1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background To The Study
Marketing is generally interpreted today as including all those business activities concerned with the development, production and distribution of product to identifiable market, where they will provide satisfaction to those who buy them. Marketing research therefore, covers product development, identifying the market and suitable method of selling, distribution, promotion, pricing and sales service facilities. Marketing research has an advisory role in marketing management. It is used to acquire and analyze information and to make recommendations to management as to how marketing problems should be resolved. All modern organization engages in marketing so as able to please and win the loyal support of their customs. Gillette engages in marketing to find out about the needs and requirement of shavers, banks engage in marketing research to find out about its customers financial services requirement and Inland Revenue engages in market research to find out about the needs and requirements of tax payers and other clients. The chartered institute of marketing uses the following definition of marketing: “marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably. Some organizations are very close to their customers. For example, post office in a small town. For other organization consumers may be thousands of miles away- for examples, Cadbury Schweppes selling confectionery and soft drinks around the world. The principles that the consumer is king and queen is just as relevant to the organization engaged in international marketing. The revolution in information technology (IT) and communications changed the way people conduct businesstoday. In recent years, increasing numbers of businesses have been using the internet and other electronic media in their marketing efforts, giving the chance for electronic marketing (as a new marketing phenomena and philosophy to grow in a very dramatic and dynamic way. From the researcher point of view, implementing E- marketing by small business enterprise can change the shape and nature of SBE’s business all over the world. Because the rapid proliferation of the internet, the world wide web (www) and electronic Communication has created a fast growing new electronic channels for marketing. For that, the internet and other electronic media are playing now a very important role in conducting marketing activities one to its unique characteristics as a market is seeking to add to the body of knowledge by investigating and understanding the practices and activities of small business enterprises through conducting a research about the effect of implementing E-marketing. The problem that emanated from marketing research in most business organizations include the poor implementations of marketing research and poor attitude of most industrial players towards marketing research in their organizations couple with inadequate provision of fund for effective marketing research
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Inadequate marketing research affects unilever Nigeria PLC in the following ways:-
1.3 Objective Of The Study
1.4 Research Question
1.5 Research Hypotheses
H1: Marketing research has a significant effect on organizational profitability
H1: Marketing research improve organization product apart it target competitors.
H1: There is significant effect of marketing research on the improvement of new and existing product.
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The benefits of the study can be discussed under the following.
To the unilever, the research. The general publics and intending future researcher.
Unilever Nigeria PLC, like every other researcher spends on researching in order to rate profits. Therefore, this study will be of great benefit to the insurance company, in that it would inform them more about the reaction of their target market towards their research activities and in turn bring a profitable return for management to continue to improve of it. The research agency, the more it can understand how the research has created work on the tagged audience, the better will its planning and decisions be in future. Similarly to the industry (the manufacturing industry in this case) which is responsible for spending over N1 billion annually on behalf of researchers, has an individual and collective responsibility to improve the level of prediction for its recommendations.
Finally, this study would help the researcher and the readers to appropriately appreciate the use and importance of proper research in introducing and increasing profit on any service rendered.
1.7 Scope Of The Study
The study takes a look into the marketing research activities of unilever Nigeria PLC in the manufacturing industry . Because of time and other factors involved, the research was limited to the study of a particular manufacturing firm known as unilever Nigeria PLC, agbara. It examines the conduct of marketing research activities in the industry.
1.8 Definition Of Terms
MARKETING – This is a process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, distribution, ideas, goods and services to create exchange that will satisfy individual and organization objectives.
MARKETING RESEARCH – It is the systematic and objective design, collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of data (information) to enable managers deal with specific problems facing any organization. It is also the systematic and objective search for, and analysis of, information to guide managers in marketing planning and problem solving.
SERVICE MARKETING – The marketing process involving organization that buy in order to provide services:
SERVICE – Are activities or benefit that one party can order to another that is intangible and does not result in the ownership of its production may or may not be tied to physical product.
MARKET SHARE: Percentage measure of the share obtained by an individual company from the total market available.
MARKET POTENTIALS: This is them situation whereby the market demand approaches to a limit as the industry marketing expenditure gets to infinity within a given environment. It is also the highest expected sale of a product for a customers in a specific geographical area during a stated of time under ideal conditions. Ideal condition takes place when there is no environmental changes, showing that all resources for production are available and all the firms in the industry are efficient in their distribution, sales promotion, advertising, public relations, public relations, publicity, pricing and product improvement efforts – Ani J.O, Anyionu S.C (2007).
BUYING MOTIVE: All those factors within a person organization which combine to create a desire to purchase.
FIELD RESEARCH: This is the physical collection of data involving face to face contact with the customer.
FORECASTING – This is the expected level of company sales based on chosen marketing plan and an assumed marketing environment.
RISK : Is the variability that is likely to occur in the future return from a project.
MARKET: Is a potential buyer of a product or services.