The Influence of Brand Image and Promotional Mix on Consumer Buying Decision - A Study of Beverage Consumers in Lagos State, Nigeria

This paper investigates the influences of brand image and promotional mix on consumers’ buying decisions. The study concluded that the way a product is promoted coupled with the brand integrity of such product encourages consumers to purchase it and make repeat purchase of it, and as well enhances the referral of such product to other prospects.

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THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND IMAGE AND PROMOTIONAL MIX ON
CONSUMER BUYING DECISION- A STUDY OF BEVERAGE CONSUMERS IN
LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA
ONIGBINDE Isaac Oladepo (Ph.D.) 1 & ODUNLAMI Samuel Abimbola (M.Sc.)2
1Department of Business Administration,
McPherson University, Seriki Sotayo, P.M.B. 2094, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
2Department of Business Administration,
Southwestern University Nigeria, Okun Owa, P.M.B. 2088, Ijebu Ode, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT: The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of brand image and
promotional mix on consumer buying decision. Descriptive survey research design was
adopted as the study guide. Judgemental and purposive sampling techniques were used in
which four hundred (400) copies of the research instrument were administered to beverage
consumers in Lagos State, Nigeria, out of which three hundred and eighty four (384) copies of
the questionnaire were filled and returned. Pearson Product Moment correlation was used to
analyse the data generated from the respondents. The findings revealed that brand image,
advertising, sales promotion and personal selling have significant influence on consumer
buying decision at .01 level (2-tailed). The study concluded that the way a product is promoted
coupled with the brand integrity of such product encourages consumers to purchase it and
make repeat purchase of it, and as well enhances the referral of such product to other
prospects. The study therefore recommended to the organizations, especially those that engage
in the marketing of the fast-moving consumer goods, to focus on distinct promotional mix, as
the study empirically proved that perception of brand image is capable of influencing consumer
buying decision on sustainable basis. It is also recommended that each marketing company
should adopt a combination of promotional mix that can bring about distinct outcomes in terms
of turnover, improved market share, customer retention, profitability, and productivity among
others.
KEYWORDS: Advertising, Brand Image, Consumer Buying Decision, Personal Selling, Sales
Promotion.
INTRODUCTION
Branding has emerged as a top management priority in the last decade due to the growing
realization that brands are one of the most valuable intangible assets that firms have. Brands
serve several valuable functions. At their most basic level, brands serve as markers for the
offerings of a firm. For customers, brands can simplify choice, promise a particular quality
level, reduce risk, and/or engender trust. Brands are built on the product itself, the
accompanying marketing activity, and the use (or non-use) by customers as well as others.
Brands thus reflect the complete experience that customers have with products (Keller and
Lehmann, 2006). In the modern age, Brand plays an important role to boost up the economy of
any country. Brand is the only tool that can change the buyer’s behaviour.

