Influence of Brand Awareness on Buying Behavior of Insurance Consumers in Kenya

Abstract

Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory and is measured through brand recall/brand recognition. In the context of a given specific product category, brand awareness counts up to be a key determining factor of consumer’s buying behaviour as it enables consumers to recall the brand. Awareness is also associated with consumers’ buying behaviour since it affects brand associations that form the brand image. This paper aims to examine the influence of brand awareness on consumer buying behavior of insurance companies in Kenya with reference to SMEs in Nairobi CBD. The study adopted a crosssectional survey design. The target population was small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) consumers under tier one general insurance operating in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). Systematic sampling technique was used to select a sample of 153 respondents. Questionnaires were used as the main tools for collecting data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Linear regression model was used to bring out the relationship between brand awareness and buying behavior. The findings revealed that brand awareness has a positive influence on buying behavior of SMEs when buying insurance policies. The study concluded that improvement of brand awareness through various channels such as advertisements, promotional materials and sales personnel will significantly increase consumer buying behavior. It was recommended that for insurance firms to succeed in marketing their products, they should ensure that they target all classes of audiences by using a combination of media to advertise their products in order to improve on their brand awareness.