LA CONSOLACION UNIVERSITY PHILIPPINES

CATMON, CITY OF MALOLOS, BULACAN

Senior High School

School Year 2019-2020

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MARKETING STRATEGIES ON DIRECT SELLING

BUSINESSES AMONG CUSTOMER’S SATISFACTION HANDLING IN
MALOLOS, BULACAN.

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Academic Requirements in
Practical Research 1

Submitted by:
Bernardo, Mycah Francine P.
Diaz, Riza S.
Jemina, Jenele D.
Perez, Daisylene C.
Santos, Jerald T.
Trono, Mary Lorainne P.
11-ABM4A

March 2020
 ABSTRACT

One of the ways to keep in touch with the success of business is the marketing

strategy. It is an essential part of conducting business operation as it directly influences

the outcome of firm performance. It can also lead to satisfying the customers and

encourage them to re-purchase the product and services. The study is made to find out the

effectiveness of using marketing strategies in attracting and retaining the satisfaction of

the customers. Business owners of the direct selling businesses which are Milk Tea Shop

and Clothing Boutique around Malolos, Bulacan and the customers inclusion in it are the

target respondents of the research. The researchers made use of Simple Random

Sampling Method of research. In processing the data, researchers used Data Analysis of

Microsoft Excel 2013 and descriptive statistics to find out the marketing strategies have

direct effect on the customers. Business owners responded that the use of marketing

strategy will lead to a company to give it best result when it comes to handling

customer’s satisfaction. The researchers concluded that customers’ evaluation process

mostly focuses on the quality of marketing strategies that the business owners offered in

order to satisfy the customer needs and desire for a certain product and services.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Abstract i

Chapter 1: The Problem and its Background

Introduction............................................................................................................ 1
Significance of the Study....................................................................................... 2
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework....................................................................... 3
Statement of the Problem....................................................................................... 4
Hypothesis of the Study......................................................................................... 4
Definition of Terms................................................................................................ 4
Scope and Delimitation of the Study...................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

Marketing Strategy................................................................................................. 6
Customer Satisfaction.................................................. ............................. ............ 8
Marketing Strategies for Direct Selling Business.................................................. 10
Relationship of the Two Variables......................................................................... 11

Chapter 3: Methodology of the Study

Methods and Techniques........................................................................................ 13
Respondents of the Study....................................................................................... 13
Instruments of the Study......................................................................................... 14
Data Gathering Procedure...................................................................................... 15
Data Processing and Statistical Treatment............................................................. 15

Chapter 4: Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

Marketing Strategy of the Business Owners…...................................................... 18
Satisfaction of the Customer................................................................................... 21
Relationship between Marketing Strategy and Customer
24
Satisfaction...................

Chapter 5: Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary of Findings............................................................................................. 27
Conclusions............................................................................................................ 29
Recommendations.................................................................................................. 30

References ….................................................................................................................... 31
Appendix …...................................................................................................................... 35
 Chapter 1

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

Business plays an important role in our society. Businesses are therefore constantly

looking to determine the factors for success and identify which are critical for them to

stay ahead of the competition and create value for their customers (Kehinde & Ikioda,

2011).

In some instances, it is a game of risk within the business industry. One wrong

move can ruin your business and make your game over. Planning a strategy for your start

up business will make a big help for your company. Marketing Strategy that is derived

from the overall broad company strategy is then a reflection of how the firm intends to

achieve their marketing related objectives (Ebitu, 2014)

. In order to develop a successful marketing strategy to succeed, the company

management need to have a good understanding of the following areas: firm’s strengths

and weaknesses; business environment, what the opportunities and threats exist in the

business environment; who the competitors are and their competencies and expertise vis a

vis the organization (Kehinde & Ikioda, 2011).

Asides from Marketing Strategy, providing and maintaining customer satisfaction

is one of the most important challenges facing business today. Customer Satisfaction can

be described as follows: that feeling of having accomplished one’s individual inner

desires.(Al-Hersh, Aburoub, & Saaty, 2014). It is also an indicator for a marketer to

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know if their marketing strategy succeeds. In addition, it can help them to search further

for the things that can satisfy their customers.

Businesses are therefore constantly looking to determine the factors for success and

identify which are critical for them to stay ahead of the competition and create value for

their customers (Kehinde & Ikioda, 2011). The success of a firm is monitored and

analyzed using systems that measure the performance indicators. The management makes

decision to introduce the indicators, which are then used to monitor and/or enhance the

performance of a specific process (Franceschini, Galetto, & Turina, 2013).

