table 4.7b below.
Table 4 . 7 ~ :Consumers Perception of Toothpaste Brand
1
4
Mean
Brand Name
Holdent
8:2
15.4571
Closeup
218
33.6571
Relative
Position
3rd
lSt
Colgate
218
16.6714
2"d
Macleans
A
218
I
4th
13.8429
I
I
I
Pepsodent
218
7.0 143
6th
Dabur
218
6.2286
7th
Aquafiesh
218
7.1429
5th
Table 4.76:
AN0 VA Table
Sum of squares df Mean square
Source
Between Groups
3859.269
6
643.211
Within Groups
4569.186
42
108.790
Total
8428.453
F
Sig.
5.912 .OOO
The F-ratio shows that there is a significant difference in the means of
the various brands. The null hypothesis is consequently rejected.
To check for consistency, the respondents were asked to rank the
individual brands with respect to each of the attributes.
Table 4.8: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Attributes
Table 4.8a: Consumer.;' Ranking of Brands with respect to Brand Name
I
I Brand
Brand Name
Frequency
I
I
I
Percentage
I
Holdent
15
6.9
99
45.4
I
Close up
I Colgate
1
I
63
25
Macleans
b
28.9
11.5
I
I
Pepsodent
10
4.6
Dabur
2
0.9
1 Aquafresh I
I
4
218
Total
1.8
100.0
Table 4.86: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Protective
Strength
I
I
Protective Strength
Frequency
Percentage
Holdent
15
6.9
Close up
64
29.3
Colgate
49
22.5
Macleans
14
6.4
11
5.0
Dabur
60
27.5
Aquafiesh
5
2.3
218
100.0
Brand
Pepsodent
Total
I
Table 4 . 8 ~ :Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Foaming
Foaming
Brand
Percentage
Frequency
15.1
Holdent
63
Close up
29.9
1 Colgate
I Macleans I
43
Pepsodent
28
12.8
Dabur
4
1.8
Aquafresh
2
0.9
218
100.0
Total
b
Table 4.8d: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Taste
Taste
I
Brand
Percentage
Frequency
L
18
Holdent
I
Macleans
1 Pepsodent I
1 Dabur
I
Aquafresh
43.1
94
Close up
I Colgate
8.3
I
I
38
31
5
20
14.2
I
9.2
Table 4.8e: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Fresh Breath
Fresh Breath
I
I Close up
Percentage
Frequency
Brand
I
26
Colgate
11.9
I
I
Macleans
8.3
18
11
Pepsodent
5.0
I
L
41
Dabur
1 Aquafresh I
218
100.0
Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to WhiteningEnect
I
Whitening Effect
Brand
8
11
Total
Table 4.8fi
18.8
I
1
Holdent
Frequency
29
Percentage
13.3
40
18.3
Close up
Colgate
Macleans
17
7.8
I
I
Pepsodent
J
12
I
5.5
Dabur
I
7
I
3.2
Aquafresh
Total
9
4.1
218
100.0
I
Table 4.8g: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Colour
II
Colour
Frequency
Percentage
75
34.4
Macleans
27
12.4
Pepsodent
15
6.9
Dabur
9
4.1
Brand
Holdent
I
Close up
Colgate
Aquafresh
I
b
59
218
Total
100.0
Table 4.8h: Consumers' Ranking of Brands with respect to Price
I
Price
Brand
I
i
Frequency
Percentage
123
56.4
I
Holdent
I
Close up
Colgate
38
Macleans
I
Pepsodent
Dabur
1
Aquafresh
I
I
17.4
I
18
8.3
9
4.1
4
1.8
A close look at the percentages of the various brands for each attribute
shows that close up is .ranked consistently high in all the attributes (By
Inspection). Since one brand at least shows a significant difference in the
attributes according to the ranking of the respondents, it will be wrong then
to conclude that there is no significant difference between the brands in
terms of the attributes. Hypothesis I1 is therefore rejected.
Hypothesis 111
I
The choice of twthpaste is likely to be inconsistent among various
economic and social classes. This is believed to be so because toothpaste is
a low involvement product, which does not involve so much commitment
from the consumer. It was in an effort to resolve this that we postulated
hypothesis 111.
