EFFECT OF PROMOTIONAL TOOLS IN PRODUCT MARKETING

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1   Background of the Study  

Promotion as we all know is an integral part of the entire marketing mix variable and concepts. Promotion is done for all marketing activities to have a feel of what the targeted market (consumers) feels or think about other variables of the marketing mix.

Production and marketing of goods and services make room for pricing placement and product. In promotion of goods and services communication process techniques must be applied, communication techniques have no dear demarcation from promotion because both strives to create awareness in form educate, entertain, influence, demand and create room for response and feedback.

Modern marketing calls for more than developing a product, pricing it attracting and making it attractive and accessible to target customers. It calls for the need for companies and organizations to communicate through promotion with their present and potential customers so as to be sure of its market share, loyalty, degree and the strength technique of its competitors.

Communication does not only inform and encourage buying through its persuasive element promotion market is possible for producers and marketers to keep abreast with information be it strategic operational tactics that will help the promotion mix implementation of the entire programme as regards to feedback and response communication and promotion as carried out by many modern organizations and firms is not only to influence and encourage buyers to accept and buy their products, services or ideas as it is done these days. It is don’t to enable organizations to establish a good reputation for trustworthiness progressive and social responsibilities and status that will automatically give such organizations or firms and edge over competitors and rivals in the same filed.

Die to dynamism in technology and computer advancement promotion and communication are changing overtime and its viewed as the management and customer buying process overtime, this includes the process involved in preserving, selling, consuming and part consuming stages. Initially, in the past 8 years back promoting tools and the communication process is just intended to persuade and encourage the consumers to buy the products, but with great consumers awareness and stiff competition between firms and industry the post consumption stage is of major concern as the pre-selling and selling stage respectively because most firms induce the post sales dissonance so as to improve in the reputation and image in the eyes of the consumer.

Presently, every stage of the communication and promotional stage is attached with the same importance and this justifies the reason for more funding of the promotional on improvement of sales volume market share increases awareness, good consumer marketers relational programme is one of the most important factors in product marketing because all marketing activities depend on communication be it internal or external, the aim is always to create awareness and understanding of firms  plan, infernally and firm sales volume share, competitors, weakness, government policies and micro environmental factors external.

Precisely, the impotence of promotion is product marketing should be viewed as the positive element of marketing that will nor only help to sell and increase sales volume but will help to build the corporate image of the firm over a period of time and such outstanding reputation will help to foster a good management -customer relationship that will entail social responsibility and that marketing concept of today.

Historical Background of UAC foods

UAC Foods a division of UAC Plc was established in 1906 and was named Royal Nigeria Company which because United Africa Company in 1945 comprises of 3 companies which were merged together and they are as follows:-

1.          PAN ELECTRIC

2.          REFRIGERATOR AND AIR CONDITION (R.A.)

3.          UAC NIGERIA LTD.

The researcher was made to understand that UAC Plc of Nigeria was with Unilever United Kingdom but during the 90’s UAC Plc, solely owned by Nigerians with the Federal Government of Nigeria with 6-% distributed to various shareholders UAC Foods produces consumable and ready made such as:-

1.          Snacks

2.          Farm and Poultry product

It was observed that most of the raw materials needed are locally sourced. UAC Plc has chains of branches in Nigeria but the researcher is giving special emphasis on Kaduna Branch. UAC Foods are located at No. 5 Gidan Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello Way by Leventis roundabout, Kaduna. It’s branches are at Kano, Jos, Maiduguri, Abuja, Port –Harcourt, Onitsha, Benin, Lagos, Ibadan. These branches are well staffed and serve as outlets for distributing various products of the organization to different parts of Nigeria. At the time of research the staff strength of the organization is 1,050 made up of skilled and semi skilled labour.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

The main problem that besieges organization as concern promotion tools used in project marketing is that of choice.

Considering the different tools available to marketable such as advertisement, sales promotion, personal promotion, personal selling etc, a decision has to be taken on which world not be most effective.

Many organizations have had problems in choosing the promotional tools and they end up using channels which are suitable for ten that would be the most effective shall depend on factors like availability of funds, location of costumers, degree of competitors etc.

Another problem is manner of conducting promotional techniques are shabbily put together that end up repelling customers instead of appealing to them. Care is often taken in selecting the kind of messages to be conveyed by promotions. Many marketing organizations have the probes of not being wailing to employ the services of promotions professional and instead, they rely on internal personnel to do it for them. These more often than not, lead to failure.

1.3   Objectives of the Study   

        The aim of this research is to specifically:-

a.   To uncover the root cause of the problems faced by the organization in promoting their product.

b.  To intensively study how the importance of motional tools can be used in product marketing.

c.   To comprehensively review how the various promotional tools are used in promoting products and to know if such promotions are helping the products and also creating awareness to the consumers.

It is indeed the researcher’s hope that by the time these objectives are achieved, a clear picture of the problems will surface and subsequently recommendations as to how to go about tackling the problem will be made.  

1.4   Significance of the Study

Like in all research works, the significance of this study are:

a.           Increase and widen the scope of the researchers knowledge   

b.          To educate and enlighten the public on the importance of promotional tools.

c.           To serve essential requirements and fulfillment of the award of National Diploma in Business Administration.

d.          To serve as good material for learning among students of various institutions.

e.           To assist organization to know the various problems, faced in using different types of promotional tools and how to amen such problems to be able to drive its overall objectives.

1.5   Research Question   

1.     Does appraisals importance of promotional tools uncover the root cause of the problem in marketing?

2.     Does absence of promotion in production process affect marketing in every organization?

3.     How does promotion review various tools in the production process?

1.6   Limitation of the Study

Limitation is simply the difficulties the researcher may involve which may likely frustrate the good quality of the research work.

Also, lack of adequate textbooks and write-ups that engaged with the topic also constitutes great problems.

Limitation of the study is the inability of the respondents to answers some of the questions in the research questions. This prevents one from carrying out the research as extensively as intended.

Lastly, the branch of the company was reluctant to discuss in details information relating to their financial position and other confidential data. I was only privileged to get the information used in this project because of my experience in a private company.

1.7   Definition of Terms 

Promotion could be viewed as a combination and management of advertising, personal selling sales promotion publicity and public relations so as to reach a marketing goal of the organization goals both in short and long run. It is the integral pat of all the communication concept of marketing.

Communication: It is the process of information transfer between a sunder and a receiver to enable the receiver understand the message of the sender and appropriate acting taken. Promoting the same line is the coordination of all sellers.

Initiated effects to set up channel of communication and persuasion in order to reactivate the sales of a product services or the acceptance of an idea.

Product Marketing: It is the activities involved in the process of trying to sell a product. These activities include the identification of consumers wants, needs of the target market should be known before any tangible effort towards marketing of the product can be achieved.

Goods and services cannot be sold to people that either have or do not need them.

The idea of identification of consumer wants, it essential and it’s the fundamental of all activities in the line of products. Marketing design means of satisfying those wants is the next factors to be considered so as to envisage the total features that will promote consumer buying sure of a product. The next stage is the acknowledging of the importance of the consumer to organizations lastly, the supremacy of the consumer granting his freedom of choice, right to information, right to safety, etc.   

The right is to most vital factor under this stage and idea of promotion and communication in product marketing comes in. The importance of promotional tools in product marketing can be viewed as the organization, coordination, planning of all promotional mix so as to achieve the organization and consumer awareness objectives.