THE INFUENCE OF PRODUCT BRANDING ON CONSUMERS PERCEPTION AND PURCHASE DECISION

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of branding on consumer loyalty with particular focus on consumers of selected consumer products in Bauchi Municipal Area, Nigeria. The main objective is to examine how branding influences consumers’ loyalty of selected consumer products. Data was collected from marketers, consumers/customers, wholesalers, retailers, Agents and other chains of marketing intermediaries through the use of questionnaires which were personally administered to 180 respondents by the researchers using a convenient sampling technique. The study employed the use of Descriptive Statistics, Correlation and Regression Analysis methods to test the formulated hypotheses which reveals that, “branding have significant impact on consumers’ loyalty” as the study found that majority of the consumers in Bauchi markets within the municipality tend to favor products brands that they are aware of or products with attractive brands at the expense of unknown brands or un-attractive brands this was largely attributed to a combination of factors that are personal and socio- cultural in nature, as well as consumer’s psychological affiliations. The study recommends that for consumer products brands to succeed, there is need for improvement in the quality of products through increased investment in R&D towards improving products quality overtime and embarking on aggressive promotional campaigns so as to change the negative perception of consumers towards indigenous products for increased patronage to help strengthen brand acceptance and subsequently, increase in sales for competitive advantage. It was concluded that high levels of awareness positively influence the choice of consumer products by consumers. The study therefore recommends that marketers o f consumer products should develop innovative packaging strategies that will appeal and attract consumers in an exceptional way to trigger impulse buying.