Ultimately marketing strategy and customer satisfaction are still inseparable.

Determining what a customer’s satisfaction is a form of marketing strategy, keeping the

costumers happy or satisfy, is a great strategy. Marketing strategy will always be in the

business industry targeting the satisfaction and loyalty of each consumer.

Significance of the Study

The study is deemed to benefit the following:

Marketers. This study will allow the marketers to get various strategies on

starting business as well as satisfying their customers.

Customers. This study will allow the customer to know how the products and

services made by business marketers.

Aspiring Entrepreneur. This study will help the aspiring entrepreneur or the

newly graduate that wants to build their own business.

Other Researchers. When the study is finished, our study could potentially be

used as a reference by those who would want to discuss the topic further.

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Conceptual Framework

Independent Variables Dependent Variable

Marketing Strategies of
the Direct Selling Customer’s Satisfaction
Business

Complaints and
Compliments

Figure 1. Conceptual Model of the Study.

The marketing strategies a firms adopts connection with the customer’s

satisfaction, examines have uncovered (Shaw, 2012). However, the course of the

fulfillment relies upon how successful the firm has used the procedures. Consumer’s

satisfaction is the overall essence of the impression about which a client makes, regarding

is the aggregate of the considerable number of procedures the customer’s experiences.

Conveying the provider before doing any marketing, product manufacturing, quality of

the products and services and responses to clients inquires to post delivery services. It in

this manner benefits on the marketing firms to choose their strategies cautiously so as

attract the clients than scare them.

Customer complaint is a customer’s expression of dissatisfaction towards a

product, service or purchasing situation (Nakibin, 2011). Tronvoll (2012) calls it a formal

or informal customer report regarding a problem with a product or service. Gelbrich &

Roschk (2010) assert that poor complaint handling procedures could damage company-

customer relationship and cause customer dissatisfaction.

3
Statement of the Problem

The major problem of the study is the effects of using different marketing

strategies in order to promote their business and achieve the satisfaction of the customers.

1. Which marketing strategies could be used to introduce a new product or

service?

2. What is the role of complaints and compliments in improving customer

satisfaction?

3. How essential is marketing strategy to attract customers and increase their

desires for specific product or service?

Hypothesis of the Study

H0 The marketing strategies of the direct selling business does not affect the

customer satisfaction.

The marketing strategies of the direct selling business have an effect on the

customer satisfaction.

Definition of Terms

Customer Satisfaction. It is a measure of how products and services supplied by

a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is the consumer

satisfaction/dissatisfaction is the overall attitude a person has about a product after it has

been purchased. (Solomon, 2011)

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 Marketing Strategy. Marketing strategy defined as action plan made by an

organization to encourage advancement in technology or services by investing in research

and development. (Boley, 2011)

Business Marketing. Marketing can be defined as the process an organization

goes through in developing the concept of a product or service, implementing the idea,

determining the right pricing model, selecting the promotion avenue and deciding on the

distribution channels. The goal is to get the end user to consume the product, leading to

sales, leading to performance and profitability (Mokhtar & Wan-Ismail, 2012)

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study focused on the effects of marketing strategies of the marketers to the

customer satisfaction. Marketing strategies were measured by the effectiveness to the

particular business. Customer satisfactions were measured by the survey. Also, this study

was conducted for the marketers to have various strategies when it comes to satisfying

their customer and for the customer to have an idea how the product made and how the

services being process.

This study involved the direct selling businesses located at Malolos, Bulacan and

all the consumer inclusion in it. Direct selling business includes Milk Tea/ Coffee Shops

and Clothing boutique. A validated questionnaire was administered for the data gathering

process to the consumer and marketers.

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 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter contains literature and related studies that helped the researcher to

conceptualize the present study. The chapter is specifically divided into two topics:

Marketing Strategies and Customer Satisfaction

Marketing Strategy

Strategy is an action plan or a set of plans intended to achieve specific goals or

objectives over a period of time. Marketing strategy is action plan on how an

organization intends to achieve its marketing objectives. Shaw (2012) explained that

strategy is a broad statement of the way which an organization sets out to accomplished

its objectives. Marketing is believed to be a critical success factor to the growth and

ultimate survival of a firm and is therefore viewed as one of the most important aspects of

a business (Mokhtar & Wan-Ismail, 2012)

