OBIORA NWANKWO PG/MBA/2006/DL/1328
THE IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION ON MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS (A Case Study of Zain Nigeria)
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING, FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ENUGU CAMPUS
Marketing UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA 2008
Webmaster
Digitally Signed by Webmaster’s Name DN : CN = Webmaster’s name O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka OU = Innovation Centre
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THE IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION ON MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS (A Case Study of Zain Nigeria) BY OBIORA NWANKWO PG/MBA/2006/DL/1328 Being a Research Project Submitted to the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of an MBA Degree in Marketing. SUPERVISOR: PROF. J.O. ONAH
NOVEMBER, 2008 2
CERTIFICATION PAGE
This is to certify that this project has been approved as meeting the requirement for the award of Master of Business Administration (M.BA) Degree in Marketing, Department of Marketing, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
_____________________________ Prof. J.O. Onah (Supervisor)
________________________ Dr. (Mrs.) G.E. Ugwuonah (Head of Department)
___________________________________ External Examiner
3
DEDICATION
To Chinelo, Adaora and Oluoma, my lovely wife and daughters.
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The quest for knowledge is a universal one and it is what sets man apart from lower animals. The pursuit of this M.BA. Degree in Marketing was a big quest to increase my knowledge for the benefit of my life, family, humanity, job and employer. This journey has not been an easy one. It came with its ups and downs; good and bad but life, however, is measured on how tall we dream and how well we achieve our dreams. Today, I have a good reason to be grateful to God for the realisation of my dreams. May His name be praised for his kindness and mercy and for giving me the required resources and intelligence. I must also appreciate my wife Chinelo and daughters Adaora and Oluma who suffered some level of deprivation during the period of this academic programme. With all sincerity, I also acknowledge the great input of my supervisor Prof. J.O. Onah who is a great icon in marketing. It is a big pride for me to be associated with him academically and this practically spurred me to give my best. I am grateful for his patience and time. Others include the Managing Director of Stallion Property & Development Company Ltd, Nasir Usman who gave me the privilege to pursue this degree because he believes in the importance of knowledge; my friends Sunday Azi, Hyacinth and Justina Ude, Uche Okonkwo and many others who saw this dream as their own and contributed one way or the other to the completion of this work. May God bless all of them abundantly. Obiora Nwankwo (mnipr, arpa) November, 2008 5
ABSTRACT The major essence of business is profit making. In this competitive world profit making is made more difficult as more products are competing for the consumer‟s attention. In view of this, companies have devised ways of retaining their customers and winning new ones in the market place and they have done this through marketing. Marketing activities, however, would not realise their objectives and potentials if the customers are not aware of them. Therefore, there is great need to communicate marketing activities adequately. This communication of marketing messages is what is known as marketing communication. It uses such tools like advertising, public relations, direct marketing, sales promotion, personal selling, events & exposures. This study tried to study the impact of marketing communication messages of Zain Nigeria‟s marketing activities as a way of determining the impact of communication on marketing effectiveness. This study was conducted with the objective of establishing: 1. the most popular marketing communication tool 2. the most effective marketing communication tool 3. the impact of marketing communication on consumer patronage of a product 4. whether marketing communication serves as an instrument of competition 5. whether sales promotion affects customer preference
6
To do this, this study did a questionnaire survey of Zain Nigeria‟s customers in Abuja and also made use of books, journals, newspapers and magazines and was able to arrive at the following findings: 1. that Direct Marketing is the most popular marketing communication tool 2. that Direct Marketing is the most effective marketing communication tool 3. that marketing communication impacts heavily on consumer product awareness 4. that
marketing
communication
impacts
heavily
on
consumer
patronage of a product 5. that marketing communication serves as an instrument of competition 6. that sales promotion does not greatly affect customer preference With these findings and references from previous studies, this study was able to establish that communication impacts heavily on marketing effectiveness using Zain Nigeria as a focal point.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS S/N
ITEM
PAGE
Title Page ………………………………………………......
i
Certification Page …………………………………………
ii
Dedication ………………………………………………….
iii
Acknowledgement ……………………………………….
iv-v
Abstract ……………………………………………………..
vi-vii
Table of Contents ………………………………………….
viii-ix
List of Tables ………………………………………………...
x-xi
List of Figures ………………………………………………..
xii
CHAPTER 1 – Introduction ….….…..………………………….
1-40
1.0:
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………..
1-7
1.1:
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ……………………………….
7-8
1.2:
TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA ………..
8-14
1.3:
PROFILE OF ZAIN NIGERIA ………………………………..
14-35
1.4:
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ……………………………………
35
1.5:
HYPOTHESIS ………………………………………………….
36
1.6:
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY ………………………………….
36-37
1.7:
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY ………………………………………
37
1.8:
DEFINITION OF TERMS ……………………………………….
38
REFERENCES …………………………………………………..
39-40
CHAPTER 2 – Literature Review …………………………………
41-75
2.1:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND …………………………..
41-42
2.2:
RELEVANT MODELS & THEORIES ………………………….
42-51
2.2:1:
Related Theories …………………………………………
42-45
2.2.2:
Related Models …………………………………………..
45-51 8
2.3:
REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE ………………………
51 –70
2.3.1:
Marketing ………………………………………………….
51-57
2.3.2:
Communication in Marketing …………………………
57-60
2.3.3:
Communication Impact on Marketing ………………
60-70
REFERENCES …………………………………………………..
71-75
CHAPTER 3 – Research Methodology ………………………….
76-82
3.1:
SCOPE OF THE STUDY .……………………………………
76-77
3.2:
THE POPULATION .…………………………………………
77
3.3:
SAMPLING …………………………………………………
77-78
3.4:
SAMPLE SIZE SELECTION TECHNIQUE .…..………………
78-79
3.5:
SOURCES OF DATA …………………………………………
79-80
3.6:
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS .……………………………
80-71
REFERENCES …………………………………………………..
82
CHAPTER 4 – Data Presentation and Analysis ……..…………
83-100
4.1:
DISTRIBUTION & RETURN OF QUESTIONNAIRES .………
83
4.2:
ANALYSIS OF DATA OBTAINED ..……………..…………
83-97
4.3:
TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS …………………………………
97-100
CHAPTER 5 – Summary of Findings, Recommendations and Conclusion ………………………………….
101-100
5.1:
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS …………………………………
101-105
5.2:
RECOMMENDATIONS …………………………………….
105-107
5.3:
CONCLUSION ……………………………………………..
107-108
BIBILIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………. ..
109-113
QUESTIONNAIRE ………………………………………………………….
114-116
APPENDIXES ………………………………………………………………..
117-125 9
LIST OF TABLES S/N
ITEM
1.2.1:
Telecoms Subscriber Information 2006 – September 2008 ……………………………………………
1.2.2:
PAGE 10
Data on Active Telephone Operators and Subscribers in Nigeria as at 30th September, 2008……
12-13
1.3.3.1:
Additional Benefits with the Unity Tariff Plans ………..
19
1.3.3.2:
Other Features Available to Zain Subscribers ……….
20-22
1.3.3.3:
Zain Nigeria Services Cost ………………………………
23
1.3.3.4:
Airtime Denominations of Zain ………………………….
25-26
2.2.2.3.1:
Micro Models of Marketing Communications ……….
47-48
2.3.3.1:
Common Communication Platforms ………………….
70
4.1.1:
Distribution and Return of Questionnaires ……………..
83
4.2.1:
Sex Distribution of Respondents ………………………….
84
4.2.2:
Age Distribution of Respondents ………………………….
84
4.2.3:
Occupational Distribution of Respondents ……………..
85
4.2.4:
Educational Distribution of Respondents ………………..
85
4.2.5:
The Preferred Telecommunications Method ……………
86 10
4.2.6:
Usage of GSM Services ……………………………………... 87
4.2.7:
The GSM Network Used by Respondents ………………... 87
4.2.8:
The Favourite GSM Network Used by Respondents ……. 88
4.2.9:
Reasons for Using Zain Nigeria Network ………………… 88
4.2.10:
Respondents Awareness of Zain Marketing Activities … 89-90
4.2.11:
Sources of the Respondents Information ………………… 91
4.2.12:
The Respondents’ Preferred Source of Information ……. 92
4.2.13:
Whether Respondents Know Much About Zain Products and Services Through Marketing Communication …….. 93
4.2.14:
Whether Respondents Use More of Zain Products and Services Because of Marketing Communication Messages ……………………………………………………..
4.2.15:
93
Marketing Tools Used by GSM Companies for Competition …………………………………………………..
94
4.2.16:
Sources of Conveying Competitive Messages ……….
95
4.2.17:
Impact of Marketing Communication on Customer Preference …………………………………………………….
4.2.18:
95
Reasons That Will Compel Customers to Leave Zain Network ……………………………………………………….
96
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LIST OF FIGURES
S/N
ITEM
PAGE
Fig. 1:
Hierarchy of Needs Theory ………………………………
44
Fig. 2:
Customer on Top Model …………………………………
46
Fig. 3:
The Macro Model of the Communication Process ….
47
Fig. 4:
Influences on Communication Outcome ……………..
49
Fig. 5:
Howard-Sheth Model of Consumer Behaviour ……….
50
Fig. 6:
Effects of Marketing Intervention on Consumers …….
51
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0
Introduction
We live in a world of competition where individuals and organizations try to outdo themselves. In different areas of human endeavour, be it education, business, parenting, dating, governance, warring or sports there is always a competition going on as one group tries to outdo the others or one individual tries to outperform the others. In the business world, especially in a capitalist economy, competition enjoys greater prominence as it forms the bedrock for the survival of a business organization. For a business to continue to exist and satisfy the purpose of the ownership, management, staff, society and other stake holders it must be able to survive the competition posed by other businesses with similar products and objectives. As businesses compete, they rely heavily on marketing to outdo one another. Through marketing an average business will be able to satisfy its customers through its products and services, satisfy its shareholders through profitability, satisfy management through increased sales and market share, satisfy staff through increased remuneration and job security etc. This ability has made marketing very vital and relevant in almost all endeavours of life be them profit or non profit making. Marketing according to the Marketing News (1985: 1) “is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution 13
of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.” In this definition of marketing, creation of exchange is seen as a vital part of marketing. By this function, marketing is able to impact on sales, market share and profitability. In another definition, Kotler and Keller (2006: 6) said that marketing “is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value”. This definition emphasises the importance of delivering and communicating superior customer value as integral parts of marketing which implies that marketing is very useful in bettering the life of the customer by offering him what he needs and letting him know about it. Mbah (2001: 10) on the other hand opined that “marketing is about identifying, anticipating, conducting and managing the delivery of value in exchange process that benefits or satisfies both parties and their society”. He tried to establish that in marketing there is need for the satisfaction of both parties – the producer/seller and the customer. This satisfaction breeds good relationship
which
ensures
trust,
continuity
and
ability
to
withstand
competition. In Varey‟s (2002: 4) definition, “marketing is concerned with creating and sustaining mutually satisfying exchanges of value between producer/servers and their customers. It has both managerial orientation and an organizational /social function.” Together, these definitions show that marketing is a process and not a once in a while thing, aims at satisfying and creating wealth for all the parties involved. This therefore shows that marketing is a must for every organization 14
or company that wants to excel and survive. Hence, Onyebuagu (1995: 31) remarked
that
“without
marketing,
business
existence
would
be
unwholesome” A company may produce goods and services but if it does not sell them it will surely go out of business. Also it is not enough to just sell a product, care should be taken to ensure repeat purchase by striving to make sure the customer is satisfied. That is why the importance of marketing starts from the time the product is conceived not when it is produced. In totality, the fundamental basis of an average business is financial success which comes from increased sales and customer satisfaction which are achieved through marketing. According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 4) “Financial success often depends on marketing ability. Finance, operations, accounting and other business functions will not really matter if there is not sufficient demand for the products and services so the company can make a profit.” The success or failure of marketing or a marketing activity lies in its ability to meet the objective set out in the marketing plan. When a company wants to carry out a marketing campaign it first draws up a plan of activities which will show what actions need to be carried out, the cost of the campaign and what the company plans to gain from the campaign within a specific period. What the company stands to gain becomes its objective in carrying out such a campaign. According to Belch and Belch (2001: 202) “marketing objectives are usually defined in terms of specific measurable outcomes such as sales volume, market share, profit or return on investment.” 15
The effectiveness of a marketing campaign therefore is determined and measured by the extent to which the marketing objectives are achieved at the end of the campaign. Generally marketing effectiveness or the effectiveness of a marketing programme or campaign is measured on the impact of that campaign on the company‟s sales, market share, profitability and return on investment. Marketing activities can be explained from the four marketing ps of product, price, place and promotion. These are the variables available to the marketer to use and achieve marketing and sales targets. The marketer uses the product by conceiving, designing and packaging a product that will meet the needs and desires of the consumer and also compete favourably against competing products in the market. He uses price by ensuring the product is priced in such a way that it conveys the meaning intended to motivate the consumer into buying or wanting to buy the product. As such care should be taken not to price the product beyond the consumers affordability and not to price it so low that it ends up appearing like an inferior product. Place otherwise known as distribution is used by the marketer to ensure that the consumer has easy access to the product. To do this he uses means that allows him bring the product as near to the customer as possible without cheapening, damaging or diminishing the value of the product. Promotion on the other hand is aimed at creating awareness and knowledge of what the marketer has been doing in the other marketing efforts so that the consumer becomes informed. The marketer handles this by ensuring that he 16
gets the message to the consumer in a way that will make it attractive and understandable to the consumer.
It is within this promotion that the
communication function in marketing lies. Communication according to Wilbur Schramm (1955: 139) “is the passing of information, the exchange of ideas or the process of establishing a commonness or oneness of thought between a sender and a receiver.” This old definition portrays communication as a process that involves the transfer and sharing of knowledge between the sender and receiver of the information. In the explanation of Starch (1966: 1) “Communication among human beings is the means by which human society carries on. Primitive man made signs and sounds to reveal his inner feelings and thoughts and to tell others what to do….
Education depends on communication. Business depends on it.
Government depends on it. All forms of dealing with people depend on it.” Communication can be said to exist when there is an exchange of ideas and thoughts between two or more people in other to convey a meaning that will inform, educate, persuade or enrich the receiver. This communication is carried out using symbols that are understood by both the sender and receiver to ensure commonness of meaning. Communication activities carried out in a marketing environment to achieve marketing objectives are generally referred to as marketing communications. According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 536) “Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind customers – directly or indirectly – about the products and brands that they sell.” He sees 17
marketing communication as a way companies communicate their marketing intentions to their customers. Marketing communication also known as promotion according to Ehikwe (2005: 236) “aims at wooing and convincing customers and other publics to patronise products and services of various organisations”. Varey (2002: 2) while showing the importance of marketing communications explained that “managers have realized that it is important to organize the demand as it is to organize the supply. Thus, straight away we can see the significance of managed communication – exchange relationships are needed and ideas must be generated and deployed” Kotler and Keller (2006: 536) held that “Marketing communication consists of six major modes of communication: advertising, sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations & publicity, direct marketing and personal selling” Marston (1978:4) defined Public Relations as “The management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an organisation with the public interest, and executes a programme of action and communication to earn public understanding and acceptance” Public relations according to Cutlip and Center (1978: 7) is “a relationship with the general public through publicity; those functions of an organisation, church, corporation, government, military institutions etc concerned with informing the public of its activities, policies etc and analysing these information in an attempt to create favourable public opinion”. 18
According to Belch and Belch (2001: 17) “Direct marketing is that in which organizations communicate directly with target customers to generate a response and for a transaction.” Belch and Belch (2001: 21) defined sales promotion as “those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to the sales force, distributors or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate sales.” Belch and Belch (2001: 10) “integrated marketing communications (IMC) involves coordinating the various promotional elements and other marketing activities that communicate with a firm‟s customers.” 1.1
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In an average business organization, the major concern of shareholders and management is how to optimize returns on investment and profit. To be profitable, a company needs to achieve a desirable patronage of its goods and services by the consumers. This desirable patronage is the ability to take the company‟s sales to the point where its revenue substantially outweighs expenses. To achieve this is not easy because the company is faced with so many challenges some of which include competition, absence of adequate financing, the consumer‟s income, perception and disposition, the quality of the goods and services, absence of basic facilities for doing business etc. However, in the face of these challenges, a company depends mainly on its marketing activities to be able to scale through these hurdles and improve its profitability. This is because, marketing has the capability to build a good 19
relationship with the consumer, understand what he wants and how he wants it, inform and educate him about the goods and services the company offers and how they can benefit him and delivers the product to him at the place, time and price he wants it. But a marketing programme must be well packaged if it has to be effective and achieve these purposes. It is not enough for a company to sit down one place and package marketing programmes believing that they achieve these purposes. Among the many things a marketing programmes requires to be effective is communication. It is through effective communication that the company can properly relate with the consumer, understand, educate and inform him. It is also through effective communication that the consumer will relate with, understand and believe the company. If for any reason a marketing programme is not properly communicated, the consequence will be a misunderstanding or ignorance of the marketing objectives of the company by the consumers. To package a marketing programme without proper communication will lead to waste of resources and failure of the marketing activity. It will also give the competitors‟ advantage over the company and generally lead to poor returns and profitability. 1.2.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRTY IN NIGERIA
The origin of telecommunications in Nigeria can be traced to the colonial era. According to Ogunlowo (2008:16):
20
“Barely eight years after the first publicly witnessed long distance telephone call in the United kingdom was made on January 14, 1878, the colonial administration in Nigeria established a cable link between lagos and the colonial
office
in
London
in
1886.
