Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments October 19, 2022 erstellt
Description:
The choice of the right cement brand is challenging since cement is the main building material used in civil engineering projects. As a result, its demand is quite high. Two companies, Lafarge and Zambezi Portland Cement, have controlled Zambia's cement market for the past twenty years. Cement demand in Zambia has recently increased as a result of the discovery of mineral riches in northwestern region, the copperbelt province, and the neighboring Democratic Republic of the CongoThe assessment of the factors affecting Zambian's choice of cement brand was the main goal of the study. The Copperbelt province served as the subject area of the study, which included several customer groups such as home owners, masons, distributors, and contractors/engineers. The specific objectives were to ascertain how the price of cement and its availability influenced customers' decisions about which brand of cement to purchase as well as how much cement producers' promotional efforts and consumer perceptions of quality influenced those decisions. This study employed a survey design. Data was gathered using a standardized questionnaire that was administered via phone interviews and in-person interviews. Data was gathered from a sample of a group of masons, contractors/engineers, house owners (those who built or are building their homes), and distributors. A total of 130 respondents, regionalized into Ndola, Kitwe, and Kasumbalesa, were interviewed. According to the study's findings, 98% of respondents were familiar with Zambezi Portland Cement, 97% with Lafarge, 96% with Dangote Cement, 64% with Sinoma-CNBM, and just 5% were aware of the other cement brands. The study discovered that contractors/engineers, homeowners, and distributors all stated that pricing plays a significant role in deciding their choice of brand. The masons, however, did not experience this. It was recognized that word of mouth and perceived quality were more important determinants of their choice of cement brand than pricing. The study also discovered that when their preferred brand was unavailable, respondents switched to alternate brands. Eighty percent of the contractors and distributors agreed while 74% and 50% of home owners and mason respectively agreed that regular availability was crucial when choosing the cement brand. Based on these results, the study came to the critical conclusion that price, brand availability at distribution points, and perceptions of quality are the primary determinants of which brand of cement consumers chose. However, the influence of marketing and advertising on cement consumers' brand preferences is rather small. There is need for cement manufacturers to realize that a competitive profit margin for cement distributors is built into the price structure since distributors stock more of the brands with larger profit margins. To ensure guarantee of continuous availability of cement brands, cement manufacturers need to make distribution investments. Additionally, there is need to focus on altering people's views of quality and spend more time on trade marketing other than on advertising