PRICING DETERMINANTS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF SELECTED PAINT MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

 ABSTRACT

Companies utilize various types of pricing determinants in an effort to attract and persuade customers. However the application of these pricing strategies is yet to attain maximum satisfaction for customers in many paint companies. This study, therefore examined the effect of pricing determinants on customer satisfaction of selected paint manufacturing companies in Abia State, Nigeria.

Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study is 6,050 comprising the entire staff of five selected paint manufacturing companies in Abia State. Taro Yamane formula was used to derive the sample size of 488. A structured questionnaire was administered resulting in a response rate of 89.5%. A confirmatory factor analysis was done to establish validity of the questionnaire. A coefficient alpha (Cronbach’s alpha) test ranging between 0.823 to 0.933 was done to access the internal consistency reliability of the instrument. The data gathered was analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 software involving frequency distributions and linear regression.

Findings revealed that buying behaviour has a significant effect on customer complaint (r = 0.640, R² = 0.409, p = 0.000< 0.05); operational cost has a significant effect on customer attitude (r = 0.701, R² = 0.491, p = 0.000< 0.05). Also, the findings show that there is a significant effect of government policy on service delivery (r = 0.753, R² = 0.567, p = 0.000< 0.05); and competitors’ action have a significant effect on customer loyalty (r = 0.692, R² = 0.479, p = 0.000< 0.05).

From the study, it is evident that pricing determinants variables, namely, buying behaviour, operational cost, government policy and competitors’ action, have a significant effect on customer satisfaction variables: customer complaint, customer attitude, service delivery and customer loyalty in the selected paint manufacturing companies in Abia State. Based on the findings, the study recommends that marketing management in manufacturing companies need to adopt an effective pricing determinants so as to reduce complaint from customers, enhance a positive attitude from the customers, deliver quality services to them and ensure loyalty from the customers that will indicate satisfaction from the customers.

Keywords:      Pricing determinants, Buying behaviour, Operational cost, Government policy, competitors’ action, Customer satisfaction,