CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Brand switching is the consumers decision to purchase a product of a brand different from that previously or usually purchase.  Brand switching is when a consumer or group of consumers switches their allegiance from one brand of a certain type of product to another.  This brand switching may be temporary, or it may be long lasting.

        Sometimes known as brand jumping, brand switching is the process of choosing to switch from routine use of an product or brand to steady usage of a different but similar product.

        Brand switching is the most common with products that have no great perceived variation in quality across brands such as bottled water, dairy products, or paper towels etc.  Brand switching takes place most commonly by price promotions, in-store displays, superior availability, perceived improvements or innovations in competitive brands, desire for novelty, number fo available brands, perceived risk, frequency of purchase, changes in quality, or level of satisfaction with the most recent purchase.

        It is possible to research when consumer in a marketplace determine their attitude to brands and their likehood to switch from a brand they are using at the moment, and in particular to which other brand the might switch.  This allows the building of a picture of likely brand switching behavour.  If consumers propensity to switch is known, the market can be modeled to indicate future market share.  Such modeling could also indicate the relative positioning of the competing brands.

The chartered institute of marketing (1984) in England defines marketing as “ the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirement profitable.

American marketing association (1960:1) also defined marketing as “the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services to the consumers or users. In other words, all activities that are undertaken to facilitate the flow of goods and services come under marketing. According to Nwaizuggo (2004:8) modern marketing concept is built on three foundation namely:

(i)          Consumer satisfaction

(ii)         Profitable sales volume

(iii)        Integrated marketing

This means that consumers satisfaction must be at the centre of any business motive.   The central aim of  modern  marketing   is  all  about  ensuring the  consumer satisfaction  and  also  to ensure  that  consumers  always  continue  to  patronize  the  marketer’s   brand. 

The  American   marketing   association  defines  branding as  a name,  term,  sign, symbol, or  design, or a combination  of them  intended   to  identify  the  goods  or  a services of  one  seller   or group  of  sellers  and  to differentiate  them from  those  of  competitors.   Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 

(2006:  170) defined  branding  as the  activity  of giving  a particular  name  and  image  to goods  and services  so that  people  will be  attracted to them a  tool  of  marketing  used  for  the  purpose  of  product  identification   among  other  uses. 

        Branding is also to win consumers brand loyalty.

Brand  name  is the  name  given  to  a product by the  company  that  produces  it  and  this  enable  the  consumers to  easily   identify  the  products. Modern  marketing  is  facing a lot of challenges  which  includes  growing  affluence  and  change  in the  tast  of  consumers  coupled  with the  drift  of  market  from  a monopolistic  structure  to that    of  a near  perfect competition   consumer now  have  lots  of  products  alternative to  choose  from. The  result  is  a gradual  elimination  of the  “concept  called  “Brand  Loyalty”  and  the  emergency  of  a new  idea  called  “Brand  Switching”. 

        Brand  switching  is the act  of  discontinuing  the  purchases  of a  product  brand  in  favour  of  another brand.  The marketing concept and Nigerian market structure (perfect competition or rather monopolistic) brought about product multiplicity in Nigeria.  Lots  of  product  close   substitutes  now  exist an consumers  are now  dangling  like  pendulum  from one  product brand  to another.

        Recently, brand switching has taken its toll on the soft drink market  in  Nigeria. For instance,  we   have  malta drinks brands such  as  Amstle Malta, Guinness Malt, Hi-malt and Grand Malt and many more.  A  further  study  shows  also  that  consumers  but  switch from  one  brand  to  another. 

        This  simply  implies that  the  malta drinks, marketers have  been  battling   seriously  on how  to  over  come  this  trend . Given the  above,  the  aim  of the  research  is to  carryout  a research  into  the causative favours of  soft  drinks. 

        This  will  guide  marketers  against  being  vulnerable  to  brand  switching  behavioiur  of  consumers.