PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY OF SELECTED PHARMACAITICAL COMPANIES PRODUCTS IN ABA, ABIA STATE.

ABSTRACT Over the years many companies involved in the production of goods and services have grappled with the problems of keeping their target customers loyalty to specific product brands, but ended up failing, perhaps due to the unstable nature of consumer behaviour. To address these challenges, many companies turn to use of promotional strategies. This study is therefore focuses on how promotional strategies when adequately implemented, can go a long way in enhancing customer loyalty to firm brands. The Study adopted a cross sectional research method. Data generated from 125 respondents were analyzed using stepwise regression, spearman rank correlation and partial correlation as contained in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0. The study found significant relationship between promotional strategies and customer loyalty, as was proxied by personal selling and sales promotion. Also, worthy of note is the degree of significance of product quality conviction on the customer repeat purchase of pharmaceutical products. The study concludes that promotional strategies capabilities when channeled in the direction of enhanced personal selling skills and sales promotion incentives usage can assist pharmaceutical companies retain their customers. We therefore, recommend that pharmaceutical firms should continue to improve on providing adequate training programmes to their sales force, while accompanying the salesmen efforts with good incentives programmes so as to enable them retain customer loyalty through provision of delightful customer experience.