| dc.description.abstract | This study sought to assess the effectiveness of positioning strategies used by residential property developers in Nairobi, Kenya. It covered firms whose property development activities are based in both Nairobi and other towns. The study primarily sought to determine the effectiveness of the various positioning strategies used by the residential property developers in Nairobi; as well as determining how well the marketing mix elements have been synchronized to position the products in the markets effectively.
The rationale for this study was to derive insights from the study's findings with a view to enabling the residential property developers to make improvements in the effectiveness of their positioning strategies, and thus gain a competitive advantage. It was also expected the study will stimulate further research in positioning strategies used in the real estate sector in Kenya. The population of interest comprised of all the registered property developers. The sample population was chosen based on whether residential property development formed part of an organization's portfolio, as well as whether property development activities of the firm are based in Nairobi or not.
A sample population of 23 was drawn from a sample frame of 68 organizations using simple random sampling method. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Drop and pick method of data collection was used, as well as sending and receiving the feedback through emails. The received questionnaires were screened, edited and coded using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data was analyzed and the results presented in tabular form using frequency distribution, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Brand positioning was found to be the most effective strategy, with a majority of the firms indicating that it is the most effective strategy. Positioning by competitor was found to be the least effective strategy, with only a few of the firms indicating that it is the most effective strategy.
These findings support why brand positioning is widely used in the residential property development markets, and give credence to Schmidt and Pioch's assertion that branding is a successful positioning strategy to counter high market competition since it offers potential for centralized control and format standardization. In determining the effectiveness of positioning strategies using the marketing mix elements, it was found that a firm's pricing strategy is the most effective strategy, with a majority of firms indicating that this is the most effective strategy.
The study findings indicated that residential property developers in Nairobi have effectively used the positioning strategies by synchronizing the marketing mix elements which, together, averagely scored a mean of 4.18 with a standard deviation of 0.8l. These findings, therefore confirmed the assertion made by Boone and Kurtz in which they noted that to deliver the desired positioning in the market effectively, the whole of the marketing mix need to be synchronized, and that there must be consistency in all elements in order to provide mutual reinforcement of the basic positioning platform. To further gain insight on the positioning concept, the researcher has suggested that similar studies should be conducted to determine the effectiveness of positioning strategies used by the residential property developers in Kenya as a whole. Similar studies could also be conducted to determine the effectiveness of positioning strategies used by commercial property developers in Nairobi. | en_US |
