Theophile BYUKUSENGE et al.

, International Journal of Research in Management, Economics and Commerce,

ISSN 2250-057X, Impact Factor: 6.384, Volume 08 Issue 05, May 2018, Page 115-124

Influence of Marketing Strategy Elements

on Market Share
Case Study: Brewing Companies in
Rwanda
Theophile BYUKUSENGE1, Dr. Jaya Shukla2 and
Dr. Irechukwu Eugenia Nkechi3
1,2
(Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology) 3(KIM University, Kigali, Rawanda)
ABSTRACT: Competition among firms is getting harder day-to-day due to many organizational and
environmental reasons such as globalization, increasing global and domestic competition, and new
technologies. Over the years, more attention has been paid to market share than any other marketing variable.
That interest result from a long history of research that shows that higher share leads to higher profits.
Different researches have been made but they didn’t go into deep to determine the real marketing strategy
elements on market share for each and every sector. The general objective of this study was to establish the
influence of marketing strategy elements on market share of brewing companies in Rwanda. The researcher
focused on four different Marketing strategies such as product, price, place and promotion strategy. The target
population was 3 main Brewing companies in Rwanda and this study adopted purposive and simple random
sampling methods to select 35 potential respondents. It was descriptive research where the researcher
described phenomena as they existed. Both primary and secondary data have been used. The quantitative data
were collected by using self-administered questionnaires and documentary technique has been used for
qualitative data collection. Statistical techniques have been used to summarize the information and SPSS were
applied to analyze data. The results obtained concluded that the sub-elements of marketing strategy such as
product quality, product specification and product packaging (under product strategy) were been accepted as
significant elements to increase market share; product pricing, period of payment and discounts offer under
pricing strategy were confirmed that they had an influence to the increase of market share; attendance in trade
fair, practicing road shows, practicing sales promotions and advertising on Radios, TVs, newspapers under
promotion strategy have been approved to have an influence to the increase of market share; under place
strategies, having safety stock, on-time delivery and placing of the storeroom were confirmed that they are
significant on increase of market share. Finally, the recommendations have been given, and the areas for
further researches had been identified.
The key terms: Market share, Marketing Mix and Marketing Strategy

I. INTRODUCTION
Over the years, more attention has been paid to market share than any other marketing variable. That
interest result from a long history of research that shows that higher share leads to higher profits. There are four
possibilities; gaining share, holding or maintaining share, harvesting and divestment or abandonment.
According to Chandler (1960), a strategy is the determination of long term goals and objectives of any
enterprise and the adoption of the course of action and allocation of resources necessary to carry out the desired
goal. A unique strategy contributes effectively to the competitiveness of business firms. Strategy has emerged
since the 50s as a tool for reorienting the organizational thrust. Good strategy can contribute to growth,
profitability, market penetration, cost – reduction, cutting edge differentiation of products and sustainable
competitive advantage of business firms (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). Johnson Scholes & Whitting ton (2005)
termed strategy as the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a
changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling
stakeholder expectations.
Marketing strategy is a procedure by which companies react to situations of competitive market and
forces of market or react to environment forces and internal forces to enable the firms to achieve its objective in
the target market (Lee & Griffith, 2004; Slater, Hult, & Olson, 2010). Traditionally, marketing strategy is a plan
for pursuing the firm’s objective or how the company is going to obtain its marketing goals within a specific
market segment (Kotler, 2013; Walker, 2011; Slater, et al., 2010). There are things that can limit the
effectiveness of a marketing strategy. For instance, the failure to adjust it to account for changes in market
conditions, such as the appearance of a new competitor who offers much lower prices, may cause you to lose