There is no significant variation in brand choice of toothpaste amongst
the socio-economic groups.
The level of consumer preference was therefore sought for each brand
across various occupations, educational attainment and income levels. The
percentages of the corasumers ranking of each brand across various
occupation, income and educational levels are as presented below:
56
TABLE 4.9 CONSUMER RESPONSES ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS
TABLE 4.9a: Influence of Occupation on Cons ners Choice of Tooth paste Brand
DCCUPATION
PE'ITY TRADERS Count
ARTISAN
PROFESSIONAL
CIVILPUBLIC
SERVANT
UNEMPLOYED
TOTAL
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND(S)
HOLDENT CLOSEUP COLGATE MACLEANS
1
5
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
% within
OCCUPATION
% within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
14.3%
7 1.4%
2.3%
6.7%
1
4
1
12.5%
50.0%
12.5%
2.3%
5.3%
9.1%
5
2
5
31.3%
12.5%
3 1.3%
11.6%
2.7%
45.5%
16
33
28.6%
58.9%
37.2%
44.00/0
20
31
29.4%
45.6%
46.5%
41.3%
43
27.7%
100.0%
57
1
I
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND@)
DABUR
PEPSODENT
OCCUPATION
PETTY TRADERSCount
ARTISAN
PROFESSIONAL
CIVILIPUBLIC
SERVANT
UNEMPLOYED
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND@)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAN D(S)
Count
%within
OCCIJPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCIJPATlON
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
TOTAL
Count
% within
OCCUPATION
% within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
I
1.8%
33.3%
58
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY
CONSISTENT,
L
TOTAL
PETTY TRADERS Count
DCCUPATION
PROFESSIONAL
CIVILIPUBLIC
SERVANT
1
I
TOTAL
I
UNEMl%OYED
7
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND@)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND@)
Count
% within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT.
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
OCCUPATION
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRANLl(S)
100.0%
4.5%
8
100%
5.2%
16
100.0%
10.3%
68
100.0%
43.9%
155
100.0%
100.0%
.
TABLE 4.9b
INFLUENCE OF INCOME ON CONSUMERS CHOICE
OF TOOTH PASTE BRAND
I
F
HOLDENT
INCOME
(PER
4BOVE
25000
MONTH)
20000 - 25000
-
15000 20000
-
10000 15000
5000 - 10000
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND@)
CLOSEUP
7
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND@)
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(5)
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
% within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
I
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within lr
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAWS)
Count
% within
MCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
38.9%
13.5%
10
62.5%
19.2%
2
13.3%
6.7%
4
22.2%
13.3%
INCOME
(PER
MONTH)
-
BELOW SO00
TOTAL
Count
% within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
% withir, 1F
' CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSlSENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
% within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
% within IF
CHOlCE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRANrqS)
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND(S)
HOLDENT CLOSEUP COLGATE MACLEANS
PEPSODENT
12
10
7
I
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT.
MENTION BRAND(S)
DARBUR
LNCOME
FER
UONTH)
ABOVE
25000
-
20000 25000
-
15000 20000
-
10000 15000
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Cowt
% within
IN( r3ME (PER
M'JNTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHDICE HAS
BECN V.
CO WS'rENT,
W!NTION
BRAND(S)
Count
%within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
% within
INCOME (PER
hdNTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
T
ANGOLA
1
55 %
25.0%
1
6.7%
25.00!
FLOURISH
INCOME
(PER
MONTH)
TOTAL
-
BELOW 5000
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND(S)
AQUA
FLOURISH
ANGOLA
DARBUR
FRESH
Count
% within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
% within IF
Cl M C E HAS
BC'M V.
Cc:NSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
Count
% within
INCOME (PER
MONTH)
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BP+ND(S)
1
1
63
TABLE 4 . 9 ~ INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION ON CONSUMERS CHOICE OF
AND
TOOTHPASTE
IF CHOlCE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
27
COLGAT
E
5
44.3%
8.2%
36.0%
45.5%
15
4
48.4%
12.9%
20.0'3'0
36.4%
28
2
52.8%
3.8%
37.3%
18.2%
CLOSEUP
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
OTHER
Count
HIGHER
%within
DEGREEEDUCATIONAL.
