ABSTRACT

Building strong differentiation strategy to attain competitive advantage is a top priority. Amongst many firms but it is not always an easy task to accomplish. Due to the increased globalization and competition, the management of strategy has become of importance and thus presents an interesting area to study. With the adoption of effective product differentiation strategies, many companies may compete effectively and efficiently. The study, therefore, set out to ascertain the effect of product differentiation strategies on customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific aims were to: examine the effect of product size on customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State; analyze the effect of product price on customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State; ascertain the effect of continuous product innovation on consumers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State; determine the effect of physical environment on consumer patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State; and examine the combined effect of product size, product price, continuous product innovation, and physical environment on customer patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State. In this study, the survey research method was adopted as the scientific approach in the study. The study was carried out in Abia State of Nigeria. All customers of selected fast food restaurants in Aba and Umuahia in Abia State formed the population of the study. Using a model developed by Israel (2009), a sample size of 380 customers of the selected fast foods in Abia State were used. Judgmental sampling method was employed in the study. Both simple and multiple regression model through the electronic SPSS software version 20.0. Study findings revealed that product size is statistically significant and positively related to customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State. Simple linear regression analysis in the study also showed that product price is statistically significant and negatively influencing customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State. Similarly, continuous product innovation is statistically significant and positively affecting customers’ patronage of selected fast food restaurants in Abia State. Based on the study findings, it was concluded that product differentiation strategies exert significant effect on customer patronage of fast food restaurants in Abia State of Nigeria. We therefore recommended that managers of fast food restaurants in Abia State need to make sure that they provide adequate satisfaction to their customers. In other words, they should pay more attention to customer satisfaction, since their survival in this dynamic environment is highly dependent on their ability to retain a larger customer base compared to their competitors.