EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES AND CUSTOMER PATRONAGE OF SMEs: NAVIGATING BUSINESS IN A PANDEMIC

Abstract

The study examined effective marketing strategies and customer patronage of SMEs: Navigating business in a pandemic. The study adopted the correlation research design. A sample of 660 respondents or staff selected from 330 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), out of the 1,200 registered Enterprises operating in Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria participated in the study. A 40-item 2 marketing professionals or experts validated 4-point scale instrument titled “Pandemic Marketing Strategies and Customer Patronage Inventory” (PMSCPI) with a reliability coefficient of 0.841 was used to elicit data analyzed using regression analysis. The study revealed that: innovation, knowledge, and customer empathy statistically and significantly contributed 53.7%, 61.2%, and 32.9% respectively to customer loyalty of SMEs, while innovation, knowledge, and customer empathy statistically and significantly contributed 9.9%, 10.7%, and 6.3% respectively to customer retention of SMEs. Thus, among the recommendations is that: SMEs should adopt innovations (such as virtual advertising, home delivery, and shopping apps) as tactics for ensuring that their products and services reach, satisfy and influence their target customers continued loyalty and patronage. Alongside, SMEs are encouraged to effectively, timely and humanely engage, respond, communicate, sensitize and meet the changing customer needs for improved retention.