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Today, people are more conscious about the brand than the past. There are number of cues
present in environment that guide public in selection. One of them is branding. It is considered
more powerful mental shortcut in selection. A brand can influence whether consumer notice
the products or not. Moreover branding can influence how consumer quickly buys the product
(Umer, Salman, Kashif, Muhammad, and Saqib, 2014). However, brand positioning sets the
direction of marketing activities and programs - what the brand should and should not do with
its marketing. Brand positioning involves establishing key brand associations in the minds of
customers and other important constituents to differentiate the brand and establish (to the extent
possible) competitive superiority (Keller, Sternthal and Tybout, 2002 as cited in Keller and
Lehmann, 2006).
Positioning and the creation of brand personality are becoming more and more important to
companies as they try and reach out to customers. Building of strong brands is one of the ways
in which a company can develop and sustain an advantage over its market share. Branding is a
powerful and effective tool for business and organizations (Hankinson and Cowking, 1993 as
cited in Olsson and Catalina, 2006). If brand owners use their products correctly, the payoffs
can be substantial. However, if brands are mismanaged, the results can be damaging.
Successful brand-building strategies create a distinctive market position for a company
protecting it against the five basic competitive forces: rivalry among existing firms, the
bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of buyers, the threat of substitutes, and
the threat of new entrants. Branding is a technique to build a substantial, differential advantage
by playing on the nature of human beings (Olsson and Catalina, 2006).
Choice of preference for opportunity cost of products by individuals and groups enlarges so
much in time and occasionally individual interests clash. The wasted time in decision making
by individuals and groups and their willingness to part with their money resources is a big
setback on sales and performance. The major decision a buyer makes in a group and how his
or her choice influences others is a problem in consumer behaviour. To undertake and
investigate a study of how purchase decisions are taken in individuals and group structure or
settings and how this affects volume of sales and profits of the marketer/producer is still a
major problem to researchers. And at the same time, lack of information devices by the
marketer/producer in reaching the individuals and groups at the right time and place, to fasten
purchase is an issue in ascertaining the attitude of customers (Ajibola and Njogo, 2012).
According to Onah (1988), Ayozie (2012), and Kotler (2008) as cited in Ayozie (2013), it is
completely misleading and untrue that promotional mix provide inadequate product
information and deceptive selling practices that have led to clear-cut abuses and infringement
upon the rights of consumers. Also, mass production and mass marketing have put more
products on the market than the consumer is willing to take. This has often led to wild claims
by advertisers and even the itinerant sales people about what products can do and the use of
sophisticated psychological devices in radio and television programmes to get the consumer to
buy the product.
In an attempt to get rich quick some businessmen and women indulge in unscrupulous business
practices. For example, many expired drugs/canned foods are on widespread sale in our
markets in Nigeria. Currently, food poisoning has been incessant in our households and
educational institutions. This is because spoilt tinned foods, dirty sachet water, adulterated
products and dirty food items, find their way in to our markets instead of being destroyed. The

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consumer has become helpless in the hands of some businessmen and women in the country
(Onah, 1988 as cited in Ayozie, 2013).
However, based on the research conceptual model, the following null hypotheses were stated
to guide the study:
i. There is no significant relationship between brand image and consumer buying
decision.
ii. There is no significant relationship between advertising and consumer buying decision.
iii. There is no significant relationship between sales promotion and consumer buying
decision.
iv. There is no significant relationship between personal selling and consumer buying
decision.
This paper investigated the influences of brand image and promotional mix on consumers’
buying decisions. For this purpose, this paper is structured into five sections: first section
focuses on the general introduction; second section focuses on the review of literature; the third
section focuses on the methodology; the fourth section focuses on the data analysis, results,
and discussion; while the last section presents the conclusion and recommendations.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Clarification
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. A brand is, thus, a product or service
that adds dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products services designed to
satisfy the same need. These differences may be functional, rational, or tangible – related to
product performance of the brand. They may also be more symbolic, emotional or intangible –
related to what the brand represents (Kotler and Keller, 2006).
Brands today play a number of important roles that improve consumers’ lives and enhance the
financial value of firms. Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers
either individuals or organizations to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or
distributor. Consumers may evaluate the identical product differently depending on how it is
branded. Consumers learn about brands through past experiences with the product and its
marketing programme. They find out which brands satisfy their needs and which ones do not.
As consumers’ lives become more complicated, rushed, and time-starved, the ability of the
brand to simplify decision making and reduce risk is invaluable.
Brand positioning plays a key role in the building and managing of a strong brand by specifying
how the brand is related to consumer’s goals (Tybout and Calkins, 2005). Brand position is
part of the brand identity and value proposition that is to be actively communicated to the target
audience and that demonstrates an advantage over competing brands (Aaker, 1996). The
essence of positioning is that the brand has some sustainable competitive advantage or unique
selling proposition. Such a selling proposition gives consumer a compelling reason why they
should buy a particular product. Thus one critical success factor for the brand is that it has some
strongly held, favourably evaluated associations that function as a point of differentiation and
are unique to the brand and imply superiority over other competing brands (Keller, 1998).

