CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Several studies have been gaining attention in marketing as concepts and tools for understanding consumer’s behaviour and remedy required. This trend seems linked to the fact that offering more value to consumers has become an increasingly necessary part of overall marketing programmes. A societal emerging trend is the concept of consumerism.
Consumers in Nigeria today are becoming more and more educated and well-informed. They need improved and sophisticated products as well as an enlarged assortments of products to choose from. They equally require reparations to be paid for the use of their environments and natural resources therefrom, as witnessed in the Niger-Delta oil rich area of the country. Competition has tremendously increased especially as there is a free market economy typical of the Nigerian telecommunications industry. The consumers therefore, now mobilize themselves into movements in order to actualize their rights and freedoms. Although according to Osuala (1988: 20), “the Nigerian consumer enjoys the freedom to spend, the freedom of time and the freedom to move around,” but they feel a sense of neglect, unfair-play, distrust, absence of confidence in business firms and a measure of seeming illegalities in the conduct of official business transactions. Their desires therefore to always come together and fight a common course always remain elusive but yet imperative. This desire of coming together into an organized movement of citizens as consumers or groups to achieve consumer rights and protection is termed consumerism, (Nwokoye 2004:299). In Nigerian telecommunications industry, the consumer parliament organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission has been a strong force advancing the course of consumers and the effort seems to pay off.
Consumerism is a social movement spreading throughout the world. It involves the action of individuals, government and its agencies, and organizations responding to consumer complaints and to enhance their rights. Anyanwu (2000:84) says consumerism is a social movement to increase the powers and rights of buyers/consumers. He observes that through such movements, a company’s product may be discredited and declared unfit for human consumption. Such social forces are a concern to companies which strive to produce and market their products in line with consumer expectations. Therefore, given the existence of such forces, management of companies are conscious of not being associated with misleading advertisements, poor product performance, hidden financial charges and inadequate product information.
In Nigeria, the trend in marketing activities has continued to stimulate challenging societal issues thereby forcing an increasing need for business firms to plan response programmes. In this regard, this research examines these corporate actions, which Zain Nigeria (Telecommunications Network), imbibe to handle the consumers dissatisfaction. There are several societal issues but this research will focus specifically on consumerism and its influence on corporate organization. The study will contribute objectively to the general industry needed actions. Also, in the study, effort is made to indicate the inherent difficulties in designing and implementing these consumer-oriented programmes, and to provide guidelines to the company and others who desire to implement such consumer programmes. In the course of the study, intermittent references will be made of relevant theories associated with consumerism, while at the same time, it proposes to extend on previous researches conducted within this field to both logically and empirically demonstrate effect of consumerism on corporate programmes.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Continuous manifestations of consumerism pressures resulted in the increase in companies adopting one approach and programme or the other that are workable to address consumers dissatisfaction. Although evidences on the success of these efforts are limited and often lack adequate resources but there are other broad problems, which arise from various angles.
Zain Nigeria is one of the four major GSM operators in Nigeria. The company’s products include: Unity Tariff packages – Zain 30, simply special, simply smooth and simply smart. Trutalk and trutext packages; Zain Joli – offers the choice of four distinct options: Joli People, Joli Padi, Joli Yans and Joli Yonda; Zain StepUP plan. Other value-added services include: Emergency 112, Zain Crisis Centre (C199), Call Centre 111, PUK Retrieval, GPRs, WAP (Mobile Internet Access), SMS, SMS Business Directory, CNN Alerts, Local Flight Information, MMS, Mobile banking, Conference Calling, International Roaming, Caller Back Ring Tone, Pay4Me, Me2U, Call Me Back, Voice Mail, One Network, Mobile Top Up, E-pins and Zain Extras, (Celtel Journal, 2006:20, Zain Journal, 2008:68 and Daily Sun, 2009:56).
A critical look at most of the products mentioned above show that some exist at one time over the other but with one or more advantages over another. An indication of the existence of corporate responses is so far as the various products are introduced to handle consumerism. How has the attempt at introducing these response programmes address consumer’s needs and wants? This question constitutes the major problem to be addressed in the study.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
While this research is aimed at fulfilling a university degree requirement, its main purposes among others include:
To examine the efforts made by Zain Nigeria in developing positive consumers programmes.
To find out whether or not there are difficulties in identifying and addressing the fundamental problems of consumers by management.
To identify those problems associated with the implementation of effective response programmes.
To highlights the importance of evolving consumer-oriented programmes by corporate bodies in Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to aid the researcher in his quest for a thorough analysis of the subject matter, answer will be sought for the following questions:
Is there any effort made by Zain Nigeria in developing consumer programmes.
Does difficulty arises in identifying and addressing the consumers problems by Zain management
Are there problems associated with the implementation of effective response programmes.
Is there any importance attached to evolving consumer-oriented programmes by corporate bodies.