This
marked
the
beginning
of
telecommunications in Nigeria.” Prior to 2001, telecommunication in Nigeria was purely a government affair. The only telecommunications service provider in the country then was Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL). During this period NITEL provided land line and analogue mobile telephone services. During this period telecommunications services in Nigeria was grossly inadequate, unreliable, congested and expensive. In 2001, government deregulated the telecommunications sector thereby creating room for private investors in the sector. With this deregulation, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was created to regulate the sector. It was NCC that eventually licensed private telecomm operators to provide GSM and fixed wireless services in the country. According to Udutchay (2001: 26) “the country officially became one of the operators of GSM on August 7, 2001 when Econet one of the three licensed operators announced its commencement of operations. The other two, MTN and NITEL also followed suit in a matter of days.” According to Okereocha (2008: 22): “as at January 2008, there were two national carriers, seven national long distance operators, of which four are active. There are also 13 fixed wireless operators, of which nine are now active and four GSM operators. There are also 12 active CDMA operators and four internet exchanges. Of the total 187 internet service providers, ISP’s, 95 are active.” 21
Today in addition to the land line services provided by NITEL, we have such notable companies like MTN Nigeria Ltd, Zain Nigeria, Globacom Nigeria Ltd, Mtel and Etisalat offering GSM telecommunications services in Nigeria while Starcomms,
Multilinks,
Zoom,
Visafone
etc
provide
fixed
wireless
telecommunications services. The telecommunications sector has become a major source of boost for the Nigerian economy. First with the privatization and advent of GSM and fixed wireless
services,
telecommunications
services
have
become
readily
available and affordable for the teaming Nigeria populace that needs the services. This has created a boost for business operations and social life standards
in the
country. Information from
Nigerian Communication
Commission shows that total telecommunication subscription in Nigeria is 57,075,664 as at September 2008. This is made up of the following: GSM lines 51,710,456, mobile CDMA 4,125,826 and fixed wired and wireless 1,239,382. TABLE 1.2.1: Telecoms Subscriber Information 2006 – September 2008 OPERATOR
Connected Lines
Active Lines
Installed Capacity
Mobile (GSM) Mobile (CDMA) Fixed Wired/ Wireless Total Mobile (GSM) Mobile (CDMA) Fixed Wired/ Wireless Total Mobile (GSM) Mobile (CDMA) Fixed Wired/ Wireless Total [1] Teledensity
2006
1st Qrt-08
2nd Qrt 08
3rd Qrt -08
2007
32,184,861 N/A
N/A N/A
(Mar) N/A N/A
(Jun) N/A N/A
(Sept) N/A N/A
1,673,161
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
33,858,022 N/A N/A
N/A 40,011,296 384,315
N/A 43,786,542 567,185
N/A 47,897,527 2,113,520
N/A 51,710,456 4,125,826
N/A
1,579,664
1,545,984
1,602,102
1,239,382
N/A N/A N/A
41,975,275 76,545,308 1,540,000
45,899,711 79,625,308 3,170,000
51,613,149 85,125,308 2,630,000
57,075,664 87,125,308 8,989,377
N/A
6,578,303
5,676,481
7,230,417
3,866,637
N/A 24.18
84,663,611 [3] 29.98
88,471,789 32.79
94,985,725 36.87
99,981,322 40.77
Culled from www.ncc.gov.ng/index5.htm 22
The privatization has created a lot of employment by employing a substantial number of workers from the Nigerian labour market both directly and indirectly. The Nigerian telecommunications industry is reputed to have generated about one million jobs in the country. The sector has also become a major source of economic growth for the nation. It has attracted substantial amount of money in foreign exchange into the country. According to Manuaka (2008: 12) “as at December 2007, the country had realized well over $12.5 billion, about N1.47 trillion from foreign exchange investments in the telecoms sector, thereby boosting its foreign exchange earning.” It is worthy to note that more than 90% of the growth recorded in the telecommunications sector comes from GSM services. Despite the achievements recorded in telecommunications in Nigeria, there is still a lot of rooms for growth. Manuaka (2008: 12) held that “even with the volume of foreign investment inflow into the country, mobile penetration still remains at about 20% of the population” This shows that the potential for growth in the sector is still enormous. In addition, the sector is still riddled with problems that range from connectivity delay, dropping of calls and high tariffs. These have become source
of
worry
for
the
service
consumers
in
the
country.
The
telecommunications operators have tried to blame some of these problems to the dearth of basic infrastructures like constant power supply which the government has failed to stabilize. 23
Because of the many number of operators in telecommunications business, competition in the sector is very high. This has resulted in very extensive marketing activities in the sector that range from product design and packaging, product technological advancement, adverts, sales promotion, brand building, public relations campaigns, wide distribution networks and pricing war. According to Oduwale (2001: 20) “In the telecommunications industry as competition gets stiffer, the various GSM providers are giving different kinds of incentives to win more customers and persuade them to go for one instead of the other.” The data from Nigerian Communication Commission shows that as at September, 2008, MTN controlled 36.12% of GSM and 35.34% of the total telecom market followed by Zain Nigeria which controlled 28.48% of GSM and 27.87% of the total telecommunications market in Nigeria. TABLE 1.2.2: Data on Active Telephone Operators and Subscribers in Nigeria as at 30th September, 2008.
OPERATORS MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd Globacom Limited Zain (Nigeria) Limited Nigerian Mobile Telecoms (MTel) Limited Emerging
SHARE OF FIXED MARKET (%)
SHARE OF TOTAL TELEPHO NE MARKET (%)
MOBILE
FIX. WIRELES S
TOTAL
SHARE OF MOBILE MARKET (%)
20,170,000
-
20,170,000
36.12
-
35.34
15,377,034
-
15,377,034
27.54
-
26.94
15,904,902
-
15,904,902
28.48
-
27.87
-
258,520
0.46
-
0.45
258,520
24
Markets Telecoms Services Ltd
-
-
-
-
-
-
Starcomms Limited
795,798
665,710
1,461,508
1.43
53.71
2.56
Visafone Limited
1,221,840
109,376
1,331,216
2.19
8.83
2.33
1,474,113
96,989
1,571,102
2.64
7.83
2.75
634,075
70,452
704,527
1.14
5.68
1.23
-
42,924
42,924
-
3.46
0.08
-
53,684
53,684
-
4.33
0.09
MTS 1st Communications
-
37,551
37,551
-
3.03
0.07
21st Century technologies
-
31,326
31,326
-
2.53
0.05
Disc Communications
-
2,020
2,020
-
0.16
0.00
Startech Connections
-
75
75
-
0.01
0.00
O'Net (Odua Telecom)
-
39,994
39,994
-
3.23
0.07
Rainbownet Limited
-
28,322
28,322
-
2.29
0.05
Monarch Communications
-
975
975
-
0.08
0.00
XS Broadband Ltd
-
329
329
-
0.03
0.00
Webcom Ltd
-
905
905
-
0.07
0.00
NITEL
-
58,750
58,750
-
4.74
0.10
1,239,382
57,075,664
MultilinksTelkom Ltd Reliance Telecoms (Reltel) Ltd Intercellular Nig. Limited VGC Communications Ltd
TOTAL
55,836,282
100.00
100.00
100.00
Culled from www.ncc.gov.ng/index5.htm 25
1.3:
PROFILE OF ZAIN NIGERIA
Zain Nigeria, formerly known as Celtel Nigeria, was established in year 2000, by a group of institutional and private investors as well as three state governments. It made history on August 5, 2001 by becoming the first telecoms operator to launch commercial GSM services in Nigeria. In 2006, following Celtel International‟s acquisition of majority stake in the company, it was re-branded Celtel and became an important part of Celtel‟s pan-African operations spanning 14 countries. On August 1, 2008 Celtel Nigeria was rebranded Zain Nigeria following the global acquisition of Celtel International by MTC Group, which transformed to Zain
Group,
a
leading
emerging
markets
player
in
the
field
of
telecommunications. Zain Nigeria, which currently covers over 1500 towns and 14000 communities across the six geopolitical zones of the country, scored a series of many other "firsts" in the highly competitive Nigerian telecommunications market including the first to introduce toll-free 24-hour customer care line-111; first to launch service in all the six geo-political zones in the country; first to introduce N500 recharge card; first to commence emergency service (Zain 199); first to introduce monthly free SMS and first to introduce monthly airtime bonus. The company changed its business names severally as Econet Nigeria Ltd, Vmobile Nigeria Ltd and Celtel Nigeria Ltd. These changes are attributed to change in the ownership structure. The company had to change its name each time a new core investor joins the company.
26
The parent company of Zain Nigeria is Zain Group (formerly MTC). It was established in 1983 in Kuwait as the first mobile operator in the region. Zain Group became a pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and is now a major player on the African continent. Today, it is a leading wireless services provider in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa with over 16,000 employees providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to 56.3 million active individual and business customers. Going by information from Nigerian Communication Commission Zain Nigeria has a total subscriber base of 15,904,902 and therefore controls about 28.48% of GSM and 27.87% of the total telecommunications market in Nigeria. 1.3.1: Executive Management The company thrives under a highly effective leadership team driven by the passion to realise the company's vision. Adebayo Wasiu Ligali - Chief Executive Officer Lars Stork - Chief Operating Officer Roy Masamba - Chief Human Resources Officer Tayo Bright - Chief Sales Officer John Earley - Chief Technical Officer Norman Moyo - Chief Marketing Officer Media Contacts:
27
Emeka Oparah, Head PR, Events and Sponsorships Emmanuel Otokhine, Public Relations
1.3.2: MARKETING /PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS Some of the notable marketing activities carried out by the company recently include: Rebranding Celtel to Zain which commenced on 01 August 2008 – Zain Group, the leading telecommunications mobile operator servicing over 50 million customers in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa, announced it has re-branded its entire African operations from Celtel to Zain (www.zain.com). The move coincides with the linking of the world‟s first borderless mobile service „One Network‟ across two continents. The introduction and launching of BlackBerry Solution in Nigeria which commenced on February 27, 2008. The launching of new mobile access codes of 0708. this code was an addition to the already existing two mobile access codes of 0802xxxxxxx and 0808xxxxxxx. On June 13, 2007 Celtel Nigeria announced the introduction of a new promotional offer which gives the company‟s loyal pre-paid customers an opportunity to make FREE on-net calls on Sundays. On May 27, 2007 in commemoration of one year of operating as Celtel Nigeria and to express appreciation to their loyal customers, Zain
28
announced an anniversary offer of N220m free airtime totaling 10million minutes. On March 22, 2007 Celtel Nigeria made a strong statement on its intentions for the Nigerian telecommunications market, when it launched its FLAT “Unity Tariffs”, a tariff plan which eliminates price discrimination across networks by providing the same rates across all networks at 33k/sec. On February 25, 2007, Celtel reaffirmed its leadership position in the Nigerian telecommunications industry when it clinched the Brand of the Year Award at the 2007 Thisday Awards for Excellence and Good Governance. Win Your Dream Promo by Celtel Nigeria Limited was taken to the Port Harcourt International Trade Fair in its bid to offer more Nigerians the opportunity to win the various prizes on offer. On May 30, 2006 Celtel International, a subsidiary of MTC, has concluded its acquisition of a controlling stake of 65% in Vmobile, one of Nigeria‟s leading mobile telecom operators, for US$1.005 billion.
1.3.3: PRODUCTS The Company‟s products are divided into two main categories personal and business plans
29
1.3.3.1:
Personal plans
Personal plans are designed for individuals who want the convenience of stress-free connections devoid of credit checks, contracts or monthly subscriptions. It recognizes people who simply want to top up and keep talking. Customers pay upfront for calls when they want and there are no bills. All Zain prepaid plans offer a wide range of value added benefits to suit customer profile and needs: 199 (free emergency service), Free voicemail retrieval, call conferencing (dependent on your phone model), flexible and cost effective tariff structure, international direct dialing (IDD) facility, text messages (SMS) to anywhere in the world, mobile internet connectivity, 24/7 access to customer care. Some of the products that fall under personal plans include: Zain 30: The Zain 30 prepaid plan comes with a per second billing (PSB) tariff by default. With Zain 30 you pay for just the exact time you spend on the phone! If you make a 10 second call, you will be billed for only 10 seconds. Zain “Unity Tariffs” - the First Ever Flat Tariffs in Nigeria: Zain's “Unity Tariffs” are the first FLAT tariffs to be launched in Nigeria. With these plans, subscribers can call to all networks (on-net and off-net) for the same affordable price per second. Unity tariffs come in three convenient plans: Simply Special, Simply Smooth and Simply Smart. All come with different characteristics and are tailored for the various needs of the Nigerian people. By providing the same rate, regardless of network, the “Unity Tariffs” unite all subscribers regardless of their network, while providing affordability, simplicity and transparency.
30
Zain Simply Special: This package is for all Nigerians looking for a simple tariff plan with affordable prices and maximum benefits. Simply Smooth: For business people and high volume users looking for affordable prices while removing complexity and price discrimination for calls between networks. Simply Smart: For business people, very high volume users or SME owners looking to increase convenience and take control of their phone costs.
TABLE 1.3.3.1
Additional Benefits with the Unity Tariff Plans:
Benefit
Details
Midnight Happy Hours
Call for 10k/sec between 00.30-04.30
Friends and Family
Select 5 friends or family members and make calls for as low as 21k/sec to them
Free On-net SMS per 15 (Simply Special and Simply Smooth), 30 (Simply month
Smart)
Recharge bonus
10% upon recharge (recharges of N1000 and above)
“Call me back”
300 per month (free)
“Credit me”
300 per month (free)
Culled from www.zainng.com
31
TABLE 1.3.3.2: Service Customer Care
Other Features Available to Zain Subscribers
Description
Dial Access to help lines
box
(prepaid or
131 Free
for Dial 333122 to activate. Dial
subscribers to retrieve 122
to
retrieve
voice Free
messages. To
forwarding
111
subscribers)
messages
Call
Tariff
(postpaid subscribers) Voicemail
Voicemail
How to use it
Subscribers
activate,
dial
**21*
can (number to be diverted to)
forward their calls to # then press Yes/Send/Ok. other phone numbers To deactivate, dial ##21#
Applicable
tariffs
for
numbers dialled apply.
then press Yes/Send/Ok Place current call on hold, Subscribers
can
Conference
connect
up
calling
parties in a phone conversation
to
5
initiate new call and click on
'conference'.
