MARKETING ACTIVITIES OF SMALL-SCALE BUSINESSES IN BENIN CITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A product includes all the peripheral factors that contribute to a consumer satisfaction i.e. when you eat in a restaurant, the product is more than just the food, it includes the quality of the service and the atmosphere (Mauser and Schwartz 1982).Hence is purchasing a product, a consumer would desire it to be or expect it to be of good quality, in order to meet his needs, expectation and for his ultimate satisfaction.        Fine quality products leads to consumer’s good will and satisfaction that manifest themselves in the form of repeat sales, loyal to customers and clients and testimonial to prospective customers or clients (Donnely, Gibson and Ivancevich 1987). Therefore it is up to the producer or manufacturer to maintain that quality to ensure consumers satisfaction.        Generally, Nigeria-made products that are often referred to as being inferior and of low quality. This has drastically reduced the demand for local products and has further discouraged private entrepreneurs from investing in some local industries. It has been observed over the years that many companies are either folding up or carrying out mass retrenchment due to lack of patronage of their products. For any business to continue to exist it must have a market to satisfy and this means that it must provide product and service which have quality standard, it is necessary for firms to adopt quality control measures which will help them to produce quality goods and services that will satisfy the ultimate users. In order for Nigerian to develop economically, firms have to produce goods of high quality content by adopting total quality control method to all aspects of their production activities. This will help in flushing out substandard goods, which are presently in existence in the country.        Small scale business in the cornerstone of any nation’s industrial and economic growth. It is in the view of the importance of small scale business to a nation’s well being that successive federal government come out with policies to encourage the development and growth of small scale business.        For any organization to be successful in its business there must be a way in which goods and services produced are distributed to those who need them. The process where by goods are produced and distributed is know as marketing.        According to Kotler (1986)“marketing is a social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with other”.             With this definition above we see that marketing involves the process of exchange of goods and services for other values. For any one to engage himself in marketing, he or she must take the 4ps (Marketing mix) into consideration i.e. product, price, promotion and place.        The 4ps are the general activities which make up marketing. The product which is the most important among all the market mix is the nerve-centre of the business as other activities cannot take place without the product, also the price of the product must be determined, the place where the product will be sold must also be decided and finally the product must be promoted so that consumers will be aware of the presence of the products. These will be discussed more or details in later chapters. In the past most writers focused on lack of or in adequacies of fiancé as the greatest problem military against the development and growth of small scale business in Nigeria. This research will be focusing on the problems and prospects of marketing activities of small scale business.

 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This research work has the primary purpose of carrying

out survey of marketing activities if small scale business in Benin city. The marketing activities have been a serious concern to enterprises and organization.        The issues of prices, product, promotion, place, buying and selling consumer satisfaction, standard product are some of the marketing activities of small scale business which enterprises, marketing managers and organization engaged on. The main purpose of this research work, therefore is to carryout a survey of marketing activities of small scale business.

STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM/ RESEARCH QUESTION

        The need to make profit is the main driving force in a mixed oriented economy such as that of Nigeria. The level of profit is a measure of the degree of success.        It is know that some organization do not plan well before going to market their product and even some organizations have know market target i.e. the particular group of people to satisfy before engaging in the production of goods which make the marketing of the product a serious problem.        In spite of all these small scale businesses posed the following research questions?1.           What are the measures to be adopted to achieve quality control on production of small scale businesses.2.           What amount will place on production of small scale business?3.           What kind of promotion should be adopted by small scale businesses?4.           How can small scale businesses achieve it profit?5.           What are the importance of marketing activities to small scale businesses under study?6.           What are the extent to which marketing activities of small scale businesses led in achieving marketing objective?7.           what are factors small scale business understudy consider most important in their marketing activities and implementation process?8.           what are the plan small scale businesses adopt in other to achieve market target?9.           what are the problems currently faced by small scale businesses?

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the study are:

1.           To identify the marketing problems currently faced by small scale businesses.2.           To determine how small an medium scale business secure and sustain adequate patronage of goods and services of small scale businesses at acceptable price.3.           To find out how marketing activities contribute to the turnover of small scale businesses.4.           To identify the marketing channels available to small scale businesses5.           To determine the promotion activities of small scale businesses    

   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

        The study when completed will go a long way to assist existing small scale businesses by improving the quality of their product, while also helping potential investors in small-scale businesses to know where to concentrate effort in marketing in order to make a maximum profit.        Also the study will be of immense use to managers in small-scale businesses, investors, government agencies encouraging the growth of small-scale businesses and to every one interested in the management of small-scale businesses.        Furthermore, the study will seek for the problem been encountered by producer in trying to market their product, keep a check and balance to the extent which they apply the marketing mix i.e. product, price, promotion and place. The study therefore aims to see how the improvement can be achieved in marketing the product.        The benefits of the study  will include better operation and profitability of small scale businesses and ultimately provide room for expansions which will eventually provide more jobs and better services to the public at reduced cost.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This work seeks to investigate the marketing activities

associated with product of small scale businesses and how it affects marketing of the product and extent to which the firm adopt adequate measure and method of quality control.        It is a well know fact that small scale businesses involved in series of marketing activities and such activities are very important to the small scale businesses.        Although, emphasis will be laid on marketing of product of small scale businesses. However, for the purpose of comparison, reference could be made to industries located outside the area.

HYPOTHESIS

A hypotheses is a tentative statement of the relationships Between two or more variables (Spiegel, 1992). In this research study, three hypotheses are to be tested in the null that there is no significant difference between the observed and the expected frequencies.1.     Ho:   Whether marketing activities of small scale businesses are of great importance to the organization.2.     Ho:   Whether marketing activities of small scale businesses ensures smooth assess of product to the consumers.3.     Ho:   Whether marketing activities of small scale business helps in identifying marketing problems currently faced by small scale businesses.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Product This is the total package of benefits that customers receive when making purchasing. It could be tangible (such as a car) or intangible (such as vacation)Price:                               The amount of money and or products needed to acquire some combination of another product and its accompanying services.Quality:                            This is the satisfactory conformance to specification and design such that the product gives customers satisfaction, dependable service and reliability to satisfy stated or implied needs.Standard:                          This is defined as any accepted model or criteria against which comparisms can be made.Strategy:                          A broad plan of action by which an organization intend to reach its objectives.Promotion:                       The element in an organizations marketing mix that is used inform, persuade, and remind the market regarding the organization and or its products.Market:                             This is said to people or organization with wants to satisfy, money to spend, and willingness to spend it.Local Product:                   This is said to be goods or service produce within an area and is been consume in that same area where it was produced.Quality Control:                This refers to the inspection of production being used on the final assembly line and the inspection of partly assembled products on the line.Marketing:                        A total system of business activities design to plan, price, promotion and distribute want satisfying product to target markets in order to achieve organizational objectives.Small Scale Business: This defined as firms with asset (including) working capital but excluding 1 and) not exceeding #750,000       Small scale business are now defined on the basis of employment that is:Micro/cottage industries – 1 and 10 workersSmall scale industries – 11 and 100 workersMedium scale industries – 101 and 300 workersLarge scale industries – 301 and aboveSmall scale business can also be classified base on the market their servedSatellites:                         Are small businesses which are heavily dependent on one large customer to buy a high proportion of their outputSpecialists:                       Are small firms which serve markets which large firms do not find economical to serve.Marketers:                        Are small enterprises that compete in the same or similar markets as large firms.