The problem this study addresses is the key factors which have played an important role in the growth of small Indian retailers situated in some of the previous Group Areas of Pietermaritzburg. More particularly, the intention was to examine what role marketing played in this growth. The main reason for undertaking this study is that it seems that many small Indian retailers appeared to have exhibited growth despite having been affected by Apartheid and other problems commonly associated with being small. This study is unique in that it studies growth ie. a positive phenomenon amidst difficult situations ie. Apartheid and problems that are inherent in being small. This problem is explored by firstly analysing literature on the history of small Indian retailers in South Africa with the intention of identifying possible factors which may have played an important role in their growth. Stemming from this exploratory study into the history of small Indian trade in South Africa were the following factors which seemed to have played an important role in their growth: a. business experience and skills, b. hard work and support especially from family members, c. good knowledge of the needs of Indian customers, d. superior service, e. competitive prices, f. keeping overheads low, g. adequate capital possessed particularly by small Passenger Indian retailers, h. effectively identifying and exploiting opportunities. Secondly, the literature was once again explored to ascertain and examine factors which have been known to play an important role in business and more specifically small business growth. Having examined the literature, it was found that such growth factors could be grouped under six broad headings viz. Personal, Marketing, Financial, Technical, Management, and General. Relating what seemed to have played an important role historically in South Africa in the growth of small Indian retailers to what has been known to play an important role in small business growth generally, it was found that there were a number of common associations. Hence, this allowed for the generation of the following hypotheses: The growth of small Indian retailers in some of the previous Group Areas of Pietermaritzburg was because of: Hypothesis I (HI) - Personal Factors, Hypothesis 2 (H2) - Financial Factors, Hypothesis 3 (H3) - Marketing Factors, Hypothesis 4 (H4) - Management Factors, Hypothesis 5 (H5) - Technical Factors, Hypothesis 6 (H6) - General Factors. A survey was conducted in two areas which were part of the previous Group Areas of Pietermaritzburg and are often referred to as the 'hub' of Indian retailer activity in Pietermaritzburg with a high concentration of small Indian retailers. The areas in question were the 'bottom end of town' which included all those businesses in Church Street between East and Retief Streets; the other area included businesses in Old Greytown Road between Naidoo and Allandale Roads. A total of 67 small retailers were interviewed who survived for at least three years, were in business during the Apartheid era, and exhibited some form of growth during this period. Cluster/area samples were chosen on the basis of convenience and judgement to suit the financial and time constraints of the study; and elements were included in the sample randomly but in proportion to the size of their clusters/areas in the total cluster/area population. The 67 businesses studied were classified as low, medium, and high growth using Hatten's (1997) and Walker's (1988) growth models. There were 31 low growth, 32 medium growth, and 4 high growth businesses. The most important factors in this study were found to be in order of importance: personal, financial, marketing, management, and technical. In addition, the results of the qualitative study revealed that Culture and Religion, Group Areas, and past business experience also played an important role in business growth, in this study. The 'top ten' sub factors in this study were found to be: Honesty, Hard Work, Commitment, Involvement, Common Sense, A belief in Superior Quality and Service, Learning from Failure, Knowledge of Business and Market, Adequate Capital, Price. In testing the hypotheses, using the Chi-squared test, it was found that there were significant relationships between business growth and personal, financial, marketing, management, and technical factors, at the 95% confidence level. For all factors, using the Chi-squared test, significant differences, and high frequency counts were apparent at levels of importance thus suggesting that all factors studied were at least important in the growth of small Indian retailers situated in some of the previous Group Areas of Pietermaritzburg. The results of this study may be useful to: a. prospective small business people wanting to increase their chances of growth, b. those small businesses that want to increase their growth, c. those small businesses experiencing growth problems, d. small business operators from disadvantaged backgrounds, e. organisations involved in small business development, support, and training. The limitations of this study include: a. the lack of a pre-prepared sampling frame, b. unique results which may not be applicable to other small businesses, c. lack of literature on small business growth and the history of Indian trade in South Africa, d. inapplicability of the chi-square test for businesses in the high growth category due to a small cell size, e. restricted response from the Likert scale measurement used. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The emergence of the relationship marketing approach in the marketing field is seen as a paradigm shift from the traditional marketing mix of ‘4 Ps’. As a result, organisations began to look for ways to develop strong and lasting relationships with their customers. This paradigm shift resulted in relationship marketing being researched extensively. Most research on relationship marketing has been done from the perspective of the organisation. The uniqueness of this particular study lies in the fact that research has been done from the perspective of the customer (licensed tavern owners).The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived value of relationship marketing from the perspective of the customer (licensed tavern owners). The study focuses on the relationship between the supplier organisation (Distell Limited) and the customers (licensed tavern owners). The empirical study was quantitative in nature. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The research study focused on a sample of 100 licensed taverns in the Durban Metropolitan Area of KwaZulu-Natal, of which 96 responded. The findings of the study confirmed the importance of relationship marketing activities as applied by the supplier organisation to the licensed tavern owners. Significant importance was placed on relationship marketing strategies: the results rated social bonds as most important, followed by structural bonds and then financial bonds. The most important contribution of the study is in the development of a framework for the management of long-term relationships. This was done through the construction of a model which can be used for the development and the management of long-term relationships in the supplier-customer context. The current study focused on one sector of the liquor industry, namely the licensed tavern business. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Customer retention has been shown by academic researchers to be more profitable than customer acquisition. However, its implementation in the business environment has not been so successful. One of the reasons for this is that customer retention can be achieved in several ways (e.g.. loyalty programs, affinity cards and switching costs)and that the translation from the concept of “retaining customers” to the actions and strategies to retain them is not always easy. One of the most attractive strategies to ensure that customers remains within the organisation is through cross-selling and up-selling. In short, the objective is to increase the number (or the value) of the products that a customer buys from a company to make it more difficult for him/her to leave. Whilst academic research has deeply investigated the concepts of loyalty, retention programs and trust, amongst others, cross-selling has not received the same level of attention. Moreover, existing research on cross-selling has been focused on products rather than on services. Finally, this research has mostly been conceptual in nature, with limited attempts to model or design practical cross-selling and up-selling strategies. In order for cross selling and up-selling to be effective strategies, they need to be tailored to the needs of the customer. The offer must be adequate in terms of the target (who is going to buy the product), the content (what is going to be purchased) and a time (when is the right moment to offer the new product). This thesis investigates cross-selling and up-selling from a practical point of view in Nedbank It assesses the importance of the concepts of customer retention and cross-selling and up-selling through several interviews conducted within Nedbank. Finally, this research highlights, from an empirical analysis, how repurchase decision is highly influenced by the length of the relationship with the provider and the type of products already purchased. Understanding these factors is key to successfully retaining customers via cross selling. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

It is widely accepted that street trading is a survivalist activity that yields low profits. Few, if any, studies investigate how much profit is earned; intra-household allocation; and contribution of this income towards households needs. Therefore, a glaring omission in street trading literature is a critical evaluation of the contribution of street trading to household food and livelihood security. A major strength and original contribution of this study to the wider context is the analysis of street trading as a household food and livelihood security coping strategy. This study investigated whether street traders had sufficient food for household consumption; whether street trading reduced vulnerability to hunger; and determined how income from street trading was spent by households. Seven innovative participatory tools applied through a unique research design, were used to elicit business; household and demographic information. Five fruit and vegetable vendors; three clothing and cosmetics; two food; one telephone service; and one video vendor participated. Street traders were categorised into four food security groups according to increasing Coping Strategy Index scores. These were: two traders in a seemingly food secure group; five in the relatively food secure group; four in the relatively food insecure group; and one in the food insecure group. The use of innovative participatory research tools led to several findings. Types of goods sold did not determine profitability, but profitability determined household food security. As household income decreased, Coping Strategy Index scores increased. This finding implied sufficient access to food for household consumption was determined primarily by income levels ranging from