A'ITAINMENT
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
NCWOND
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
A'ITAINMENT
%within IF
CHOlCE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
SSCWGCE
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
A'ITAINMENT
% within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND@)
PRIMARY
Count
SCHOOL
%within
EDUCATlONAL
A'ITAMMENT
%within 1F
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
TOThL
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
AlTAINMENT
% within IF
CHOlCE MAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTlON
BRAND(S)
5
55.6%
6.7%
75
48.7%
100.0%
PEPSODEN
T
64
OTHER
Count
HIGHER
%within
DEGREEEDUCi. TIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRhND(S)
NCUOND
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
SSCWGCE
Count
% within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
PRIMARY
Count
.
-.
SCHOOL
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
% within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
TOTAL
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
A'ITAINMENT
%within IF
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
-
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND(S)
AQUA
ANGOLA
FMURlSH
DABUR
FRESH
3
4
4.9%
50.0%
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
OTHER
Count
HIGHER
%within
DEGREEVXICATIONAL
ATTAMMENT
%within IF
CHOlCE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
NCEIOND
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTMNMENT
%within 1F
CHOlCE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
SSCEIGCE
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within IF
CIIOlCE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTlON
BRAND(S)
PRIMARY
Count
SCHOOL
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within 1F
CHOICE I-lAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTION
BRAND(S)
TOTAL
Count
%within
EDUCATIONAL
ATTAINMENT
%within 1F
CHOICE HAS
BEEN V.
CONSISTENT,
MENTlON
BRAND(S)
IF CHOICE HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT,
MENTION BRAND(S)
CLEANOL
TOTAL
1
61
1.6%
100.0%
66
The obvious observation is that for some brands such as close up, the
preference of consumeG presented as percentages varies across different
economic groups. This mnges from 38.9% for the higher income group to
66.7% for the middle income class (Pi15,000 - W20,000) and finally drops to
40% for the low income group (below 345000.00).
This however is not the same trend for all the other brands. In the
case of other brands such as Colgate, holdent, etc, the percentage
b
presentation of their prefkences across various income group does not show
any much variation between income groups. This is the same observation
for the different educational attainment and occupations. That most of the
brands does not show any significant variation in consumer preferences
across the different socio-economic groups is not a sufficient condition to
conclude that hypothesi~111 be accepted. It has to be proved that there is a
significant variations in brand choice for each of the socioeconomic
indicator - occupation, income and educational attainment used for this
study.
To establish this, the results of table 4.9 are subjected to chi-square
test for mutually indepmdent variables. This refers to the idea that one
variable is not in any way affected by or related to another variable.
67
The unequal values were found to be significantly different at both
5% and 1% levels o[ significance for both income and educational
attainment and to be dependent at both 5% and 1% levels of significance for
occupation. Therefore having found two of the three indicators to be
significant, the condition is thus satisfied for the hypothesis to be accepted
and accordingly, hypothesis I11 was accepted (see details in Appendix IIB).
b
4.3
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
In the Presentation and Analysis of Data, the objective was mainly to
subject the raw data derived from the consumer survey to statistical tests.
Consequently, it was possible to draw statistical inferences from such tests.
This section however seeks to add hrther clarification to the result of
the research work discussed so far.
4.3.1 Brand Choice and Attribute Influence
One of the major focus of the study is to find out the extent consumers
considered attributes in the choice of particular brands of toothpaste. As a
low involvement product, consumers are believed to make choices without
much commitment i.e. without considering seriously the attributes of the
various brands.
This however was proved false when the first null hypothesis;
68
"The choice of toothpaste is not significantly related to the common
product attributqs (as defined by taste, colour, foaming, brand name,
price, protective strength, fresh breath and whitening effect)
was rejected.
By implication the attributes of the various brands of
toothpaste play significant roles in consumers choice of toothpaste brands.
