The Influence of Marketing Mix Strategies on the Sales Performance of Small Scale Bixa Ollerana Farmers in Kwale County, Kenya

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to assess the influence of marketing mix strategies on the sales performance of Small Scale Bixa Ollerana farmers in Kwale County, Kenya. The specific objectives were; to examine the influence of product, pricing, placement and promotion on sales performance of Small Scale Bixa Ollerana farmers in Kwale County, Kenya. The study was based on the following theories; Consumer Utility Theory, Theory of pricing, AIDA model and Distribution Channel Theory. The study adopted descriptive research targeting 2,419 Bixa farmers registered by the Ministry of Agriculture in Kwale County. A sample size of 106 farmers was drawn using simple random sampling technique. The study used structured questionnaire to collect the required data from the respondents. The study used descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation and percentages and inferential statistics using Regression Analysis. The study established that individually, apart from placement strategy, product, price and promotion strategies influenced the sales performance of small scale Bixa Ollerana farmers in Kwale County. Overall, when the four marketing mix strategies were combined in multivariate-regression, only promotion strategy influenced the sales performance of small scale Bixa Ollerana farmers in Kwale County, Kenya. The interaction of the moderating effect of Government policy on Bixa Ollerana value chain did not change the relationship between marketing mix strategies and sales performance of small scale Bixa Ollerana farmers. Promotion mix strategy remained the only marketing mix strategy (r = -0.286, p = 0.000<0.05) that influenced the sales performance of small scale Bixa Ollerana farmers in Kwale County, Kenya. The findings from the study will be of importance to practice, marketing scholarship and Ministries of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives and Agriculture on Policy formulation for local and international marketing of Bixa Ollerana products. The study recommends that the Government of Kenya puts in place a policy framework now that Bixa Ollerana is a scheduled crop, to regulate and promote its production, processing and marketing.