Review
your handset manual for details
on
setting
up
Applicable
tariffs
for
numbers dialled apply.
conference calling on your phone.
Put calling parties on To activate, dial *43# then Call waiting
hold while the called press
Yes/Send/Ok.
To
party is on another deactivate, dial #43# then call
Free
press Yes/Send/Ok To make international calls, enter the prefix 009 or + (the
IDD
International Dialing
Direct plus sign), the calling code for the country you are calling,
then
the
Check for current tariffs
phone
number of the person you
32
are
calling,
and
press
yes/send/ok Please me
call back
facility
*140* mobile number of the Please call me back person who the subscriber facility
wishes to talk to # press
Free
Yes/Send/Ok Contact
your
Service Contact
your
Service
International International
Provider or the nearest Zain Provider or the nearest
roaming
shop to enable roaming Zain shop on roaming
Roaming Access
capabilities on your line.
SMS
Short
Message
Service
Simply
recipient's
Simply
Premium rated Short
rated SMS
Message Service
Premium
Premium rated VAS Dial
rated Calls
Calls
SMS
subscribers
Enquiry
credit
(Postpaid)
usage
Balance
Ability
Enquiry
credit
(Prepaid)
usage
GPRS
and
type
recipient's
text,
number
enter and Ranges from N10 to N15
applicable
VAS
number
available to all Zain
Ability
number
enter
press Yes/Send/Ok
6 monthly free SMS
Balance
text,
press Yes/Send/Ok
Premium
Monthly free
type
tariffs
to
Radio Service
to
check
monthly free SMS balance
Free
or Send SMS CB to 123
Free
check
balance
General
*456*2#
check
balance
to
Dial
or Dial *123#
Free
Packet To activate, text WAPGPRS Currently 'space'
'phone
model' commence-
free ment
until of
33
'space' 'phone make' to 184 billing for GPRS services is announced Access WAP
Wireless
to
Zain
Application
Protocol
MMS
GPRS - To activate, text Currently WAPGPRS 'space' 'phone commencemodel'
'space'
Service
Text
'space'
model'
'space' Currently free
'phone make' to 184 Contact
Fax
of
is announced
MMSGPRS
'phone
ment
until
'phone billing for GPRS services
make' to 184
Multimedia Message
free
Facsimile messages
your
Service
Provider or the nearest Zain Same tariff for voice shop
to
enable
fax calls.
capabilities on your phone Zain 199
Access to Zain Crisis To register, call 177. In case centre
of emergency, call 199
Applicable tariffs apply.
CLIP (Caller Line Identificatio n Presentation
Know who is calling before
you
answer
the phone
Review
your
handset
manual for directives on using CLIP feature on your
Free
phone
) CLIR (Caller Line Identificatio n Restriction)
Hide
your
number
when calling another party
Review
your
handset
manual for directives on using CLIR feature on your
Free
phone
Culled from www.zainng.com
34
Prices The cost of using some of Zain Nigeria services are as follows: TABLE 1.3.3.3:
Zain Nigeria Services Cost Zain
Simply
30
Special Smooth
Monthly charge
No
No
N400
N3,600
Inclusive minutes
No
No
NO
N100
Peak, On-net
N0.75 N0.66
N0.59
N0.61
Peak, Off-net
N0.8
N0.66
N0.59
N0.61
Off Peak, On-net N0.65 N0.39
N0.33
N0.33
Off Peak, Off-net N0.8
N0.33
N0.33
Plan
International
N1
SMS local
N15
SMS international N15 Free
SMS
month)
(per
6
N0.39
Simply
N0.55 - N0.55
Simply Smart
-
N0.55 - 1.00
1.00
1.00
N9
N9
N9
N15
N15
N15
15
15
30
Culled from www.zainng.com
35
All Unity packages offer N0.10 for all on-net calls between the hours of 12:30AM and 4:30AM everyday. Peak hours: Monday to Sunday 6am – 9.59pm. Off-peak hours: Monday to Sunday 10pm – 5.59am. Prepaid starter pack: The Zain prepaid starter pack contains: A SIM card A welcome booklet A SIM certificate which contains the default PIN (Personal Identification Number) and your PUK (PIN Unblocking Key).
Validity Period - Zain for life: Zain customers who make a call, send an SMS or recharge airtime credit at least once every 90 days are granted a prepaid subscription, will remain active for life and their airtime credits will never expire. They will not worry about complicated validity periods or being disconnected! All recharge denominations have the same validity period. To make calls and send text messages (known as Short Messages or SMS) a customer needs to add airtime to his account by purchasing airtime cards from any authorized Zain dealer. Loading airtime onto an account is called topping up. Zain Top Up cards are available everywhere in a wide range of values and they are easy to use. New international Tariffs The “Unity Tariffs” from Zain reduce international calling rates to the most popular international destinations by up to 45%. Also, additional discounts enable subscribers to enjoy the benefits of Zain's pan-African presence and get great rates to popular countries in regional Africa. 36
Mobile Top Up Mobile Top up is an easy and convenient means to recharge customers' airtime accounts over-the-air. Customers are able to purchase recharge values of different denominations without the use of physical recharge cards. It is sold to subscribers virtually through Zain registered trade partners and vendors. Available Airtime Denominations The table below shows the airtime denominations available for purchase either by a top up voucher (physical) or mobile top up (electronically). TABLE 1.3.3.4:
Airtime Denominations of Zain Available Via
Airtime
Top up cards
Mobile Top Up
E-PINS
N50
-
Yes
Yes
N100
-
Yes
Yes
N200
Yes
Yes
Yes
N300
-
Yes
-
N500
Yes
Yes
Yes
N1,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
N2,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
Denomination
37
N5,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
N20,000
Yes
Yes
Yes
Culled from www.zainng.com Mobile Top up is sold via Point of Sale terminals from all Zain Centers and authorized dealer outlets.
1.3.3.2:
Business Services Plans
This is a set of professional and personalized business service designed to meet the needs of corporate organisations, SMEs, NGOs and individuals. Zain offers 9 postpaid plans. A customer‟s business, preferences and mobile requirements will determine which type of tariff plan to choose. All of these plans provide equal quality of service, advanced features and excellent coverage. This offering also consists of a wide range of additional cost-effective and innovative services that appeal to corporate organizations and individuals alike. The Postpaid packages are designed for business executives, managers, entrepreneurs, in both public and private organisations or simply private individuals who use a considerably amount of airtime monthly.
38
BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES): BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) from Zain Nigeria is a mobile enterprise product that keeps customers connected to their office while they are in the field or moving about. This service is available to Postpaid subscribers only. Features of Black Berry: Push technology Corporate data access Wireless activations and provisioning Wireless email synchronization Wireless backup Attachment viewing Remote address lookup High security On-device help Instant Messaging and WordMate Pro (12-month licenses) included BIS service included free of charge BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS): BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) offers customers: Access up to 10 personal or corporate existing e-mail accounts such as Yahoo! Mail*, Google Gmail*, Hotmail* or any other POP3/IMAP-based email account from a single BlackBerry handheld. 39
Real time push email delivery of a customer‟s emails to his BlackBerry. Easy setup of a customer‟s email accounts, directly on his Blackberry or on Zain web site. In addition, a free Blackberry email account, just for customers - your
[email protected]. Full Technical Support provided by Zain Nigeria. It is also only available to PostPaid subscribers. The Bundle Tariff Plans - Zain 100, Zain 200, Zain 300 & Zain 500: These are 24month contract packages that provide discount on bundle minutes. There are 4 variants, namely Zain 100, Zain 200, Zain 300 and Zain 500 which are billed per second. These packages are particularly suited for subscribers who know their estimated monthly usage and make most of their calls to local/national destinations. International calls, MMS and SMS are not included in the discounted bundle. Unutilised bundle minutes/value can be carried over for 3 months. Business Tariff Plans - Zain 90 and Postpaid Elite: The Business Tariff Plans are designed for businessmen who are willing to pay a monthly access charge to enjoy low attractive call rates on calls within and out of Zain network. This tariff plan is offered on per second and flat rate billing options. It is ideally suited for high spending subscribers who do not have a specific minimum monthly airtime usage. This tariff plan does not offer any bundled airtime but is tailored to allow subscribers use up to a value of an agreed credit limit. The Value Tariff Plans - Zain 4000, Zain 6000 & Zain 8000: The value plans are 24-month contract packages. They come in 3 variants Zain 4000, Zain 6000, 40
and Zain 8000 with N4000, N6000 and N8000 minimum monthly commitment respectively. They are billed per second and give subscribers the enhanced ability to top up using recharge cards and corporate top-up. Zain Postpaid solutions are obtained through the following mediums: Designated Zain Service Providers The Zain Postpaid Team (the company-owned service provider) Zain Centres and Franchise shops nationwide Zain 50: This is a flat per second tariff plan for short time business users who spend less than a minute on each call but prefer the simplicity of a prepaid tariff plan. Benefit from the low per second rate anytime they call and spend their time enjoying keeping in touch. This billing plan is idea for short time callers who spend two minutes or less on each call. Bumpa: The Bumpa card is a value voucher which reduces your tariff to as low as 30k per second when used with a Zain top up card. There is no airtime on this card. To enjoy the benefits of Bumpa Card, it must be used with a Zain top up card of any denomination. The Bumpa Card tariff plan is available on Per Second Billing (PSB) only. Bumpa cards are valid for 30 days from the date of loading. The cards are available for only prepaid customers and are applicable to local calls only.
41
Service Provider Banks and Dealers: The SP Model is a strategic business unit that is set up to enlist Banks and Dealers who will in turn sell Zain post paid products to their corporate and individual clients. The objective of the SP Model is to establish a corporate relationship between Zain and these banks to jointly acquire and service Zain's subscribers who bank with them. Some of Zain Service Provider banks (SPs) include: GEL Limited. (UBA), Tower Universal Limited (NAL Bank), Corporate Flyers (Oceanic bank), Flexmore Limited (Gateway Bank), Cyberspace Networks Limited (Zenith Bank) Zain E-Bills: Corporate E-Bills is one of Zain's corporate solutions targetted at post-paid subscribers. It assist with the following: fast and efficient download of bills in PDF format and access to 6 months backlog of bills Zain SME Club Requirements for Membership: The SME Club is open to all SME customers who show evidence of the following: 1.
Acquisition of the SME Pack / evidence of migration to SME number range
2.
Evidence of registration as SME i.e. proof of membership with SMEDAN, NASME
or
affiliate
of
any
small-scale
institution,
certificate
of
incorporation of company. 3.
Minimum
monthly
usage
of
between
N4, 000 and N10, 000 for 3 months.
42
Membership Categories: There are 3 categories of members of the SME Club based on usage: Diamond members: Average monthly spend of N10,000 and above over a 3 month period Gold members: Average monthly spend of N7,500 to N9,999 over a 3 month period Silver members: Average monthly spend of N4,000 to N7,499 over a 3 month period Benefits of Membership: SME customers can enjoy the following benefits by being members of the SME club: 1.
Attend Zain SME exhibitions and forum at a discount depending on membership category
2.
Attend Zain organized SME training programs for free depending on membership category
3.
Networking and contacts expansion opportunity
1.3.4: Phone Services of Zain Nigeria Voicemail: When a subscriber can't answer phone calls or it's switched off, voicemail
will
take
messages
from
people
who
call.
Travelling Abroad: This allows subscribers to use Zain mobile phone when travelling abroad. And when people visit Nigeria, they can use their mobile
43
phone
here,
on
Zain's
network.
It's
called
Roaming.
SMS text messages: When there is no time to talk, a customer can send and receive text messages instead. They're quick, cheap and fun. SMS text messages are perfect when a subscriber is too busy to call, or wants to send a small piece of information - where to meet, what time, somebody's phone number, and so on. SMS stands for Short Message Service, and it lets you send and receive messages up to 160 characters long. Call Me Back: A customer can prompt other Zain subscribers to call his line during an emergency or when he is out of airtime. Friends and Family: Family and Friends is a discounted tariff service available to all Zain Prepaid customers. The service was crafted with the subscriber in mind. It brings family and friends even closer with discounted rates on calls made to favorite numbers registered on the Family and Friends (FAF) service. Toll-Free line: The Zain Toll–Free line is a postpaid number in which the calling party is not charged for the call, rather the called party pays the charge for the calls. It is designed to help corporate organizations and Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) garner new customers and retain existing ones as well. Fax services: Zain fax services enables a customer to send and receive fax messages using Zain SIM card in a fax capable mobile device. Zain Mobile Office (Email. On The Go): With Zain Mobile Office, you can access your office Calendar, Contacts, and Email when you're away from your desk - your office - even your laptop with 44
just your Zain phone. It works with Microsoft® Outlook and IBM® Lotus Notes and is used to view daily schedules or past and future appointments. Content and Service Provider Resources In line with its corporate goal to operate a network with world-class standards, Zain Nigeria has made its network easily accessible to content, information, service and product providers and developers who wish to offer services using the Zain network as a transport medium. A WASP is any external party who wishes to, or is using the Zain network to offer content, products or services to Zain subscribers either at a fee or at no charge. Bulk SMS: Bulk SMS is the delivery of high SMS volumes from a server. It is best used by clients who need to deliver messages to large groups of people either on a once-off or continuous basis. It is also effective where clients need to send instantaneous messages such as sports, community news or local information. It can also be used to deliver contents such as marketing messages. Zain wholesales bulk SMSs to Content and Service Providers who are connected to its network. The Content and Service Providers can then offer this functionality to their clients to use.
1.3.5: MARKETING COMMUNICATION TOOLS USED BY ZAIN Zain Nigeria uses a wide range of marketing communication tools to promote its marketing activities. Because the urban and central nature of Abuja, most
45
of their customers in Abuja are exposed to the media and messages of these communiucations. Some of the highly used marketing communication tools in Zain Nigeria include: Advertising: the company uses advertising to communicate its change of company name and identity, introduce new products, promote sales promotion etc. It uses such media like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, signs, point-of-sale materials, fliers, internet etc. (See appendixes II to IX) Public Relations and Publicity: the company uses public relations and publicity to promote the company‟s image, promote new product introduction, sales promotion, change of company name and identity. It uses such media like television, radio, newspapers, magazines and internet.
(See
appendixes I and II)
Sales promotion: Zain Nigeria does a lot of sales promotion by encouraging customer to either load certain credits, of spend certain amount of credit over a certain period of time. Winning customers are often rewarded with free credits, free phones, and other kinds of gifts. There are also promotions for free calls at certain times of the day. (See appendixes III and IV) Personal Selling: The company has employees that work as sales persons who go about selling their lines and credits to potential customers. This is sometimes used to facilitate sales promotions. 46
Events and Exposures: Zain Nigeria sometimes organizes special events through which they try to reach their customers. Some of these events are sporting and musical in nature. (See appendixes VI and VII) Direct Marketing: Many times the company sends SMS messages to customers to inform, educate and persuade them on a product or service of the company. They also drop their fliers and brochures in special places and with customers to sensitise them. This is often used during sales promotion.
1.4.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are to assess: 6. the most popular marketing communication tool 7. the most effective marketing communication tool 8. the impact of marketing communication on consumer product awareness 9. the impact of marketing communication on consumer patronage of a product 10. whether marketing communication serves as an instrument of competition 11. whether pricing affects customer preference 12. whether sales promotion affects customer preference 13. whether adequacy of goods and services affects customer preference 14. whether marketing communication affects customer preference
47
1.5.
HYPOTHESIS
This study will be conducted under the following assumptions: 1.
Ho (Null Hypothesis): Marketing communication does not affect product awareness H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Marketing
communication
affects
product awareness 2.
Ho (Null Hypothesis): Marketing communication does not motivate consumers to patronize a product H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Marketing
communication
motivates
consumers to patronize a product 3.