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customers. Not taking the time to conduct thorough research before developing your strategy can result in a
marketing campaign that misses the mark and wastes valuable marketing dollars (Hose, 2011).
The 4ps are the parameters that marketing managers can control, subject to internal and external
constraints of the marketing environment. The objective is to make choices that rotate the 4ps on the customers
in the target market so as to create perceived value and generate a positive response. Firms should therefore
ensure that the actions taken are agreeable with the individuals or organizations needs at a particular time and
should create value that is perceived to be far superior to the cost of the service being offered (Wearne and
Morrison, 1996). Successful marketing depends upon addressing a number of key issues. These include: what a
company is going to produce, how much it will charge, how it is going to deliver its products or services to the
customer; and how it is going to tell its customers about its products and services. Traditionally, they were
known as the 4ps. As marketing became more sophisticated discipline, a fifth ‘p’ was added, people. Recently
two P’s were added, that is, process and physical evidence.
Market share refers to the percentage of sales a company has in a specific market within a specific time
period. Higher market share translates into higher profits. Gaining or building market share is an offensive or
attack strategy to improve the company’s standing in the market (Sarkissian, 2010).
Market share is a measure of the consumers' preference for a product over other similar products. A
higher market share usually means greater sales, lesser effort to sell more and a strong barrier to entry for other
competitors. A higher market share also means that if the market expands the leader gains more than the others.
By the same token, a market leader - as defined by its market share - also has to expand the market, for its own
growth (Schnaars, 1998).
There are many different ways to increase market share; companies usually use a combination of
strategies. Sometimes something as basic as increasing advertising can have huge effects, as can adjusting
pricing. Breaking products into groups and targeting them at specific demographics can also increase this
percentage, as can making of complementary products. Another strategy is improving the product or service
itself, which can attract customers from competitors, though this can be difficult, so many companies try to
grow along with a growing market rather than trying to take business from the competition (Adis, 2010).
Market share is a key indicator of market competitiveness; how well a firm is doing against its
competitors. It enables the managers to judge not only total market growth or decline but also trends in
customers’ selections among competitors. Generally, sales growth resulting from primary demand (total market
growth) is less costly and more profitable than that achieved by capturing share from competitors. Conversely,
losses in market share can signal serious long-term problems that require strategic adjustments. Firms with
market shares below a certain level may not be viable. Similarly, within a firm’s product line, market share
trends for individual products are considered early indicators of future opportunities or problems (Kotler &
Armstrong, 2010).
Statement of the Problem
Competition among firms is getting harder day-to-day due to many organizational and environmental
reasons such as globalization, increasing global and domestic competition, and new technologies. Organizations
must therefore adapt themselves to the empowered customer by implementing strategies that can sustain them in
this competitive environment (RDB & HCID, 2012). The brewing companies’ business in Rwanda are also
faced with numerous challenges including intense competition, satisfying the needs of the customers, fluctuating
foreign exchange currency etc. To respond to these challenges, those companies can launch competitive
strategies that give them edge over others on the comparative market share. Several studies have been conducted
but they failed to establish the real marketing strategy elements that influence market share of firms especially
brewing companies. These studies include the study conducted by Ongonga (2014) on effect of marketing
strategies in gaining market share. The research conducted by Farshid & Amir (2012) on the influence of
marketing mix on market share of polymer sheets manufacturing in Iran which carried out on sheets
manufacturing firms operating in Iran only so that the results cannot be generalized to fit all firms. Hossein et al.
(2013) studied on effect of appropriate Marketing Mix Strategies on Iranian Protein Products Export
Performance; other research of Christina (2001) on an Evaluation of the Current Marketing Strategies being
used by Hospitality and Tourism Programs in the United States. King'oo (2015) came up with a research on the
effect of differentiation strategy on Market share of tea export firms in Kenya, but he did not specify other
strategies rather than differentiation that can influence marketing share. Although numerous studies have been
conducted on marketing strategies engagement and market share, they have not gone into deep to determine the
real marketing strategy elements on market share for each sector. However, the results of those researches
cannot be generalized to fit all companies. Hereafter, there is a need for research to go in deep and determine the
marketing Strategies that brewing companies in Rwanda need to be aware of for increasing their market share.
Therefore, this research is going to examine an influence of marketing strategy elements on market share, case
of brewing companies in Rwanda. The researcher was focusing on 4P’s of marketing mix such as product, price,
promotion, and place marketing strategies as key indicators of market share.

