Impact Of Promotional Strategies On Customer Attraction In Manufacturing Companies

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

At the heart of business, nowadays, is the competition to attract consumers’ attention towards products or services. Consequently, each producer needs to build a more attractive strategy and action plan than its competitors. One prominent tool of attracting consumers’ attention towards products is promotion. Promotion in many industries represents a significant percentage of the marketing mix budget. Non- durable goods manufacturers now spend more money on promotions. For example, airlines periodically offer discounts to generate incremental traffic; financial institutions use promotions to induce customers to use their services or buy into their products. Farm equipment manufacturers use price promotions to sell excess inventory.

According to Chaharsoughi and Yasory (2012), promotion is one of the key factors in the marketing mix and has a key role in market success. Promotion is used to ensure that consumers are aware of the products that the organization is offering. It is the process of establishing communication relationship between a marketer and its publics. Marketing promotions is quite different from mass communication, in which an organization addresses largely undifferentiated mass audience for non-commercial purpose by such means as press editorials, radio news and television. Under marketing promotions, an organization would be aiming at a deliberately differentiated audience for a commercial purpose and would employ such means as advertising, personal selling, sales’ promotion, publicity and public relations.

Promotion involves disseminating information about a product, product line, brand or company. It is one of the four key aspects of the marketing mix. Adetayo (2006) opined that promotion seeks to inform, remind and persuade target consumers about the organization and its products. He further argues that promotion is often used to help an organisation differentiate its products from rivals. A promotion campaign is an inter-related series of promotion activities designed to accomplish a specific objective. The obvious goal of promotion management is to ensure that all the individual elements of the promotion mix work together to accomplish the organization’s overall promotion activities.

An organization adopts different processes or strategies to disseminate information about its products, product line, brand or company. These various processes are described as the promotion strategy.

A promotion strategy can be considered as a process whereby information about the organization’s products or services are encoded into a promotional message for delivery to the customer. In effect, firms have a variety of alternative information delivery system available to them, which can be used to information about the organization’s products or services are encoded into a promotional message for delivery to the customer. In effect, firms have a variety of alternative information delivery system available to them, which can be used to construct an appropriate promotional mix strategy. This portfolio of alternative delivery mechanism includes majorly; advertising, personal selling, public relations, publicity and sales’ promotions. The others are collateral promotion, direct marketing.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Marketing decision makers are increasingly aware of the importance of the shareholder’s value maximization, which calls for an evaluation of the long term effects of their actions on product-market response and investors’ response (Amit and Dominique, 2010). The relative importance of the marketing strategy components on sales have not been focused. It is therefore the intention of this paper to examine the effect of marketing strategy components on sales’ performance of the selected organizations.

Until recently the manufacturing industry was, and probably is still be-labored with disturbing distress some of the customers who were customers of these firms only had their faith to blame while others today view banks with skeptical attitudes. The wake of distress however, has today more than ever before, created a serious problem for the industry leading to the need for the application of promotional strategies as not only survival strategy, but also one to give the industry the success it may presently require. Thus the identification of the application of the promotional strategies and its roles in the m Industry is necessary.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

Having identified the problem necessitating this research, the researcher seeks to accomplish the following:

To explore the use of promotional strategies in the industry.

To investigate the impact of promotional strategies in manufacturing industry, on the customers of the firms.

To examine the extent to which promotional strategies can assist the growth of the industry in Nigeria.

The challenges faced by the industry on the application of promotional strategies in Nigeria.

To recommend a more useful way of promotional strategies in the industry.

It is hoped that the study would go a long way in exposing the possibilities of applying promotional strategies or concept in the manufacturing industry. In turn, it will ensure the successful accomplishment of customers oriented services that would result in more returns and at lower cost of running while the society is kept satisfied with the services rendered by the manufacturing industry.

1.4 Research Questions

What type of promotional strategies does your industry uses to approach its target audience?

What type of advert does your industry use to approach its customers on a new product?

Do you agree that promotional strategies are essential in achieving organizational objectives of creating awareness of the needs and wants of customers?

Do you agree that promotional strategies give directions to other activities within the industry?

Do you agree that customers are always satisfied with the activities and services being rendered to them by the industry?

In introducing a new product, what language does the industry use to communicate with its target audience?

Do you agree that media are very effective in creating customer patronage in the manufacturing industry?

1.5 Hypothesis of the Study

The following hypothesis was tested for the study

Ho: there is no significant relationship between promotional strategies and customer attraction in manufacturing companies in Lagos state

Hi: there is a significant relationship between promotional strategies and customer attraction in manufacturing companies in Lagos state

1.6 Significance of the Study

This research work would offer immense benefits to co – students, banking industries and other organizations. Fellow students will find the content of this research very useful in their research work in marketing and in enhancing their wealth of knowledge on the subject. Researcher interested in carrying out research work in a similar or related area will also find the fact made available in this project useful as a source of information and as a challenge to them in their research mission.

Bankers would utilize the facts in and suggestions offered here in smoothing and using in better marketing promotional strategies in business performances in the economy and enhancing their operational activities as well. More so, customers and entrepreneurs would be encouraged and made to realize the significance and, or important of employing marketing promotional strategies in their business operations.

Lastly, the impact of promotional strategies in the manufacturing industry is way of stimulating business growth vital for the enhancement of the country’s economic state, and would as well be appreciated through the fact noted in this project.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The application and roles of promotional strategies in the manufacturing industry has gained prominence in recent times. This is evident in the manner that manufacturing industry now invites consumer-oriented services being offered to the public. The researcher therefore sees the topic interesting and challenging. However, due to the manufacturing industry being too large for the researcher to cover, the researcher limits herself to the study of Unilever, Lagos Branch. Specifically, the researcher further made studies on the application of promotional strategies in the operations of new generation banks in Nigeria, and decided on a case study of Unilever, Lagos Branch.

1.8 Limitation of Study

However, there were constraint imposed on the researcher this includes the following.

a. Time:

A study of this nature, needs a relatively long time during which information for accurate or at least near accurate inferences could be drawn. The period of the study was short, hence time posed as a constraint to the researcher.

b. Cost:

The researcher would have extent the survey to areas. But limitations here included cost of transportation to source for materials and cost of typesetting the already completed work.

c. Dearth (Scarcity) of Statistical Data:

Commercial banks adhere strictly to the rule of secret; in banking thus they refused to release information.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Promotion:

A promotion is the advancement of an employee or customer’s rank or position in an organizational hierarchy system in regard to his or her patronage

1.10 Organizations of the Study

The chapter one consist of the introductory part of the study which includes the study background, the statement of the research problem, the study objective and scope of the study.

The second chapter is a critical review of other literatures relevant to the study and its objectives including the theoretical framework for the study. While the third chapter is methods of data collection, sampling and data analysis used in conducting the study. The fourth chapter centres around the research findings including an analysis of how it relates to previous findings. The fifth chapter consists of the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations base on the study objectives.