Ho (Null Hypothesis): Marketing communication does not affect a customer‟s preference of a product H1 (Alternative Hypothesis): Marketing
communication
affects
a
customer‟s preference for a product
1.6.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The study of “The Impact of Communication on Marketing Effectiveness” will be of significant importance to companies, their management, marketing departments, educational and research institutions. Through this study, it can be established whether or not marketing activities carried out by companies are really useful to their product sales and whether marketing programmes need to be extensively communicated to make the 48
right impact on consumers and the audience. This way it will be possible to know
whether
the
money
spent
on
marketing
and
marketing
communications by companies are worth it. In addition, marketing departments will be able to know whether their marketing communication activities really influence the consumers and the best way to package their marketing communication activities to achieve their marketing goals. The outcome of this study will also be useful to educational and research institutions in deriving data needed to teach students of marketing communications and furnish marketing communication experts with data needed to make professional decisions. 1.7.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
For reasons of limitation of time and resources, this study will not be able to include the following relevant areas: A sampling of all the consumers of Zain Nigeria services throughout Nigeria Establishing
the
success
or
failure
of
particular
marketing
communication programmes executed by Zain Nigeria. Establishing
a
proportional
relationship
on
the
degree
of
communication needed to achieve a certain degree of marketing effectiveness. 49
1.8:
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Some of the terms used in this study and their operational definitions as used in this study are: 1.
GSM: this is a telecommunication method that uses digital technology and allows the subscriber to receive or make phone calls on the move wherever he may be so far as the service provider operates there.
2.
Service Provider: these are companies that offer GSM lines and networks to customers.
3.
SMS: this is a GSM service that allows a subscriber to send a short written message to another subscriber of same or different network.
4.
Credit/Airtime: this is the value which a subscriber uses to make payment for calls made and is deducted based on the cost of the phone call.
5.
Recharge Bonus: this is a bonus credit given to a subscriber by the service provider for recharging his credit to a certain amount of money.
6.
Call Me Back: this is a service that enables a subscriber to send a message requesting another subscriber of Zain network to call him. The sender is not charged for the message.
7.
Friends and Family: this is a service that reduces the cost of phoning some select family and friends whose numbers have been set aside by the subscriber by 50%.
8.
Roaming: this is a service that allows subscribers to use their phones in another country where the service provider also operates.
9.
Off Peak: these are periods between 10.00pm and 5.59am when less calls are made.
10. Peak: these are periods between 6.00am and 9.59pm when the networks are busy with calls. 50
REFERENCES 1.
Marketing News, (March 1, 1985). “A.M.A. Board Approves New Marketing Depaction,” Marketing News, P. 1.
2.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, (2006) Marketing Management (12th ed); New York. Pearson Prentice Hall, P. 6.
3.
Chris E. Mbah, (2001) Marketing Management: Theory and Practice; Lagos: Sivar Industry Ltd, P. 10.
4.
Richard Varey, (2002) Marketing Communication, Principles & Practice; London: Routledge, P. 4.
5.
C.S Onyebuagu, (1995) Contemporary Marketing: Principles and Practice; Enugu: Global Rays Academic Publishers, P. 31.
6.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller , Op. Cit, P. 4
7.
George Belch and Michael Belch, (2001) Advertising and Promotion: an Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective
(5th
edition); New york: Mc Graw Hill, P. 202. 8.
Daniel Starch, (1966) Measuring Advertising Readership and Results: New York, McGraw-Hill, P. 1.
9.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller , Op. Cit, P. 536.
10.
Andrew E. Ehikwe, (2005) Advertising and Other Promotional Strategies, Enugu: Precision publishers Ltd, P. 236.
11.
Richard Varey, Op. Cit, P. 2.
12.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 536.
13.
John Marston (1978) Modern public Relations; New York: McGraw Hill, P. 4.
14.
Scott M. Cutlip and Allen N. Center, (1978) Effective Public Relations (5th Edition); New Jersey: Prentice Hall, P. 7. 51
15.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 17.
16.
Ibid, P. 21.
17.
Ibid, P. 10.
18.
Ademola Ogunlowo, (July 7, 2008) “Hello, This is How it All Began” Tell Magazine, P. 16
19.
Henry Udutchay, (September 10, 2001) “GSM in Nigeria: Tortuous History, Glorious End” Vanguard, P. 26
20.
Chikodi Okereocha, (July 7, 2008). “One Revolution, a Thousand Gains” Tell Magazine, P. 22.
21.
www.ncc.gov.ng/index5.htm
22.
Tony Manuaka, (July 7, 2008). “The Prime Investors’ Destination” Tell Magazine, P. 12.
23.
Ibid.
24.
Funke Oduwale, (October 18, 2001) “Boosting Sales With promotions at Christmas” Daily Champion, P. 20.
25.
www.ncc.gov.ng/index5.htm
26.
www.zainng.com
27.
ibid .
28.
ibid.
29.
ibid.
52
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
In the business world, there is so much emphasis on the importance of the customer to the success of a business. This is because he constitutes the major if not only source of income for the business. As a result, a lot of research has been centered on knowing who the customer is, what he likes and dislikes, what he does, his income, needs, education, sex, location, preferences etc. Companies have in a bid to ensure they properly take care of their customers established marketing departments or divisions to manage their customers and ensure sales. Marketers rely on what they know about their customers to be able to work. In addition they seek information on what competing companies and products are doing, what societal trends are and the best ways to influence and motivate their customers. The job of the marketer is becoming increasingly more challenging as new companies and products enter the market day by day and new ways of doing business evolve. In other words he has to do more than the ordinary to achieve his targets. This means that in doing his job he needs to be more precise and thorough. He needs to be able to win and retain his customers by making sure they are satisfied and competing companies do not steal them away. The importance of communication as a veritable tool of influencing the attitude of an individual was long established in different studies carried out to 53
show that communication can affect what we know, what we believe, what we prefer and what we will do. The strength of the saying that “man is the product of his environment” has its basis on the fact that man is in constant communication with his environment which invariably affects his attitudes and disposition. There have equally been great interest and concern on how communication is able to have so much impact on an individual. Different studies have been carried out by professionals and experts which are concentrated on the sender of the message, the message of the communication, the channel, the receiver and the receiver‟s feedback. In addition studies were carried out to show how content, form, colour, imagery, aesthetics, clarity, language, timeliness, location, constancy, presentation, etc can affect the efficacy of a communication process. To study the impact of communication on marketing effectiveness will involve a review and understanding of previous researches, studies and literary works in these areas. 2.2.
RELEVANT MODELS & THEORIES
2.2.1: RELATED THEORIES 2.2.1.1:
Herzberg’s Theory
The Herzberg‟s theory was focused on what motivates customers to buy a product. According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 185) “Fredrick Herzberg developed a two factor theory that distinguishes dissatisfiers (factors that cause dissatisfaction) and satisfiers (factor that cause satisfaction). The 54
absence of dissatisfiers is not enough; satisfiers must be present to motivate a purchase”. This theory shows that in trying to satisfy a customer it is not enough to concentrate effort in avoiding what the customer does not like but that the company should carry out activities aimed at generating what the customer likes to be able to please and satisfy him. 2.2.1.2:
Hierarchy of Needs Theory (Maslow’s Theory)
This hierarchy of needs theory was developed by Abraham Maslow hence it is also known as Maslow‟s theory. By this theory Maslow tried to explain the motivation of people by categorizing human needs according to their motivational importance. Kotler and Keller (2006: 185) explained this theory thus “human needs are arranged in a hierarchy, from the most pressing to the least pressing in order of importance. They are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualisation needs. People will try to satisfy their most important needs first.” This theory shows that customer satisfaction depends on the category of the customer‟s need. That a customer will first satisfy physiological needs before bothering about safety needs, that his need changes as he gets satisfied and that he cannot be satisfied by a higher need unless a more basic one has been satisfied.
55
This theory is very important for the marketer to know how important his product is to the customer by determining the position the product occupies in the consumer‟s scale of preference. FIG. 1: Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Self ac tualisation needs (self d evelop ment and realisation)
Esteem needs (self esteem and recognition states) Social needs (sense of belonging and love) Safety needs (security, protection) Physiological needs (hunger and thirst)
Culled from Belch and Belch (2001: 110) 2.2.1.3:
Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud’s Theory)
The psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund Freud hence it is also known as Freud‟s theory. Belch and Belch (2001: 111) explains this theory thus “consumers‟ motivation for purchasing are often very complex and unclear to the casual observer and to the consumers themselves. Many motives for purchase and/or consumption may be driven by deep motives one can determine only by probing the subconscious”. This theory posits that what motivates a customer lies within his subconscious. This implies that to satisfy him will require feeding him with desirable messages which he stores in his subconscious and uses whenever he wants to make a buying decision. 56
2.2.1.4:
Theory of Symbolic Interactionism
Varey (2002: 48) remarked that “according to the theory of symbolic interactionism, our behaviour towards an object or event depends on the symbolic meaning ascribed by referent others in society. As consumers we behave towards goods and services according to this theory, according to the symbols attached to them by other social entities (reference groups, persons, societies)”. This theory posits that the meaning and value a customer will attach to a company or its products will depend on what other relevant groups like government, media, community etc think of that company or product. These groups are considered vital in public relations. 2.2.2: RELATED MODELS 2.2.2.1:
Customer on Top Model
The customer on top Model tries to portray the importance of a customer to a company as contrasted with thinking it is top management that is most important. According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 140) “at the top are customers; next in importance are frontline people who meet, serve and satisfy customers; under them are middle managers whose job is to support the frontline people so they can serve customers well; and at the base is top management whose job is to hire and support good middle managers”
57
This model shows that every company should value its customers and also consider those staff that relate with the customers as very vital to the success of that company. FIG. 2:
Customer on Top Model
Culled from Kotler and Keller (2006: 140) 2.2.2.2:
The Macro Model of the Communication Process
This model looked at the key players in a communication process and their roles. The importance of the sender (company) which packages and sends out (encoding) a message (MC Programme) to the understanding and expectation (decoding) of the customer (receiver) who in turn responds by either purchasing the product of the company or not (feedback). It also shows the need to avoid anything that will distort the message and its understanding (noise). In other words, this model shows how the communication process can be utilized by a company to relate with its customers and help them to satisfaction.
58
FIG. 3:
The Macro Model of the Communication Process
Culled from Kotler and Keller (2006: 539) 2.2.2.3:
Micro Models of Marketing Communications
These models tried to examine and explain how customers react to and use a communicated message. TABLE : 2.2.2.3.1:
Micro Models of Marketing Communications
MODELS AIDA Model
Hierarchy of Innovation
Communication
Effect Model
Model
Adoption Model
Cognitive
Attention
Awareness
Awareness
Exposure
Stage Reception Knowledge Cognitive Response 59
Affective
Interest
Liking
Interest
State
Attitude Desire
Preference
Evaluation Intention
Conviction Behaviour
Action
Stage
Trial Purchase
Behaviour Adoption
Culled from Kotler and Keller (2006: 539) The Micro Models of Marketing Communications show that when a message is sent to a customer he first receives and understands it (cognitive stage), decides what to do with the message (affective stage) and then undertakes an action of either buying or not buying (behaviour stage). Each of these stages is important to the marketer who must satisfy the customer at each stage to get him to move to the next stage of the process. 2.2.2.4:
Influences on Communication Outcome
This model tries to explain what and what determines the outcome of a communication
process.
That
is,
how
a
customer
will
react
to
a
communicated message. The model enumerated these factors as the credibility, attractiveness and power of the communicator.
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FIG. 4: Influences on Communication Outcome
Culled from Kelman (1961) This model shows the importance of packaging a marketing communication message in such a way that will appeal to the consumers thereby enabling the
easy
realization
of
marketing
objectives.
It
shows
that
for
a
communication message to succeed it should have high credibility, attractiveness and power. 2.2.2.5:
Howard-Sheth Model of Consumer Behaviour
One of the major models that tried to explain consumer behaviour has been the Howard-Sheth Model. The model identified three major input factors that will affect consumer behaviour: significant factors which can be addressed in pictures and words; the symbolic factors which are concerned with identity
61
and image; and the social factors which are power, wealth prestige and so on. According to Varey (2002: 48) the Howard-Sheth Model of Consumer behaviour is “a rather more sophisticated (and complex) model that relates an information-processing sequence to a purchase decision-making process and which has gained considerable respect.” FIG. 5:
Howard-Sheth Model of Consumer Behaviour
Culled from Varey (2002: 48) 2.2.2.6:
Effects of Marketing Intervention on Consumers
This model sought to show what marketing can do and how it can do it to influence the consumers. It identified two consumer experiences – facts which cannot be influenced and frames which can be influenced. According to 62
Varey (2002: 49) “the two components of a judgment are facts and frames. Basic facts often come from the environment, whereas frames are personal cognitive maps. People differ in their judgments because their frames differ.” FIG. 6:
Effects of Marketing Intervention on Consumers
Culled from East (1997: 23) 2.3
REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE
2.3.1. MARKETING For proper understanding of marketing, one needs to properly understand what a business is. In the words of Kodjo (2004: 3): “All business organizations are created by the needs for products and profits. These two needs are directly linked to each other in the sense that profitable enterprises are those that normally receive more resources from their customers in exchange for goods and services than money, materials and other resources they give up in the process of producing these goods and services”. 63
This shows that businesses exist to provide goods and services with a major intent of profitability. However while the task of producing the goods and services are within the direct control of the organisation, that of making profit is greatly affected by the customer. This means the business organisation has to work extra hard to please its customers; win their trust and friendship to be able to attract their patronage. This became even more necessary as more businesses sprang up and competition became stiffer. To show the basic things that matter in business, Onah (2006: 65) wrote that: “Every business in order to succeed in achieving set objectives must plan, must have a product to offer, must determine the correct price, must determine the desired place and appropriate distribution mechanism to ensure that customers get the product and every business must back up her products with effective and efficient promotional statements to create desired awareness and acceptable social image.” Most of the requirements mentioned by Onah above are functions of marketing. Marketing is one of the newest disciplines and professions in the field of business. It originated and gained prominence from the effort of businesses to impress and win over customers as competition increased. According to Adrika etal (1997: 1) “marketing started evolving in earnest when small producers began to manufacture their goods in large quantities in anticipation of future orders.” So many scholars have offered different definitions of marketing. New definitions have been proffered as the profession gets older and new methods of practice are developed. 64
In the definition offered by Mbah (2001: 10) “marketing is about identifying, anticipating, conducting and managing the delivery of value in exchange process that benefits or satisfies both parties and their society”. According to Adrika et al (1997: 24) “Marketing means working with markets, which in turn means attempting to actualise potential exchange for the purpose of satisfying human needs and wants”. Varey (2002: 4) defined marketing as being “concerned with creating and sustaining mutually satisfying exchanges of value between producer/servers and their customers. It has both managerial orientation and an organizational /social function.” Kotler and Keller (2006: 6) said that marketing “is the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering and communicating superior customer value”. Onah and Thomas (2004: 4) saw marketing as “the anticipation of needs and wants and providing such needs and wants at the time they are wanted. When, where they are wanted, how they are wanted and at the price they are wanted at a profit.” In these definitions, these scholars tried to establish what marketing is. Some of the outstanding features of these definitions are that marketing is concerned with the exchange of values. In other words, it revolves around the provision of goods and services by the company to the customer and the payment by the customer to the company for the goods and services. So for marketing to be complete, it must bring the buyer and seller together and also give rise to an exchange process. It is this exchange process that is known as sales. But 65
while marketing brings about sales, it will be wrong to term it the same as sales since sales is just but one of the functions of marketing. They also show marketing as a management process, a function of management. It involves harnessing organisational resources – man, material and money – towards the realisation of organisational objectives. This means that marketing is intended to contribute to the success and growth of a company by ensuring adequate returns and customer satisfaction. Marketing is also seen as existing for the mutual benefit of the buyer and seller. It is intended to operate in such a way that will provide satisfaction for the buyer through the goods and services and satisfaction for the seller through profit. Marketing has to do with identifying and anticipating the needs of the consumer and trying to satisfy it by initiating the production of products that will meet the need. This shows that the job of marketing commences before production and not the other way round. The definitions viewed marketing as contributing to societal good. This means that in the process of achieving exchange and satisfying buyers and seller, marketing should be intended to work for societal good. As such marketers should ensure that the interest of the general society is protected and not endangered in any way while carrying out their duties. The importance of marketing comes from its ability to get the goods off the shelf. In the words of Kotler and Keller (2006: 4) “Financial success often depends on marketing ability. Finance, operations, accounting and other 66
business functions will not really matter if there is not sufficient demand for the products and services so the company can make a profit.” Marketing achieves this by first understanding the customer needs and wants and conceiving a product or service that will meet these needs. According to Ali (2002: 6) “Marketing techniques should be used even before the product is conceived. Indeed, a marketing approach will help you to come up with the kinds of product that will satisfy your customers‟ needs and wants.” There is a great need therefore for the marketer to know who his customers are, where they are, what they want and how they want it. This is what he needs to be able to package products and services that will meet the customers‟ expectations and appeal to them. Belch and Belch (2001: 9) explained it that “the focus of market-driven companies is on developing and sustaining relationships with their customers”. Most companies that have realised the importance of their customers make sure that their policies and programmes are moulded around the satisfaction of their customers. Customers as defined by Mbah (2001: 10) are “people who purchase products and take titles. Buyers or owners of purchased goods and services such as intermediaries, final consumers, institutions, organisations and individuals who buy products”. Ali (2002: 13) explained this by saying that “to make money for your business you need to be able to sell, but effective selling requires a good insight into why your customers buy.” 67
Ali (2002: 9) also went further to say that “to complicate the picture, you need to know not only your customer – the person who buys your product – but also the person who uses it: they are not always the same.” Most active companies in the world today are continuously trying to find ways of meeting their customer needs. However, this is a task that has not been very easy owing to the dynamic and erratic nature of man and equally because of the increasing competitive nature of the market place. According to Belch and Belch (2001: 107) “a challenge faced by all marketers is how to influence the purchase behaviour of consumers in favour of the product or service”. Belch and Belch (2001: 107) went further to define this consumer behaviour “as the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires”. Based on these I define marketing as a company‟s effort to know and understand its customers, provide what they need at the benefit of both the company and the customer both in the present and the future. The effectiveness of marketing is therefore measured by the extent to which marketing is able to trigger off purchase behaviour in the consumers and achieve marketing goals. Starch (1966: 133-134) explained the essence of a marketing programme thus “it can make the name of a brand known, it can make this name known favourably, and it can cause buying; in short, it can cause brand awareness, brand preference and brand purchase. The first two are steps along the way. The third is the real goal.” 68
It is in determining whether communication affects the realization of brand awareness, brand preference and purchase that the focus of this research exists. 2.3.2. COMMUNICATION IN MARKETING In an effort to satisfy customers, marketers have made extensive use of the marketing mix made up of product, price, place and promotion. They try to manipulate theses variables to suit the needs and demands of the consumer. That is why Muyiwa (2001: 44) held that “From the marketing perspective, the price is determined to achieve a marketing objective.” He equally added as follows “Where is the product sold? This is another way of communication something about your product.” Thus saying that both pricing and distribution are essential marketing tools. Belch and Belch (2001: 12) also had a similar view by saying that “consumers make inferences about a product on the basis of elements such as its design, appearance, performance, pricing, service support and where and how it is distributed” In other words, a marketer can pursue his marketing objectives by manipulating
the
marketing
mix.