Generally, strategy can be defined as action plans that are utilized by an

organization to 3 specifically target company objectives with the end goal of achieving

them (Varadarajan, 2010). A Marketing strategy that is derived from the overall broad

company strategy is then a reflection of how the firm intends to achieve their marketing

related objectives (Ebitu, 2014). Whereas Business strategy defines strategy at an

individual business unit level within a corporation, there is difference in marketing

discipline where strategy is concerned with all firm level issues, decision and problems

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within the marketing sphere (Varadarajan, 2010). In order to develop a successful

marketing strategy to succeed, the company management needs to have a good

understanding of the following areas: firm’s strengths and weaknesses; business

environment, what the opportunities and threats exist in the business environment; who

the competitors are and their competencies and expertise the organization.(Kehinde &

Ikioda, 2011)

The rising competitiveness within the business environment has led

organizations to use various marketing strategies to help achieve their organization goals

of long term profitability and sustainable business revenues. Evidence shows that overall

company profitability is directly linked to the level of customer satisfaction. This has

resulted in organizational strategy shifting towards the customer or end-user and how

they interact with the organizational products or services and establishing long-term

relationships (Al-Hersh, Aburoub, & Saaty, 2014)

Direct selling alludes to selling items straightforwardly to the buyer in a non-

retail environment. Instead, sales happen at home, work, on the web, or other non- store

location. This framework frequently wipes out a few of the go between associated with

item circulation, for example, the provincial conveyance place and distributer. Instead

products go from the manufacturer to the immediate deals organization, to the wholesaler

or representative, and afterward to the customer. Direct selling is typically connected

with party-plan and system promoting organizations. Although these companies use

direct sales, they aren’t the only ones. Numerous organizations that sell business-2-

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business (B2B) utilize direct offering to target and offer to their end clients. For instance,

many companies that sell publicizing or office supplies will send their representative

straightforwardly into the stores that can utilize their administrations. (Lilyquist, 2019)

Marketing is also not static but greatly dynamic. The reason being that since the

marketplace is constantly changing and shifting, there are always new issues for

companies to deal with. Marketers therefore must be come up with new and varied

solutions to counter the challenges (Varadarajan, 2010). Such solutions are based

onstrategic process either formal or informal planned or intuitive in a way that the

management goes about searching for and adopting the best way to compete within their

business environment (Weber & Polo, 2010). In different environment, companies

mainly design, develop and implement their own marketing strategy based on the

business environment within which they operate. However all marketing strategy broadly

falls within the four Ps of Product, Placing, Packaging and Promotion (Ebitu, 2014)

Customer Satisfaction

Consumer satisfaction is the overall impression of consumer about suppliers and

their products or services. Youjae, (2010) defined consumer satisfaction as a measure of

how products and services supplied by a company meets or surpasses customer’s

expectation. Consumer satisfaction is a key performance indicator. It shows how

prudence a company has used its business unit strategies. In a competitive marketplace

where business organizations compete for customers, consumer satisfaction is seen as a

key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. The

8
central focus of consumer satisfaction on the part of the supplier is to narrow the gap

between consumers’ expectations and perceived performances of the product or service.

Farris, Neil, Philip, & David, (2010) explained that consumer satisfaction is a central

concept in modern marketing thought and practice. The concept is emphasizes delivering

satisfaction to consumers and obtaining profits in return. Thus, consumer satisfaction is

crucial to meeting various needs of consumers, business and society.

Consumer fulfillment is significant that many associations assign large portion of

their assets to pursue this objective. One of the approaches to accomplish customers’

fulfillment is through compelling promoting procedures which are created around

distinguishing proof of customers’ desire utilizing, for example, measurement as product,

price, place and promotion alongside association’s particular capability.(Shaw, 2012).

It is also said that in order to get satisfied customers, the firm must first educate

the consumer on how to be satisfied by the product delivering of the organization. This is

through educating the customer in-depth on the products, how available the product is

and what the best customer service looks like (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013). It is also

important to note that customer satisfaction can be evaluated by the consumers as a total

experience that includes other factors that have little or nothing to do with the traditional

elements of quality and value of the product such as warranties, toll free numbers or

treating customers with respect (Longenecker, Petty, Palich, & Hog, 2012). In addition,

continuous Customer Satisfaction excellence has been discovered to be 10 related to

operational design. This means streamlining the back office service operations to provide

a seamless service experience every time (Ton, 2014)

