Agribusiness Product Rational Motives and Service Quality scsrjournals@scholarconsult.com                                     18 | Page     Agribusiness Product Rational Motives (PRM) and Service Quality Ogidi, Armstrong Emmanuel Department of Agribusiness, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, P.M.B. 2373, Makurdi Abstract: Agribusiness companies in Nigeria are not doing enough to place customers at the centre of their activities in order to influence their perception. Some agribusiness companies are systematically measuring customer satisfaction and the factors shaping it. The aim of this study is to ascertain if agribusiness product rational motives influences service quality in Benue State, Nigeria. Primary data was collected randomly from six settlements, namely: Wadata, Judges Quarters, Old G.R.A., and Kwararafa Quarters. Quota sampling (non-probability sampling technique) was used by first selecting 3 families from each settlement, secondly, by breaking down each family for the study into the following respondents: a) 2 children (≥ 18 years old) b) the mother, and c) the father. This gave a total of 48 respondents to make the sample frame for the study. The study revealed that agribusiness product rational motives variables viz: economy, style, conformity, performance, durability, reliability and convenience exhibited by Nigerian consumers after purchase showed a moderate effect on service quality; this is as a result of the blindness caused by rational behavior of Nigerians in trying to afford the necessities of life. The Nigerian consumer takes into perspective his economic purchasing power before taking into cognizance the reliability, conformance and durability of agribusiness products. The moderate service quality, enjoyed by Nigerian consumers, needs to be increased, from moderate to a high effective rate. This can be done by ensuring that: Higher quality products are introduced by agribusiness companies. Moderation by agencies in charge of quality issues such as Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), NAFDAC, etc. should be increased. Key words: Agribusiness, motives, product, quality, rational, service 1. Introduction A highly satisfied customer generally stays loyal longer, buys more as the company introduces new products and upgrades existing products, talks favorably about the company and its products, pays less attention to competing brands and is less sensitive to price, offers product or service ideas to the company, and costs less to serve than new customers, because transactions are routine (Olusemore, 2009). There is no single way of classifying buying motives. The study of buying motives is part of human behavior and is part of psychology, which is the study of human mind of all subjects. Suppose customer satisfaction is rated on a scale from one to five for an agribusiness product. At a very low level of customer satisfaction (level one), customers are likely to abandon the company and even bad-mouth it. At levels two to four, customers are fairly satisfied but still find it easy to switch when a better offer comes along from a competing agribusiness company. At level five, the customer is very likely to repurchase and even, with the motive to spread good word of mouth about the agribusiness company. High satisfaction or SCSR Journal of Management and Marketing (SCSR-JMM) Volume 1, Issue 1 (March, 2014), pp 18 - 26 www.scholarconsult.com