Effect of Marketing Mix Strategies on Sales Performance Among Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Companies in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The Kenyan pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has experienced a noticeable decline in sales growth in recent years. To address this challenge, individual pharmaceutical manufacturers in Kenya need to establish and adopt effective marketing mix strategies tailored to their unique market environments to optimize on sales results. The study’s general objective was to assess the effect of marketing mix strategies on sales performance among pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nairobi County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to analyse the effect of pricing strategy, product development strategy, promotion strategy, and place strategy on sales performance among pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Nairobi County. The study was guided by the Marketing Mix theory, the response hierarchy theory, the Depot theory of distribution, and the Diffusion of Innovation theory. A descriptive research design was adopted. The target population consisted of 640 respondents representing 20 pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nairobi County. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 94 respondents. Semi structured questionnaires were employed for data collection and distributed physically with the assistance of research assistants and via mail for respondents who had hectic schedules. To improve the effectiveness of questionnaire completion, follow-ups were conducted. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative metrics, while qualitative data analysis was facilitated by use of the NVivo tool. Descriptive statistics were used to describe data in the form of means and standard deviation and inferential statistics were used to draw inferences. The study revealed that pricing, product development, promotion, and place strategies significantly influence sales performance. Cost-based pricing emerged as the most effective, with the highest mean score (M = 4.20, SD = 1.09). A positive and significant relationship between pricing strategy and sales performance was found (r = 0.339, p < 0.01). The introduction of high-quality products had the most substantial effect, reflected by a mean score of 4.05 (M = 4.05, SD = 1.09). A significant positive correlation between product development strategy and sales performance was observed (r = 0.386, p < 0.01). Additionally, integrated marketing communications were highly influential, indicated by a mean score of 4.25 (M = 4.25, SD = 0.92), with a strong and significant correlation between promotion strategy and sales performance (r = 0.455, p < 0.01). Place strategy emerged as having the most significant impact on sales performance among pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nairobi County, Kenya, with coefficient of 0.493. Finally, efficient distribution and logistics showed the strongest relationship with sales performance, with the highest correlation coefficient (r = 0.549, p < 0.01). The study underscores the critical role of optimizing place strategy by leveraging on efficient distribution systems to drive sales, further, promotion, pricing and product development strategies all contribute uniquely to sales outcomes, and a balanced approach incorporating all these marketing mix strategies is critical for better sales success. The study recommends that, pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in Nairobi County need to leverage on refining their distribution networks to enhance efficiency and optimize on sales returns. Policy makers should introduce guidelines that enhance competitiveness and reduce costs for pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nairobi County, for example tax reductions on raw materials. Further studies should look into effects of digital marketing strategies on pharmaceutical sales performance, the effectiveness of various pricing strategies, including competitive and penetration pricing in different market segments and regions, to provide valuable insights for optimizing pricing approaches.