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 Consumers’ satisfaction is the perceived fulfillment of consumers’ desires after

utilizing a company’s product. Such satisfaction may be measured by degree of direct

survey. Consumer’s satisfaction is so important that many organizations allocate large

portion of their resources to pursue this objective. One of the ways to achieve consumer’s

satisfaction is through effective marketing strategies which are developed around the

identification of consumers’ expectations using such dimensions as product, price, place,

promotion along with organization’s distinctive competence (Shaw, 2012)

Customers become dissatisfied when product or service performances are not up

to their expectations. Understanding the potential sources of dissatisfaction and

customers’ reactions to negative situations are mandatory requirements in the design of

effective service recovery strategies. Customer responses to various errors or unpleasant

incidents are not unique (Voinea, Pamfilie, & Onete, 2011). Thus, some individuals will

initiate a public action, which may consist of: sending a complaint to the organization,

complaining to a third party such as to a consumer association, or even trying to solve the

problem through a legal action. Complaints should be considered an indicator of

organizational performance assessment, signaling some problems or failures in internal

processes that need quick recovery in order to avoid migration of profitable customers.

Marketing Strategy for Direct Selling

In marketing, there are almost endless possibilities of how a business, product, or

service can be marketed and presented to the world in order to gain recognition, increase

sales, promote special offers, etc. Direct selling is the marketing and selling of products

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directly to consumers away from a fixed retail location. Modern direct selling includes

sales made through the party plan, one-on-one demonstrations, and other personal contact

arrangements as well as internet sales. (Holloway, 2017)

Some producers and companies use direct selling as a way to sell their products in

nearby markets, such as vendors of perishable items. This is because, first, the greater the

distance from the origin of the product, the greater the problems of information 5

asymmetry between producers and consumers become, and secondly, producers are

hampered by the lack of organization, logistics, and the availability of finance when

operating in distant markets (Rapisarda, Rizzo, & Scuderi, 2015)

Communication plays the biggest role in the success or failure of a direct selling

strategy. The communication lines between the direct seller and the prospective customer

must be clear and easily understood in order to facilitate a successful sale. As one would

assume the direct seller is the one who initiates the conversation and begins the process

of forming a relationship with the customer; the better the salesman knows his customer,

the more likely he is to make a sale (Nuredayu, 2014)

However, direct sellers are not required to use face-to-face strategies for pushing

their products. Within social media, direct sellers have also developed websites and other

resources which can be used to continue the selling process after the initial face-to-face

contact (Liao, Chen, & Hsieh, 2011)

Relationship between Variables

Customer satisfaction formed the basis of any organization’s marketing strategy

because it determined overall success (Sabir, Irfan, Akhtar, Pervez, && Rehman, 2014).

Customer Satisfaction can be described as follows: that feeling of having accomplished

11
one’s individual inner desires. In the case that the performance exceeds the expectations

then customers feel satisfied. If the performance is less than what was expected, then the

customer is dissatisfied. When the performance and expectation is matched then there is

indifference or the customer is neutral (Al-Hersh, Aburoub, & Saaty, 2014). Early

attempts at measuring customer satisfaction focused on trying to evaluate the operational

drivers of satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction continues to play a significant role in the success of every

business whether it providing products or services. A company works at retaining their

already existing customers and also expands its client base through sustained customer

satisfaction. An organizations customer can therefore be said to be the best agents for

ascertaining the success of a product or service. Customer satisfaction a long-term

customer retention due to the high switching rate associated with unsatisfied customers

(Sabir, Irfan, Akhtar, Pervez, & Rehman, 2014). Customer satisfaction can be said to be

influenced by a comparison of what they expect from the product or service and what

they experience as deriving from the consumption of said product or service (Al-Hersh,

Aburoub, & Saaty, 2014).

Customers started to actively look for products and services that catered to their

greatest needs and expectations opening up the market to opportunities to differentiate

products and services to meet the customers’ satisfaction (Weber & Polo, 2010). Market

dynamics could also affect a proper analysis of these linkages as a change in elements

such as pricing, promotions and offers and even the introduction of new products and

services into the market segment may change satisfaction levels and/or business

outcomes (Rao & Chandra, 2012).

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 Chapter 3

Methodology of the Study

This chapter presents the methods and techniques that were used in the

study, the population and subjects of the study, research instruments, data gathering

procedures, and data processing and statistical treatment.

Methods and Techniques Used

The researchers made use of the Simple Random Sampling. As it was cited,

simple random sampling is a method use to winnow a smaller size from a large

population and use it to research and make speculations about the large group. It is one of

a few techniques analysts and researchers use to extract a sample from a larger population

(Depersio, 2018).

