The Relationship Between E-marketing Strategies and Brand Performance of Large Bookstores in Nairobi County

Abstract

This study was conducted to establish the relationship between E-Marketing strategies and brand performance of large bookstores in Nairobi County. A descriptive census study was done on the 91 listed large bookstores in the county. Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that bookstores in Nairobi dealt with various types of products which included books, stationery, gift items and airtime. Majority of the bookstores sold their product through physical location although a few them used online channel. More than half of the bookstores used digital technologies to market their products. The most common digital strategies utilized by these bookstores in Nairobi County were Short message texts Social media, Emails, Company Website and online advertisement. Most of these bookstores were found to have used digital marketing between one and five years although a few of them have been using it for over 10 years. Most of the bookstores have been motivated to use digital marketing strategies due to their efficiency and effectiveness although few of them found them to be cost effective as compared to traditional marketing strategies. Brand performance indicators revealed that digital marketing strategies affected new customer acquisition, more sales as well new market acquisition at moderate extent while higher prices were affected at very small extent. Most of the bookstores respondents were in agreement that there was faster response to customer queries and new customer acquisition as far as digital marketing is concerned. Email and digital displays significantly influenced sales volume. Social media influenced revenue and market share, sales volume and demand for products. Search engine optimization influenced market share, customer acquisition and profitability. Company website influenced customer acquisition, profitability, sales volume and prices. Regression analysis revealed that 40.7% of the variation in brand performance is significantly explained by e-marketing strategies adopted by bookstores in Nairobi County. The researcher recommends the replication this study in different contexts with regard to other industries as well as other localities