It
is
within
promotion
that
the
communication function in marketing lies. That is why Ehikwe (2005: 236) submits that “the act of promotions can be very stimulating as it aims at wooing and convincing customers and other publics to patronise products and services of various organisations”. A marketer can develop new products and services or modify old ones, increase or reduce the prices of his products and services and bring his 69
products and services closer to consumers all in an effort to make the consumer prefer his products and services and patronise him. But all these efforts will be useless if the consumer does not know about them or how it benefits him. Hence promotion is very important because it helps the marketer to inform and educate the consumer of these activities and how they will benefits him thereby persuading and motivating him to purchase and use the product. Kotler and Keller (2006: 24) has it that “simply giving customers what they want isn‟t enough anymore – to gain an edge companies must help customers learn what they want”. This is what we say can be achieved through the media. Starch
(1966:
1)
captured
the
importance
of
communication
thus,
“Communication among human beings is the means by which human society carries on. Primitive man made signs and sounds to reveal his inner feelings and thoughts and to tell others what to do…. Education depends on communication. Business depends on it. Government depends on it. All forms of dealing with people depend on it.” In addition, Ndolo (2006: 223) added that “With the increasing size, dynamism and complexity of business, which widens the gap between operation and its publics, it has become vital for a business to adopt methods of reaching a mutual understanding with its publics, by initiating a behaviour which conveys the business story to its publics and stimulates desired response behaviour from the public. This is communication” In a definition offered by Chappel and Read (1984: 1- 2)“Communication is any means by which a thought is transferred from one person to another.”
70
Communication can be said to exist when there is an exchange of ideas and thoughts between two or more people in other to convey a meaning that will inform, educate, persuade or enrich the receiver. This communication is carried out using symbols that are understood by both the sender and receiver to ensure commonness of meaning. Communication activities carried out in a marketing environment to achieve marketing objectives are generally referred to as marketing communications. According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 536) “Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind customers – directly or indirectly – about the products and brands that they sell.” He sees marketing communication as a way companies communicate their marketing intentions to their customers. Equally, Muyiwa (2001: 44), a one time CEO of USP a major Marketing Communication company in Nigeria, in his definition said “Marketing communications may therefore be described as communicating consumer benefits.” In packaging marketing communication programmes, marketers try to achieve specific objectives which will help them achieve their marketing objectives and which in turn will result in achieving company objectives. Explaining some of the marketing communication goals Debelek (1994: 214) said that “Marketers have three distinct types of communication. The first type is used to find customers, the second to keep in contact with customers and keep giving customers reasons to contact you, and the third to motivate prospects to buy.”
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Belch and Belch (2001: 30) also added that “communication objectives may include creating awareness or knowledge about a product and its attributes and benefits, creating an image, or developing favourable attitudes, preferences or purchase intentions.” 2.3.3. COMMUNICATION IMPACT ON MARKETING According to Holloway (2005) a research report into customer satisfaction from analysts GI Insight rates the Leisure & Entertainment industry top and Utilities as the worst at keeping UK customers satisfied. Moreover, it reveals that the organisations deemed to provide good customer satisfaction are also those that implement relevant and targeted customer communications. The impact of communication on marketing effectiveness sometimes depends on how well the communication is packaged and managed. Communication is generally carried out by modes of speech, writing, vision and imagery. They form the nature by which a communicated message is sent from one person, group or point to another. A marketing communicator needs to manage these elements adequately to achieve the desired result. That is why Auner and Wolf (1967: 3) held that “without effective writing, speaking, reading and listening – communication – even the best decision may result in the worst action” In
today‟s
world
of
marketing
communication,
the
messages
of
communication are packaged and sent through internet, telephone, radio, television, billboards, newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, packaging, signs, point of sale materials, face to face discussion etc. Onah and Thomas (2004: 255) explained these medium as follows:
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“Businessmen and women can promote their products and services through the use of the media, such as radio, television, billboards (or sign posts in the case of small businesses), exhibitions and trade fairs, direct mail and point-ofsale displays. They can encourage word-of-mouth and their products will be seen when displayed in competition with other products. These activities constitute marketing communication.” Each of this medium has its strengths and weaknesses. For instance radio has the advantage of being able to travel far and penetrate rural areas thereby making it useful for reaching the illiterate audience and remote locations which is why McAnany (1970: xi) said that “no village seems so remote that radio at least does not reach it.” But it has the disadvantage of not reaching highly active people, being flippant and lacking imagery. Television has the advantage of using imagery, vision and demonstration. In the words of Cutlip and Center (1978: 398) “A medium which permits the use of printed work, spoken word, pictures in motion, colour, music, animation and sound effects all blended into one message possesses unmeasured potency.” However it is flippant and costly to own. Brochures, fliers, books, newspapers and magazines are well detailed and storable which makes them useful for referencing. The messages they contain therefore have the ability to last longer and reach more people. Their disadvantage is that they are not useful for reaching illiterate audience and customers and hardly penetrate rural areas. There is often some confusion among professional as to the difference between a flier and a brochure. In a definition offered by Debelek (1994: 129) “A flier or circular is a simple one-page sales brochure that states what you do 73
and offers something free to potential customers, such as a discount, a free estimate, or a free consultation.” He equally explained a brochure thus (1994: 218) “Typically customers move toward a buying decision in steps. During the pre-buying stage, they just take in bits and pieces of information. Once they get closer to a purchase decision, however, they will often request, and read, a product brochure.” Internet and telephone have the advantage of being interactive. They have the ability of picking out the desired customer and reaching him directly. They are equally effective for reaching highly active and mobile customers. However they are costly and do not have a wide spread. Onah and Thomas (2004: 158) defined the Internet as “a computer-based worldwide information network.” To capture the power of the internet Ali (2002: 223) explained that “Initially the internet was for anoraks. Now nearly everyone uses it – to find information, to communicate, to buy and to sell.” Face-to-face, packaging, point-of-sale, and signs have the advantage of communicating to the customer at the point of the transaction. This is important because it is the time the purchase is taking place and the customer needs to be reminded he is making the right choice. No matter the medium being used, the marketing communicator should endeavour to package the message well. Hence Muyiwa (2001: 44) held that “For any strategy to be effective, it must be creative, first and foremost. Because the consumer market is such a rapidly changing one, even when time tested solutions are being adopted, they must be done with some creativity.”
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In addition to being creative, the marketing communication message ought to be clear, concise, believable, attractive, repetitive, persuasive etc. Debelek (1994: 15) supported this by saying that “once you know how to motivate your target customers, you have to communicate with them often enough to get them to take action.” According to Kotler and Keller (2006: 536) “Marketing communication consists of six major modes of communication: advertising, sales promotion, events and experiences, public relations & publicity, direct marketing and personal selling.” These are the methods employed by marketing communicators to communicate their marketing activities to the customers. 2.3.3.1
Advertising
Advertising is one of the major modes of marketing communication. It is the most widely used mode of promotion. According to Salz (1988: 2) “Simply stated, advertising is the primary means of creating awareness for your product or service and persuading consumers to buy it” Starch (1966: 2) also defined it thus: “Advertising is communication. It is paid form of mass communication designed to influence people to favour a product in order to induce them to buy it.” Advertising is a marketing communication tool that has the form of mass communication. This means it has the ability to reach a large number of people simultaneously through the mass media. Some of the media of advertising include newspapers, magazines, radio, television, internet, books, billboards etc.
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Advertising also has the feature of being paid for. The advertiser must pay for the media for carrying the advert and also be identified in the advert message. Advertising has been a very important promotional tool. That is why Salz (1988: 4) believes that “You may have the most advanced product or service to offer the world; you may have mastered the most sophisticated management techniques; you may have an education from the best business school; but if you don‟t have outstanding advertising to accompany them you are in trouble.” 2.3.3.2.
Sales Promotion
What better way to understand sales promotion than this offered by Kotler and Keller (2006: 585) that “whereas advertising offers a reason to buy, sales promotion offers an incentive to buy.” Sales promotion works by offering incentives to buyers and sellers for buying the product or service and use it as a method of stimulating demand and sales. Ali (2002: 17) added to this by saying that “Incentive can help encourage sales of your product. An incentive is an inducement which you can use to: persuade people to buy from you rather than a competitor... Get people to respond… Get people to buy more of your product.” The importance of sales promotion was also captured by Oduwale (2001: 20) who wrote that “Apart from product repackaging and new product introduction, another strategy that is commonly used by most manufacturers 76
towards the end of the year to entice customers and consumers is sales promotion and bonanzas.” Sales promotion also uses the mass media like radio, television, newspapers, magazines,
billboards,
point-of-sale
materials
to
deliver
marketing
communication messages to the customers. 2.3.3.3.
Direct Marketing
A definition of direct marketing was offered by Belch and Belch (2001: 17) as that “in which organisations communicate directly with target customers to generate a response and /or a transaction.” They identified those modes like direct mail and mail order catalogs, data base management, direct selling, telemarketing and direct response adverts as forms of direct marketing. In an explanation offered by Ali (2002: 199): “Direct mail is advertising by post. Letters have long been used as a way of attracting business, but direct mail is a bit more sophisticated than the humble business letter. It can be used to: find new customers; sell to existing customers; provide information, for example to let people know you are holding a sale; distribute product samples; send out postal questionnaires to obtain marketing information; build up awareness of your company or product, reinforce your other marketing activity.” Some of the media employed in direct marketing include telephones, internet, brochures, SMS etc.
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2.3.3.4.
Personal Selling
Personal selling was defined by Onah and Thomas (2004: 259) as “the direct face-to-face
contact
between
buyer
and
seller,
for
example
oral
presentation of goods and services to customers by sales representatives.” Belch and Belch (2001: 24) also defined personal selling as “a form of person to person communication in which a seller attempts to assist and/or persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company‟s products or services or to act on an idea.” It is a marketing communication tool that uses sales people to reach out to the customers. These sales people interact with the customers and make them aware of the product or service and how they can obtain it and what they can benefit from the product. Kotler and Keller (2006: 626) hold that “this approach assumes that customers have latent needs that constitute opportunities and that they will be loyal to sales reps who can analyse their needs and who have their long term interest at heart” 2.3.3.5.
Public Relations and Publicity
Public relations is one of the most recent modes of marketing communication. Nwosu (1990: 251) defined public relations as “that management function that is aimed at making friends for an organisation, retaining those friends and building internal and external goodwill on the reasonable assumption that these are strongly needed for an organisation to remain in whatever business it is engaged in, as well as grow and prosper in it”. 78
Jefkins (1991: 1) also defined public relations as consisting of “forms of planned communication, outwards and inwards, between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning mutual understanding”. Public relations is two-way communication relationship between a company and its publics among which are its customers. It is executed for the common good of both the company and the publics. In this way the company builds trust and friendship with its customers. It is perceived as responsible and commands a lot of respect. The importance of public relations was captured by Belch and Belch (2001: 11) when they said that “at the corporate level, various aspects of a firm‟s business practices and philosophies, such as its mission, hiring practices, philanthropies, corporate culture and ways of responding to inquiries all have dimensions that communicate with customers and other stakeholders and affect relationships.” To portray how public relations work, Baskin and Aronoff (1988: 10) remarked that “perhaps the most basic way that public relations influences public opinion is by enhancing an organisation‟s prestige.” This prestige forms the organisation‟s image. According to Nwosu (1996: 124) the corporate image is “the overall reputation of an organization as determined by the various pictures, impressions, knowledge, information and perception that the publics of that organization have about it.”