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II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on
the greatest opportunities to increase sales to achieve sustainable competitive advantages (Baker, 2008).
Marketing strategy is valuable as a long-term direction of an organization to achieve advantages in a changing
environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling of stakeholder
expectations (Johnson et. al., 2008). First element of marketing mix is product, which is considered as the core
of the marketing strategy. Product is usually a combination of goods, services and even people (Ferrell &
Debbie, 2002). Strategic pricing is the second element, which consists of three major driven factors such as cost,
market, and competitor driven pricing. Promotion activities are a necessary for businesses to communicate the
feature and the benefits of products to their intended markets, and promotion mix in a particular marketing
strategy, which depends on the nature of the promoted products (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2002). Moving product
to the right place in the right time and cost-efficient manner by efficient system is to be adopted by business
management (Vignali, 2001). Marketing performance refers to the number of products sold or services provided
by a company in a particular period of time, market share such as the total sales earned over a specified period
of time, total revenue and profitability which refers to the relationship between costs and benefits (Kotler &
Keller, 2011). Therefore, reviewing those pertaining studies, a research feels there is a need to conduct a study,
which aims at the influence of marketing strategy elements on market share, case of brewing companies in
Rwanda.

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design and target population.
Research design is the conceptual structure within which the research is conducted (Kothari, 2007).
The research design employed self-administrated questionnaires to a sample of individuals. The questionnaires
aimed at finding opinions about how marketing strategy elements influence the market share of brewing
companies in Rwanda. The researcher used both primary and secondary data. Primary data were obtained by
using questionnaires while secondary data were gathered from the documents available from textbooks, reports
and journal articles. Mugenda (2003) defines the population as a complete set of individuals, cases or objects
with some common observable characteristics. The target population of this research was 3 brewing companies
in Rwanda, such as Bralirwa Ltd, Skol Brewery Ltd and East African Breweries Ltd. The total population
comprised of stuff from sales and marketing departments of those 3 companies. The study adopted purposive
and simple random sampling methods to select respondents. Purposive sampling was used to select the
technical expertise and strategic linkage with the indicators in the study. Then simple random sampling was
used to select respondents from department particularly sales and marketing departments.
Sample Size
The researcher selected the appropriate sample size for the purpose of data collection exercise. The
𝑁
sample size was calculated by using Slovin Formula: 𝑛 = 2 which gave 35 potential respondents
1+𝑁(𝑒)
Data collection instruments
The main instrument used to collect data for this study was self-administered questionnaire. The
questionnaires comprised of open and closed ended questions. Five-points likert scale were used, where
statements were formulated for each variable in the conceptual framework and respondents were expected to
respond to the statements (Burns, 2000). The questionnaires were checked for both validity and reliability.
Validity and Reliability of the instruments
It is the extent to which a research instrument measures what it purports to measure. Specifically,
content validity of the questionnaires was considered. Content validity refers to the degree to which the
instrument fully assesses or measures the construct of interest and the internal consistency. To establish the
internal consistency of the instrument, the researcher gave the instruments to research supervisors and other
experts in the domain to verify whether the questionnaires were consistent to what they were expected to test.
Mugenda (2003) defined reliability as the extent to which a research instrument yields finding that are consistent
each time it is administered to the same subjects. To achieve high level of reliability the researcher used a self-
administration approach of data collection. Most questionnaires were filled in the presence of the researcher to
ensure that the right people filled the questionnaires. This made the research findings more objective and
dependable.
Data Processing and analysis
Data from the field were raw for proper interpretation. The raw data obtained from questionnaires were
cleaned, sorted and coded. Those coded data were tabulated and statistically analyzed by using the Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive analysis (means, frequency tables and percentages) and
compare means One-Sample T test were applied to evaluate the primary variable and associated indicator items
related to the study objectives.

