Influence of Agile Marketing on Brand Equity at Safaricom Limited

Abstract

This project aimed at determining the influence of agile marketing on brand equity at Safaricom Limited. Brand Equity is an important intangible asset for a company. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to explore on sustainable techniques they can use to build their brand equity and consequently creating an advantage for themselves at the marketplace. Safaricom Limited is headquartered in Nairobi and, therefore, Nairobi, Kenya is the location of the study. Safaricom was selected as the ideal candidate for this study mainly because it’s one of the Kenyan companies that has adopted agile marketing and agile methodologies in its operations. In addition to this, with an estimated 35.6 million subscribers, Safaricom operates at a scale that makes it an ideal candidate to understand the extent that agile marketing has on brand equity. The study was underpinned by the Dynamic capabilities theory and the Brand equity theory. To achieve the objective of this research study, a case study research design was employed with the objective of achieving an in-depth understanding of the influence of agile marketing on brand equity at Safaricom Limited. A sample size of four senior employees from Safaricom was the target of the study. Data was gathered by the means of an interview guide. The researcher employed digital communications tools, namely telephone calls and video calls to conduct the interviews due to the prevailing restriction that are in place to deal with the novel coronavirus, covid-19 scourge. Content analysis was employed to develop inferences from the results of the interviews. On analysis of the results, the findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between agile marketing and brand equity at Safaricom Limited. The study findings also revealed that Safaricom applies a number of agile marketing practices in its operations. Some of the key agile marketing practices applied at Safaricom include the use of cross-functional tools, user stories, scrum, and Kanban boards. The study revealed a significant positive relationship between agile marketing and brand equity. This is primarily because agile marketing has the customer at a central point of the marketing organization. Brand equity also places the customer at a key point since brand equity is heavily influenced by the perceptions that customers have towards a particular brand. The findings of the study complement similar academic research studies done on the two variables. The study recommends that Safaricom should explore more agile marketing practices such as feature driven development and retrospective that can be employed to enhance its brand equity. Agile Marketing is a nascent and evolving topic and therefore, Safaricom stands to reap the pioneer benefits of being among the first firms in Kenya and the region to leverage the latest agile marketing practices in its operations. In addition to this, other companies, especially that operate within the telecommunication industry in Kenya also stand to gain from the implementation of agile marketing/agile methodologies in their operations and should therefore explore ways to implements agile marketing in their operations. Regulatory policymakers as the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK), should also explore ways to encourage the implementation of Agile Marketing/Methodologies in the management of telecommunication companies. In conclusion, academic researchers should explore how agile marketing/methodologies can be applied to other areas of commerce operations.