PRODUCT INNOVATION STRATEGIES AND MARKETING PERFORMANCE OF CONFECTIONERY FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE

This study investigated the relationship between product innovation strategies and marketing performance of confectionery firms in Rivers State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Target population of the study comprises 32 confectionery firms’ in Rivers State. A population of 128 managers was considered for the study. Four managers from each of the firms, ranging from the general manager, sales manager, procurement manager and distributor manager are studied. The Taro Yamen sample size determination formula was used to determine the sample size of the study. The sample size of the study consisted 97 respondents from the confectionery firms’. The data for the study was collected from the primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained through the questionnaire. The content and face was adopted for validation of instrument. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the instrument and the result stood at 0.88 which greater than the benchmark. The study employed the Spearman Rank-order Correlation with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The empirical result revealed that product customization was found to be a significant predictor of marketing performance of confectionery firms’ in Rivers State. Customers’ service was also reported to be a significant predictor of marketing performance of confectionery firms’ in Rivers State. Based on these findings, the study concluded that product innovation strategies significantly relate to marketing performance of confectionery firms’ in Rivers State. The study recommends that confectionery firms’ in Rivers State should regularly interact with their customers to know their needs in order to customize products that will fit their needs and those that are experiencing low rate of marketing performance should provide products that will give customers a pleasant and memorable experience as this would increase sales growth to their brand.