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Vary (2002: 198) added to this by saying that “the quality of a good or service if often judged not only on its cost but also with reference to the standing of the manufacturer or provider. Firms with a good reputation can charge a higher price for what is objectively an equivalent or inferior product. Reputation conveys public esteem and distinctiveness in competition for scarce resources”. Since the media is a strong opinion moulder, public relations fall back on it as a tool of influencing customer satisfaction. The satisfaction of a customer depends a lot on what he knows which is greatly affected by the media. As such it becomes easy for a company to use the media to position the mind of its customers in such a way that they will be easily satisfied with the company‟s offerings. Publicity on the other hand, according to Oduwale (2001: 24) “refers to non personal communication regarding an organization, product, service or idea that is not directly paid for nor run under identified sponsorship, usually coming in the form of news stories, editorial or announcement about an organization and /or its products and services.” On how publicity works, Kotler (1975: 211) told us that “a publicity campaign attempts to develop news around a product, service, organisation, person, place or idea.” To show the benefit of publicity, Ehikwe (2005: 262) explained that “publicity builds public confidence in an organisation, their products and services” and creates “brand preference in the minds of customers or consumers when favourable information is made about the products.” 80
2.3.3.6. Events
Events and Experiences and
experiences
are
another
modern
way
of
marketing
communications. It makes use of sponsorships, exhibitions and event organisation. According to Jefkins (1991: 129) “sponsorship consists of the giving of monetary or other support to a beneficiary in order to make it financially viable, sometimes for altruistic reasons, but usually to gain some advertising, public relations or marketing advantages.” Eastwood (1992: 18) tried to show how sponsorship works by saying that “some companies like to be associated with certain causes; this helps their image. For example, pet manufacturers support animal charities so they are seen as pet lovers, not just profit lovers.” To show the benefits of exhibitions, Ali (2002: 159) held that “Exhibiting is a good opportunity for two-way communication. You can tell the punters about your product, and also pick up views, opinions and feedback from them.” On the benefit of event organisation, Ali (2002: 98) also added that “your efficiency as a business may be judged partly on the basis of your ability to put on a good, enjoyable or informative, well organised event.” The uses and media of these marketing communication tools are as follows:
81
TABLE: 2.3.3.1: Advertising
Print
and
Common Communication Platforms
Sales
Events/
Public
Personal
Direct
Promotion
Experiences
Relations
Selling
Marketing
Contests,
Sports
Press kits
Sales
Catalogs
broadcast
games,
presentation
adverts
sweepstakes, lotteries
Packaging
Premiums and
outer
gifts
Packaging
Sampling
Entertainment
Speeches
Festivals
Motion
Fairs
pictures
trade shows
Brochures &
Exhibits
and
Arts
Seminars
Annual
Incentive
Tele
programmes
marketing
Samples
Electronic
reports Causes
booklets &
Mailings
meetings
inserts
Posters
Sales
shopping
Charitable
Fairs
donations
trade Shows
Demonstration
Factory tours
Publications
Coupons
Company
Community
museums
relations
Street
Lobbying
and
TV shopping
Fax mail
Leaflets Directories
Reprints
of
Rebates
adverts
e-mail
Voice mail
activities
Billboards
Display signs
Low-interest
Identity
financing
media
Entertainment
Company magazine
Point
of
purchase
Trade
–in
allowances
displays Audiovisual
Continuity
material
programmes
Symbols
Tie-ins
and logos Video tapes
Fig. 8: Culled from Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2006: 537) 82
REFERENCES 1.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, (2006) Marketing Management (12th ed); New York. Pearson Prentice Hall, P. 185.
2.
Ibid.
3.
George Belch and Michael Belch, (2001) Advertising and Promotion: an Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective
(5th
edition); New york: Mc Graw Hill, P. 101 4.
Ibid.
5.
Richard Varey, (2002) Marketing Communication, Principles & Practice; London: Routledge, P. 48.
6.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller , Op. Cit, P. 140
7.
Ibid.
8.
Ibid, P. 539.
9.
Ibid
10.
H.C. Kelman, (1961) “Process of Opinion Change,” Public Opinion Quarterly 25: 57-78
11.
Richard Varey, Op. Cit, P. 48.
12.
Ibid.
13.
Ibid, P. 49.
14.
R. East, (1997) Consumer Behaviour: Advances and Applications in Marketing; London: Prentice Hall, P. 23
15.
S.N. Kodjo, (2004) Decision Accounting for Managers; Enugu: Oktek Publishers, P. 3.
16.
Julious O. Onah (2006) “Marketing the Lifeblood of Business” in Julious Onah et al (ed) Marketing and Management Practice in Nigeria; Enugu: African Marketing Development Foundation, P. 65.
83
17.
Ernest O. Adrika, et al (1997) Principles and Practice of Marketing I; Enugu: John Jacobs Publishers, P. 1.
18.
Chris E. Mbah (2001) Marketing Management: Theory and Practice; Lagos: Sivar Industry Ltd, P.10
19.
Ernest O. Adrika, et al, Op. Cit, P. 24.
20.
Richard Varey, Op. Cit, P. 4.
21.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 6.
22.
Julious
O.
Onah
and
Michael
J.
Thomas,
(2004)
Marketing
Management: Strategies and Cases (2nd Ed.); Enugu: Institute for Development Studies University of Nigeria, P. 4. 23.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 4.
24.
Moi Ali, (2002) Practical Marketing and Public Relations for the Small Business, London: Kogan Page Ltd, P. 6.
25.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 9.
26.
Chris E. Mbah, Op. Cit, P. 10.
27.
Moi Ali, Op. Cit, P. 13.
28.
Ibid, P. 9.
29.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 107.
30.
Ibid.
31.
Daniel Starch (1966) Measuring Advertising Readership and Results: New York, McGraw-Hill, P. 133-134.
32.
Kayode
Muyiwa,
(August
6,
2001)
“Effective
Marketing
Communications” Financial Standard, P. 44. 33.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 12.
34.
Andrew E. Ehikwe, (2005) Advertising and Other Promotional Strategies, Enugu: Precision publishers Ltd, P. 236.
35.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller , Op. Cit, P. 24.
36.
Daniel Starch, Op. Cit, P. 1. 84
37.
Ikechukwu S. Ndolo (2006) “Public Relations: An Integral Part of Modern Communication” in Julious Onah et al (ed) Marketing and Management Practice in Nigeria; Enugu: African Marketing Development Foundation, P. 223.
38.
R.T. Chappel and W.L. Read, (1984) Business Communication; London: Pitman Publishing, P. 1-2
39.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 536.
40.
Kayode Muyiwa, Op. Cit, P. 44
41.
Don Debelek, (1994) Marketing Magic, Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation, P. 214.
42.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 30.
43.
Holloway, (June 20, 2005) “New Report Finds Customer Satisfaction Is Linked
to
Good
Customer
Communications”
www.customerthink.com 44.
Robert Auner and Morris P. Wolf, (1967) Effective Communication in Business; New York: South-Western Publishing Company, P. 3.
45.
Julious O. Onah and Michael J. Thomas, Op. Cit, P. 255.
46.
Emile G. McAnany, (1970) Communication in the Rural Third World; New York: Paeger Publishers, P. xi
47.
Scott M. Cutlip and Allen N. Center, (1978) Effective Public Relations (5th Edition); New Jersey: Prentice Hall, P. 398.
48.
Don Debelek, Op. Cit, P. 129.
49.
Ibid, P. 218.
50.
Julious O. Onah and Michael J. Thomas, Op. Cit, P. 158.
51.
Moi Ali, Op. Cit, P. 223.
52.
Kayode Muyiwa, Op. Cit, P. 44
53.
Don Debelek, Op. Cit, P. 15. 85
54.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 536.
55.
Nancy L. Salz, (1988) How to Get the Best Advertising From Your Agency (2nd Ed); Homewood Illinois: Dow Jones-Irwin, P. 2.
56.
Daniel Starch, Op. Cit, P. 2.
57.
Nancy L. Salz, Op. Cit, P. 4.
58.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 585.
59.
Moi Ali, Op. Cit, P. 17.
60.
Funke Oduwale, (October 18, 2001) “Boosting Sales With promotions at Christmas” Daily Champion, P. 20.
61.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 17.
62.
Moi Ali, Op. Cit, P. 199.
63.
Julious O. Onah and Michael J. Thomas, Op. Cit, P. 259.
64.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 24.
65.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller , Op. Cit, P. 626.
66.
Ike Nwosu (1990) “Vital Communication and Public Relations Principles and Techniques for Modern Managers” in Ike Nwosu (ed), Mass Communication and National Development; Aba: Frontier Publishers, P. 251.
67.
Frank Jefkins, (1991) Advertising, 2nd ed, London: Pitman Publishing, P. 1.
68.
George Belch and Michael Belch, Op. Cit, P. 11.
69.
Otis W. Baskin and Craig E. Aronoff, (1988) Public Relations, the Profession and the Practice (2nd Ed.); Dubuque Iowa: Brown Publishers, P. 10
70.
Ike Nwosu, (1996) Public Relations Management – Principles, Issues, Applications; Aba: Dominican Publishers, P. 124.
71.
Richard Varey, Op. Cit, P. 198.
72.
Funke Oduwale, Op. Cit, P. 24 86
73.
Philip Kotler (1975) Marketing for Non-profit Organisations; New Jersey: Prentice Hall, P. 211.
74.
Andrew E. Ehikwe, Op. Cit, P. 262.
75.
Frank Jefkins, Op. Cit, P. 129.
76.
Michael Eastwood, (1992) A Guide to Company Giving; London: Directory of Social Change, P. 18.
77.
Moi Ali, Op. Cit, P. 159
78.
Ibid, P. 98.
79.
Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller, Op. Cit, P. 537.
87
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1.
Scope of the Study
This research work is intended to study the impact of communication on marketing effectiveness. To do this, it will concentrate on Zain Nigeria as a case study. The main focus of the study shall be on marketing and marketing communications as practiced in zain Nigeria. It will revolve around the marketing programmes executed by the company within year 2008 and the marketing communication programmes used to communicate them to their customers. It will also extend to how their customers are exposed to the marketing communication messages and how they react to it. This will be a way of deciding if the marketing communication programmes affected the success of the marketing programmes. In executing this research, the survey research method will be used to study Zain Nigeria customers. The survey research method is defined by Osuala (1987: 180) as that research method that “studies both large and small populations by selecting and studying samples chosen from the populations to
discover
the
relative
incidence,
distribution
and
interrelations
of
sociological and psychological variables.” This research method also has the ability to study “the vital facts of people, and their beliefs, opinion, attitudes, motivations and behaviour.” Osuala 88
(1987: 181). This is what makes the survey research method the preferable choice for the study. 3.2.
The Population
The population of this study is supposed to include all the customers of Zain Nigeria all over Nigeria. However, because of constraints of time, financial and human resources, the population of this study has been limited to customers of Zain Nigeria in Abuja city. According to the information from Nigerian Communication Commission, the total telecommunications subscription in Nigeria stands at 57,075,664 while Zain Nigeria has a total subscriber base of 15,904,902 and therefore controls about 28.48% of GSM and 27.87% of the total telecommunications market in Nigeria. From the 2006 national census data, the population of Nigeria is put at about 140,000,000. Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (May 15, 2007: B198), also going by the 2006 census shows that the population of Abuja stands at 1,405,201 which is about 1% of Nigerian population. Using this proportion, it can be assumed that about 27.87% or 391,629 of the population of Abuja uses Zain network. 3.3.
Sampling
The population of this study in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, which is estimated at about 391,629, is a large one. 89
Because this population will be too large to study in this research, a sample of the population will be studied. The selection of the sample population will be based on random sampling method. According to Ohaja (2003: 76), “random sampling involves giving all members of the population an equal chance of being selected for the study.” 3.4.
Sample Size Selection Technique
Having defined the population of this study, it is important to ensure that the chosen sample and its size will be representative of the population. In view of this, the sample size of the Zain Nigeria customers in Abuja that will be studied in this research will be selected using the following statistical formula: n = (Z2) (pq) e2 Where:
n
=
sample size to be computed
z
=
desired confidence level
p
=
percentage of positive response
q
=
percentage of negative response
e
=
estimated standard error
A pilot study conducted for purpose of this research gave a 98% positive response and 2% negative response. However, since the research work will be carried out with 98% confidence level and an estimated 2% standard error, the sample of this study was determined as follows: z
=
98%
i.e.
2.33
p
=
98%
i.e.
.98
q
=
2%
i.e.
0.02
e
=
2%
i.e.
0.02 90
Therefore:
n
=
(2.332) (0.98 x 0.02) (0.02)2
=
(5,4298) (0.0196) 0.0004
=
0.1064064
= 266.02
0.0004 n
=
266
Therefore the total sample size is 266. 3.5:
Sources of Data
This research will make use of data that includes what other authors and writers think and have written on marketing and marketing communication, their importance and relevance to company profitability and success. The other data needed include the marketing and marketing communication programmes being used in Zain Nigeria; what the customers of the company think of the programmes and whether the customers are influenced by the programmes. Summarily, this study will make use of both primary and secondary data sources. The Primary Sources of Data: The primary sources of data that will be used in this research will be questionnaires. According to Asika (2006: 76) “Questionnaires are designed to 91
gather information/data for answering the research questions and testing the research hypothesis.” Ndagi (1984: 59) also added that “questionnaires attempt to get feelings, beliefs, experiences or activities of respondents.” Therefore, questionnaires will be used to obtain data from the customers of Zain Nigeria in Abuja. The questionnaire questions will be structured based on the research objective and hypothesis of this study as stated in Chapter One. The questionnaires will be distributed using a simple random sampling method. This will give every member of the population equal chance of participation. The distribution will however be by hand. The Secondary Sources: This study will make use of secondary data sources like books, journals, magazines, newspapers, internet which are accessible from libraries, personal collections and Zain Nigeria. 3.6:
Method of Data Analysis
For the purpose of analyzing and testing the data gathered in this research, tables, simple percentages and test of proportion will be used. The tables and simple percentages will be used in analyzing the key questions of the questionnaire while the test of proportion will be used to test the hypotheses. The formula for the test of proportion is stated as follows: 92
A-P Z =
(pq) n Where:
A
=
Actual Proportion of Success from Sample
P
=
Expected Proportion of Success
q
=
Proportion of Failure Expected
n
=
Sample Size
93
REFERENCES 1.
E.C. Osuala, (1987) Introduction to Research Methodology; Onitsha: Africana – FEP Publishers, P. 180
2.
Ibid, P. 181.
3.
Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (May 15, 2007), P. B198
4.
Edith U. Ohaja (2003) Mass Communication Research and project Report Writing; Lagos: John Letterman Ltd, P. 76.
5.
Nnamdi Asika (2006) Research Methodology in the Behavioural Sciences; Lagos: Longman Nigeria Plc, P. 76
6.
Jonathan O. Ndagi, (1984) Essentials of Research Methodology for Nigerian Educators; Ibadan: University Press, P. 59.
94
CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS The data and findings of this research were obtained through questionnaires filled by Zain customers in Abuja. 4.1:
Distribution and Return of Questionnaires of Zain Nigeria Customers in Abuja
A total of 266 questionnaires were distributed to customers of Zain Nigeria in Abuja. Out of this number, 259 were returned with 6 of them wrongly filled and therefore rejected. That left a usable quantity of 253 questionnaires. TABLE: 4.1.1: Number
Distribution and Return of Questionnaires Number
%
Distributed Returned Return
266
259
97.4
of Number
%
of Number
%
Filled
Wrong
well
Well
Wrongly
Filling
Filled
Filling
6
2.3
253
97.7
of
Based on this, the rate of return of the questionnaires is 97.4%. Of the questionnaires returned, 2.3% were wrongly filled while 97.7% were well filled. 4.2:
Analysis of Data Obtained from Zain Nigeria Customers in Abuja
Because of the scope and use of this work and the need to be brief, only the data from the questionnaires which are of direct relevance to the research objectives and testing of hypotheses shall be analysed here.
95
SECTION ONE:
PERSONAL DATA
TABLE 4.2.1:
Sex Distribution of Respondents
S/N
SEX
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Male
150
59.2
2
Female
103
40.8
TOTAL
253
100
From the above breakdown, 150 or 59.2% of the respondents are male while 103 or 40.8% of them are female. This shows this study was well spread across gender and had a more balanced reach. TABLE 4.2.2:
Age Distribution of Respondents
S/N AGE
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Below 19 yrs
33
13
2
19 – 40 yrs
122
48.3
Above 40 yrs
98
38.7
TOTAL
253
100
From the result obtained, only 33 or 13% are below 19 years old, 122 or 48.3% are between 19 and 40 years while those above 40 years make up 98 or 38.7% of the respondents. This shows this study made use of people of diverse age groups and took into consideration their peculiarities. However, majority of the respondents fall within the 19-40 years age grouping.