Disadvantages associated with simple random sampling include: A complete

frame (a list of all units in the whole population) is needed. In some studies, such as

surveys by personal interviews, the costs of obtaining the sample can be high if the units

are geographically widely scattered.

The major concern of the study was to describe the relationship of marketing

strategy to the customer satisfaction

Respondents of the Study

The direct selling businesses that offer services and using marketing strategies in

the City of Malolos, Bulacan were the target respondents of the researchers which

13
composed of the two positions: Marketers and Customers. The researcher utilized the

simple random sampling technique wherein the researcher will only get sample from a

population were covered as the respondents. Table 1 shows the distribution of the

respondents according to their types.

Table 1

Distribution of the Respondents According to Types

Milk Tea/ Clothing

Name of Respondent Total
Boutique
Coffee Shop

Marketers
5 5 10

Customers 100
50 50

Total Respondents: 55 55 110

As revealed in Table 1, the total amount of the Marketers from the direct selling

businesses that offers services and using marketing strategies in the City of Malolos,

Bulacan was 110 with their customer inclusion on it, which was used as the total number

of respondents of the study.

Instruments of the Study

The researchers employed two types of questionnaire for the study. The tool was

a Validated Survey and Direct Interview, which measures the effectiveness of the

marketing strategies that the certain companies are using and if it can give researchers
14
recommended the usefulness of evaluating extra-satisfaction to the customers. The survey

was a 10-item test in a Likert Scale format formulated by the researchers and validated.

The respondents answered the questions on a 5-point Likert scale from 5-strongly agree

to 1-strongly disagree. The possible range of scores is 10 to 50; higher scores present

agreement to most questions, while lower scores present disagreement. The interview

consists of question that can validate the effectiveness of the marketing strategies that had

been used in business growth, handling complaints and customers’ satisfaction.

Data Gathering Procedure

On the initial course of data collection, the researchers asked the approval for the

survey and its distribution. Furthermore, the following procedures were carried out by the

researcher in gathering data:

 Determined the target respondents for the survey

 Upon the approval of the consent to conduct the study, copies of the survey were

given to the respondents to administer themselves.

 Upon completion of the questionnaires, the researcher assures that the

respondents, their answers and personal information will be kept confidential and

to keep them abreast of the result of the study.

Data Processing and Statistical Treatment

The results were processed using the Data Analysis of Microsoft Excel 2013.

The data were presented using proper tables and texts. To seek an answer on the level of

the marketers and customers’ involvement to marketing strategy, the marketers and
15
customers show the level of performance on how marketing strategy affects the

customers’ satisfaction (problem statement no. 1, 2, & 3); the researchers utilized

descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, and central tendencies

to describe the relationship between marketing strategy and customer satisfaction.

Statistical measures used in this study were discussed below.

According to Aakanksha Gaur, Erick Gregersen, William L.Hosch (The editor

ofEncyclopedia Britannica), Frequency distribution, in statistic, a chart or informational

index sorted out to show the recurrence event of every conceivable result of a repeatable

occasion watched ordinarily. A recurrence circulation can be diagramed as a histogram or

pie graph. For huge informational collection, the ventured diagram of a histogram is

regularly approximated by the smooth bend of a conveyance work (called a density

function where normalized so that the area under the curve 1). The fame bell curve, or

typical dissemination, is the diagram of one such capacity. Frequency distributions are

especially valuable in abridging enormous informational indexes and allotting

probabilities.

Frequency distributions are not commonly used in the world of investment. In

any case, dealers who follow Richard D. Wyckoff, a spearheading mid-20 th century

broker, utilize a way to deal with exchanging that includes frequency distribution.

Frequency distribution is an organized tabulation/graphical representation of the

number of individuals in each category on the scale of measurement. It allows the

researcher to have a glance at the entire data conveniently. It shows whether the

observations are high or low and also whether they are concentrated in one area or spread

16
out across the entire scale. Thus, frequency distribution presents a picture of how the

individual observations are distributed in the measurement scale. (Manikandan, 2011)

Manikandan (2011) included that a frequency (distribution) table shows the

different measurement categories and the number of observations in each category.

Descriptive statistic is separated into measure of central tendency and measure of

variability (spread). Measure of central tendency incorporates the mean, median, and

mode, while measure of variability incorporates the standard deviation, variance, the

minimum and maximum variables (Kenton, 2019). Inferential statistics are using a

random sample of data taken from population to describe and make inferences about the

population.