This result is corroborated by literature. Scott and Lamout believe
that despite its limitations product attributes is still a very useful tool for
#
analyzing and predicting consumer choice and preferences. Theoretical
support can also be derived from some other authors who had concluded that
the consumer is guided by the desire to satisfl personal or individual needs
and that she had a prior ability to perceive products or services capable of
satisfying those needs !.Engel, Kollat and Blackwell, 1968). Brand managers
should therefore ensure that their products have the right attributes
incorporated in them.
4.3.2 Brand Perception with Respect to Attributes
Brand name may be seen as a condensation of many other product
sub-features. It is more than a mere alphabetical arrangement. Rather, it
consists of the brands typography, colour, package design, promotional
slogans and general image of the brand. It was in order to find out the
consumers perception of the brands with respect to the attributes that
hypothesis I1 was posited.
Hii
The common attrhtes are not significantly different amongst major
brands of toothpagte in the market.
This hypothesis was tested and rejected. The implication of this result
is that consumers perceive the various brands as having different attributes.
Consumers are general1;l reputed to have a set of brand beliefs
- beliefs
where each brand stands on each attribute.
The import of this hypothesis is that though some brands are better in
b
some attributes than in others, it will be fbtile for a brand manager to
concentrate marketing efforts on those attributes on which his brand enjoys a
comparative advantage.
It is a logical conclusion therefore that brand beliefs being a major
determinant of consumers choice should not be down played by marketing
managers.
4.3.3 Brand Choice and Socio Economic Status
Socio-economic status of consumers (level of edvcation, income and
occupation) is generally a pointer to consumers attitude to products and price
changes. Hypothesis 111 sought to find how consumers of different socio
economic groups respond to brand choice.
Hiii There is no significant variation in brand choice of toothpaste amongst
socio-economic qroups.
70
This hypothesis was wcepted.
One would expect that consumers of
different economic groqp should choose brands that are deemed to be of
better quality irrespective of the prices. However the findings of this
research shows that the brand choice of all consumers of toothpaste are not
influenced by their socio economic status. This result is likely as a result of
the consumers level cP involvement with the product.
Being a low
involvement product, the consumer is not willing to search for alteTatives,
purchases the easiest way while buying the familiar brand and seeks not the
optimal but only the satisfactory solution (Kraetke, 2000).
Product managers of toothpaste should therefore be aware that a good
product cuts across various socio-economic groups.
REFERENCES
Engel, J; Kollat, D. and Blackwell, R. (1978). Consumer Behaviour. (New
York: Holt, Richbd and Winston).
Kraetke, Viviane, (2000). "Analysis of a Toothpaste Brand - Colgate Total A Low Involvement Product." Journal of Consumer Research.
August, 2000.
Lamout, Laurence M. d d Scott, Jerome, E. (1974). "Relating Consumers
Value to Consumer Behaviour: A Model and Method for
Investigation." A paper presented at the Fall Conference, American
Marketing Association, 1973, as reported in Stanton and Lawenhar.
B
Journal of Marketing Research. Vol. XI.
72
CHAPTER Fn7E
5.0
SCiMMARY, IMPLICATIONS AND
RECOMJMENDATIONS,AREAS FOR FURTHER
STUDIES AND CONCLUSION
5.1
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows:
1.
This study established that consumers of toothpaste are to a
reasonable extcnt influenced by the attributes in their brandrchoice.
2.
It was identified that consumers consider the following attributes
more important in the following order; whitening effect, protective
strength (fluoride content) and fresh breath.
3.
Consumers had beliefs about the brands of toothpaste they boughtbeliefs about where each brand stood on each of the attributes.
This finding suggests that consumers of toothpaste are
knowledgeable about the brands on the shelves.
4.
There was no relationship between the socio economic status of
consumers and the extent of its influence on the choice of brands
they buy.
5.
Close-up appears to be the market leader inspite of comparatively
lower prices of other competing brands. This could be due to its
high brand awareness.
5.2
IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
This study established the relative importance of toothpaste attributes
as factors influencing hand choice. An important implication drawn from
this result is that attributes vary in the degree to which they influence brand
choice behaviour and as such do not deserve equal emphasis by management
in the marketing of a brand. Thus, whitening effect, protective strength and
fresh breath are the three most important attributes the firm must m&ipulate
to elicit favourable consmer responses to its offer.
