ABSTRACT
The purpose of this project work is carried out to
investigate and evaluate the effect of sales promotion as a survival strategy
in the marketing of company’s products. A case study of
Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.
The introduction part of this study as contained in
chapter one extensively include an over view of area of study, the importance
and the effect of sales promotion in the soft drink market, the statement of
the problems, purpose of the study, the brief history of the company under the
study, slogans and the working Hypothesis to be tested.
Literature related to the study is reviewed in chapter
two which among other things it include brief history of soft drink production
in Nigeria using Nigerian Bottling
Company Plc as a case study.
Chapter three deals with methods used in collection
of data as in research methodology which include the research design,
description of the study of population, sampling plan, and administration of
the data collection instruments.
Chapter four deals with analysis and interpretation
of data collected during the study, the information or data by the use of questionnaire
which was analyzed with the use of chi-square formula to test and analyze the
tested hypothesis.
Chapter five deals with the summary of the research work, conclusion and
recommendation on the study which shows the philosophy field by the marketing
concept that customers are kings anything to go by then soft drink producers
should endeavor to exhibit more sincerity in the sales promotion activities
used to avoid losing patronage from the consumers who perceived sales promotion
activities as deceitful.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
TITLE i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENT vi
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY 1
1.2 PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY 4
1.3 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEMS 7
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY 8
1.5 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS 9
1.6 WORKING HYPOTHESIS 9
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 10
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS 10
1.9 SUMMARY 12
REFERENCES 13
CHAPTER
TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW 14
2.0 INTRODUCTION 14
2.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF SOFT DRINK
PRODUCTION
IN NIGERIA 14
2.2 MODELS OR THEORIES RELEVANT
TO THE
STUDY 21
2.3 ADDITIONAL LITERATURE ON THE STUDY 32
2.4 SUMMARY 36
REFERENCES 38
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 39
3.0 INTRODUCTION 39
3.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART AND
ADMINISTRATIVE SET UP 39
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 40
3.3 THE STUDY POPULATION 41
3.4 SAMPLING PLAN 41
3.5 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 42
3.6 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 43
3.7 ADMINISTRATION OF THE DATA
COLLECTION
INSTRUMENTS 44
3.8 SUMMARY 45
REFERENCES 46
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 47
4.0 INTRODUCTION 47
4.1 PRESENTATION OF DATA ACCORDING
TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS 47
4.2 DATE ANALYSIS PROCEDURE 48
4.3 HYPOTHESIS 62
4.4 SUMMARY 63
REFERENCES 68
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 69
5.0 INTRODUCTION 69
5.1 SUMMARY
OF THE FINDINGS 69
5.2
CONCLUSION DRAWN FROM THE FINDINGS 71
5.3
RECOMMENDATION BASED ON CONCLUSION 72
5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 73
REFERENCES 76
APPENDIX 77
REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY 81
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This
project work shall focus on the effect of sales promotion as a survival
strategy in the marketing of company’s products a case study of Nigerian
Bottling Company Plc.
SALES PROMOTION: Are those marketing activities that stimulate
consumers to purchase a product or service such as coupons, exhibitions,
demonstrations, seminars and various non-recurrent selling efforts to promote
some aspect of a product or service.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Plc,
the largest soft drinks producer in the country, started its operation in Nigeria in 1953
with a plant in Lagos. They are the greatest soft drinks producers backed
up with good and effective sales promotion that helps the company not only to
get the hearts of potential consumers but also to get their pockets.
Nigerian Bottling Company started its first product
coca-cola with aggressive marketing promotion mix by applying all medium of
advertising available such as bill boards, sign post etc. But the niche of
their success in sales promotion is not just the uniqueness of their logo but
along with sales theme which serves to reference their position as the greatest
soft drinks producers and also assuring the consumers that the quality improves
to meet their tastes. The sales promotion theme include “Drink Coca-cola”
“Always Coca-cola”, “Can’t Beat the Feeling”, “Coca-cola Believe” “Coca-Cola it
taste good” and likewise for fanta as “My Favorite Drink”, “Fanta Share the Fun”.
However, from 1980 to date there was a shift from
the generally accepted norm of advertising to special sales of promotion that
at inception were targeted as specified seasons or events like Christmas,
Easter, Sala, Independence day and other Festive periods.
These sales promotions were supported with huge
amount of money that makes it irresistible for their consumers. With these
special sales promotions, the consumers stand a chance of wining some cash or souvenirs
from the company.
The sales promotion as a free sample stimulates
consumers continuous trial while a free advice to the management from the consumers cement a
long term relationship with the consumers.
Sales
promotion techniques make three contributions to the soft drink market:
i. Communication: They gain and usually provide information that may
lead the consumer to the product
ii. Incentives: They incorporate some inducements designed to
represent value to the consumers.
iii. Invitation: They include a distinct invitation to engage in the
transaction now.
There
is need for communication in the process of which awareness is created, desire, aroused and prospects to
satisfy their consumption, needs and the benefits of taking it out weights the
lost of purchasing it.
Philip Kotler has noted that parties in exchange
relationship must be capable of communicating for marketing to take place?
