PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES AS TOOL FOR IMPROVING MARKETING MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
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PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES AS TOOL FOR IMPROVING MARKETING MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Background of the Study
A marketing promotional strategy is primarily concerned with the role that each of the promotional mix elements will play in the successful and efficient dissemination of information to potential customers and clients. Promotional strategies are vital, especially in the face of imperfect competition, irrational client behaviour, and insufficient market knowledge.
Intense rivalry among insurance businesses may indicate the necessity for careful attention to promotion. The emphasis on promotion is relevant to both product and service marketing.
The insurance marketer must comprehend the environment in which the function operates, as well as examine the promotion mix elements that he utilises and those that need to be adjusted.
Promotion Strategy can thus be defined as the design and administration of a marketing subsystem with the goal of informing and influencing current and prospective customers and clients.
A company should coordinate all of its promotional efforts as a comprehensive subsystem inside the overall marketing system. In economic terms, the primary goal of promotion is to shift the location and shape of the demand curve for a company’s goods, services, or ideas. Through marketing, a corporation seeks to push a product’s demand curve to the right and change its shape.
A corporation uses marketing to improve a product’s sales volume at any given price. It also hopes that advertising will affect the product’s demand elasticity, i.e., make demand elastic as the price drops.
The primary goal of a promotion plan is to inform current and potential customers/clients about the product/service, i.e. to spread relevant information.
Nigerian corporate marketing managers should establish the most effective promotional approach for their businesses by combining advertising, personal selling, and other promotional techniques. Four things should be considered when determining the promotional mix.
· The promotional budget
· Market nature
· Product nature.
· Stage of product life cycle.
The primary goal of promotion is to inform, convince, and influence individuals, including customers, clients, and other relevant audiences.
A marketing promotions strategy/policy defined the function of each method of communicating information to consumers about a specific product or service. The key components of developing this strategy include choosing the information to be communicated to consumers and clients, setting a budget for it, and selecting the means or tools for disseminating information.
Meeting promotion is also important in strategy or market segmentation. Promotion is used to inform market segments about the availability of products or services designed to fulfil their specific requirements and desires.
Good customer/company connections should be prioritised in any Nigerian product or service organisation. In all their interactions with consumers and clients, Nigerian firm personnel should demonstrate tolerance, patience, politeness, honesty, and sincerity.
Special price reductions, free offers, technical booklets, exhibitions, seminars and conferences, and press free editions are examples of promotional actions and decisions that are not related to advertising.
In appropriate media, planning the size, selecting the administrative methods to be used and the nature of the sales office staff, remittance, remuneration, and training of sales department members, and developing a suitable monitoring service and information system to keep track of results against plans.
1.2 Statement of Problem
The Nigerian business climate is full with uncertainties and unpredictability. As a result, a Nigerian marketing manager must analyse, comprehend, and use the primary components of the company environment in strategic marketing decisions.
A Nigeria marketing manager typically works in the following business environments: economic, technological, legal constraints, competitive, socio-cultural, political, and operating environment, among others.
The economic environment include inflation, interest rates, currency rates, and income per capita. Additionally, the global economic crisis is hurting many industries and organisations, leading to budget limitations.
· Socio-cultural environmental aspects include consumer and client lifestyles, hygiene, conventions, beliefs, values, age, geography, and reading level.
· Technological components refer to the company’s facilities used for producing and delivering goods and services.
· The legal environment include land-based business legislation and compliance requirements.
· The political environment encompasses government policies, beliefs, initiatives, and priorities.
· The competitive environment includes other companies offering similar products or services to meet market demands.
To create an effective marketing strategy and policy, marketing management must analyse the business environment using SWOT analysis.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The purpose and objectives of this research are to investigate promotional methods as a tool for improving marketing management in Nigeria.
· Distinguish between marketing commodities and services.
Examine how “promotion” fits into the marketing mix for insurance plans in Nigeria, including advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling.
· Examine the risks associated with insurance goods and lack of advertising in a competitive market with similar services.
· Provide theoretical arguments for service promotion and provide conclusions on marketing benefits.
1.4 Significance of the Study
It is impossible to overstate the importance of starting this endeavour.
Organisations will gain from being active in policy formation, execution, and the use of promotional resources to achieve organisational goals. This work will be an attempt to improve productivity, profit, and market share through promotional efforts.
