The Impact of Marketing in Telecommunication in Nigeria
According to Onwuegbusi ( 200:55) in his work impact of marketing on the sale of mobile phone ( a case of study of Enugu metropolis) dealt with various effect of marketing on the profitability of telecommunication firms some of the finding were: More makes available themselves of mobile phone services than female as exemplified in the study were self employed or professionals in various field.
It was noticed that most of the respondents were enter self employed or professionals in various field.
In the course of the study, it was noticed that 40% of respondents were not interested in telecommunication while 7% indicated strong interest.
Athur ( 2001:99) in this work effective strategies for marketing telecommunication service ( a case of study of NITEL plc. operations in Enugu state), was able to find out the following things as a result of responses to the question contained in the questionnaires. Distributed to subscribers and staff of NITEL pic Enugu does not lead to increase customers patronage.
That the marketing strategies employed by NITEL plc. Enugu do not lead to increase in customers patronage.
According to Okafor (2002:92) in his work impact of advertising on the sale of mobile phone in Enugu metropolis, he revealed that majority of the respondents exactly 51% preffered phones as their choice of communication high response rate as their reason
He also revealed that the main cause of customers dissatisfaction in existing telephones are delay tone, wrong billing, interruptions on the set and inefficiency of the firms staff.
Finally, according to Uju ( 2001:81) in her research of work an effective marketing strategy of the sale of mobile phone ( a case study of Enugu metropolis) in her finding she said hat most telecom, customers see the attitude of their firms accounts executives as at best only accommodating with 54% of respondents indicating the belief.
The term marketing has now become a house hold name in Nigeria business environment, with the resultants effect that it has almost lost its true meaning. Some people associate the term marketing with the mare act of buying and selling. Others fell that marketing is synonymous with advertising, whereas some believe that marketing could only be applied to good and not services.
Hughes ( 1976:3) defines marketing briefly as those activities that related an organization successful to its environment. He clarifies the main activities as; the identification of unmet needs, the development of products and services. To meet these need, pricing the distribution of goods to the market place and the communication of the ability of the product to meet these needs.
Morden ( 1996:2) says “that marketing links the two basic functions in the community, namely those of production and consumption.
MARKET AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT
The marketing itself is aggregate of forces or conditions within buyers and sellers make decision that result in the transfer of goods and services or the market may be seen as the aggregate demand of the potential buyers of a community or service. Here, a businessman often uses to mean an opportunity to sell his goods. He often attaches to it a connotation of a graphical area, such as the cross River state market or a customer group such as the university market or the agricultural market retailers often use the term to mean the greater group of suppliers from whom a buyer purchases.
Kolter (1975:473) marketing management itself is the planning, directing and controlling of the entire marketing activities of a firms or decision of a firm, including the formulation of marketing objectives, polices, programme and strategy. Also commonly embracing product or services development, organizing and staff to carryout plans supervising marketing performance Kolter ( 1975:474) marketing management is therefore a sum total of all activities that permeate the whole company resulting in the realization of the long term objective of the firm- profit maximization .
Runyon ( 1982:178) looked at customers as problem solves with their problem defined a a perceived difference between an existing state of affaires and a desired state of affairs. According to him, customers needs, wants and desires often present problems, which they attempt to solve, through the purchase of goods and services.
WHY MARKET TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE
There are time when the Nigeria telecommunication did not see the need for such activities fifteen years ago because NITEL was the only monopoly and competition was non existent. In order words, the market situations then was a sellers market.
According to Rockies ( 1984:56) marketing is more readily associated with bake beans, not with telecom, with manufacturing not with service industries, on the other hands, service firms tends not to be differentiated between production and marketing the performance of the service is often equivalent to the marketing of it. One merely to mention the marketing activities of doctors, lawyers and hair dressers to illustrate this.
He further asks the question; why has marketing development most fully in the manufacturing industry? The answer can be found in the advert o mass production techniques. He says many services are now following goods from being custom built to being mass produce.
In an analysis of marketing activities in service industries, Geoge and Bakrsdale ( 1957:69) observed that although service industries have experienced unprecedented expansion in recent years, the marketing function appears to be less structured in service companies than in manufacturing firms. Fragmentation of marketing mix. These marketing authorities further observed that service firms appear to allocate a relatively small or proportion of their operating budgets to marketing activities than manufacturing firms. Marketing has traditionally been the neglected step system.
In most service industries. Nowhere has these been more evident than in the market of telecommunication services, identify the profitability services, and incidentally save the telecom firms a considerable sum of money by the phase withdrawal of services for which no need or demand may no longer be demonstrated.
The complete research function is to provide analyze and interpret a flow of relevant information about the market, so that all management and marketing decisions are made with a real knowledge and understanding of facts.
Marketing research provides a map showing the rich pasture and the barren slopes the easy routes and the hazards. It does not take away the need for good judgment and management but gives the good map reader a better chance of success and equally important, it can provides early warning that policies will fail there are for kinds of market research;
DESK RESEARCH
The analysis and use of existing source f information and statistic which includes census and many other official data, the use companies it is a relatively expensive business of directories and the vast amount of information generated by the company, is a new entrance into the marketing world even in developed countries.
Waston ( 1973:205) noted that it is important to realize that telecommunication marketing is divided into two main parts.