Recently increase in competition and perhaps
declining sales volume due to increase in the production of consumer products
in Nigeria have taken a new dimension and therefore forced manufacturers
particularly those in soft drinks market to effectively make use of sales
promotion in marketing their products as
the market has already become saturated (Udel G.I. (1968 pg 34)
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
I intend to give a review of sales promotion in the
soft drink market in Nigeria
and this study will afford me the opportunity of finding an answer to the
critical need for proper management of sales promotion in the soft drink market
in Nigeria
with particular reference to Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.
Sales promotion
articles include the followings:
Coupon
Consumer’s deals
Premium and Advertisement specialties
Point of purchase Advertising
Contests and Sweepstakes
Corporate Advertising
Trade deals
Sales meeting and period deals meeting
Trade shows and exhibitions.
Each year marketers of soft drinks spend millions of
naira on sales promotion and this represents more than 50% of their budget on
promotion.
Because of the huge investment therefore it is necessary
to look into the management process of planning, organizing, staffing,
coordinating and controlling recognizing the fact that the greater the care of
all the above the greater the likelihood that sales promotion will succeed. It
is therefore necessary to measure its effect on productivity, profit, sales,
turn-over and the economy as a whole.
Consumers are the main target of any sales promotion
because it aims at including them to make initial and continued purchase of the
products.
To the sales people and distributors, sales
promotion activities aim at motivating them to extend extra effort (usually on
short term basis) in the pursuit of company’s sales goals.
The effect of sales promote activities on this three
major groups will also be measured. Efforts will be made to measure the level
of truth and sincerity or otherwise of sales promotion activities in Nigeria,
identify if any of the negative effect is likely to generate among firms in the
industry and the control measures that could be employed or put in place by
government.
1.3 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEMS
The
Nigerian Bottling Company Plc as well as other companies in the soft drink
market spends a lot of money on sales promotion. Some marketers who have very
little budget for sales promotion have recorded fall in their sales leading to
a fall in profit which have resulted in retrenchment of their workers.
This
is always the problem of who has the ultimate responsibility of formulating and
implementing sales promotion activities among the marketing managers (sales
manager or promotion manager). The ambiguity always cause inter-rivaling
between their personalities and this hinders the operations of the department.
Some
sales promotion activities because of its flamboyant offers and wordings, often
work deceitfully to the people because they are not well planned, not properly
timed and carelessly executed. The choice of which sales promotion activities is
coat appropriate for a particular situation
is very difficult to make.
Sales
promotion in Nigeria
tends to follow the trends in the advanced countries of Europe
and America
without giving consideration to our people’s life-styles as in the Nigerian
environment, efforts must be intensified by marketers of soft drinks towards a
continuous sale in order to survive. (Adewale W. (1998 pg, 15-21).
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Sales promotion is another communication means
through which a firm communicates to customers or consumers of their products,
ideas, or service like samples point-of-purchase displays, coupons,
demonstrations and sweep-stakes among others and its significance is as
follows:
1. It is used to introduce a new product into the market.
2. It encourages heavy usage of a product.
3. It gives the product a good image.
4. It makes potential customers to buy a product they have not used
before.
5. It generates extra interest for the company.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION
1. Is sales promotion relevant to soft drinks?
2. Does technology affect the performance of
sales promotion in soft drinks market?
3. What impact has sales promotion of soft
drink in the macro economy?
1.6 WORKING HYPOTHESIS
H0 – Sales
promotion is not needed in soft drinks Market.
H1 - Sales
promotion is needed in soft drinks
Market
H0 - A
well structured sales promotion activities will not achieve result.
H1 - A
well structured sales promotion activities will achieve result.
H0 - The
economy has not benefited from the activities of sales promotion.
H1 - The
economy has benefit from the activities of sales promotion.
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Nigerian Bottling Company Plc is a great company in
soft drink Industry with twenty (20) bottling plants spread around with its
headquarters at Iddo Lagos.
The study will be distributed to the consumers while
personal interview will be used for the employees of the company with no bias
to sex, tribe, religion and nationality.
The research shall expect to get assistance from the ministry of
commerce and industry.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
In order to make this study readable to all, especially
those whose academic bent is not in the area of this investigation that is
marketing all key unfamiliar terms and conceptions are alphabetically arranged
and clearly defined as follows:
1. Background
Integration: Is the local
sourcing of raw materials for production to preserve foreign exchange and
reduce importation.
2. Coupon: Are vendors attached to goods for sales indicating
that payment will be made.
3. Exhibition: Is the displaying of items of values in order to
stimulate awareness and interest about a product or service.
4. Marketing
Mix: Is the term used to describe the combination of the
four element of a firm’s marketing system and they are product, price, place
and promotion.
5. Mass Production: Is the production of a product in large
quantities.
6. Premium: Is an extra sum of money which is paid in addition
to the normal cost of a product or service.
7. Trade
deals: Is the offers of free
merchandise, special displays, buying allowance and discounts on some
combinations.
8. Trade
show: Is the displaying or
exhibition of products (American Marketing Association (1960 pg 20-35).
1.9 SUMMARY
This study intends to look at the “effect of sales
promotion in soft drinks market” A case study of Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.
A popular slogan in marketing says that “Nothing happens unless a sale is
made”. This statement is supported by reason and experience.
It has become the order of the day that efforts must
be intensified by marketers of soft drinks towards a continuous sales promotion
in order to survive or cope with the keen competition that exist in the market
today so it is important that a study of this nature is carried out to assess
the effect of sales promotion in the market.
Login To Comment