A study on bumiputera women entrepreneurs in small medium enterprises on their knowledge of promotional strategies in Sapangar area, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah / Josrin Amban @ Mohd Nazrie Abdullah

This is a study on Bumiputera women entrepreneurs in Small Medium Enterprises on their knowledge of promotional strategies in Sapangar Area, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The objectives of this study are: (1) To determine the level of knowledge of promotional strategies among Bumiputera women entrepreneurs in SMEs in Sapangar area, Kota Kinabalu; and (2) To determine frequency of usage of different promotional tools among Bumiputera women entrepreneurs in SMEs in Sapangar area, Kota Kinabalu. This is an explorative research using quantitative approach. Survey using self-constructed questionnaire is used to determine perception from the study sample of 50 respondents among the Bumiputera women entrepreneurs in SMEs in Sapangar area, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. These respondents are selected using convenience sampling. The results of the study showed that generally respondents have low level of knowledge of promotional strategies, especially among those with lower academic qualification, involved in agriculture, having micro enterprises and lesser business experience. It was also found that three most popular promotional tools are point-of-sales display, discounts and newspaper/magazine. The least popular promotional tools are incentive program, telemarketing and kiosks. It is recommended that focus training on marketing communication knowledge and skill be given to Bumiputera women entrepreneurs, avenues for promotion organized at their location and encouraging women entrepreneurs to further their studies. Future researches are recommended to cover the aspect of examining the factors influencing their knowledge of promotional strategies and investigating their capabilities of mixing channels of marketing communication.