Other attributes namely, price, colour, taste, foaming not influencing
brand choice to any high degree can never the less be exploited by firms
whose brands enjoy a relative advantage in that regard. Be that as it may,
the indication however, is that for such an exploitation to be fruitfbl, the
relative advantage whim a brand enjoys with respect to any of the nonmajor attributes must be very glaring.
The lack of correlation between consumers' level of socio-economic
status and the degree to which it influences their choice of toothpaste has an
obvious implication For managers who are contemplating market
segmentation based on these indicators - income, education and occupation.
It is futile for a manager whose brand apparently enjoys whitening effect,
74
.
protective strength, or fnsh breath advantage to concentrate on the high
income consumers in ~e belief that being "need driven", this class of
consumers will respond more favorably to his offers.
Another equally important deduction from the study is that price plays
an important role in the decision - making of a poorly involved consumer.
The economic hardship in the country is biting hard across all the socioeconomic groups. A buyer of toothpaste might look after a familiar brand
b
but will then choose the cheapest product as their favourite brands become
more expensive. As his or her perceived level of risk is very low, it is
unlikely that they will pay a higher amount for more quality. This explains
why there are so many new and cheap brands in the market now, though
these new brands may not constitute such a threat. The consumer already
associates quality with the close-up brand.
In order to encourage the purchase of highly priced toothpaste other
mechanisms have to bc created, for instance a modified advertising
campaign or a new definition of the target group i.e. target groups who may
have a general tendency to be more involved with the purchase of
toothpaste. For example, older people, whose teeth may have different
needs from those of younger people, may buy toothpastes, which meet their
needs. For instance, mkldle-aged women suffer from deficient calcium
75
stores.
Toothpaste, which has a higher amount of calcium, may be
introduced for this target group. It is likely that these consumers will be
willing to pay a higher price for the additional feature.
The integration of the teeth expert - the dentist might be another way
of involving the consumer. On the one hand a "representative" of the
dentists could introduce the brand in the television advertisements and
announce that fiee small samples will be available at the consumer's next
b
medical treatment.
Then, the consumers will be informed about the
advantages of the product and the fiee samples will be provided.
Efforts should be increased on the local sourcing of raw materials so
that prices of these products can be kept at affordable levels and thereby
encourage brand loyalty.
Finally, an interesting conclusion drawn from this study is that the
belief which consumers hold about brands regarding some of their attributes
are real. This conclusion has much to do with the nature and type of
promotional appeal that can be employed meaningfdly to win brand
patronage.
For general promotions, brands could use television
advertisements. Although the different products of the brand are introduced,
the main effect is the ttwareness and the familiarity with the brand. As
toothpaste is a low involvement good, the consumer is drawing very little
76
.
attention to the advertisements as long as they are not exceptional.
Subconsciously his or her memory is stimulated as he or she keeps in mind
the brand. Therefore, the advertisement should be short, contain little
information, and often repeated especially during prime television time.
Since consumers are knowledgeable about the brand available in the
market place, it will be fbtile for a manager to operate on the wrong premise
that consumers are nahe and as such likely to take literally the pessage
presented.
5.3
AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Brand choice problem is a serious one and from the forgoing only a
fraction of it has been addressed. There are other issues that are yet to be
verified.
Firstly, there is need to clearly define what constitutes the "protective
strength" of toothpaste fkom the point of view of the consumers. If possible,
the contents of toothpaste should be identified and further analysed to give
the quality control anajyst a clearer understanding of what the consumer
wants.
In this regmd, marketing research needs the expertise of
chemists/pharmacists and other relevant specialists.
77
Secondly, the v~tyingroles of family members in the choice of
toothpaste brands need investigation.
Depending on the role of any
individual, a different marketing appeal may be needed in order to win
favourable disposition towards the brand.
