1.1 Introduction
Branding serves as the cornerstone for establishing a distinct identity in the marketplace. As noted by Keller and Lehmann (2006), a strong brand identity fosters consumer loyalty and trust, leading to increased sales and market share. When consumers can easily identify and resonate with a brand, they are more likely to choose its products or services over competitors. Branding plays a crucial role in shaping consumers' perceptions of value and quality. Research by Kim and Hyun (2011) underscores that strong brands command premium pricing and enjoy higher sales volumes due to the perceived value they offer. By consistently delivering on brand promises and maintaining quality standards, organizations can enhance their perceived value and drive sales growth.
In today's saturated marketplace, differentiation is paramount for capturing consumer attention and driving sales. As highlighted by Kapferer (2012), branding provides a platform for differentiation by communicating unique value propositions and positioning strategies. Brands that effectively communicate their distinctiveness stand out amidst competition, attracting customers and bolstering sales volume.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Adeleye (2003) describes a brand as the name attached to a product or service. The author added that a brand upon close inspection represents many more intangible aspects of a product or service: a collection of feelings and perceptions about quality, image, lifestyle and status. Other researchers argued that a brand creates in the mind of customers and prospects the perception that there is no product or service in the market that is quite like yours (Keller, 2006; Ajagbe, 2007; Solomon et al., 2012).
In short, a brand offers the customer a guarantee and then delivers on it. Kotler (2000) stressed that branding is more than just a business buzzword. For Keller (2003), the concept of brand name has become the crux of selling in the new economy. The author added fur old marketing mantra was, nothing happens until somebody sells something; the new philosophy could be Nothing happens until somebody brands something (McCarthy, 2002).
Branding is a major issue in product strategy, perhaps the most distinctive skill of professional marketers in their ability to create, maintain, produce and enhance brand. Branding is the art and corner stone of marketing. The American marketing association defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Thus a brand identifies the seller or maker. The brand name and trademarks provide legal protection of improving product features which will otherwise be copied by competitors. Moreover, branding gives the seller the opportunity to attract a loyal and profitable set of customers and also gives sellers some protection from competitor’s greater control in planning their marketing mix. All these make companies to spend a lot on branding with the sole aim of product differentiation and identification thereby changing the taste of customers as a result, making good sales branding.
Branding has become an essential motivating factor in the area of sales branding in any organization, whether manufacturers of industrial or consumer products. The researcher choice of the subject matter was as a result of the keen interest he has on sales increase especially on branding involves to identify the level of dependence of customers to this effort and to the organizations. The researcher also deliberated on the effectiveness, achievement and the results that branding has brought to the organization in terms of sales volume and profitability.
Nestle Plc began simple trading operation in Nigeria in 1961 and ha today grown into a leading food manufacturing and marketing company. It is a publicly quoted company listed, since 1978; on the Nigeria stock exchange (now known as Lagos stock exchange) the main production units were designed in line with modern manufacturing method which ensures efficient production of the following products. NESTLE NUTREND, NESTLE CERELAC MAIZE AND NESTLE CERELAC CHOCOLATE, NESTLE GOLDENMORN, NESTLE MILO, CHOCOMILO, MAGGI CUBES, etc. nestle Nigeria Plc has its regional sales office in Lagos region, east region North-West region and north east region. It has its depot in Ibadan, Benin, Kaduna, Makurdi Kano, Aba and Jos.
Branding has nothing to do with the design of a product which include both the intrinsic and extrinsic qualities of a product that is branding, textile, color, names tastes and so on. Branding is in fact the composite of activities in establishing brand names, brand mark, copyright and the like. in the absence of branding, there cannot be any better described marketing situation than confastic marketing.
Francis and Stephen (2003) perceive branding as the creation of three dimensional characters of a product, defined in terms of name, branding, colors and symbols. The authors posit that branding aids to differentiate particular product from its competitors. They also added that branding helps the customers to build a relationship with the products. Bearden and Ingram (2007) elucidated that branding is the use of a name, term, symbol or design- or a combination of all to identify a product. McCarthy (2002) believed that branding is the process by which a company employs marketing strategies to get people to easily remember their business and products over another. He mentioned that a brand promises to consistently deliver specific set of features, benefits and services to consumers. Worlu et al. (2007) also refer to branding as the use of a name, symbol or design or a combination of these to identify products and services. In short, it can be viewed as a conscious and planned process undertaken to align business processes with the brand identity and values. in the opinion of Batra and Homer (2004), branding is an activity in which organizations use a name, phrase, design or symbol or a combination of these to identify its products and distinguish them from those of competitors.
Palmer (2000) highlighted that branding is the process of creating a distinctive identity for a product which differentiates it from its competitors. Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers (Johnson and Russo, 1984; Blythe, 2001; Ajagbe et al., 2015). Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Branding as a Tool for Increasing Sales Volume of an Organization.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that many organizations struggle with low brand awareness and recognition, hindering their ability to attract and retain customers. As noted by Keller (2008), building brand awareness is a fundamental challenge for organizations seeking to increase sales volume, especially in crowded marketplaces where consumers are inundated with choices.
Additionally, there are inconsistencies in brand messaging and positioning can dilute brand identity and confuse consumers, undermining efforts to drive sales. According to de Chernatony and McDonald (2003), maintaining a consistent brand image across all touch points is essential for establishing a strong brand identity and fostering consumer trust, which are critical for increasing sales volume.
Furthermore, many organizations lack robust mechanisms for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of their branding efforts, making it challenging to identify areas for improvement and optimize sales performance. According to Keller and Lehmann (2006), establishing clear metrics for assessing brand equity and performance is crucial for maximizing the impact of branding on sales volume. It is however the interest of this research to find out the impact of branding in the increasing sales volume of an organization.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the role of branding as a strategic tool for increasing the sales volume of organizations in competitive market environments. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To find out the impact of branding as a tool to increase sales volume of an organization;
- To identify method of marketing branded products in an organization;
- To analyze the importance of brand differentiation in increasing sales volume;
- To find out different styles of branding used by organization;
- To explore strategies for adapting branding efforts to changing consumer preferences in the study area.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the impact of branding as a tool to increase sales volume of an organization?
- What is the method of marketing branded products in an organization?
- What is the importance of brand differentiation in increasing sales volume?
- What are the different styles of branding used by organization?
- What are the strategies for adapting branding efforts to changing consumer preferences in the study area?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There are no significance impacts of branding on the sales increase of Nestle foods Nigeria Ltd
- H1: There are significance impacts of branding on the sales increase of Nestle foods Nigeria Ltd
1.7 Significance of Study
The findings of this study have practical implications for organizations seeking to enhance their sales performance through effective branding strategies. By identifying key drivers of sales volume, such as brand awareness, consistency in messaging, emotional branding, and differentiation, organizations can make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategic priorities to maximize the impact of their branding efforts (Keller & Lehmann, 2006; Kotler & Keller, 2016).
Similar studies might have been carried out in this area of human endeavor, however, the simple fact that business environment is never static; a lot of changes might have rendered parts of the result of these findings obsolete.
This research work will be beneficial to the organization under review as the researcher will search into various aspects of marketing branded food products within the organization to ascertain whether the huge amount of money spent to brand food products is justified.
The study is also expected to serve as reference materials for future research work in this important aspect of business administration as it can be consulted as a reference material especially if there is the need to improve on the study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Branding as a Tool for Increasing Sales Volume of an Organization using Nestle Plc in Kafanchan located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, there were some problems encountered which stood as limitations to the research work. Some of the limitations include:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
- Initial Cooperation Delay from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.