It will also be extremely beneficial to future researchers and students who are interested in researching the potential and difficulties associated with a lack of advancement.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypothesis will be tested.
H0: There is no positive correlation between promotional efforts and increased market sales.
Hi: There is a positive correlation between promotional efforts and increased market sales.
H0: Promotional methods are not an effective tool for growth.
Hi: Promotional methods are an effective strategy for driving growth.
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
The research aims to answer or discover solutions to the following questions.
Does Marketing Management lead to beneficial development?
Can promotional strategies be an effective strategy for boosting marketing?
Can promotion improve the efficiency of marketing management in Nigeria?
1.7 Scope of the Study
In this study, we will attempt to define promotional techniques as a tool for improving marketing management in Nigeria.
The study will be conducted at Niger Insurance Plc between July and December 2011, and all comments and recommendations will be applicable to the industry.
1.8 Definition of Terms
As the research continues, several phrases will be employed that the researcher believes are necessary to define in order to simplify the research process and avoid ambiguity during the course of study.
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: Bowman and Asch (2009) define strategic management as the process of examining both current and future environments, formulating organisational objectives,
implementing and controlling decisions and activities aimed at achieving these objectives in the present and future environments. It is essentially the application of the firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses to capitalise on external opportunities while minimising external difficulties or dangers.
STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT: This part of an organization’s strategic management focuses on marketing activities that have a direct impact on the firm’s current and future marketing operations. It is concerned with achieving a competitive advantage in marketing, which is a continuous process.
Cravens and Crittenden (2007) define market-driven strategy as a firm’s ability to create a competitive advantage by analysing and strategically responding to changing environmental opportunities and risks.
These strategies, together with an accurate grasp of the market and a focus on the customer, serve as the foundation for determining how, when, and where to compete.
According to Chadlar (2007), strategy is the determination of an organization’s essential long-term aims and goals, the implementation of courses of action, and the allocation of resources required to carry out these goals and objectives.
PRODUCT approach: A predetermined approach for new product development, improvement, and discontinuation.
DISTRIBUTION approach: This covers the approach that will be followed for each distribution channel, as well as the role of middlemen and the specific assistance and support supplied.
pricing STRATEGY: This outlines the function of pricing in the marketing strategy as well as the price-related actions that are planned.
MARKETING RESEARCH: Determine information requirements, project objectives, anticipated costs, and timeframe.
PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY: It describes the planned strategic and tactical measures for advertising publicity, personal selling, and sales promotion.
1.9 Brief Historical Background of Nigerian Insurane Plc
Niger Insurance Plc was incorporated on the 29th day of August, 1969 as a Private Limited Liability Company (The Niger Insurance Company Limited) with an authorised share capital of N50,000 to take over the undertakings,
assets, and liabilities of the Yorkshire Insurance Company Limited, a fully owned British Company that had decided to stop transacting insurance business in Nigeria from 1969, as a result of the promulgation of the Companies Decree of 1968,
requiring all This was the status up until December 1973, when Yorkshire Insurance Company Limited of England sold its whole stake in Niger Insurance Company Limited to the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria.
The foregoing deal resulted in Niger Insurance becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria.
The company is now a fully privatised composite insurance company that trades on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Currently, Niger Insurance Plc ranks among the “BIG FOUR” in terms of total gross premium income.
CAPITAL/ASSET BASE.
The publicly traded composite insurance company currently operates with assets in excess of N5 billion and a fully paid-up authorised share capital of N 400 million.
MAN-POWER BASE
The company’s management team consists of highly qualified, experienced, and capable experts with vast management and technical expertise.
Niger Insurance Plc is extensively computerised and utilises cutting-edge software technology. The computer network can be expanded and upgraded to accommodate current and future corporate growth.
Niger Insurance plc has also established strong reinsurance treaties with local and global first-class reinsurance businesses, including Swiss Re.
These comprehensive securities promote financial stability and instill confidence in the company’s services among both current and prospective clients.
Niger Insurance Plc, as a composite insurance company, conducts all types of insurance business and provides a diverse variety of innovative and customer-oriented products and services to its growing clientele.
Niger Insurance Plc is very versatile in its product development since they understand that no two consumers are exactly the same.
Furthermore, their policies are supported by one of the most efficient and always improving claims settlement methods in the insurance industry.
The following are a broad range of the products and services that the company offers:
LIFE AND PENSIONS.
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