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Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas or products
by an identifiable sponsor. People react to the same advertisement differently and make
decisions on how to spend their available resources on consumption related items. The whole
essence of advertising is to make customers to be loyal to the products advertised
(Kenechukwu, Ezekiel, and Edegoh, 2013). However, sales promotion is a form of indirect
advertisement, designed to stimulate sales mainly by the use of incentives. Examples of such
incentives include free sample, twin-pack bargain, temporary price reduction, special discount
bonus, etc. (Adebisi and Babatunde, 2011). Blythe (2006) as cited in Idris, Asokere,
Ajemunigbohun, Oreshile, and Olutade (2012) describes sales promotion as any activity
intended to generate a temporary boost in sales. This includes several communications
activities pursued in an attempt to provide added value or incentives to customers, wholesalers,
retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate immediate sales. Such efforts are
usually geared towards stimulating product interest, trials or purchase. It is specifically
designed to boost quick sales and ultimately create loyalty.
Sales promotions include techniques that organizations can use as part of their marketing effort
(Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). The importance of sales promotions has increased since 1960,
as has the sophistication of methods used. It is sometimes implied that sales promotion is a
peripheral marketing activity, but companies increasingly realise the importance of a well-
planned and co-ordinated programme of sales promotion. However, advertising agencies
branched out into sales promotions with the aim of offering an all-inclusive package to clients
in an attempt to combat competition from emerging sales promotion agencies. They began to
pay more attention to the effectiveness of sales promotions and adopted a more integrated
approach to advertising. There was a move towards fee-based sales promotional agencies,
which implied a longer term relationship between agency and client, rather than the existing ad
hoc commission structure. As a result of increased competition from sales promotional
agencies, advertising agencies have tended since the mid-1980s to take sales promotion
seriously and now offer sales promotion alongside advertising as an integrated communications
package (Fill, 2009).
Sales promotion can be divided into three main areas of activity: consumer promotions, trade
promotions, and personnel motivation. According to Jobber and Lancaster (2006), consumer
promotions are often referred to as pull techniques, since they are designed to stimulate final
demand and move products through the sales channel, with consumers providing the impetus.
The most widely used consumer promotion is the price reduction or price promotion (Metha,
Rosenbloom and Anderson, 2000). The aim of the trade promotions, however, is usually to
push products through the channel towards the customer (Jobber and Lancaster, 2006). Similar
to consumer promotions, incentives are offered through extra rewards like discounts, increased
margins on sales, dealer competitions, exhibitions, provision of demonstrators and free
holidays (often in the guise of a conference or product launch). Personnel motivation are the
promotions to the salesforce, but some apply to distributors and retailers. The most widely used
salesforce promotion is the sales incentives scheme. Rewards are offered to participants on an
equal basis which are over and above normal sales compensation.
Personal selling, according to Jobber (2001), is the marketing task involving face-to-face
contact with a customer. Unlike advertising, promotion, sponsorship and other forms of non-
personal communication, personal selling permits a direct interaction between buyer and seller.

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This two-way communication means that the seller can identify the specific needs and
problems of the buyer and tailor the sales presentation in the light of this knowledge. The
particular concerns of the buyer can also be dealt with on a one-to-one basis. However, the
nature of the personal selling function is changing. Organizations are reducing the size of their
salesforces in the face of greater buyer concentration, moves towards centralized buying, and
recognition of the high costs of maintaining a field sales team. The concentration of buying
power into fewer hands has also fuelled the move towards relationship management often
through key account selling. This involves the use of dedicated sales teams who service the
accounts of major buyers.
Consumer buying decision is a series of choices made by consumer before making a purchase.
Pride and Ferrell (2012) as cited in Sagala, Destriani, Putri, and Kumar (2014) stated that to
understand consumer buying decision, the marketer should understand the consumption
process and the utility of products in consumers’ perceptions. They also declared that when
purchasing products unconsciously, consumer gets through several steps in the making of
purchase decision, purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. The first step decision is problem
recognition where the consumers are able to differentiate between their needs and wants.
Marketers usually use advertising, sales person, and packaging to stimulate recognition of the
needs or wants. The second step is information search where the consumer seeks the
information from their memory about the products, seeking the information from outside
sources, such as from friends, relatives, government reports, publication, sales person, website,
packaging label, and display, or by repetition. The third is evaluation of alternatives where the
consumer will establish criteria which consist of characteristic that are important for them. The
fourth step is the purchase decision where the customer decides to buy the product after
evaluating among alternatives. The last step is the post-purchase decision where the consumer
decides to keep purchasing the product if he is satisfied or stop purchasing the product if he is
dissatisfied.
Empirical Review
Brand image is argued as the most sustainable source of competitive advantage (deChernatony
and Harris, 2000). A strong positive brand image does not only help a firm to achieve a
competitive advantage but also encourages repeat purchases (Porter and Claycomb, 1997).
Silvia and Alwi (2008) found that brand image does not only enhance consumer buying
decisions, but it also has a direct positive relationship with customer loyalty. However, Moon,
Joo and Jeon (2009) also investigated the sequential relations among service quality, customer
satisfaction and customer buying decisions, using brand image as a moderating variable
between satisfactions and buying decisions. The finding reveals that some of the dimensions
of service quality have positive effect on customer buying decisions, though brand image fails
to show a moderating effect. Nevertheless, it is also important for the product to have a positive
brand image. It is against this backdrop that Kim, Song and Byun (2009) argue that brand
image and brand management are key factors of success in the contemporary marketplace as
consumers are showing greater interest in brands than ever before.
Kim, Song and Byun (2009), on the contrary, positioned brand image not as a moderating
variable but as an independent variable, and brand image positively influences consumer brand
preference and loyalty. However, a strong brand image is the starting point for subsequent
customer loyalty-building (Nguyen and LeBlanc, 1998). Partly inciting this study, Goldsmith,
Lafferty and Newell (2000) argue that brand image is the value perceived and accumulated in

