Strategic Public Relations Practices and Consumer Buying Behaviour in Sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this work was to assess if strategic public relations practices have made an appreciable impact on consumer buying behaviour in Nigeria. In a descriptive research design, we adopted a quantitative survey and both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to answer the four research questions. Primary data was generated from a sample of 800 respondents selected across the six geopolitical zones of the country using multiple sampling techniques. Results from the estimation of a multiple regression analysis to determine the impact of both community relations practice, customer relations practice, media relations practice and government relations practice shows that significant efforts have been made by strategic public relations practitioners in the area that will help businesses succeed in the true sense of business success. The study concluded that any increase in the strategic public relations practice affects consumers’ decision to buy, hence increases the profitability of the companies while also preserving the environment and image of the company. In line with the findings, the study recommended a nuanced approach to strategic public relations practices in the Nigerian context, where diverse consumer preferences and behaviours are at play and continuous monitoring and adaptation of strategic PR practices remain very critical.