R250 to R10 000 per month. Low income traders used severe coping strategies and were more food insecure than other traders. The middle income traders used intermediate coping strategies while the high income group used less severe strategies or did not apply food security coping strategies such as eating less preferred foods. This study found that child dependents and unemployed household members increased household food insecurity. Risk sharing networks among street traders played a key role in accessing cash for food and the sustainability of the micro-enterprises. Social grants reduced household food insecurity and provided a cash safety net for economic activity. Assets reduced hunger and provided crisis security. The study has shown that street trading supplemented low income levels for pensioners and low income earners. Street trading was a primary livelihood strategy for people who had no access to income from pensions or other/formal employment. The study concluded that income from street trading was vital to improve access to food for household consumption. Street traders who had established customers; and access to material and social assets consumed a greater variety of foods than street traders who were fairly new, lacked access to loans (through family and friends) and owned few or no material assets. All participating street traders began trading as a coping strategy to increase household cash. Their trading evolved into an adaptive or permanent livelihood strategy. Households used a mix of food related coping strategies and street trading was an adaptive strategy, rather than a coping strategy to access sufficient food for household consumption. Participating street traders were survivalists as street trading provided a daily net for subsistence. Although street trading income was barely sufficient to sustain households, it provided much needed income to pay school fees; rent; water and electricity. Street trading is therefore critical to household welfare for participating street traders; but infrastructure and resource constraints trapped street traders in survivalist enterprises and exacerbated their vulnerability to food and livelihood security. This study fills a gap in understanding of street trading behaviour in Raisethorpe. This is the first study to apply participatory research methods to comprehensively explore street trader coping strategies and the first study to attempt to link street trading, livelihood security and food security. It is recommended that municipalities adopt a developmental approach to street trading that includes trading sites with secure tenure and infrastructure such as shelter; tables; water and sanitation. Policy reform in terms of issuing trading permits and developing regulations for renting trading sites is imperative. Since this study found that profitability determined household food security, business advice and skills training should be provided for all street traders to promote business sustainability and profitability. A final recommendation is that street trading be recognised as a survivalist strategy that requires further investigation and policy measures to improve income and ensure food security for vulnerable groups. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

This study explored processes, marketing and management styles employed by stall holders at the roadside markets of Umkhanyakude municipal area. The first aim of the study was to find types of traditional artifacts that are commonly sold at the roadside markets. The second aim was to find out if the members of roadside markets were aware of their target market. The third aim was to uncover the marketing strategies employed and the understanding of their principles by the respondents in relation to the success with their sales. Nine roadside markets were visited out of which only seven were willing to be investigated. From each roadside market 50% of the members present at the time of research formed the sample for this study. Focus group discussions were held with the management committees. These discussions were looking at the management and policy issues followed by roadside markets when employing the marketing principles in their daily operations. The research was conducted by using personal observations of the roadside markets by the researcher, focus group discussions which involved discussions between the researcher and the management structures of the various roadside markets, attending meetings to enable a critical understanding of the level at which the markets operate, and a questionnaire that was administered to the stallholders of the seven markets. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research provided a framework of how the roadside markets operate in promoting and selling their products to customers. A questionnaire translated into Isizulu was used and the results were analyzed using the SSPS model. Findings suggested that the roadside markets have their marketing strategies of which some are basically the marketing mix and some originate from their way of life. The members of the roadside markets have a lesser understanding of the marketing strategy in relation to product development and packaging, costing and pricing, promotion and target market awareness. The management teams of the markets with an understanding of business management knowledge were instrumental in contributing to better performance of the markets. Management committees that had been exposed to capacity building and training showed better skill levels compared to those that had not had the exposure. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.