Market research and sales performance of local iron and steel industries in Uganda : a case study of steel and tube industries Ltd

Abstract

The study was carried out to examine the effect of marketing research on the sales performance of local iron and steel industries in Uganda, taking Steel and Tube Industries Ltd as a case study. The study was guided by three specific objectives which were to; examine the influence of discovering potential customer needs on sales performance of Steel and Tube Industries Ltd, to examine the effects of competitors' analysis on sales performance of Steel and Tube Industries Ltd and to establ ish the effect of recognizing new areas for expansion on the sales performance of Steel and Tube Indu stries Ltd. A case study research design was used to onduct the study in order to provide in-depth study of a specific research problem. A sample size of 140 respondents from a target population of 151 was determined using Krejeie and Morgan (1970) table of sample size determ ination. Questionnaire and interviewing methods of data collection were used. Simple regression analysis was used to examine the extent to which the independent variables affected the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to interpret results. The study found out that discovering potential customerneeds positively influences the sales performance ofSTlL. It was also found out that customers' analysis also positively affects sales performance of STIL and lastly it was found out that recognizing new areas of expansion had a positive effect on sales performance of STI L. The study therefore concluded that despite the positive contribution of identifying potential customer needs, carrying out customer analysis and recognizing new areas on sales performance of STIL, there was stil I slow adoption and adhering to potential customer needs. STIL did not also adequately recognize new areas for expansion. The study also concluded that discovering potential customer needs is the highest predictor of sales performance of STI L. The study in this regards recommended that STIL should put in much emphasis on discovering new customer needs by add ing more resources in Training managers so as to acquaint themselves with adequate marketing knowledge. The study also recommends that research and development department be set to carry out competitor analysis and also recogn ize new areas for expansion. STIL should also carry out benchmarking so as to improve the quality of their products against those of competitors which in return will increase sa les performance. The study suggests that further research be conducted to examine the effect of finan cial distress sales performance of iron and steel firms in Uganda and to assess the extent to which marketing research influences the financial performance of local industries in Uganda.