96
TABLE 4.2.3:
Occupational Distribution of Respondents
S/N OCCUPATIONS
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
94
37.1
Public/Civil Servant
2
Trader/Artisan
45
17.8
3
Company
56
22.1
Employee 4
Student
29
11.5
5
Unemployed
29
11.5
6
Others
---
---
TOTAL
253
100
Majority of the respondent are public/civil servants who made up 94 or 37.1% of the respondents. Others are company employees who made up 56 or 22.1% , traders/artisan who made up 45 or 17.8%, students who made up 29 or 11.5% and the unemployed who made up 29 or 11.5%. This shows a wide distribution in the occupation of the respondents and that that the respondents come from different occupational backgrounds. TABLE 4.2.4:
Educational Distribution of Respondents
S/N EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
No Formal Education
---------
2
Primary School
7
2.8
3
Secondary School
16
6.3
4
University/Higher Education
230
90.9
TOTAL
253
100
97
The data shown on this table shows that, majority of the respondent fall within the university/higher education educational qualification which made up 230 or 90.9% of the respondents. Others are secondary school who made up 16 or 6.3% and primary school who made up 7 or 2.8% of the respondents. This shows a wide distribution in the educational background of the respondents and that most of the respondents are well educated and therefore conversant with the questions asked. SECTION TWO TABLE 4.2.5:
The Preferred Telecommunications Method
S/N TELECOM METHODS NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Land Lines
1
0.4
2
Fixed Wireless
5
2
3
GSM
247
97.6
4
Others
----
TOTAL
253
100
From this table, majority of the respondent which made up 247 or 97.6% of the respondents chose GSM as their preferred telecommunications method. This is followed by fixed wireless which was chosen by 5 or 2% and landlines which was chosen by 1or 0.4% of the respondents. This shows that GSM is the preferred telecoms method in Nigeria and is therefore a very attractive sector for investment.
98
TABLE 4.2.6:
Usage of GSM Services
S/N RESPONSES
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Yes
253
100
2
No
----
0
TOTAL
253
100
This table shows that all the respondents which made up 253 or 100% of the respondents make use of GSM services while none or 0% does not. This shows that all the respondents are knowledgeable about the activities in the GSM sector and therefore qualified for use in this research. TABLE 4.2.7:
The GSM Network Used by Respondents
S/N GSM NETWORKS
NO
OF NO
OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS RESPONSES 1
Zain
253
253
100
2
MTN
253
134
53
3
Glo
253
46
18.2
4
Mtel
253
……….
0
5
Etisalat
253
……..
0
From the responses, all the respondents which made up 253 or 100% make use of Zain network. This is followed by MTN network which is used by 134 or 53% and Glo network which is used by 46 or 18.2% of the respondents. None or 0% of the respondents was using Mtel or Etisalat networks. This shows that Zain network is the most widely used GSM services provider among the respondents. It also shows most of the respondents are aware of the services provided by other networks other than Zain Nigeria and therefore qualified to compare the services of Zain Nigeria with industrial standards. 99
TABLE 4.2.8:
The Favourite GSM Network Used by Respondents
S/N GSM NETWORKS
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Zain
219
86.6
2
MTN
22
8.7
3
Glo
12
4.7
4
Mtel
0
0
5
Etisalat
0
0
TOTAL
253
100
This table shows that majority of the respondents which is made up of 219 or 86.6% of the respondents consider Zain to be their favourite network. This is followed by 22 or 8.7% which chose MTN as their favourite network and 12 or 4.7% which chose Glo as their favourite network. None or 0% of the respondents chose Mtel and Etisalat as their favourite network. This shows that Zain is the favourite GSM network of the respondents and makes the respondents qualified to answer questions about their preference for Zain Nigeria. TABLE 4.2.9:
Reasons for Using Zain Nigeria Network
S/N GSM NETWORKS
NO
OF NO
OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS RESPONSES 1
Better Services
253
166
65.6
2
Cheaper Lines
253
46
18.2
3
Lower Call Rates
253
28
11.1
4
Promotional Bonuses
253
35
13.8
5
Others
253
12
4.7 100
On reasons for using Zain Nigeria network, majority which made up 166 or 65.6% of the responses gave better services as their major reason. This is followed by 46 or 18.2% which gave cheaper lines as their major reason; 35 or 13.8% which gave promotional bonuses as their major reason; 28 or 11.1% which gave lower call rates as their major reason and 12 or 4.7% which gave other reasons as their major reason. This shows that better services is the major factor that motivated the decision of customers to patronize Zain Nigeria followed by cheaper cost of obtaining the lines. TABLE 4.2.10:
Respondents Awareness of Zain Marketing Activities
S/N MARKETING ACTIVITIES
RESPONSE
NO
OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS 1
2
3
Change of company‟s name to
Yes
Zain Nigeria in 2008
No
Why the company changed its
Yes
name
No
The friend and family benefits
Yes
253 0 92
The midnight happy hour benefits
Yes
197
5
6
7
The
reduced
international
call
Yes
rates
No
Are you aware of the free roaming
Yes
benefits
No
The call me back benefits
Yes
92
22.1 36.4
161 136
63.6 53.8
117 45
46.2 17.8
208 139
63.6 77.9
56
No
0 36.4
161
No 4
100
82.2 55 101
No 8
Yes
The recharge bonus
114 152
No 9
10
11
Are you aware of the monthly free
Yes
SMS
No
The
launching
of
Black
Berry
Yes
services
No
The new GSM code of 0708
Yes
TOTAL
Yes
60 101
184
90
152
64.4 60
101 1,532
40 55
1,251 2,783
27.3 35.6
163
No
40 72.7
69
No
45
45 100
This tables shows that most of the respondents are aware of such marketing activities of Zain Nigeria like Change of company‟s name to Zain Nigeria in 2008, the friend and family benefits, the reduced international call rates, the call me back benefits, the recharge bonus, the monthly free SMS and the new GSM code of 0708 while most of them do not know about marketing activities like why the company changed its name, the midnight happy hour benefits, the free roaming benefits and the launching of Black Berry services. In summary, most of the responses made up of 1,532 or 55% indicate that the respondents are aware of the marketing activities of Zain Nigeria, while 1,251 or 45% indicate they are not. This shows that the marketing activities of Zain Nigeria are well known by the respondents.
102
TABLE 4.2.11:
Sources of the Respondents Information
S/N SOURCES
NO
OF NO
OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS RESPONSES 1
mass media adverts
253
105
41.5
2
mass media news
253
43
17
3
Promotional
253
122
48.2
253
15
6
253
126
49.8
campaigns/offer/bonuses
4
Sales People
5
Zain
SMS/
handbills/brochures
6
Zain events/trade fairs
253
0
0
7
Fellow customers
253
58
23
8
Others
253
1
0.4
Majority of the responses made up of 126 or 49.8% of the responses indicated that Zain SMS/handbills/brochures is their source of obtaining Zain Nigeria marketing communication messages. These are followed by promotional campaigns/offers and bonuses which had 122 or 48.2%; mass media adverts which had 105 or 41.5% of the responses; fellow customers which had 58 or 23% of the responses; mass media news which had 43 or 17% of the responses; sales people which had 15 or 6% of the responses; and other sources which had 1 or 0.4% of the responses. This shows that Zain SMS/handbills/brochures is the most popular marketing communication tool for reaching Zain customers. This makes direct marketing the most popular marketing communications tool for driving marketing campaigns in Zain Nigeria.
103
TABLE 4.2.12:
The Respondents’ Preferred Source of Information
S/N SOURCES
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
mass media adverts
67
26.5
2
mass media news
0
0
3
Promotional
68
26.9
0
0
106
41.9
campaigns/offer/bonuses
4
Sales People
5
Zain
SMS/
handbills/brochures
6
Zain events/trade fairs
0
7
fellow customers
11
4.3
8
Others
1
0.4
TOTAL
253
100
Most of the respondents made up of 106 or 41.9% of the respondents indicated that Zain SMS/handbills/brochures is their major source of obtaining Zain Nigeria marketing communication messages. This is followed by promotional campaigns/offer/bonuses which was preferred by 68 or 26.9% of the respondents; mass media adverts which was preferred by 67 or 26.5% of the respondents; fellow customers which was preferred by 11 or 4.3% of the respondents; and other sources which was preferred by 1 or 0.4% of the respondents. Mass media news, sales people and Zain events and trade fairs were not selected by any respondent. This shows that most preferred marketing communication tool for reaching Zain customers is Zain SMS/handbills/brochures and this makes direct marketing the most effective marketing communications tool for driving marketing campaigns in Zain Nigeria.
104
TABLE 4.2.13:
Whether Respondents Know Much About Zain Products and Services Through Marketing Communication
S/N RESPONSE
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Yes
226
89.3
2
No
27
10.7
TOTAL
253
100
From the table, most of the respondents, which made up 226 or 89.3% believe that the marketing communication messages they received contributed to the much they know about Zain products and services while 27 or 10.7% think the marketing communication messages did not contribute much to what they know about Zain products and services. This shows that marketing communication plays a major role in creating awareness for products and services and therefore is useful for achieving marketing objectives. TABLE 4.2.14:
Whether Respondents Use More of Zain Products and Services Because of Marketing Communication Messages
S/N RESPONSE
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Yes
194
76.7
2
No
59
23.3
TOTAL
253
100
This table shows that most of the respondents, which made up 194 or 76.7% of the respondents believe that they were motivated to use more of Zain products and services when they receive Zain‟s marketing communications
105
messages while 59 or 23.3% think they were not motivated into using Zain‟s products and services by the marketing communication messages. This shows that marketing communication plays a major role in motivating the purchase of zain Nigeria products and services and therefore is useful for achieving marketing objectives. TABLE 4.2.15:
Marketing Tools Used by GSM Companies for Competition
S/N MARKETING TOOLS
NO
OF NO
OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS RESPONSES 1
Better Services
253
76
30
2
Cheaper Lines
253
44
17.4
3
Lower Call Rates
253
162
64
4
Promotional Bonuses
253
138
54.5
5
Others
253
0
0
On tools being used by GSM companies for competition, majority which made up 162 or 64% of the responses gave lower call rates as the major marketing tool used in competition by GSM operators. This is followed by 138 or 54.5% which gave promotional bonuses as the major tool; 76 or 30% which gave better services as the major tool; and 44 or 17.4% which gave cheaper lines as the major tool. This shows that lower call rates is the major marketing tool used by GSM companies for competition in the sector and this makes it the most effective competitive tool in the sector.
106
TABLE 4.2.16:
Sources of Conveying Competitive Messages
S/N SOURCES 1
Mass
media,
People,
Sales
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
212
83.8
promotional
gifts, handbills, brochures and trade fairs
2
Friends
32
12.6
3
Customers
9
3.6
4
Others
0
0
TOTAL
253
100
This table shows that most of the respondents made up of 212 or 83.8% of the respondents believe other GSM companies are using the mass media, Sales People,
promotional
gifts,
handbills,
brochures
and
trade
fairs
to
communicate to them for their patronage. This is followed by 32 or 12.6% which believe they use their friends to communicate to them and 9 or 3.6% which gave competitor‟s customers as the major source used by competitors to reach them. This shows that marketing communication tools are strong instruments used for competition in the GSM industry. TABLE 4.2.17:
Impact
of
Marketing
Communication
on
Customer
Preference S/N RESPONSE
NO OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1
Yes
183
72.3
2
No
70
27.7
TOTAL
253
100 107
On whether the marketing communication messages they get from Zain Nigeria affects their decision to continue patronizing the company despite the enticing programmes of the competitors, most of the respondents, which is made up 183 or 72.3% of them believe that the marketing communication affected their choice to continue with Zain Nigeria while 70 or 27.7% of them believe it does not. This shows that marketing communication plays a major role in achieving consumer preference. TABLE 4.2.18:
Reasons That Will Compel Customers to Leave Zain Network
S/N MARKETING
1
NO
OF NO
OF PERCENTAGE
ACTIVITIES
RESPONDENTS RESPONSES
Inadequate
253
180
71.1
253
176
69.6
68
26.9
0
100
Products & Services 2
Higher Call Rates
3
Lack of Promotional 253 Bonuses
4
Others
253
This table shows that 180 or 71.1% of the responses given by the respondents believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if it offers inadequate products and services; 176 or 69.6% of the responses believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if it offers higher call rates; while 68 or 26.9% of the responses believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if it does not offer promotional bonuses.
108
This shows that adequacy or quality of goods and services and pricing, play important roles in retaining consumer preference while promotional bonuses do not. 4.3.
Testing of Hypotheses
The testing of the hypotheses of this study will be conducted using the data obtained from the questionnaire. To test these hypotheses, the test of proportion will be used. The test of proportion uses this formula:
A-P Z =
(pq) n Where:
A
=
Actual Proportion of Success from Sample
P
=
Expected Proportion of Success
q
=
Proportion of Failure Expected
n
=
Sample Size
In this test also: Ho (Null Hypothesis) is in the negative H1 (Alternative Hypothesis) is in the positive Zo
=
Computed test of proportion
Ze
=
Expected test of proportion
Level of Significance (x) = 0.01 i.e. probability of rejecting a null hypothesis that is true. Decision Criteria If Zo < Ze accept null hypothesis (Ho) If Zo > Ze reject null hypothesis and accept alternative hypothesis (H1) 109
4.3.1:
Hypothesis 1
Ho (Null Hypothesis)
=
Marketing communication does not affect product awareness
H1 (Alternative Hypothesis) =
Marketing communication
affects product
awareness Table 4.2.13 is used to test this hypothesis applying the formula:
A-P Z =
(pq) n Where:
Zo
=
A
=
89.3% or .893
P
=
50% or .5
q
=
50% or .5
n
=
253
.893 - .5
=
(.5) (.5)
0.393 =
12.67
0.031
253 At 0.01 or 1% level of significance, the critical region value Ze for one tailed test is 2.33. Decision: Therefore, since Zo (12.67)> Ze (2.33) we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that Marketing Communication Affects Product Awareness.
110
4.3.2:
Hypothesis 2
Ho (Null Hypothesis)
=
Marketing communication does not motivate consumers to patronise a product
H1 (Alternative Hypothesis) =
Marketing
communication
motivates
consumers to patronise a product Table 4.2.14 is used to test this hypothesis applying the formula:
A-P Z =
(pq) n Where:
Zo
=
A
=
76.7% or .767
P
=
50% or .5
q
=
50% or .5
n
=
253
.767 - .5 (.5) (.5)
=
0.267 =
8.61
0.031
253 At 0.01 or 1% level of significance, the critical region value Ze for one tailed test is 2.33. Decision: Therefore, since Zo (8.61) > Ze (2.33) we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that Marketing Communication Motivates Consumers to Patronise a Product.
111
4.3.3:
Hypothesis 3
Ho (Null Hypothesis)
=
Marketing communication does not affect a customer‟s preference of a product
H1 (Alternative Hypothesis) =
Marketing
communication
affects
a
customer‟s preference of a product Table 4.2.17 is used to test this hypothesis applying the formula:
A-P Z =
(pq) n Where:
Zo
=
A
=
72.3% or .723
P
=
50% or .5
q
=
50% or .5
n
=
253
.723 - .5 (.5) (.5)
=
0.223 =
7.19
0.031
253 At 0.01 or 1% level of significance, the critical region value Ze for one tailed test is 2.33. Decision: Therefore, since Zo (7.19)> Ze (2.33) we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis that Marketing Communication Affects a Customer‟s Preference for a Product.
112
CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION Having presented and analysed the data obtained from the questionnaires, this chapter intends to make a summary of the findings, make some recommendations that will be useful for the practice of marketing and marketing communications and also draw some reasonable conclusions. 5.1:
Summary of Findings
The summary of the findings of this study will be rooted on the research objectives of the study. 5.1.1:
Research Objective 1
The first research objective of this study is to know “the most popular marketing Communication tool.” From the survey, majority of the responses made
up
of
126
or
49.8%
of
the
responses
indicated
that
Zain
SMS/handbills/brochures is their source of obtaining Zain Nigeria marketing communication
messages.