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 Chapter 4

Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data

This chapter presents, analyzes and interprets the data gathered through the use of

questionnaires. Results of the data analysis are interpreted in relation and in the order of

research questions stated in Chapter 1.

Marketing Strategy of the Business Owners

A Marketing strategy that is derived from the overall broad company strategy is

then a reflection of how the firm intends to achieve their marketing related objectives

(Ebitu, 2014).

Table 2 presents the number of respondents which answered a certain choice per

survey question. The researchers intended these first 7 questions to answer the statement

of the problem no. 1 that is all about marketing strategies. Table 2 also shows the average

answers of all the respondents.

Table 2 Marketing Strategy

Statements SA A N D SD Mean Score Total

1. The advertising
instrument and other
marketing strategies of 38 43 11 5 3 4.08 100
the company attract the
customers.
2. The customer service
representative was treated 48 43 9 0 0 4.39 100
the customer with respect.
3. The ambiance of the place 100
37 35 19 7 2 3.98
is relaxing.

18
 4. The safety of the product
44 41 11 4 0 4.25 100
is guaranteed.
5. The prices of the products
39 41 19 1 0 4.18 100
are affordable.
6. The company is responsive
41 45 8 4 2 4.19 100
to customer needs.
7. The affordability meets the
36 44 19 1 0 4.15 100
quality.

In table 2, it’s shown that most of the customers which is the respondents

answered SA (strongly agree) and A (agree) in all the questions.

With regards to Marketing Strategies of the Business Owners, the mean score for

statement 1 was 4.08, 4.39 for statement 2, 3.98 for statement 3, 4.25 for statement 4,

4.18 for statement 5, 4.19 for statement 6 and 4.15 for statement 7, all of which was rated

in the range of 3-4 as represented by the high number of respondents with these answers.

There is a 4.08 mean score for statement 1 which shows that the marketing

strategies used and applied by the business owners are effective to the customers.

As it was cited in Saif & Aimin(2016), in a literature review, it stated that

Marketing strategy is an essential part of conducting business operation as it directly

influences the outcome and result of firm performance. Since one regard of a marketing

plan affects all of the others, coordinating business projects is significant when reducing

interference and maximizing company profits.

The numbers of customer that focus on product quality rather than marketing

strategies are significant. This is explained by Saif & Aimin(2016), The product itself is

at the beginning of marketing strategy efforts toward firm performance and is the heart of

the brand because it is the primary impact on what consumers’ experience with a product

19
or rather a brand, what they heard about the product from others through word of mouth,

and what the firm can win customers about their product in their communications.

Therefore, designing and delivering a product or service that fully satisfies customer

needs and wants is a prerequisite for successful marketing strategy implementation,

regardless of whether the product is a tangible good, service, or organization.

Figure 1

Frequently Used Marketing Strategy

As shown in the data, most of the business owners made use of sales promotion

technique which is promos and discounts (41%) as marketing strategies to effectively

attract large number of customers, with a very few (9%) considered that the ambiance of

their place attracts customers.

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 A price discount is a very prevalent marketing strategy to attract consumers by

providing an extra value or incentive, which encourages consumers to purchase the

promoted products immediately (Yin & Huang, 2014).

As it was cited in Ghafran (2014), their study confirmed that consumers buying

behavior and sales promotion can be motivated through various kinds of elements,

including promotion techniques such as free samples, price discounts and promos. In

addition, according to Woo, Jin, & Choon (2013), their study has empirically verified the

relationship between sales promotions to customer satisfaction legitimizing the growth of

sales within the direct selling businesses.

Satisfaction of the Customers

Customer satisfaction is the extent to the product's perceived performance

matches a buyer's expectations. (Kotler & Amstrong, 2012)

Table 4 presents the number of respondents which answered a certain choice per

survey question. The researchers intended these 3 questions to answer the statement of

the problem no. 2 that is all about. Table 4 also shows the average answers of all the

respondents.

Table 4 Customers’ Satisfaction

Statements SA A N D SD Mean Score Total

1. The product/services meet 4.21

37 49 12 2 0 100
your expectations.
2. I'm happy and contented with
41 42 15 2 0 4.22 100
the service they gave to me.
3. I would recommend the 100
36 38 25 1 0 4.09
company to others.

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 In table 4, it’s shown that most of the respondents answered A (agree) and SA

(strongly agree) in all the questions.

With regards to customers’ satisfaction, the mean score for statement 1 was 4.21,

4.22 for statement 2 and 4.09 for statement 3, all of which was rated 4.09-4.22 as

represented by the high number of respondents with these answers.

