ABSTRACT
This research work investigates strategic marketing as an instrument to enhance organizational performance. Organization has been noted for its strategic marketing, but the effort has not been its measure of success and there has been a great decline on sales, this stimulates the researcher’s attention to find out the effect of strategic marketing on profit and sale of goods and services in any organization and also relationship between a firm marketing strategy and its product acceptance. In the course of this study, various data were generated, presented, and analyzed. For the presentation of analysis, it was discovered that marketing strategies help to inform, persuade and influence customer purchasing orientation. In conclusion, strategic marketing is of a great importance to any firm who wish to remain in business and make profit despite the environmental threats.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page................................................................................................................................... i
Declaration................................................................................................................................ii
Certification..............................................................................................................................iii
Dedication................................................................................................................................iv
Acknowledgement....................................................................................................................v
Table of contents......................................................................................................................vi
List of tables………………………………………………………………………………….x
Abstract...................................................................................................................................xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study.....................................................................................................1
Statement of the problem...................................................................................................3
Objectives of the study.......................................................................................................3
Research questions.............................................................................................................4
Research hypothesis............................................................................................................4
Significance of the study.....................................................................................................4
Scope of the study..............................................................................................................5
Limitation of study.............................................................................................................5
Definition of terms.........................................................................................................6
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Concept of strategic marketing........................................................................................7
2.2 Definition of strategic marketing....................................................................................8
2.3 Reasons for strategic marketing.....................................................................................8
2.4 Strategic and planning systems......................................................................................9
2.4.1 Long range planning....................................................................................................9
2.4.2 Strategic planning.........................................................................................................9
2.4.3 Strategic issue management (SIM)..............................................................................9
2.4.4 Strategic surprise management (SSM)........................................................................10
2.5 Marketing mix strategy...................................................................................................10
2.6 Strategic formulation.......................................................................................................11
2.7 Evaluation and selecting strategies..................................................................................13
2.8 Principles of strategy evaluation......................................................................................14
2.9 The criteria for strategy selection.....................................................................................15
2.10 Strategy implementation and control..............................................................................17
2.11 Control process................................................................................................................18
2.12 Market orientation............................................................................................................20
2.12.1 Innovation orientation...................................................................................................20
2.12.2 Positioning strategic marketing.....................................................................................21
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research design..............................................................................................................24
3.2 Area of study...................................................................................................................24
3.3 Population of the study....................................................................................................24
3.4 Determination of sampling size.......................................................................................25
3.5 Sampling procedure.........................................................................................................25
3.6 Sources of data.................................................................................................................26
3.6.1 Primary data...................................................................................................................26
3.6.2 Secondary data...............................................................................................................26
3.7 Method of data collection..................................................................................................26
3.8 Method of data analysis.....................................................................................................26
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Socio-economic characteristics of the selected firm........................................................29
4.2 Marketing strategies adopted by selected firms................................................................31
4.3 Factors influencing marketing strategies adopted.............................................................32
4.4 Factors influencing profit..................................................................................................34
4.5 Constraints.........................................................................................................................36
4.6 Test of hypotheses one…………………………………………………………………...37
4.7 Test of hypotheses two…………………………………………………………………..38
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.0 Introduction............................................................................................................39
5.1 Summary of findings..............................................................................................39
5.2 Conclusion..............................................................................................................39
5.3 Recommendation....................................................................................................40
Reference
Appendix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Age of the firms 29
Table 4.2 Number of employees 30
Table 4.3 Location of the firms 30
Table 4.4 Marketing strategies adopted by the selected firms 31
Table 4.5 Factors influencing marketing strategies adopted 32
Table 4.6 Factors influencing profit 34
Table 4.7 Constraints 36
Table 4.8 Test of hypotheses one 37
Table 4.9 Test of hypotheses two 38
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Marketing efforts and know-how are instrumental in commercializing ideas and inventions and in running successful business. Therefore, it would be fatal for companies to ignore the importance of marketing. Kotler (1999) emphasizes the position of marketing to even argue that, in the future, marketing has the main responsibility of achieving profitable revenue growth for the company. Today cost-efficiency does not provide long-term competitive advantage for companies whereas marketing, when well conducted, does. Especially in the field of strategic marketing, benefits are still largely waiting for realization.
Marketing has traditionally been viewed and treated more as operational rather than strategic functions in companies. It has focused on decisions related to analyzing and selecting target markets, products and brand development, promotion and channel of distribution (Hunt and Morgan, 2001). This perhaps somewhat biased standpoint presents marketing as a task of creating, promotion and delivering goods and services to consumers and businesses (Kotler, 2003). It is generally accepted that acquiring a new customer may turn out to be considerably more expensive than building customer loyalty among firms’ current customers (Kotler, 2003). This strongly speaks for the need for higher levels of customer orientation among companies. Similarly, to reward systems that base on short-term marketing focus may start working against longer-term market orientation, business performance and strategic intentions of a company.