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the customers’ mind and that when a brand has loyal customers, it gains positive word-of-
mouth marketing, which is both free and highly effective.
Contrary to the previous studies, there is no indirect relationship between brand image and
consumer buying decisions, even through satisfaction (Hanzaee and Farsani, 2011). Bloemer,
deRuyter and Peeters (1998) also express that image does not have a direct positive effect on
consumer buying decision and loyalty. It is in favour of this background that Kim, Ma and Kim
(2006) inferred that branding does not automatically promote loyalty; however, this study
confirms the role of branding as one of the components of brand image contribution to customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
The study of Chakrabortty, Hossain, Azad, and Islam (2013) found that sales promotion and
advertising positions a product or service strongly in the mind of the consumer in order to
encourage repeat purchase of the product. It was also discovered that advertising makes
consumer less price sensitive which is a problem often associated to motivate consumer’s mind
by sales promotion. The results of the study of Soni and Verghese (2013) found that sales
promotion and personal selling play significant role in consumer purchase decision. Offer,
premium, and contest are the most significant tools in influencing consumer’s purchase
decisions while price and rebate have insignificant influence on consumer’s purchase decision.
Rizwan, Javed, Khan, Aslam, Anwar, Noor, and Kanwal (2012) discovered that while free
samples and coupons have no significant relationship with consumer buying behaviour hand
price discount, buy-one-get-one-free and physical surrounding have significant relationship
with consumer buying behaviour.
The study of Muthukrishnaveni and Muruganandam (2013) revealed that sales promotion
schemes play a very important role in influencing the consumer’s purchase decision. More than
50% of the respondents see sales promotion as an important factor to be considered when
purchasing personal care products. Matthew, Ogedebe, and Ogedebe (2013) found that web
advertising influences consumers’ purchase decision in Maiduguri Metropolis, Nigeria. The
study revealed that majority of the respondents have positive disposition towards web
advertising.
METHODOLOGY
Descriptive survey research design was adopted as the study’s guide and this was done for
three reasons. First, it is capable of obtaining information from large samples of the population.
Second, it is well suited in gathering demographic data that describe the composition of the
sample (McIntyre, 1999). Third, it is inclusive in the types and number of variables that can be
studied; while it requires minimal investment to develop and administer, and is relatively easy
for making generalizations (Bell, 1996 as cited in Glasow, 2005). The population of the study
comprised of consumers of beverages in Lagos State, Nigeria. The judgemental and purposive
sampling techniques were used in the study. Judgemental sampling technique was used based
on the researchers’ belief that a particular sample will provide the information needed for their
study. Hence, consumers of Bournvita, Peak Milk, Milo, Cowbell, Nido, Nescafe, Miksi, Loya,
and Amila in Lagos State, Nigeria form the sampling frame for this study. These consumers of
these beverage brands were chosen for the study’s sample frame because these brands are
among the top fifty (50) top brands consumed in Nigeria (www.top50brandsnigeria.com). On
the other hand, purposive sampling technique was used based on the fact that the researcher

