NICHE MARKETING AND OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY: A STUDY OF NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. LAGOS

Abstract

This study examined niche marketing and organisational performance in the Nigerian manufacturing industry with a focus on Nestle Nigeria Plc. Lagos. To achieve this goal, four research questions were answered and four hypotheses were tested. The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. The population of the consisted of one hundred and twenty-five (125) staff comprising 45 senior staff and 80 middle levels at marketing department of the company. The stratified random sampling technique was employed in the selection of the sample size. A structured questionnaire was designed by the researcher which was administered to the respondents for the collection of data. Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyze both the demographic data and research questions while regression correlation was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05level of significance. The findings of the study showed that application of niche marketing is valuable in achieving Nestle marketing objectives, serves as form of strategy to achieve sustainable growth, has significant impact on customers’ patronage of Nestle products and improve sales performance of Nestle Nigeria Plc products. Based on the findings, the study concluded that niche marketing is a potent strategy for improving sales performance of business organisations. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends the adoption of niche strategy as a potent strategy for effective cost control to support an underserved population so as to enhance business performance and competitive advantage.