Improving Customer Experience Through Differentiation Capability: The Rise of Competition Among Africa’s Consumer Goods Companies

Competitive advantage is one of the essential components of customer satisfaction and business growth, but the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial influence on consumer behavior, while also giving rise to intense competition within the business environment in Africa, making competitive advantage and customer experience a challenge. Consequently, firms have been compelled to make strategic choices such as differentiation capability to navigate these challenges. The study therefore examines the effect of differentiation capability on the customer experience of selected consumer goods companies listed in Nigeria the biggest economy in Africa. The research adopted a cross-sectional survey method, and a total of 20 consumer products firms were identified and evaluated based on their capitalization criteria and continuous dividend payments. From this group, seven companies were chosen for further analysis. The sample size of 378 was determined using the Research Advisor Table, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin error of 5%. To address the issue of non-response, appropriate measures were taken, leading to the inclusion of an additional 113 respondents, representing 30% of the original sample. This adjustment resulted in a final sample size of 491. A total of 491 questionnaires were sent to the respondents, resulting in a response rate of 97.76%. The hypothesis was examined by regression analysis. The results of the study indicate that differentiation capability is an effective tool that is statistically significant and positive to customer experience (β =0.842, t = 29.782, p<0.05); The research findings indicate that applying differentiation capability in a firm helps attain a stronger competitive position and has a favorable impact on customer experience. This research, therefore recommends that there is a need for technology adoption to cut production costs and establish a durable competitive advantage.