MARKETING COMPETENCY AND PERFORMANCE OF TWO MEDIUM SIZED RETAIL OUTLETS IN ZARIA

Abubakar Muhtari Yusuf, Adamu Ibrahim

Abstract


This exploratory study sought to find out the marketing competencies of two retail firms in Zaria that adopted a modern approach in their retail format. The two firms therefore had advantages over their local competitors from the onset but by identifying the extent of their marketing competency factors the study was trying to establish a raison-d’être for the new formats. A sample of customers were asked to indicate the existence or otherwise of 14 marketing competency factors adopted from the literature for the two firms. It was found that it was a mix bag for both firms as they excelled in some but were poor in others. This suggests a less than well rounded marketing strategy for the firms and consequently a sub-optimal performance and returns on investment. Student’s t-test was used to test the hypothesis. Even though they outperformed their competitors in terms of patronage, the two firms could do better and it was recommended that the management of the two firms strive to improve on those marketing competency factors that their customers thought they were doing poorly. 


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