Thirdly, the influence of advertising and commercial sponsorship as a
reminder and building af loyalty needs to be clarified. As in the case of
Ipana, which was once a leading brand of toothpaste, when Procter &
b
Gamble introduced Crest with fluoride to prevent cavities, sales of Ipana
began decreasing. Ipana's management decided to cut back on advertising
to reduce costs. This move intensified sales decline because consumers
quickly forgot that brani was on the shelf. The failure to meet competitive
improvements coupled with the decrease in advertising led to Ipana's demise
(Assael, 1992).
Finally, the issue of the assumption of a low involvement concerning
toothpaste purchase could be verified, as well as the extent to which attitudes
and learning are playing important role for this low level of involvement.
5.3
CONCLUSION
This study has examined the critical factors influencing the brand
choice of toothpaste in Enugu metropolis. It has been a painstaking effort
78
. geared towards ensuring authentic results which have practical applications
in the toothpaste industry,
The study has validated the well founded marketing admonition that
"quality" is determined more by consumers' preferences than by age - long
family formulas.
There are also a number of recommendations made and it is believed
that if these recommendations among others are adhered to the task of
b
marketing managers wouSd be more efficient and effective.
REFERENCE
Assale, Henry (1992). Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Action. 4'
Edition (PWS Keni: Massachuset).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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(Monday, hiarch 11).
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Edition (Boston: Kent).
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b
Bindra, D. (1959). Motivation: A svstematic Reinterpretation. (New York:
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Campbell, F. M. (1978). "Towards Behavioural Behaviouristic Models".
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N.L Davies a d A.J. Silk (New York: John Wiley and Sons).
Chisnall, Peter M (1975j. Marketing: A Behavioural Analvsis. (London:
McGraw-Hill Book Company Ltd).
East, Robert (1993). Changing Consumer Behaviour. (Cassel Educational
Limited).
Egekwu Stanley C (1985). Market Acceptance of Soft Drinh in Zmo State.
(MBA Thesis Unpublished, University of Nigeria, Enugu
Campus, April).
Engel, J; Kollat, D. and Blackwell, R (1978). Consumer Behaviour. (New
York: Holt, Richard and Winston).
Fennel, Geraldine (1978). "Consumers Perception of the Product Use
Situation". Journal of Marketing (April).
Folikwe, Bunmi Peter (1989). Consumers Assessment o f the Marketing o f
J o y Toilet Soap and Elephant Blue Detergent: A Case Studv o f
Paterson Z'ochonis (PZ) Nkeria Ltd. Lagos. (Enugu: UNN.
Dept. of Marketing).
Goldstein, Sidney (1975). "The Aged Segment of the Market, 1950-1960":
Journal ofMarketing. (April).
Hart, N.A. AND Stapleton, J., Glossa? of Markelng Terms. (2ndEdition),
(London).
Hawkins, K.I.; Best, R.J: and Kenneth, A. (1970). Consumer Behaviour:
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"How the Changing Age Mix Changes Markets." Business Week. (January
b
12, 1976).
Howard, John A. and Sheth Jagdish, N. (1970). The Theory of Buver
Behaviour. (New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc).
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Port Harcqa. (B.Sc. Thesis Unpublished, Rivers State
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Prentice Hall).
Kotler, Philip (1986). Marketing Manament. Planning, Analvsis. Control and
Imdementation. (Englewood Cliffs, N . J. Prentice Hall),
Kraetke, Viviane, (2000), "Analysis of a Toothpaste Brand - Colgate Total A Low Involven~entProduct." Journal of Consumer Research,
August, 2000.
Kuehn, Alfred and Day, Ralph (1982). "Strategy of Product Quality,"
Haward Business Review. Vol. 40, No. 6, (Dec).
Lamout, Laurence M. and Scott, Jerome E (1974). "Relating Consumer
value to Consumer Behaviour: A Model and method for
investigation". A paper presented at the fall conference, American
marketing Association 1973, as reported in Stanton and Lawenhar.
"A Congrauence model of Brand Preference: A theoretical and
Empirical Study", Journal o f Marketing Research. Vol. XI.
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(July - August).
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effects In Selected Market Segments," Journal o f Marketing
b
Research. Vol. 2 (May).
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John Wilej and Sons Inc).
