EFFECT OF MARKETING PROMOTIONAL TOOLS ON PERFORMANCE OF RENTAL OFFICE PROPERTIES IN NAIROBI CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
Tomiik M. Konyimbih - Masters Student, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Lydia Kwamboka Mbura - Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
Samson Nyang’au Paul - Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Kenya’s Real Estate sector has seen a steady growth over the past several years. Studies have revealed that the influx of young people from the rural to the urban areas has been a major contributing factor to this development. The general objective of this study is to determine the effect of some four main traditional marketing promotional tools (Advertising, Sales promotion, Public relations and Personal selling) on the Performance of office rental properties in Nairobi’s Central Business District (NCBD). The specific objectives are: to establish the effect of advertising on Performance of commercial office rental properties, to analyse the effect of sales promotion on Performance of commercial office rental properties, to determine the effect of Public relations on Performance of commercial rental properties and to assess the effect of Personal selling on Performance of commercial office rental properties in Nairobi Central Business District (NCBD). The study adopts a descriptive and causual compartive research design. The population for this study is all the rental properties with 5 floors and above, which add up to 119 buildings. The sampling method chosen is purposive sampling, a form of non-probability sampling to select the 119 commercial office buildings with 5 floors and above a planning requirement in the NCBD. Purposive sampling involves a deliberate selection of particular units of population to constitute a sample representing the population. The study uses the questionnaire as the main data collection instrument. Primary data was collected by the use of questionnaires administered to managers, tenants and caretakers of commercial office rental properties in Nairobi`s Central Business District. Qualitative data was examined using content analysis, a method which enables a more objective evaluation than comparing content based on impressions of the respondents. Quantitative data was largely analysed using descriptive statistics. The analysis sought to answer research questions, objectives and explain the associations and dependencies between the identified variables of the study. The findings of the research are that there is a linear relationship between the dependent and the independent variables and that the performance of the office tenancies could largely (56.8%) be explained by the marketing promotional tools. Personal selling had the greatest effect on the actual level of tenancy (mean of 3.5) followed by public relations (3.46), advertising (3.44) and sales promotion (2.68). The majority of the respondents (72%) said that the promotional tools have a positive impact on the general level of rental collection. Future research could investigate the Information Technology (IT) promotional tools on Real Estate marketing programs in Kenya urban areas.