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IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Introduction
This chapter presents the output of data analysis and its interpretation. Descriptive results have been
presented alongside with the One-Sample T test. The results were presented in the way to reveal how the
objective of establishing the influence of marketing strategy elements on market share of brewing companies in
Rwanda. Before the collected data were analyzed, reliability of the questionnaires used to capture the data was
tested. The research targeted sales and marketing managers and their teams of the 3 main brewing companies
registered in Rwanda such as Bralirwa Ltd, Skol Brewery Ltd and East African Breweries Ltd.
The sample size was 35 targeted respondents. This justified that 35 administered questionnaires were
sent to the respondents, but among those questionnaires sent, only 30 were returned which represented 85.7%
response rate.
The findings showed that among 30 respondents, 70% were Male and 30% were female. The most
respondents’ ages were classified in group 30-49 years where there was 63.3%, age group 20-29 years with 30%
and age group of more than 50 year with 6.7 %.
The findings obtained presented that 70% had bachelor's degrees, 26.7% had master degrees while
3.3% had other educational background. This predominance is justified by the fact that all of those brewing
companies in Rwanda are hiring the skilled labors who can utilize their skills and knowledge to generate income
by meeting their targets. And according to respondents’ years of service, 63.7% had 6 to 10 years of working
experience, 33.3% had 1 to 5 years and 3.3% was the one who had other academic qualification and he served in
brewing companies more than 11 years. This shows that the majority of the respondents had attained above
Bachelor's Degrees and they were experience in services they offered, hence qualified and well informed about
the study concept and hence information given was reliable.
Product Strategy elements and Market share
Below table shows the results of data analysis by using One-Sample T test with confidence interval of
95% and the Test Value of 3.
Table 4.1: Product Strategy elements
Test Value = 3
95% Confidence Interval of the
Mean Difference
T df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper
Product Quality 12.042 29 .000 1.333 1.11 1.56
Product packaging 16.155 29 .000 .900 .79 1.01
Product specification 5.641 29 .000 .633 .40 .86
Product quality: the findings showed that the Mean Difference >0 which explained that the mean was greater
than 3. Therefore, the statement “quality of products can influence the market share of brewing companies” is
true hence the mean is greater than 3.
These findings are supported by the report of Farshid & Amir (2012), where they confirmed the greater
influence of product quality to the increasing of market share of of polymer sheets manufactuers firms in Iran.
Thirkell & Dau (1998) found that quality had significant and positive correlate with company performance.
Konstantas, et al. (2017) reported that the market is assumed to be finite and comprises both regular and
occasional customers. Regular customers have higher mean demand rates than occasional customers. Each
outgoing product is inspected and classified as high quality, medium quality, or nonconforming. The customer
who purchases an item joins the regular or the occasional class, with corresponding probabilities which depend
on the quality level and on past customer state. The higher the quality level, the higher the probability for a
customer to remain or become a regular customer.
To maintain the product quality, it requires more attention in the competitive market of brewery
companies. One of the important items in quality handling is the material of products that has the significant
impact on quality of products, having Standardization mark from RSB if it is manufactured in Rwanda, or the
product should be audited, tested and certified by ISO.
Therefore, product quality improves customer retention, customer awareness and loyalty–customer
stays longer, buys and buys more often, thus increasing their long-term value to the business. Those companies
need to maintain a product with better quality, and this issue requires more attention in this competitive market.
One of the important items in quality is the material of products that has the significant impact on quality of
products.
Product packaging: In essence, packaging plays a pivotal role in the branding process of the product, attracting
customers and providing customers what they’re looking for when they take the product home (Kristie, 1996).