2ndEdition (ELBS).
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Perceived Oualiiv: How Consumers View Stores and
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0
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APPENDIX I
CONSUMVR SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
ENUGU CAMPUS
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
ON QUESTIONIvTAIRE CONSUMER PREFERENCE OF
TOOTHPASTE PRODUCTS
The information requested below is for academic purpose and will be held in
utmost confidence. Please your cooperation is highly needed. Thankg for the
anticipated assistance.
PERSONAL DATA
Neighbourhood: ... ....................................................
Age of respondents:
1
1
1
b.
16-20yrs [
d.
26 -30 yrs [
f.
> 40 yrs
1
b.
female
[
1
]
b.
married
[
1
[
a.
<16yrs
c.
21 - 25 yrs [
e.
31-40yrs[
[
1
1
1
Gender:
a.
,
male [
Marital Status:
a.
single [
c.
divorced/separated[
] d.
[
1
NCE/OND [
1
widowed
Educational attainment:
a.
primary school certificate[
b.
SSCE/GCE [
1
c.
d.
Other high 4zgree [
1
1
Occupation:
civil/public servant [
]
artisan (mama1 workers: skilled and unskilled
[
1
1
petty traderlbusiness
[
1
445,000 - N10,OOO [
1
]
a.
unemployed [
c.
professional (in practice)
d.
e.
b.
Income (per month):
a.
< 445,000.00
[
] b.
TEETH CLEANIP;G HABITS AND HYGIENE
How often do you use toothpaste?
a.
regularly
[
1
c.
not at all
[
1
b.
occasionally [
1
If occasionally or not at all, what other methods of teeth cleaning do
you use?
a.
chewing stick [
]
b.
toothpowder[
]
d.
any other .................
Can you give reason(s) for your answer in 8b above:
c.
salt water
[
1
...................................................................................
Have you had a serious tooth problem (decay, aches) in the past?
a.
yes
[
1
b.
no
[
1
b.
C.
If No, to what do you attribute this apparent dental heal?
1
a.
tooth cleaning agent
b.
frequent tooth cleaning
C
1
c.
natural endo w e n t (strong dentition) [
1
TOOTHPASTE PREFERENCE
10a. How can you describe your choice (or purchase) of toothpaste in the
last 2 years?
a.
very consistent (always stick to the same brand of toobpaste)
I
b.
highly inconsistent (occasionally deviate fiom the preferred
brand)
c.
1
C
totally inconsistent or erratic (seldomly stick to the same brand
of toothpaste)
b.
1
[
1
If your choice has been VERY CONSISTENT, can you mention the
particular brand(s) in question?
1la. Are you influenced by a particular attribute in your choice of
toothpaste?
a.
b.
yes
[
.
1
b.
no
I
I
Please rank the following attributes according to how they affect or
influence your choice.
Degree of Influence
I
Attributes
1
Taste
Colour of the paste.-
2
3.
1 Foaming
4
1 Brand name
I
Price
5
6
7
1 Protective strength (floride content)
1 Fresh breath (minty after effect)
I
8
9
( Whitening effect (moth cleaning strength)
1 Any other please indicate
12a. Rank the following brands according to your choice of preference
(you can use Nos. 1 - 6 to indicate the most preferred to the least
preferred respectively).
b.
Closeup
c.
Pepsodent [
e.
Colgate
[
1
1
1
b.
Macleans
[
1
d.
Aquafresh [
]
f.
Holdent
[
1
Any other please indicate .....................................
g.
Is your ranking above influenced by any attribute(s)?
a.
c.
[
a.
yes
[
1
If yes, please list them
b.
no
[
1
13.
For the following question, tick the toothpaste brands (listed below)
that you have used. Assess which brand is the best in terms of the
attributes provided.
SM
Taste
Brand
Colour I Foaming
name
i
1
Closeup
2
Macleans
3
Pepsodent
4
Aquafresh
5
Colgate
6
Holdent
7
Others
14.
