Effect Of Advertising Media On Consumer Buying Behavior In A Service Industry

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The practice of advertising is as old as man. According to Keller (2005), the urge to advertise seems to be a part of human nature evidenced since ancient times. One of the earliest means of advertising was the use of signs. Early craftsmen used signs to advertise their wares and some traders like the Phoenicians planted commercial messages on prominent rocks. Advertising has been a form of glorifying or gaining publicity for goods and merchandise since very early times. In fact, advertising has been around as an informal concept since the beginning of civilizations and former methods were oral advertising or claiming the benefits of products verbally when merchants sold goods to people directly on the streets. However with the advent of paper and writing, advertising took a more formal shape (Shoaff, Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/). Advertising in English in magazines as we know today dates back to the end of the 17th century and newspaper advertising in America began during the first part of the 18th century with advertisements for estates. With the growth of mass media and different forms and avenues of communication like radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and of course the internet in the 20th century, advertising started becoming an important aspect for commercialization of products. People started understanding the potential of advertisements and it became a business with the establishment of advertising agencies with the first advertising agency in US opened in 1841 (Shoaff, 2003).

Today, advertising is a multi-billion industry, employing hundreds of thousands of people and affecting billions of people’s lives worldwide. So far, seeing as advertising clutter has increased tremendously and is more intense than ever, it is vital that companies differentiate themselves from competitors by creating even more powerful, entertaining and innovative advertising messages that effect consumers’ buying behavior, as well as sponsoring different events. The end point of any production or manufacturing activities is to increase the awareness and persuasion of the users through different promotional activities mainly advertising, as a result purchase and consumption is achieved. Therefore, whatever product or service that is produced must satisfy the needs of the consumer adequately. The consumer is said to maximize his satisfaction when his money utility equals the utility of the offer he received in exchanged for the money (Nartey, 2010).

Russell and Lane (1993) stated that advertising is an unavoidable component of our everyday lives. No matter where we are, advertising is with us – educating us, enticing us to buy new products and services, begging us to stop activity such us drug use, and persuade us to support some worthy cause or political candidate. Advertising is an integral part of our economic system and has a direct relationship with the manufacture, distribution, marketing and sale of goods and services. Advertising is as old as civilization and commerce; it has always been necessary to bring buyers and sellers together. Businesses need advertising and advertising itself is a vital business. Advertising has the potential to influence every aspect of a business. As a communications tool, ads are used to reach a diverse mix of people affected by the products or services. These audiences can include not only customers, but also employees and investors. From employee management to customer relations, companies rely on effective advertisements to influence the success of business (Callaway, 2012).

In today’s competitive and volatile environment all marketers including banks communicate with their target markets through advertising (Mittal & Pachauri, 2013). According to Mittal and Pachauri (2013), the way of their communication and the information contained in the advertising is not strong enough and pertinent enough to attract the attention of the consumers. If the information is too weak or too irrelevant, the advertising has no chance of having an effect on consumers’ buying behavior.

Advertising must be consistent enough so that it will be accepted by customers when judged against information previously processed and held in long – term storage (Schultz & Tannenbaum, 1988). In unstable global markets the necessity to attract and retain consumers in the service industry becomes especially topical. One of the perspective tools increasing economic effectiveness of service industry is advertising by influencing the customers of the business. Advertising is odd by its “intangible” character and inseparable connection between the clients’ trust and stability of service industry.

Notably, there are several advertising medium as identified above, but this study is focused on radio advertising. Radio advertising has the peculiar advantage of communicating using different languages and other dialects. As such, these messages are quickly appreciated. Advertising helps to announce the existence of a service and the strategies in using them. However, radio stations advertise a wide range of products in order to satisfy their many clients. This means that the manner and creativity used in communicating some products may determine to what extent the consumers may seek these products over others.

