CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the study

Marketing mix is a business tool that used by the management of organizations which enable them to remain in global competitive environment. Marketing mix refers to the four major areas of decision making (4P‟s) in the marketing process that are blended and mixed to obtain the results desired by the organization to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. It is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools of product, price, place and promotion (4P‟s) which are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers‟ needs (Shankar and Chin, 2011). For any business to be successful in today‟s increasingly competitive marketplace, it must provide a quality product that satisfies customer needs, offer affordable price, and engage in wider distribution and back it up with effective promotion strategy.

According to Kotler (2005) marketing mix is the set of controllable tactical marketing toolsproduct, price, place and promotion-that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing mixes consist of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product. McCarthy (1964) saw market mix as the 4 Ps, as a means of translating marketing planning into practice: product, price, place and promotion. He noted that market mix is the pillar of business organizations. Today, in Nigerian breweries industry, the market is flooded with many brands of beers, from different breweries such as Guinness Nigeria Limited, Benue Breweries, Olympic Breweries, Sona Breweries and Consolidated Breweries and the consumer is spoilt for choice with the abundance of different brands of beers in the market. Due to the abundant choice of beers, especially products of Guinness who is a major competitor of Nigerian breweries, available in the market, management of Nigerian breweries is faced with the problem of ensuring sustained preference to achieve loyalty and retention which impacts the financial performance of the firm. The issues faced by Nigerian breweries are to determine what are the reasons for customer preference for its products and the likelihood of sustained repurchase by the consumer or otherwise referred to as customer retention. It on this note that this research work wishes to investigate the impact of marketing mix elements on Nigerian breweries‟ consumer royalty.

In Nigeria where the importance of marketing is yet to be fully appreciated, people talk of marketing their products as if they are referring to a particular problem. A successful marketing strategy must tell an organization where they would want to be on a long-term basis, that is why it is often said that marketing strategy is a continuous process. It must rest on a carefully but well planned action, Baker (1995: 17) The strategy aspect of the plan should be based on what is known of the competitor’s strength and weakness, the physical characteristics of the battle ground, the friendly or hostile sentiment of those who occupied the territory, and of course, the nature of resources available to the organization, Stanton (1982: 35). In the business organization, there is safely no activity where the marketer must not therefore make the right decision about the four components of the marketing mix - price, product, place/distribution and promotion through the employment of marketing strategy. These key components must be co-ordinated and moved into a unified effective strategy if the product must perform well in the market, Kotler (1997: 315) 2 The analog to business strategies is direct and useful in business and in marketing, the terrain is the market place in particular and economic, political, social and technological environment in general. The resources are personnel with wide-ranging skills and expertise as well as factory laboratories, transportation system, financial resource and the corporate reputation, Henry (1984: 72) More so, depending on the nature of business, strategies may have other dimensions as well. At the heart of any business strategy is marketing strategy. Businesses exist to deliver products to the markets to an extent that they serve this purpose efficiently through profit maximization. All these are marketing efforts. The objectives of an organization have to be considered, particularly on customers’ satisfaction and increasing their sales volume at profits making. Conclusively, Lever Brother Nigeria Plc being one of the leading manufacturing outfits in Nigeria must reflect and consider marketing strategies as a means of success in the markets and above all must anticipate the action and reactions of their competitors, Nwosu (1996: 112).

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Marketing as a managerial practice rest on the economic functions of, production, distribution and consumption. Based on the discussion so far, we should try to establish a link between marketing and marketing mix.

The marketing mix is a major concept in modern marketing. It is the term used to describe the combination of the four variables which constitutes the core of a company’s marketing system, viz the product, price, the distribution system and promotional activities. The application of these variables determines to a large extent the success in the marketing environment. It is in view of this that the researcher intend to investigate

the impact of marketing mix in the accomplishment of organizations objective

1.3      OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to ascertain the impact of marketing mix in the accomplishment of organizations objective; but for the successful completion of the study the researcher intends to achieve the following sub-objective

i)             To ascertain the impact of marketing mix on the profitability of the organization

ii)           To investigate the relationship between marketing mix and sales volume

iii)          To investigate the role of marketing in attaining organizations objective

iv)         To ascertain the effect of marketing on the growth of the organization

1.4      RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study the study, the following research hypotheses are formulated by the researcher

H0: marketing mix does not have any significant impact on the profitability of the organization

H1:marketing miv have a significant impact on the profitability of the organization

H02:there is no significant relationship between marketing mix and sales volume.

H2:there is a significant relationship between marketing mix and sales volume

1.5      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the study will be of great importance to the marketing firms who are charge with the responsibility of advertising an organization product to the general public. The study will also be of great assistant to marketing managers of organization to restrategized on how to capture the target market. The study will also be beneficial to researchers who intend to embark on study in similar topic as the study will serve as a guide to their study. Finally the study will be beneficial to academia’s students and the general public.

1.6      SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the impact of marketing mix in the accomplishment of organizational objective. In the cause of the study there are some factors which limited the scope of the study;

(a)Availability of research material: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.      

(b)Time: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.      

(c)Finance: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Marketing mix According to Kotler, Philip (principles of marketing, 1980) marketing mix can be defined as the particular blend of controllable marketing variables that the firm employs to achieve its objective in the target market.

Accomplishment      Weoster dictionary defines accomplishment as bringing to completion.

Organizational objective This is a carefully defined aim or goals of an organization.

Practitioner     According to oxford advanced learners dictionary, a practitioner is a person who regularly does a particular activity, especially one that requires skill.

Organization:  According to J.C Okeke (hand book on business organization) organization is defined as a description of group activities, or an important aspect of management factors which designs. The utilization of production factors on an institution itself.

1.8 Organization of the study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion and also recommendations made of the study.

You either get what you want or your money back. T&C Apply

Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)

---