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includes the respondents who are readily available and agree to participate in a study (Latham,
2007). However, four hundred (400) consumers of the selected beverage drinks in Lagos State,
Nigeria constitute the sample size for the study.
The research instrument adopted for this study was a structured questionnaire. The
questionnaire enabled the respondents to understand the intention of the study. It also enabled
the researcher to elicit information from the respondents easily (Asika, 2004). The
questionnaire comprised of two major sections: Section A (Demographic profile of the
respondent) and Section B (Research construct items). The questionnaire comprised of Twenty
(20) major construct items. However, modified Likert’s interval rating scale with options
ranging from strongly agree, agree, partially agree, partially disagree, disagree, and strongly
disagree were used as the response patterns on the construct items. The study adopted some of
construct items as used by Kehinde (2009). Seventy seven (77) copies of the questionnaire
were administered to the respondents at pilot stage. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of
the research instrument was 0.705. A value of 0.6 and above shows a satisfactory level of
internal consistency and reliability of the research instrument (Cozby, 2003). This shows that
the instrument was reliable. Descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment correlation
were used for empirical data analysis with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) Version 17.
Research Model
A research conceptual paradigm was developed to show the determinants of consumers’ buying
decision in the Nigerian food, drinks, and beverage industry.
Source: Researchers’ Conceptual Model (2015)
Brand Image
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
Consumer Buying
Decision

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DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Copies of questionnaires were administered to 400 consumers of beverage drinks in Lagos
State, Nigeria; out of which only 384 copies were filled and returned.
Table 1: Analysis of Questionnaire Distribution and Retrieval Rate
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)
Retrieved 384 96
Not Retrieved 16 4
TOTAL 400 100
Source: Researchers’ Field Survey (2015)
The table 1 above shows that 384 (96%) of the respondents filled and returned the
questionnaire, while 16 (4%) of the respondents did not return the questionnaire. Thus, the
percentage of questionnaires returned is high enough for the generalization of the outcome of
this research work.
Table 2: Analysis of the Respondents’ Demography
VARIABLE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
GENDER
Male 204 53.1
Female 180 46.9
Total 384 100
MARITAL STATUS
Single 301 78.4
Married 83 21.6
Total 384 100
AGE
20 and below 187 48.7
21-30 116 30.2
31-40 47 12.2
41-50 21 12.2
51 and above 13 3.4
Total 384 100
EDUCATIONAL
QUALIFICATION
WASSCE 218 56.8
NCE 0 0
OND 26 6.8
HND 9 2.3

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Bachelors’ Degree 84 21.9
Masters’ Degree 33 8.6
Doctorate Degree 14 3.6
Total 384 100
BEVERAGE DRINKS OF
RESPONDENTS
Bournvita 58 15.1
Peak 81 21.1
Milo 125 32.6
Cowbell 33 8.9
Nido 9 2.3
Nescafe 27 7.0
Miksi 17 4.4
Loya 31 7.8
Amila 3 0.8
Total 384 100
Source: Researchers’ Field Survey (2015).
From the analysis of respondents’ demography, 204 (53.1%) of the respondents are male while
180 (46.9%) are female. The marital status shows that 301 (78.4%) of the respondents are
single while 83 (21.6%) are married. The age distribution of respondents shows that 187
(48.7%) are within the age of 20 and below, 116 (30.2%) are within the age of 21-30 years, 47
(12.2%) are within the ages of 31-40 years, 21 (5.5%) are within the age of 41-50 years, and
13 (3.4%) are within the age of 51 years and above. The educational qualification shows that
218 (56.8%) of the respondents are SSCE holders, none is an NCE holder, 26 (6.8%) are OND
holders, 9 (2.3%) are HND holders, 84 (21.9%) are Bachelors’ degree holders, 33 (8.6%) are
Masters’ degree holders, and 14 (3.6%) are Doctorate degree holders. The table also shows that
58 (15.1%) of the respondents consume Bournvita, 81 (21.1%) consume Peak, 125 (32.6%)
consume Milo, 33 (8.9%) consume Cowbell, 9 (2.3%) consume Nido, 27 (7.0%) consume
Nescafe, 17 (4.4%) consume Miksi, 31 (7.8%) consume Loya milk, and 3 (0.8%) consume
Amila.