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By comparing the calculated me an alongside with Test Value =3, a researcher found that the computed
mean was greater than 3 as the table 4.1 showed. Therefore, the statement of “product packaging can generate
the extent of market share of Rwandan brewing companies” was tested and accepted. These findings were
supported by the report of Kristie (1996) who stated that packaging of products can increase customer
satisfaction, increase visibility and set one product apart from its competition by raising its market share
(Kristie, 1996). However, the report of Farshid & Amir (2012) rejected this statement, confirming that
packaging of the product cannot influences the market share.
Product specification: The table 4.1 above interprets the one-sample T test of product specification at
confidence interval of 95% and hypothesized value of 3. The computed mean obtained was greater than Test
Value (Mean>3; P-value<0.05), that meant while test variable was accepted to be the indicator of increasing
market share of the brewing companies in Rwanda. The product specification as an element of product strategy
includes the expected product size and weight, like product shelf life of the product, safe keeping temperature
and humidity range for drinking product. The findings were supported by the result of different authors like
(Farshid & Amir, 2012) who stated that specification of the product has a big influence on market share. Hence,
market needs different kinds of product with special specification in size, color, cover and in weight.
The respondents highlighted that the consumers are sensitive to the specification in color of the
product, the specification in standardized size, etc.
Price Strategy elements and Market share
The table 4.2 below explains the results obtained, using the one-sample T test in 95% confidence
interval with the Test Value = 3, the hypothesized population mean against which the variables will be
compared.
Table 4.2: Price Strategy elements
Test Value = 3
95% Confidence Interval of
Mean the Difference
T df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper
The price of product 19.977 29 .000 1.700 1.53 1.87
The period of payment 7.940 29 .000 1.100 .82 1.38
Offer discounts 6.886 29 .000 .733 .52 .95
The price of product: The results obtained showed than the mean difference is greater than 0, which implied
that the calculated mean was greater than 3 (Mean>3; P-value<0.05). This evaluated the statement “the price of
product can influence the market share” to be confirmed by brewing companies in Rwanda. These findings were
supported by the results from the report of Farshid & Amir (2012), Heryanto (2011), and Ongonga (2014) in
their researches where they confirmed that as well any particular company applied price discrimination,
penetration pricing and other techniques used in product pricing as its market share will be increased also
compare to competitor. And these findings are supported by the results of Hose (2011) who stated that “the
appearance of a new competitor who offers much lower prices, may cause you to lose customers”, which means
higher product price can affect market share and vice versa.
Period of payment: The mean from the results obtained was greater than 3 (Mean>3; P-value<0.05). This came
to confirm that the statement “The period of payment can influence an increase of market share” was accepted.
These findings were similar to those of Farshid & Amir (2012) who confirmed that period of payment increased
the market share.
Period of payment contributes more to the customer retention; hence sometimes customers decide to buy more
expensive products of a long-term period of payments.
Offer discounts: The research findings obtained showed that the computed Mean Difference was positive
(Mean difference>0) which implied that the mean was greater than 3 (Mean>3; P-value < 0.05). However, the
statement “the influence of offer discounts on increasing the market share” was accepted. This meant that any
deduction from the usual price of brewing companies can raise the number of consumers which increases the
market share of that particular company. These findings were similar to results of Farshid & Amir (2012) in
their as discussed in literature review where the authors confirmed that offer discount can influence the market
share of polymer sheets manufactures firms in Iran. In Rwanda, the brewing companies preferred to monitor and
maintain the Recommended Retail Price to their Distributors and retailers, as well there is any discount, the
consumption rate increase which leads to gain higher market share.
Place Strategy elements and Market share
The table 4.3 below shows the results obtained from the data collected, by using one sample T test of the
distribution strategy elements at 95% confidence interval and with the Test value =3.

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Table 4.3: Place Strategy elements

Test Value = 3
95% Confidence Interval of the
Mean Difference
T df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper
On-time delivery 18.252 29 .000 1.633 1.45 1.82
Placing of storeroom 3.890 29 .001 .400 .19 .61
Having safety stock 8.729 29 .000 1.233 .94 1.52
On time delivery: The research finding showed that the mean of this indicator was greater than 3 (Mean>3; P-
value<0.05), the researcher concluded that the statement of “the influence of the on-time delivery on increasing
the market share” was accepted.
The finding obtained are similar to the ones of Farshid & Amir (2012) in their report who confirmed that on-
time delivery play a big role in increasing market share. This was explained that if there is product shortage of
particular company at market, the consumers would shift to any other substitute goods such as competition
brands and later this will frequently reduce its market share. A customer will not likely purchase a service or
product unless it can be relatively easily accessed.
Placing of storeroom: The results generated showed that the mean of this indicator was greater than 3
(Mean>3; P-value<0.05). The hypothesis “the influence of the placing of a storeroom on increasing the market
share” was approved.
The findings of this research have been supported by the results obtained by Farshid & Amir (2012) in their
report which accepted that placing storeroom can influence market share of company. The place of a storeroom
increases the delivery costs for customers, thus, company should decrease this cost by having the nearest
storerooms to its customers.
Having safety stock: it is to describe a level of extra stock that is maintained to mitigate risk of stock-outs
(shortfall in raw material or packaging) due to uncertainties in supply and demand. Adequate safety stock levels
permit business operations to proceed according to their plans (Monk & Bret , 2009). Safety stock is held when
there is uncertainty in demand, supply, or manufacturing yield; it serves as an insurance against stock-outs. This
stock intervenes against mismatch between forecasted and actual consumption or demand, between expected
and actual delivery time, and unforeseen emergencies (Monk & Bret , 2009).
According to the finding, the mean obtained was greater than 3 (Mean>3; P-value<0.05), therefore the
hypothesis of “the influence of the having safety stock on increasing the market share” was tested and was
accepted. This has been explained by saying that they were keeping enough stock during holidays like in the
weekend, during Christmas and happy near year period of the year and other long public holidays because
consumption level always increases during this period.
The findings of this research have been supported by the results of the report of Farshid & Amir (2012) who
confirmed that having safety stock can influence market share of company.
Promotion strategy elements and Market share
The table 4.4 presents the findings obtained based on respondents’ data on the extent to which promotion
strategy elements as a marketing strategy contributes towards increasing market share among brewing
companies in Rwanda.
Table 4.4: Promotion strategy elements
Test Value = 3
95% Confidence Interval of
Mean the Difference
T df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper
Advertising 13.573 29 .000 1.200 1.02 1.38
Sales promotions 13.614 29 .000 1.400 1.19 1.61
Public Relations 6.530 29 .000 .833 .57 1.09
Advertising: This is the one of promotion strategy elements, using journals, Radios, TVs, Newspapers, Bill
boards, etc.
Hence, the mean computed was greater than 3 (Mean< 3; P-value < 0.05), the results obtained showed
that using those different channels of advertising can influence the company market share. The respondents’
opinions said that doing advertisement can raise product awareness, to educate the market about companies’
products, to persuade the market, etc.