Brand
Price
Protective strengih
(floride content)
Whitening
Fresh
breath
effect
I
.
h
Does your choice of toothpaste depend on perceived attributes of the
brand?
a.
yes
[
I
APPENDIX I1
TESTING OF HYPOTHESES
HYPOTHESIS I
Table A.1: Consumers Xesponses on Attribute Influence
I
Number
Percentage
Influenced by
attribute
I Not influenced I
142
76
218
65.14%
34.86%
100%
Total
by attribute
To test the hypothesis, tue respondents were asked if they were influenced
by a particular attributes in their choice of toothpaste. The responses gave
rise to two proportions of 65.14% for those influenced by an attribute and
,34.86% for those not influenced by attribute.
I%,
=
The two proportions are not significantly different
Hi
.z
The two proportions are not significantly different
Decision Rule:
Using:
Reject Ho if x2,> x2,
Since x~~
>x
~at~b ,o 5%~ and 1%
levels of significance, H, is rejected.
Hence hypothesis I is rejcted.
Note:
xZois calculated x2value, while xZ1is theoretical x2value from
statistical table.
APPENDIX IIB
Hypothesis I11
To test this hypotiesis, the level of consumer preference was sought
for each brand across various occupations, educational attainment and
income levels. The consumers were asked to describe their choice of
toothpaste brand in the last 2 years.
Table A.2: Consumers Responses on Brand Preference
Number
52
155
1
I
Percentage 7 1.10%
Totally inconsistent or Total
erratic
Highly
inconsistent
Very
consistent
1 23.85%
I
b
11
1 5.05%
I
218
I 1000/0
I
This gives rise to three proportions of 7 1.10% for those that have been
very consistent in their brand choice, 23.85% for those who have been
highly inconsistent and 5.05% for the respondents who are erratic in their
purchase of toothpaste.
To be sure therefore that there is no significant variation in brand
choice of toothpaste amongst the socio-economic groups, the brand
preference for those con, umers who has been very consistent in their brand
choice was sought for across the various socio-economic parameters as
indicated in this study and the responses are as presented in the following
tables.
Table A.3: Consumers Brand Preference according to Occupation
Occupation
Petty traded artisan
Civil servants
Selfimployed,
professionals,
businessmen, unemployed
Total
Table A.4: Consumers Brand Preference according to Income
Total
36
1
60
1
14
1
13
1
7
10
7
1
8
1155
TableA.5: Consumers Brand Preference according to Educational
Attainment
Educational attainment
Toothpaste Brand
Holdent
Closeup
Colgate
Macleans
Pepsodent
Dabur
Aquafresh
Others
Total
Higher education
26
42
9
7
I
4
0
2
91
SSCEIGCE
14
28
2
2
2
2
2
3
55
Primary school & below
2
5
0
I
0
0
0
1
9
Total
42
75
II
10
3
6
2
6
155
Test of Hypotheses
:
The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is not dependent on
socioeconomic status.
93
Hi:
The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is
dependent on
socioeconomic status.
Decision Rule
Accept Hi if &, the calculated x2ratio is greater than the x2critical value,
xI2.
Levels of significance
(a)= 5% (0.05) & 1% (0.01).
Degree of freedom
=
(3- l)(8- 1)
i.
Occupation
:
The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is not dependent on
their occupation.
Hi:
The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is dependent on their
occupation.
Expected frequencies
Chi-square, X'
=
Ei (oi
ei)2
ei
By substitution, we have:
Since
rejected.
x2,> x',,
at both 5% and 1% level of significance, H, is
96
ii.
Income
:
The choice of too~lpastebrand by consumers is not dependent on
income.
Hi:
The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is dependent on income.
Expected frequencies
X2
=
Xi (oi - ei)'
ei
By substitution, we have
Since x ' ~
< x', at both 5% and 1% level of significance, H, is accepted.
b
iii.
Educational Attainment
Ho: The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is not dependent on the
level of education attained.
&: The choice of toothpaste brand by consumers is dependent on the
level of education attained.
Expected Frequencies
X'
= xi (oi - ei)2
ei
By substituting we have,
b
x2(0.05, 14) = 23.685; X' (0.01, 14) = 29.141.
Since xZo
< x2,at both 5% and 1%level of significance, H, is consequently
accepted.