Advertising and the Survival of Retail Pharmacies in Selected Districts in Eastern Kenya

ABSTRACT The study was carried out to establish the extent to which advertising affects the survival of retail pharmacies in selected districts in Eastern Kenya. The main objective was to determine the level of advertising and survival on retail pharmacies in selected districts in Eastern Kenya. The study employed a descriptive correlation design; data was collected from l4lrespondents using self administered questionnaires as the key data collection instrument. The study revealed that advertising affects organization survival. From the findings, appropriate conclusions and recommendations including those for further research were made. Recommendations from the study were: (i) The government should enhance and promote pharmacies by encouraging customer service in order to sustain retail pharmacies. (ii) Government should come up with good policies addressing use of pharmacies as a cheaper and most effective way of purchasing medicines. (iii) The retail pharmacies should invest reasonably in advertising to create brand awareness. (iv) The government should introduce tax incentives to allow retail pharmacies have sufficient reservations for advertising for industry survival. (v) Pharmacies should train marketing professionals in order to equip them with expertise in advertising to enable them sustain the industry. (vi) Management should encourage regular feedback to inform staff what they need to do and customer awareness.