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These research findings are contrasting the results of Farshid & Amir (2012) in they study in which
they confirmed that advertising in journals and TV channels cannot increase the market share they hypothesis
was rejected. As well companies spend a lot of money for advertising due to the importance of promotion and
although increases the cost, it should bring more benefit reasonably.
Sales promotions: Sales promotion is a range of tactical marketing techniques to add value in order to achieve
specific sales and marketing objectives. Those objectives highlighted by the respondents included to stimulate
trial, to level out demand fluctuations, to increase usage, to encourage trading up, to raise product awareness and
product loyalty etc.
Base on the research findings, they showed that the mean was greater than 3 (Mean> 3; P-value <
0.05). therefore, the hypothesis stating the influence of the sales promotion on increasing the market share” was
confirmed to be true. The results were similar to the ones of Belch (2003) who confirmed that doing sales
promotion activities promote the product awaresness and product loyalty which leads to post purchase and these
will also raise the product market share. The findings were also supported by the results of state Alphonce, et al.
(2012), they were reported that at 5% level of significance, there was positive relationship between the
promotional strategies and profits because as the costs on the promotional strategies increased so did the profits.
Chaharsoughi & Yasory (2012) in the study on effect of sales promotion as a tool on customer attention to
purchase concluded that introducing Khodro’s products through sales’ promotion attracts customer’s attention to
purchase. 50% of the participant selected the agreement choice believing that sales’ promotion will bring about
customers attention and promotion of selling. In the way of practicing this strategy, brewing companies
operating in Rwanda do some promotions like Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF), discount on the next purchase.
Public relation: Public relations are a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their publics. This occurs to maintain goodwill and awareness of an
organization's various publics such as customers, employees, investors, suppliers, etc., usually through publicity
and other nonpaid forms of communication. These efforts may also include support of arts, charitable causes,
education, sporting events, and other civic engagements.
According to the research finding, the calculated mean from the data collected was greater than 3
(Mean>3; P-value<0.05). Hence, indicating that there was a significant positive relationship between public
relation and Market share of brewing companies in Rwanda.
The findings are in line with those of Farshid & Amir (2012) who acknowledged that attending trade
fairs influence the market share.
Therefore, the findings showed that attending trade fairs (Expo), doing road shows (Primus Guma
Guma Super Stars), sponsorships (like Tour du Rwanda, sponsoring big championships teams etc.) contribute
more to the increasing of market share of brewing companies in Rwanda.
Attending a trade fair provides the environment that customers and managers can discuss easily, and
firm have opportunities to advertise face to face and meet experts.
The brewing companies in Rwanda should thus focus on effectively implementing the marketing
strategy practices if they are to ensure high levels of customer retention which will consequently boost
performance. This will enable the companies to maintain their existing market share and make it easier to grow
this market share as they acquire more new customers resulting from positive recommendation.