From strategic point of view, as Morgan, Clark and Gooner (2002) argue, marketing budgets should be seen as capital expenditure in building revenue generating marketing assets rather than over-head expenditure; Marketing resources ultimately drive long-term marketing performance. It is not easy, however, for marketing managers to convince executives in the absence of valid, reliable and credible marketing performance assessment (MPA) systems. In addition to corporate executives, also marketing managers are often unable to uncover and confidently support cause-and-effect relationships between marketing input, marketing processes and marketing performance outcomes. (Morgan, Clark and Gooner 2002). Difficulty to access the marketing performance is evident since it depends on external, largely uncontrollable factors, such as customers and competitors (Neely, 2002). Additionally, links to business performance are very often complex and include some irrationality; for example, success sometimes bases considerably on luck. Thus, as the aggravated example shows, high performance of a product or a company may not have much to do with goodness of management.
Even though Bonoma and Clark (1988) argue that marketing’s outputs are subject to so many internal and external influences that establishing causes-and-effect linkages is very hard, if not impossible, it is somewhat alarming in the light of previous discussion how the connection between marketing efforts and business performance is still relatively vague for both academics and decision makers in business context. Increasingly, in order to survive and excel in today’s heavily competitive environment, companies need to be able to define their real competitive advantage and focus on them.
Despite general acceptance of value creation of marketing activities, marketing practitioners have found it difficult to measure and communicate to their executives and top management the value created in marketing (Srivastava, Shervani and fahey, 1998). To bring light to the prevalent situation, confirmatory statistical analysis basing on hypothesis from previous literature is a justified method to explore strategic marketing and its effectiveness.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Firms have been noted for their strategic marketing, but the effort has not been its measure of success. From the time past there has been a great decline.
Salam (2002) reiterated that the unrestricted invasion of competing brands that are cheaper and sometimes regarded to be of high quality are major problems facing many firms in selling their product.
Similarly, it has been observed critically firms have embarked on series of strategic marketing and the graphical picture shows that the revenue accruable for this has not been matching with the original capital invested for marketing programmes.
Any organization requires strategy in its course of action. The strategy for a divisionalized marketing company requires greater effort and experience in its implementation than a strategy for non-divisionalized firms.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of strategic marketing as an instrument to organizational performance.
The specific objectives are to:
I. Show the socio-economic characteristics of the selected firms.
II. Identify the strategic options adopted by the selected firms.
III. Evaluate the level of performance of the selected firms.
IV. Identify the factors influencing the strategic marketing options adopted.
V. Identify the factors influencing the level of performance of the firms selected.
VI. Show the constraints to strategic marketing in the selected firms.
1.4 Research Question
The researcher in the course of this study looked into the following questions:
I. . What are the socio-economic characteristics of the firms selected?
II. . What are the strategic options adopted by the selected firms?
III. What are the levels of performance of the firms selected?
IV. Are there factors influencing the strategic marketing options adopted?
V. For the selected firms, are their factors influencing their performance?
VI. Determine the constraints to strategic marketing in the firms selected?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
HO1: There is significant relationship between number of employees, age of the firm, amount borrowed, marketing cost and marketing strategies adopted.
HO2: There is no significant relationship between number of employees, age of the firm, amount borrowed, marketing costs and marketing strategies adopted.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The study would help organizations to be able to define their real competitive advantage and focus on them in order to survive and excel in today’s heavily competitive environment.
It would help managers and organizations realize that marketing efforts and know-how are instrumental in commercializing ideas and inventions and in running successful business.
The study will help bring to notice of managers that benefits are still largely waiting for realization especially in the field of strategic marketing.
It will improve managers understanding of markets and competitive space, customer value delivery, innovation culture and processes and effective organizational design.
The study will enlighten managers on how they can make strategic plans that will help them arrive at sound decisions, which guides them into the future.
It will help managers to know how they can conveniently combine external and internal environmental factors and come up with sound strategy that will help the firm to succeed.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study is somewhat evident from the research problem, research questions and objectives of the study. In addition, developing a conceptual framework of strategic marketing is at the core of the research. Both academics and firm company audiences are being considered in this study since, in addition to taking part to discourse of strategic marketing, it also offers implications and even a concrete marketing performance assessment tools for firms.
Though there would have been lots of possible constructs to include in the statistical analysis, this study has its focus on factors that have potential to provide positive long-term performance impact for companies. Both the comparison analysis entitles of this study include Abia company sample due to probably highest interest in Abia results, analysis and implications among majority of potential readership of this report. The study will critically examine the meaning of strategic marketing and how strategies are formulated, evaluated, selected, implemented and controlled in firms.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Marketing: According to Hooley et al (2001), “Marketing is the process of profitably matching organizational capabilities to the requirements of chosen customers.
Strategy: strategy is defined as the planning and adjustment of efforts in order to achieve a predetermined goal
Strategic Marketing: strategic marketing is defined as the long term planning and adjustment of marketing efforts in order to achieve customer satisfaction and society’s welfare at a profit to the organization.
Evaluation: Rigorous analysis of completed or on-going activities that determine or support management accountability, effectiveness and efficiency.
Organization: A social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a need or to pursue collective goals.
Performance: The accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed.
Marketing mix: Is the combination of controllable variables:- product, price, distribution and promotion which spells out the marketing strategy.
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