Communication technology on the one hand and service to user on the other. This double seded nature of telecommunication services bring marketing problems which are more complex than those which normally face commercial concerns.
Add to this, the very special place which telecommunication holds in society and in communication policy which telecommunication hold in society and in communication policy and one begins to see that a simple transfer to techniques and concept from other areas of business is hardly likely made telecommunication industry to be so slow in responding to changing need of the society by marketing it’s products (service) Accordingly, the wealth of information that could be made available from analysis of all kinds of customers whether commercial or private is as yet almost untapped. Market research has hardly been used and the need of customers and potential customers are largely known. A more positive approach is necessary, differentiating between business, the requirement of large customers, personal customers and the various additional service provided by the telecommunication. Operation rather than the institute altitude of “ let the customer come to us and we will see if he is acceptable?” marketing must encompass the whole telecommunication service.
Robertson and Ballanger ( 1954:276-283) observed that the telecommunication operation have for years designed their promotional efforts to aim at only the very broadest mass markets. Their philosophy had been utilized a “ short gun” approach in hopes that something in their advertising messages would stick a responsive card with someone in most instances,the telecom. Operation is sure to market telecom services in this manner as a blankes approach. They say their only recently have the telecom operator become aware of the increase possible in productivity and resulting economics of using marketing segmentation when appealing new services to present customer. Their major benefit occurring to a firm using this concept is that they may be able to promote more effectively to each of the smaller relatively homogeneous markets.
Reckie (1977:56-60) suggests that the following information is required for market segmentation. They are how big is the following segment in volume terms? It is worth continuing, readily come should the telecom operate look else where? Where profit might readily come by? For example, it is worthy in the commercial r market development manager time building telephone both across town intensely populated areas expense of investing in cellular phone that can only be affordable by a few businessmen within that locality?
He goes on to ask. Who are th clients and customers in the segment? For example, what sociological and demographic features to private telephone users have? With corporate customers similar questions have to be asked, what do clients use our services for? What kind of telephone service do that various segment need? How big the telecommunications is sharing of the market vis- a- vis other computers? Once the pattern of rivalry or competition in each segment is known decision can be taken about offensive or defensive marketing action. Cleary, the answers to many of these questions can only be provided by market research. The field survey we know in other industries might have to be used in some instances marketing have become very complex competition has become a lot stiffer. Rule of thumbs and guess short can no longer be relied on for marketing decision. Facts have to e substituted for guess work and opinions.
Daodu ( 1987;12) adds that decision on marketing, market product or service offering are critical for the survival of an organization in a given economy the importance of good decision mix becomes more patient in a recessive economy.
Unfortunately, there seem to be a great deal of misunderstanding even among some provide telecommunication operators, as to the proper role of the telecom- marketing activities are pretty much limited to advertising campaigns and the developing of good community relations through effective citizenship. Today, it’s just not enough;
Now telecom marketing has to concern itself with product development, effective training of personal to sell the various products ( services) research to determine the acceptability of proposed services or modification of existing one’s pre- testing and post testing of promotional campaigns, the maintenance, the provision of adequate parking and attractive exterior of office building including land – scalping. In short, all the activities, which affect the image of the firm, and every organization have an image weather it likes it or not.
THE IMPACT OF MARKETING IN TELECOMMUNICATION.
Industry marketing has a very important In the case of the telecommunication industry. The level of competition between private telephone operators (PTOS) is increasing as in the level of customers needs and wants. Meeting the challenged of increased competition will entail new and more efficient and effective marketing strategies.
In marketing telecom service, particularly the mobile phone and the firm should as a master of urgency learn about the market it operates unless the characteristics of market are known, costly mistake may be made.
A survey of any market is made up of different types of customers and potential customers it is out of the observation that the science of segmentation which have different incomes, attitudes, needs of which have differed in many other ways. Segmentation of market facilities, the collection of information on the characteristics of the market. It involves identifying customers group which are different from other customers types.
Segmentation analysis may be used by the telecom industry to influence decision about how many and what types of product service are need to satisfy different demand. Alternatively ,it would be used to plans different ways of selling the same product or service.
In adopting the marketing concept in telecom service industry, one should also understand what the marketing mix is all about. The marketing mix is composed of the four variables in the control of the firm ie product, price, promotion and place in other words, reffered to the yp’s. these variable would assist the telecom firm to answer the following question what services the customers need, when they need the service, where the services are needed, how they could be reached with the right information and at what price.
The marketing mix variable determines the total impact of marketing programmed. Each segment of the market has different characteristics. To exploit any on segment effectively these characteristics must be known and the firms marketing mix adopted accordingly. Anyone of the four variables can be varied to either a greater or looser extent so that the ‘ mix” matches more accurately than segment demand. This maximizes the point obtainable from any particular segment of the total telecommunication market.
This view should be upheld and when any of the element is not controlled by the firm other element within it’s control should be varied so that “ mix” matches the demand of the society.
Ojo and Iyanda ( 1989:121) also helped to explain marketing mix and strategy.
Phone business m-tel has vendors who procure and activate line of customers choice of phones. These vendors are selected and licensed by NCC [Nigerian Communication Commission] which is the with this license, the vendors now apply to m- tel for vendor work. Currently there are 23 licensed vendor serving customers need nation wide. Mobile phone is a wireless telephone that works through radio, deployed to cove the areas within which the exchange can cover.