There is a 4.21 mean score for statement 1 which shows that the product and

services of a certain business meet the respondents’ expectation.

As it was cited in Al-Maslam (2015), a review of the literature suggests that

consumers may use multiple types of expectation in their satisfaction evaluation process.

However, the types most often referred to are predictive expectation and normative

expectation. Predictive expectations are generally define as consumer beliefs about the

level of service that a specific service firm would be likely to offer. These expectations

are frequently used as standard of service against which satisfaction judgment are made.

The numbers of customers that focus on the quality of the services rather than

product quality are significant. This is explained by Owusu, (2011) to focus on customer

satisfaction, retention and brand loyalty etc., Customer Relationship Marketing is one of

the marketing practice which is been employed by companies. The author also concluded

that, the main dimensions of perceived service quality are tangibility, responsiveness and

empathy and thus needs to be improved to meet the customer’s satisfaction. Therefore, in

order to create brand loyalty, consumers' experiences with the product must, at least,

meet, if not actually exceed, their expectations. Customer satisfaction is determined by

exceeding customers’ expectations.

22
 Many studies confirm that dissatisfaction is the main cause of complaining.

Dissatisfaction results from a discrepancy between customer expectation and perceived

product/service performance. generally, consumers become dissatisfied when their

expectations are not met by the current performance of a product or service.

Consequently, they become disappointed and engage in complaining behaviour.

(Nimako, 2014)

Figure 2 shows the strategies on handling complaints in order to improve the

satisfaction of the customers. The researchers intended these data to answer the statement

of the problem no. 2 that is all about role of complaints in improving customer

satisfaction.

Figure 2

Strategies on Handling Customers’ Complaints

23

In Figure 2, based from interview question that meant for the business owners,

most of the respondents stated that changing the given product to the customer if
necessary and seeking for the product’s improvement are the strategies that they using in

handling customer complaints in order for them to improve the satisfaction of their

customers.

As it was cited in Ebitu (2014), one of the marketing strategies implements

perceived concerns of clients’ complaints; the company’s product branding improves.

This strategy is employed so as develop a product or service that can satisfy the

customers, ensuring steady and increased sales, profits and customer retention to the

organization.

Managing complaints are an opportunity to fix problems and prevent them from

re-occurring to improve customer satisfaction. Firms normally consider consumer

complaints of any kind to be indispensable indicators of unsatisfactory performance.

(Taleghani, Largani, Gilaninia, & Mousavian, 2011)

Relationship between Marketing Strategy and Customer Satisfaction

As it was cited in Qaysi & Zainal (2018), a marketing strategy is a unique battle

plan that one company uses to outwit its close competitor. Marketing strategy involves

specifying the target segments to be pursued and the breadth of the product line to offer.

Hence, for customers to be satisfied, effective marketing strategies that deal with the

process of planning and executing programs designed to influence the behavior of target

audiences by creating and maintaining beneficial exchanges for the purpose of satisfying

individual and organizational objectives.

24
 The key success factor of any marketing campaign or activity is to attract new

customers and increase their need and desire for a certain product or service. (Ebitu,

2014)

Figure 3 shows the strategies on handling complaints in order to improve the

satisfaction of the customers. The researchers intended these data to answer the statement

of the problem no. 3 that is pertaining to the essential of marketing strategies to attract

and satisfy customer.

Figure 3
Satisfactory Level of Customers

Figure 2 shows that majority of the customers have a satisfactory level in the

range of agree and strongly agree. This shows that most of the respondents (49) has been

satisfied with the marketing strategies that certain business used, with very few (2) of

them getting dissatisfaction. Moreover, 37 of the customers intend to encourage

themselves to re-purchase the products because of their satisfaction experience.

25
 Based on the interview question that meant for the business owners, majority of

the respondents stated that marketing strategy is essential to increase customer’s desire

for a specific product or services and also to increase their sales. Most of the respondents

answered that in order to attract large number of customers, the affordability of product

meets the quality, there must be a strategy used to adjust the marketing plans according to

the customers interest like releasing a new product, renovation and providing a good

quality of product and services. In addition, most of the respondents claimed that

marketing strategies are effective in handling customer satisfaction.

As it was cited in Shaw (2012) a literature review, one of the ways to achieve

consumer’s satisfaction is through effective marketing strategies which are developed

around the identification of consumers’ expectations using such dimensions as product,

price, place, promotion along with organization’s distinctive competence.