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of the findings
The findings of the study were discussed as per research questions posed in the study and
recommendations made based on the findings. The findings confirmed that marketing strategy consists of
product, price, promotion, and place strategies influence market share. On the basis of the study findings, it is
hereby concluded that the following elements were responsible for influencing market share among brewing
companies:
In the product strategy, the finding confirmed that quality of product, product specification and product
packaging increased market share of brewing companies in Rwanda. The brewing companies should maintain
their quality of product, having good packaging in attractive way and special specifications in size, color and
weight.
Under the pricing strategy, product pricing, period of payment and offer of discounts increased market
share of brewing companies in Rwanda. Hence, companies need to decrease their cost to offer better price to
customers due to the first important item for buyers, which is price of goods. In addition, period of payment and
discount offering provide more value for buyers which increase customer retention.
Under place strategy, the findings explained that on-time delivery, placing of a storeroom and having safety
stock increased the market share of brewing companies in Rwanda. Hence consumers want to obtain their
requested-on time and prefer to purchase the products that are available. The companies should be having the
nearest storerooms for minimizing transport charges of its customers.

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ISSN 2250-057X, Impact Factor: 6.384, Volume 08 Issue 05, May 2018, Page 115-124

The findings identified promotion strategy that consists of public relation, advertising, and sales
promotion does enhance the market share. Although it increases the cost of company, it can improve the
benefits of company which finally make the costs look reasonable. Attending trade fairs, road shows increase
customer awareness and facilitate to advertise face to face.
Conclusion
In the competitive environment of the market share, it is very important for a company to be looking
forward to the factors of market share. The central theme of this research was to examine the factors that
influence market share. On the basis of the study findings, it is hereby concluded that the following factors are
responsible for increasing market share among brewing companies in Rwanda.
Concerning product marketing strategy, the findings examined and approved that the elements like
product quality, product specification and product packaging influenced an increase of market share. Hence,
product marketing strategy has a significant influence on increase of market share of brewing companies in
Rwanda. The findings also showed that the elements product pricing, offer discounts and period of payment in
price marketing strategy had been evaluated and confirmed that the played a role on market share. Hence price
marketing strategy influences the increase of market share of brewing companies in Rwanda. Concerning place
marketing strategy, placing storerooms, on-time delivering and having safety stock exert a positive and
significant effect on influencing market share. Thus, the results confirmed that place marketing strategy can
influence market share of brewing companies in Rwanda. And the findings demonstrated that applying sales
promotions, advertising on radios, TVs, newspapers, attending trade fairs, expo, doing road shows had positive
impact on increase of market share. Therefore, promotion marketing strategy had significance on market share
of brewing companies in Rwanda. It can be concluded all elements of research objectives have been examined,
and the findings approved that they contributed to the increase of company’s market share.
Recommendations
Marketing managers need to comprehend the fact that although some elements (e.g., product, price,
promotion and distribution) still exert a positive and significant effect on influencing market share, there are
other elements which can influence the market share of brewing companies. It is reasonable to say that the effect
of the 4Ps is a potential outcome of a successful service delivery process and the interactions that take place
between the customer and the company, which represents a fundamental part of successful business operations.
This would strongly cover the way for the success of relationship marketing initiatives to improve company
performance as well as customer satisfaction and customer loyalty levels. This will result in customer retention
and eventually customer acquisition from the competitors which lead to increase in market share. Although the
consumption rate of those companies’ products is still low in Rwanda compared to other countries in region due
to traditional drinks like sorghum beer (Ikigage), banana beer (Urwagwa), marketing managers should reinforce
penetration by making use of the 4P’s.
It is recommended that companies should consider selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic products in a
right manner and also sell relevant products to the consumers and they should also team up with the public
institutions like Rwanda Standards Board in order to provide the required product quality which cannot harm the
consumers’ healthiness.
It is also recommended that the government policy makers should devise strategies that make it
possible for brewing companies to continue operating sustainably like checking on the premiums to ensure the
companies compete favorably on price, quality and environmental protection.
It is further recommended that a study should be undertaken to find out ways of addressing the
challenges that brewing companies are facing such that a brewing company can be having a good percentage of
market share and other companies are surviving on low market share for a long time without gaining.
Areas for further Research
The following are suggested areas of further study:
A more in-depth study by use of interviews after using questionnaires to be able to get a deeper
understanding of the variations in responses or perceptions of the respondents on marketing strategy elements
and market share.
This research was carried out on 3 main brewing companies operating in Rwanda only. Thus, the
results cannot be generalized to fit all companies. More researches will be needed in different areas to gain
better understanding the determinants of market share. The future researches are required to evaluate other
elements of market share.

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