Digital Marketing Strategy and Sales Performance of Safaricom Public Limited Company, Kenya
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Date
2022
Authors
Kagollah, Michael Owino
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
Technology is rapidly changing, and companies in the telecommunications industry must remain adaptable to remain competitive. When it comes to spreading brand awareness in the appropriate target market, marketers today face a constant challenge. In recent years, the digital market and marketing techniques have evolved dramatically, and they continue to evolve to meet the needs of today’s addressable market. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of digital marketing strategy on sales performance of Safaricom Public Limited Company, Kenya. The study specific objectives were to examine the influence of social media marketing platforms, content marketing strategy, email marketing strategy and affiliate marketing strategy on sales performance. The theories that guided the study include; technology acceptance theory, uses and gratification theory, diffusion of innovation theory and agency theory. This study employed a descriptive research design. The study targeted marketing department of Safaricom Plc in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study’s population consisted of 100 sales managers and 2000 sales representatives from the organization marketing department. Stratified sampling technique was used to put the respondents into two categories to ensure that all the respondents are adequately represented. Simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. The sample size was 210 respondents comprising of the 10 sales managers and 200 sales representatives. The data collection instrument used was a structured questionnaire. Pilot study was conducted at Airtel Kenya consisting of 20 respondents to test that valid and reliability of the questionnaires. Content validity was evaluated by including the items in the questionnaire through their observation as a research expert to rate them based on their relevance and representation to the content domain. Cronbach alpha test was used to check for reliability of the questionnaires. The study obtained quantitative data which was analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis including mean and standard deviation. The results of the findings were presented in terms of tables and figures. The study further carried out inferential statistics involving correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis to find out the extent to which variables influence each other. The study established that social media marketing platforms, content marketing, email marketing strategy and affiliate marketing had a positive and significant influence on the sales performance. The study concluded that Safaricom has used social media marketing channels to increase revenue, attract traffic to websites, promote its brand, and form long-term relationships with its consumers. Safaricom has been using content marketing in increasing the brand’s knowledge, trust and loyalty together with reaching customers who are potential in using the ad blockers or purposefully in avoiding or ignoring odd advertising methods. Safaricom has been able to operate at a cheaper cost than traditional marketing channels thanks to its email marketing strategy and Safaricom has been able to successfully advance an item with a low financial plan, low performance and time, and a low degree of hazard while guaranteeing exceptional yield on venture, expanded item mindfulness, and business development through affiliate marketing. The study recommended that Safaricom has to figure out which social media channel their target audience spends the most time on. Regardless of their overall level of content marketing performance, Safaricom should focus on creating an audience and examine whether their thoughts are flowing and being captured in order to improve their overall success. The organization should personalize email messages by using customer data to create a personalized message and segment its customers in terms of industry, size and sales cycle. Finally, the study recommended that the organization should select the right affiliates by determining the niche and work with affiliates under the same field of interest or who have an audience that matches the organization’s target segment.
Description
A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business In Partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Marketing Option) of Kenyatta University
Keywords
Digital Marketing Strategy, Sales Performance, Safaricom Public Limited Company, Kenya