Approximately more than half of the respondent seems to believe the statement

that the advertising instrument and other marketing strategies of the company attract and

satisfied the customer

Referring to Table 2 and 3 and from the answers of the respondents to the

interview questions, the result is shown that there is a connection between the two

variables. Based from the results, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative

hypothesis.

It is shown that marketing strategies have direct effect to the satisfaction of the

customers.

26
 Chapter 5

Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation

This chapter presents the summary of the findings, conclusion, and

recommendations based from the gathered data.

Summary of Findings

Marketing Strategies are becoming much more common in the field of sustaining

customer’s satisfaction. Knowing about handling the satisfaction of the customer would

immensely help the marketing strategy of a company to give its best result.

This study identified that marketing strategy has a direct effect on customer’s

satisfaction as there is 4.17 mean score, shows that most of the respondents agreed that

marketing strategies has huge effect on them.

The method of research utilized in this study was the explanatory method. The

major concern of the study was to describe the effects of the independent variable

marketing strategy, with the dependent variable customer satisfaction.

The subjects of the study comprised of a hundred ten (110) direct selling

businesses in the City of Malolos, Bulacan. The researcher made use of simple random

sampling wherein the customers and business owners were chosen. Validated

Questionnaires were used as data gathering instrument. Each item described in the

questionnaires was structured using a five (5) point Likert scale wherein the respondents

were asked to choose on the five possible options. The higher the scores indicated, the

higher the level of agreement of the respondents

27
 After data gathered were tabulated and organized, weighted mean, and frequency

distribution were used as statistical tools. The result of the study is beneficial not only to

marketers, but also to customers, aspiring entrepreneurs and future researchers.

The following are the important findings revealed during the course of this study:

1. Which marketing strategies could be used to introduce a new product or

service?

In the study most of the business owners made use of sales promotion technique

which is promos and discounts (41%) as marketing strategies to effectively attract large

number of customers, with a very few (9%) considered that the ambiance of their place

attracts customers.

2. What is the role of complaints and compliments in improving customer

satisfaction?

This study identified that most of the business owners says that changing the

given product to the customer if necessary and seeking for the product’s improvement are

the strategies that they using in handling customer complaints. This strategy is employed

so as develop a product or service that can satisfy the customers, ensuring steady and

increased sales, profits and customer retention to the organization.

3. How essential is marketing strategy to attract customers and increase their desires

for specific product or service?

There is a 4.08 mean score for statement 1 which shows that the marketing

strategies used and applied by the business owners are effective to the customers.

Majority of the customers have a satisfactory level in the range of agree and strongly

28
agree. This shows that most of the respondents (49) has been satisfied with the product

and services that certain business offered, with very few (2) of them getting

dissatisfaction. Moreover, 37 of the customers intend to encourage themselves to re-

purchase the products because of their satisfaction experience.

Conclusions

Based on the findings stated, the following conclusions were drawn:

1. More than half of the business owners made use of sales promotion technique which is

promos and discounts (41%) as marketing strategies to effectively attract large number of

customers.

According to Woo, Jin, & Choon(2013), their study has empirically verified the

relationship between sales promotions to customer satisfaction legitimizing the growth of

sales and customers within the direct selling businesses.

2. Majority of the business owners made use of improving the company’s product quality

as a strategy to manage complaints.

Ebitu, (2014)stated that this strategy is employed so as develop a product or

service that can satisfy the customers, ensuring steady and increased sales, profits and

customer retention to the organization.

3. Most of the customers (49) has been satisfied with the product and services that certain

business offered. Moreover, 37 of the customers intend to encourage themselves to re-

purchase the products because of their satisfaction experience.

29
 In a literature review of Shaw(2012), one of the ways to achieve consumer’s

satisfaction is through effective marketing strategies which are developed around the

identification of consumers’ expectations using such dimensions as product, price, place,

promotion along with organization’s distinctive competence.

Recommendations

Given the arrived conclusions, the following recommendations are proposed:

1. To business owners, continue to provide benefits on the products and services that are

proven to have positive effects on attracting customers.

2. Business owners can explore the opportunities in every client’s complaints as it can

improve their services

3. Also marketers can learn from the satisfaction of customer to monitor the firm

performance of their business.

4. Customers may leave an impression, complaints and compliments about their

experience in a certain product or services.

5. Future and other researchers can administer the interview and survey on different

types of respondents according to their experience in business field to be able to get more

accurate results.

30
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