Effect of Marketing Mix Strategy on Performance of SMEs Evidence from Selected Manufacturing Enterprises in Southern Region, Ethiopia

Marketing strategy has been a focus of organizations and a tool for attaining overall firm performance. This study investigates the effect of marketing strategy on business performance of selected small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Southern, Ethiopia. The researcher has employed causal research design. To collect primary data self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 250 owner/managers of SMEs by using purposive sampling followed by stratified random sampling. Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The correlation analysis result revealed positive significant relationship between product (r=0.406, =.01, p=0.000), price (r=0.347, =.01, p=0.000), promotion (r=0.403, =.01, p=0.000) and performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs), whereas the relationship between place and SMEs performance was found significantly negative (r = -0.188, =.01, p=0.003). The independent variables jointly explained 29.5 % of variation in performance of SMEs. Recommendations were made to SMEs to produce innovative (new design, feature, varieties) products, charge affordable prices and disseminate tailored promotion. Further researches can be extended by measuring the performance of SMEs combining financial and non-financial indicators. Yet, negative relationship between place and performance calls up for the future research.