Consumer behaviour towards cause related marketing in the greater eThekweni region

Abstract

Cause related marketing (CRM) is becoming a popular marketing strategy used by brand managers, retailers and service companies. It can be described as a marketing strategy that links charities or ‘causes’ with the sales of a product, brand or service. The charity is mentioned in promotional campaigns and a certain percentage is donated to the cause in accordance with unit sales or turnover. A study was conducted in the eThekweni region of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa to gather information on this issue. The study was a quantitative survey and data was collected by means of an interview process. The overall objective of this study was to gain an understanding of consumer behaviour towards companies using CRM in the greater eThekweni region. This objective was made up of three sub-objectives. The first subobjective was to identify whether eThwekeni consumers would switch brands to a company involved with CRM, if price and quality were equal. This was followed by subobjective two, which was to establish whether particular socio-demographic characteristics of consumers would be related to their evaluation of a CRM offer. Finally, sub-objective three was to establish whether those same socio-demographic characteristics would be related to the selection of specific causes.