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Table 3: Pearson Product Moment correlations
Consumer
Buying
Decision
Brand
Image
Advertising Sales
Promotion
Personal
Selling
Consumer Buying Decision
Pearson Correlation 1 .397** .445** .536**
. .000
384
.577**
.000
384
.469**
.000
384
1
384
.522**
.000
384
.394**
. .000
384
.446**
.000
384
.526**
.000
384
.449**
384
1
384
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 384 384 384
Brand Image
Pearson Correlation .397** 1 .538**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 384 384 384
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
Pearson Correlation .445** .538** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
384
.536**
.000
384
.394**
.000
384
384
. .394**
.000
384
.564**
. .000
. 384
384
.524**
.000
384
.428**
.000
384
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 3 shows the Pearson Product Moment correlation for the 3 ordinal scaled variables. The
significant level is 0.01.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between brand image and consumers’ buying
decision. From the table, it can be seen that the correlation of brand image is 0.397** and the
significant level is 0.01. The table shows that the p-value is 0.000, which is less than (<) 0.01.
Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that brand image has a significant
influence on consumer buying decision. This result is in congruence with the findings of Porter
and Claycomb (1997), Nguyen and LeBlanc (1998), deChernatony and Harris (2000), Lafferty
and Newell (2000), Silvia and Alwi (2008), and Kim et al. (2009) that there is a significant
relationship between brand image and consumer buying decision. However, the findings also
contradict a number of empirical studies, such as Bloemer et al. (1998), Kim et al. (2006),
Moon et al. (2009), and Hanzaee and Farsani (2011) which established no significant
relationship between brand image and consumer buying decision.
Hypothesis 2: There is no significant relationship between advertising and consumers’ buying
decision. From the table, it can be seen that the correlation of advertising is 0.445** and the
significant level is 0.01. The table shows that the p-value is 0.000, which is less than (<) 0.01.
Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that sales promotion has a significant
influence on consumer buying decision. This result is in congruence with the findings of
Chakrabortty et al. (2013) and Matthew et al (2013) that advertising plays a very important role
in influencing the consumer purchase decision.
Hypothesis 3: There is no significant relationship between sales promotion and consumers’
buying decision. From the table, it can be seen that the correlation of sales promotion is 0.536**
and the significant level is 0.01. The table shows that the p-value is 0.000, which is less than
(<) 0.01. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that sales promotion has a
significant influence on consumer buying decision. This result is in congruence with the

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findings of Chakrabortty et al. (2013), Muthukrishnaveni and Muruganandam (2013), and Soni
and Verghese (2013) that sales promotion schemes play a very important role in influencing
the consumer’s purchase decision.
Hypothesis 4: There is no significant relationship between personal selling and consumers’
buying decision. From the table, it can be seen that the correlation of personal selling is
0.394** and the significant level is 0.01. The table shows that the p-value is 0.000, which is
less than (<) 0.01. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that sales promotion
has a significant influence on consumer buying decision. This result is in congruence with the
findings of Rizwan et al. (2012) and Soni and Verghese (2013) that personal selling plays a
very important role in influencing the consumer purchase decision.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The findings revealed that all of brand image, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling
have significant influence on consumer buying decision at .01 level (2-tailed). The study
concluded that the way a product is promoted coupled with the brand integrity of such product
encourages consumers to purchase it and make repeat purchase of it, and as well enhances the
referral of such product to other prospects. From this study, the findings have shown that brand
image and promotional mix exert great influence on consumer buying decision thereby
affirming that promotional mix are veritable marketing communication tools for influencing
consumer buying decisions on sustainable bases.
The study therefore recommended to the organizations, especially those that engage in the
marketing of the fast-moving consumer goods, to focus on distinct promotional mix, as the
study empirically proved that perception of brand image is capable of influencing consumer
buying decision on sustainable basis. It is also recommended that each marketing company
should adopt a combination of promotional mix that can bring about distinct outcomes in terms
of turnover, improved market share, customer retention, profitability, and productivity among
others. Finally, beverages consumers must see to the adoption and implementation of consumer
orientation as an operational philosophy that must permeate the entire organization, most
especially in this contemporary regime of fairer trade in goods and services.
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