According to Okunna (2012), radio is an audio medium for communication. As a medium, it has the capacity to cut through the barriers of illiteracy and poor infrastructural facilities which could limit the ability of other media channels to reach large audiences. Radio is by far the most widely used mass medium because it has some peculiar qualities. Radio advertising is when advertisers buy commercials frequently called spots in the radio industry, to promote their products and services. Advertisers pay commercial radio stations for airtime and in exchange the radio station broadcasts the advertiser’s commercial to its listeners. The broadcast of commercials on radio needs real feel orientation and voice is the single major determinant that draws the attention of listeners. In view of the above, this study strictly seek to examine effect of advertising media on consumer buying behavior in a service industry.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The ultimate objective of any company is how to persuade its target audience to purchase its products. In this era of modern technology, customers’ attraction and needs satisfaction is much more complicated than producing the product or services (Sharma, 2016). Due to mass production and presence of different brands in the market, redirecting a consumer to make choice about particular product imposes difficulties and challenges among competing companies in the present time (Ahsan, Shahadat, & Thomas, 2015). Consequently, having knowledge about consumer behavior is very important to marketer as they will know much about how consumer make choice on goods/services and factors that affect his choice (Dinu & Dinu, 2012). Consumer behavior keeps changing frequently and he/she behaves in specific ways and situation to the extent that behavior analysis could provide explanations about that (Najam’ul Zia, 2016).

Hence, marketer needs strongest tool among the four types of promoting tools that can influence it target population. Advertising is meant to induce public because it is a method of pursuing and arousing the customer’s decision process. It disseminates information to the potential customer about the features and functions of the products (Najamul Zia, 2016). Nowadays, companies in the service industry use different media to send their message to prospective consumers; this may be via print, television media and so on (Nirmala & Pais, 2016).

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The study generally focus on the examination of the effect of advertising media on consumer buying behavior in a service industry. The study will specifically assess the objectives below;

Find out whether radio is an effective tool for advertising in the service industry.

Ascertain the extent companies under the service industry utilize radio for business promotion.

Determine whether radio advertising secures more customers for companies in the service industry.

Ascertain whether customers’ patronage of the service industry increases as a result of radio advertising.

Find out whether radio have a significant effect on consumers’ buying behavior in a service industry.

1.4 Research Questions

The study will be guided by the following questions;

Is radio an effective tool for advertising in the service industry?

What is the extent companies under the service industry utilize radio for business promotion?

Does radio advertising secure more customers for companies in the service industry?

Do customers’ patronage of the service industry increases as a result of radio advertising?

Does radio have a significant effect on consumers’ buying behavior in a service industry?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

H0: Radio do not have a significant effect on consumers’ buying behavior in a service industry.

Ha: Radio has a significant effect on consumers’ buying behavior in a service industry.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The significance of this study is to enable radio stations know the extent their adverts are being acknowledged by the listening audience. It will help to evaluate the advertising programs of radio stations to determine their compatibility to listeners. The knowledge from this research will contribute to existing knowledge on the subject matter.

Furthermore, stakeholders like shareholders, management staffs, employees, customers, government institutions, investors, and etc, will be benefited from the outcome of this study by having the correct information and awareness about the effect of media advertising on consumers’ buying behavior and the factors that influence consumers to respond to media advertising. Since, the result of the study has been positive effect on consumers’ buying behavior, the stakeholders can be motivated to assist the business and build trust which can lead to increased consensus for the strengthening of the business; ensure to be engaged in the process.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study borders on the effect of advertising media on consumer buying behavior in a service industry. The study will upon this note take into considerations the effectiveness of radio in advertising in the service industry, the extent companies under the service industry utilize radio for business promotion, radio advertising and the securing of more customers for companies in the service industry among others. This study will be focused on Fresh Fm Radio Station Ado Ekiti. The respondents for this study will therefore be obtained from the selected radio station.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

Like in every human endeavour, the researcher encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. More so, the researcher simultaneously engaged in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.

Moreover, the case study method utilized in the study posed some challenges to the investigator including the possibility of biases and poor judgment of issues. However, the investigator relied on respect for the general principles of procedures, justice, fairness, objectivity in observation and recording, and weighing of evidence to overcome the challenges.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Advertisement:

This is a powerful communication force and a vital marketing tool that facilitates the selling of goods, services and ideas through channel of information and persuasion.

Advertising Medium:

This consist of any means by which sales message can be conveyed to potential buyers.

Consumer:

This refers to a person or persons who buy an advertise products or services for immediate consumption.

Buying Habit:

This is the consumer’s behavior exhibited during the process of purchasing.

1.10 Organisations of the Study

The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study, sample size determination, sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.