Marketing strategies implemented by garment-making micro-enterprises in Kenya

Abstract

Fashion is very dynamic and way of life for humans in many consumer products, clothing included. In
Kenya, the clothing industry is characterized by a dynamic environment and intense competition caused
mainly by enlarged globalization, trade liberalization and importation of second-hand (mitumba) clothes. In
this kind of environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult for an enterprise to maintain long-term
success. Thus, the clothing enterprises are faced with challenges that demand them to offer higher value
added products that meet the demands of the customers. As a solution, sound marketing strategies are
critical to the survival and growth of micro-enterprises in the garment making sector. However, there is
limited research that has looked at the enterprises from a marketing strategy perspective in terms of the
type of marketing strategies that are embraced. This paper aims at highlighting the various marketing
strategies. The study used ex-post facto research design targeting garment-making micro-enterprises with
less than ten employees in Nakuru town. The main data collection instrument was a questionnaire that
comprised closed and open-ended questions. Principal component analysis and Chi-square goodness-of-fit
test (x2
) were used to determine the various marketing strategies and test the hypothesis that there was no
variation in the marketing strategies implemented by garment-making micro-enterprises. Eight strategies
were identified as being implemented by garment-making micro-enterprises. Based on the results of this
study, it is concluded that interactive marketing is the most implemented strategy while e-marketing is the
least. However, further research is required to explore the impact of implementing the various marketing
strategies on the growth of the enterprises