These
are
followed
by
promotional
campaigns/offers and bonuses which had 122 or 48.2%; mass media adverts which had 105 or 41.5% of the responses; fellow customers which had 58 or 23% of the responses; mass media news which had 43 or 17% of the responses; sales people which had 15 or 6% of the responses; and other sources which had 1 or 0.4% of the responses. This shows that the most popular marketing communication tool for reaching Zain customers is Zain SMS/handbills/brochures and this makes direct marketing the most popular marketing communications tool for driving 113
marketing campaigns because it is precise and reaches the customers directly. 5.1.2:
Research Objective 2
The second research objective is to know “the most effective marketing Communication tool.” The survey showed that 106 or 41.9% of the respondents indicated that Zain SMS/handbills/brochures is their major source of obtaining Zain Nigeria marketing communication messages while 68 or 26.9% say it is promotional campaigns/offer/bonuses; 67 or 26.5% say it is mass media adverts; 11 or 4.3% say it is fellow customers; and 1 or 0.4% say it is other sources. Mass media news, sales people and Zain events and trade fairs were not selected by any respondent. This shows that most acceptable marketing communication tool for reaching Zain customers is Zain SMS/handbills/brochures and this makes direct marketing the most effective marketing communications tool for driving marketing campaigns. 5.1.3:
Research Objective 3
The third research objective is to assess “the impact of marketing communication on consumer product awareness.” The result of the survey showed that 226 or 89.3% believe that the marketing communication messages they received contributed to the much they know about Zain products and services while 27 or 10.7% think the marketing communication messages did not contribute much to what they know about Zain products and services.
114
This shows that most of what Zain Nigeria customers know about the company‟s
products
and
services
were
received
from
marketing
communication sources. This means that marketing communication greatly impacts on consumer awareness of a product or services and therefore plays a major role in the achievement of marketing objectives. 5.1.4:
Research Objective 4
The fourth research objective is to assess “the impact of marketing communication on consumer patronage of a product.” The survey showed that 194 or 76.7% of the respondents believe that they were motivated to use more of Zain products and services when they receive Zain‟s marketing communications messages while 59 or 23.3% think they were not motivated into using Zain‟s products and services by the marketing communication messages. This shows that marketing communication plays a major role in motivating the purchase of zain Nigeria products and services and therefore it can be concluded that marketing communication impacts heavily on consumers‟ decision to patronize a product. 5.1.5: The
Research Objective 5 fifth
research
objective
is
to
determine
“whether
marketing
communication serves as an instrument of competition.” The data obtained from the survey indicated that 212 or 83.8% of the respondents believe other GSM companies are using the mass media, Sales People, promotional gifts, handbills, brochures and trade fairs to communicate to them for their patronage;
32 or 12.6% believe competing GSM companies use the
consumers‟ friends to communicate to them while 9 or 3.6% believe competitor‟s use their customers as the major source of reaching them. 115
This shows that most of the effort by competing companies to win customers is communicated through marketing communication media. This makes marketing communication a very important instrument of competition. 5.1.6:
Research Objective 6
The sixth research objective is to determine “whether pricing affects customer preference.” From the survey, 176 or 69.6% of the responses believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if it should have higher call rates. This shows that high call rates is enough to make the customers abandon Zain Nigeria for another network and therefore it can be concluded that pricing greatly affects customer preference of a product. 5.1.7:
Research Objective 7
The seventh research objective is to determine “whether sales promotion affects customer preference.”
The data obtained from the survey, 68 or
26.9% of the responses believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if it ceases to offer promotional bonuses. This shows that promotional bonuses is not a strong enough reason to make most customers abandon Zain Nigeria for another network and therefore it can be concluded that sales promotion does not have s big impact on customer preference of a product. 5.1.8:
Research Objective 8
The eighth research objective is to know “whether adequacy of goods and services affects customer preference.” The result of the survey, 180 or 71.1% 116
of the responses believe that they will leave Zain Nigeria if its products and services are inadequate. This shows that inadequacy or quality of products and services is enough to make the customers abandon Zain Nigeria for another network and therefore it can be concluded that the adequacy of product and services affect customer preference of a product. 5.1.9:
Research Objective 9
The ninth research objective is to know “whether marketing communication affects customer preference.” From the survey, 183 or 72.3% of respondents believe that the marketing communication messages they get from Zain Nigeria affects their decision to continue patronizing the company despite the enticing programmes of the competitors while 70 or 27.7% of them do not believe so. This shows that Zain is countering competition through its marketing communication activities and therefore it can be concluded that marketing communication affects customer preference of a product. 5.2:
Recommendations
Consequent
upon
the
finding
made
in
this
study,
the
following
recommendations are hereby made for increased, proper and improved use of marketing communication to achieve marketing effectiveness: More Use of Marketing Communication Marketing communication has been established as very important tool for realizing marketing objectives. As a result, this study recommends that most 117
companies should embrace marketing communications and those already using it should make more use of it in executing their marketing campaigns. Need for Evaluation of Marketing Communication Programmes Every company that uses marketing communication in its business operations should endeavour to carry out a periodic evaluation of their marketing communication programmes. This will enable them determine the success or failure of the campaign and which marketing communication tool is most effective in carrying the marketing messages of the company. This way the company will reduce cost and achieve higher precision in reaching and satisfying its target market.
Products and Services Must Be Adequate Despite the importance and power of marketing communications, it can not be effective if the company does not have adequate and quality products. Marketing communications is not about performing miracles. It is when a product is good and adequate that the messages yield more fruit in the mind of the consumers. This study therefore recommends that every company must ensure its products and services are adequate enough as needed by the customers. Increased use of Marketing Communication for Competition The business environment all over the world now is highly competitive and many companies are looking for an easy and efficient way of surviving this competition and retaining its share of the market or even increase it. Marketing communication has been established as a very strong tool of competition and capable of giving a company an edge over and above its 118
competitors.
Companies
are
therefore
advised
to
use
marketing
communication in their areas of competition. Increased Use of Direct Marketing The power and importance of direct marketing has been established in this study. It has been proven as the most popular and effective marketing communication tool amongst customers. Hence, companies are advised to increase the rate at which they use direct marketing to enable them reap more results. 5.3:
Conclusion
The use of communication in marketing otherwise known as marketing communication has a lot of roles to play in the achievement of marketing objectives
and
therefore
contributes
greatly
to
the
realisation
of
organisational goal. From creating awareness for products and services to motivating sales and product preference, marketing communication has entrenched itself in marketing as a vital tool for achieving marketing effectiveness. However, it is not a miracle worker. It needs the company to have adequate and good quality products and services to be able to realise the benefits that lie within marketing communication. Many companies have failed to realise this benefit by spending money in marketing communications without raising the standard of their product. This study went into the psych of the customers to know their attitudes, interests, likings, choices and preferences and thereby determine what 119
motivates them. From its findings it was able to establish that communication impacts heavily on marketing effectiveness.
120
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121
Debelek, D. (1994) Marketing Magic, Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation. Ehikwe, A.E. (2005) Advertising and Other Promotional Strategies, Enugu: Precision publishers Ltd. East, R (1997) Consumer Behaviour: Advances and Applications in Marketing; London: Prentice Hall. Eastwood, M. (1992) A Guide to Company Giving; London: Directory of Social Change. Jefkins, F. (1991) Advertising, 2nd ed, London: Pitman Publishing. Kodjo, S.N. (2004) Decision Accounting for Managers; Enugu: Oktek Publishers. Kotler, P. (1975) Marketing for Non-profit Organisations; New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2006) Marketing Management (12th ed); New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. Marston J, (1978) Modern public Relations; New York: McGraw Hill. Mbah, C.E. (2001) Marketing Management: Theory and Practice; Lagos: Sivar Industry Ltd. McAnany, E.G. (1970) Communication in the Rural Third World; New York: 122
Paeger Publishers. Ndagi, J.O. (1984) Essentials of Research Methodology for Nigerian Educators; Ibadan: University Press. Ndolo, S.I. (2006) “Public Relations: An Integral Part of Modern Communication” in Onah J.O. et al (ed) Marketing and Management Practice in Nigeria; Enugu: African Marketing Development Foundation. Nwosu, I. (1990) “Vital Communication and Public Relations Principles and Techniques
for
Modern
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in
Ike
Nwosu
(ed),
Mass
Communication and National Development; Aba: Frontier Publishers. Nwosu,
I.
(1996)
Public
Relations
Management
–
Principles,
Issues,
Applications; Aba: Dominican Publishers. Ohaja E.U (2003) Mass Communication Research and project Report Writing; Lagos: John Letterman Ltd. Onah J.O. (2006) “Marketing the Lifeblood of Business” in Onah J.O. et al (ed) Marketing and Management Practice in Nigeria; Enugu: African Marketing Development Foundation. Onah J. O. and Thomas M.J. (2004) Marketing Management: Strategies and Cases (2nd Ed.); Enugu: Institute for Development Studies University of Nigeria.
Onyebuagu, C.S, (1995) Contemporary Marketing: Principles and 123
Practice; Enugu: Global Rays Academic Publishers. Osuala, E.C. (1987) Introduction to Research Methodology; Onitsha: Africana – FEP Publishers. Salz, N.L. (1988) How to Get the Best Advertising From Your Agency (2nd Ed); Homewood Illinois: Dow Jones-Irwin. Scott M Cutlip et al (1971) Effective Public Relations; New Jersey: Practice Engleewood Cliffs. Starch, D. (1966) Measuring Advertising Readership and Results: New York, McGraw-Hill. Varey, R. (2002) Marketing Communication, Principles & Practice; London: Routledge. JOURNALS Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (15th May, 2007) No. 24, Vol. 94
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www.zainng.com www.ncc.gov.ng
NEWSPAPERS/MAGAZINES Oduwale, F. (October 18, 2001) “Boosting Sales With promotions at Christmas” Daily Champion. Ogulowo, A. (July 7, 2008) “Hello, This is How it All Began” Tell Magazine. Okereocha, C. (July 7, 2008). “One Revolution, a Thousand Gains” Tell Magazine. Manuaka, T. (July 7, 2008). “The Prime Investors’ Destination” Tell Magazine. Muyiwa K. (August 6, 2001) “Effective Marketing Communications” Financial Standard. Udutchay, H. (September 10, 2001) “GSM in Nigeria: Tortuous History, Glorious End” Vanguard.
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QUESTIONNAIRE TO COSTUMERS OF ZAIN NIGERIA Department of Marketing Faculty of Business Administration University of Nigeria Enugu Campus Enugu State. November, 2008. Dear Respondent, I am a Masters Degree student of Marketing at the above named institution. I am conducting a research on “The Impact of Communication on Marketing Effectiveness. A Case Study of Zain Nigeria.” This is a partial requirement for the award of M.BA in Marketing and as such is an academic work. Therefore, all information given here will be treated with utmost confidence. You should give an accurate response with regards to your personal opinion about questions contained herein. Thanks for your cooperation. Yours faithfully, Obiora Nwankwo
INSTRUCTIONS: Tick ( comments as need be.
) in the appropriate boxes that reflect your answers and or
SECTION 1: 1.
Sex:
(i) Male (
), (ii) Female (
2.
Age:
(i) Below 19 yrs (
3.
Are you resident or working in Abuja? (i) Yes (
4.
Occupation : (i) Public/Civil Servant ( (iii) Company Employee (
),
)
(ii) 19-40 yrs (
),
),
(iii) Above 40 yrs ( ), (ii) No (
), (ii) Trader/Artisan (
(iv) Student (
),
)
) ),
(v) Unemployed (
),
(vi) Others …………………………………… 5.
Educational Qualification:
(i) Primary School(
(iii) University/Higher Education (
),
), (ii) Secondary School (
(iv) No Formal Education (
),
),
SECTION II
126
6.
From experience which of these telecommunications methods do you prefer? (i) Land lines (
),
(ii) Fixed wireless (
),
7.
Do you use GSM services?
8.
Which GSM network do you use? (iv) Mtel (
), (v) Etisalat (
(iii) GSM (
(i) Yes (
),
), (iV) others ………………….....
(ii) No (
(i) Zain (
)
), (ii) MTN (
Which one is your favourite? ……………………………………..
10.
Do you use Zain network?
11.
Which of these affects your choice to use Zain network?
(i) Yes (
),
(ii) No (
), (iii) lower call rates (
),
(v) others………………………………….. 12.
(iii) Glo (
),
) *(you can tick more than one)
9.
(ii) cheaper lines (
),
) (i) better services (
),
(iv) promotional bonuses (
),
*(you can tick more than one)
Are you aware the company‟s name was changed to Zain Nigeria in 2008? (i) Yes (
),
(ii) No (
)
13.
Do you know why the company changed its name? (i) Yes (
), (ii) No (
14.
Are you aware of the friend and family benefits?
),
15.
Are you aware of the midnight happy hour benefits? (i) Yes (
16.
Are you aware of the reduced international call rates? (i) Yes (
17.
Are you aware of the free roaming benefits?
18.
Are you aware of the call me back benefits?
19.
Are you aware of the recharge bonus?
(i) Yes (
),
(ii) No (
)
20.
Are you aware of the monthly free SMS?
(i) Yes (
),
(ii) No (
)
21.
Are you aware Zain has launched Black Berry services?
(i) Yes (
), (ii) No (
22.
Are you aware Zain has a new GSM code of 0708?
23.
If you answered yes to any question from 12 – 22, what is the source of your information?
(i) mass media adverts (
(VII) fellow customers (
(i) Yes ( (i) Yes (
(ii) No (
), (ii) No (
),
),
) )
(ii) No (
),
(i) Yes (
)
), (ii) No ( (ii) No (
)
)
), (ii) No (
), (ii) mass media news (
(iii) Promotional campaigns/offer/bonuses ( (v) Zain SMS/ handbills/brochures (
(i) Yes (
)
)
)
),
), (iv) Sales People (
),
(vi) Zain events/trade fairs (
)
), (Viii) others …………………………………….....
*(tick as many as are correct) 24.
Which one of them is your major source? ……………………………
25.
Did the information you received from the sources your mentioned in question 23, contribute to the much you know about Zain products and services today? (i) Yes (
26.
)
(ii) No (
)
When you received the information on benefits contained in any of the questions from 12 – 22, did it motivate you to use more of Zain services?
127
(i) Yes ( 27.
),
(ii) No (
)
If you didn‟t receive that information at that time, would you have patronized those services as much as you did?
28.
), (ii) No (
),
(ii) No (
)
If yes, what are they offering? (i) better services ( lower call rates (
),
), (ii) cheaper lines (
(iv) promotional bonuses (
(V) others……………………………………..… 30.
),
Which sources are they using to reach you? (i) mass media, Sales People, (iII) their customers (
), (ii) your friends (
),
), (iV) others …………………………………….....
How is Zain trying to counter these competitors? (ii) cheaper lines (
), (iii) lower call rates (
(i) better services (
),
), (iv ) promotional bonuses (
others……………………………………………………. 32.
), (iii)
*(tick as many as are correct)
promotional gifts, handbills, brochures and trade fairs ( 31.
)
Have other networks been trying to win you to patronize them? (i) Yes (
29.
(i) Yes (
), (v)
*(tick as many as are correct)
Did the information you got from mass media, Sales People, Zain SMS, handbills, brochures and trade fairs contribute to your preference and decision to continue using Zain network despite competitors‟ messages? (i) Yes (
33.
)
(ii) No (
)
If you have to leave Zain Network today what reasons would you give? (i) Inadequate products/poor services ( (iii) lack of promotional bonuses (
),
(ii) higher call rates (
),
), (v) Others……………………......................
*(tick as many as are correct)
128