CHAPTER
1.0
BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Selling is one of the
oldest professions in the world. The people who do the selling go by many
names. Sales people, sales representatives, account s executives, sales
consultants, sales engineers, agents district managers, marketing
representatives, and account development reps, to name just a few.
The term salesperson covers a wide range
of positions form the clerk selling in a retail store to the engineering sales
person who consult with client companies. The term sales person covers a wide
range of steps. At one extreme, a sales person might be largely an order taker,
such as the department store sales person standing behind the counter. At the
other extreme are order getters, whose position demand the creative selling of
products and services ranging from appliances, industrial equipment, or
airplanes to insurance, advertising, or consulting services. Other sales person
for pharmaceutical company whole calls on doctors to educate them about the
company’s drug products and to urge them to prescribe these products to their
patients.
Therefore; personal selling is the
interpersonal arm of the promotion mix. Advertising consists of one-way
non-personal communication with target consumer groups. In contract, personal
selling involves two-way, personal communication between salespeople and
individual customers whether face to face, by telephone, through video
conferences, or by other means, personal selling can be more effective than
advertising in more complex selling situation. Salespeople can probe customers
to learn more about their problems. They can adjust the marketing offer to fit
the special needs of each customer and negotiate temrs of sales. They can build
long term personal relationships with key decision makers.
The role of personal selling varies form
company to company. Some firms have no sales people at all, for example,
companies that sell only through mail order catalos or companies that sell
through manufacturer’s reps, sales agents, or brokers. In most firms, however,
the sales forces plays major role. In companies that sell business products,
such good stuffs, the company’s sales people work directly with customers. In
fact, to may customers, sales people may be the only contact.
The sales force serves as a critical
link between a company and its customers in many cases, sales person serve both
masters the seller and the buyer. First, they represent the company to
customers. They find and develop new customers and communicate information
about the company products and services. They sell products by approaching
customers, presenting their products, answering objections, negotiating prices
and terms, and closing sales. In addition sales people provide services to customers,
carry out market research and intelligent work, and fill out sales call
reports.
A company’s move toward a stronger
market orientation, their sales forces are becoming more market focuses and
customer oriented. The old view was that sales people should worry about sales
and the company should worry about profit. However, the current view holds that
sales people should be concerned with more than just producing sales they also
must know how to produce customer satisfaction and company profit.
Beyond winning new customers and making
sales, hey must be able to help the company to create long term, profitable
relationships with customers.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM OF THE STUDY
The problem of this
research work is to find out the degree of effectiveness of promotional tools
particular personal selling in marketing of consumer goods. (a case study of
NNPC in
metropolises]. This problem is concerned with effect of using personal selling
as a promotional tool in marketing of consumer goods. That is whether the cost
of maintaining the sales forces (promotional variables) justifies the benefits
demand by companies.
This problem involved the evaluation of
personal sales in the competitive homogenous marketing of consumer goods. this
project will explore these brotherly
questions concerned with the problems.
–
Is personal selling
more effective than other promotional tools?
–
What proportion of
promotional budget should be allocated to personal selling?
–
Does the cost of
personal selling justify its benefits?
–
Is personal selling
really the most effective promotional tools and should such effective be
related with the appointment of the promotional budget?
1.3
AIMS
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This project set out the best procedure on the
personal selling process and crystal the concepts of personal selling as a
promotional tool in the oil sector.
The aims and objectives of this study was to prove
that personal selling is more effective than other promotional tools in the
marketing of consumer goods,
This includes the followings:
–
To guarantee flow of
products in order to avoid scarcity.
–
To determine the
immediate and benefit of personal selling
–
To investigate the
appropriate of personal selling in the most other promotional tools.
–
To ensure that transit
by drives or through poor storage
–
To improve sales at the
particular filling stations by introducing patronage.
–
To achieve proper
monitoring and security of distribution equipment e.g. pipeline, pumps and
personal.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The significance of this research work is that it
will enable the researcher to understand in full, what personal selling is all
about and the various ways of improving personal sales services by researching
into their problems it will also improve the practical application of personal
selling concepts to the industries, which is marketing firms and the research
finding and recommendations will enable them to see the real effects of
personal selling i.e. its worth spending all the money to maintain the
promotional variables and various ways of controlling the sales people manager
and best ways of motivating them necessarily.
On the part of sales people manager, it will give
them an idea of what is expected of them and the various remuneration they
should expected from the company.
1.5
SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
The theoretical scope of
the research work lover the various principles and concept of personal selling
activities.
The geographical scope of
this project deals with consumers/ customers of NNPC petrol filling station in metropolises.
The industrial scope
implies specification of the industry of the study, therefore, this research
work deals with oil industries such as total Nigeria Plc, Texaco, Oando etc.
this research work focuses on NNPC Nigeria Limited in only.
The time scope
is the periodic depth of research, therefore the periodic depth of this
research, cover five years that is between 2004 to 2009 in which the daturn for
five operational year of the case study (NNPC Nigeria Ltd).
1.6 LIMITATION
CONSTRAINTS
1.
The first limitation
factor encountered in this research work is time limitation. As a result of this short semester. Period it has
limited, this research work to be able to find more information on the research
work. the time which as been scheduled for the project is one day out of five
working days and the rest days are for
lectures and weekend for write up with this, it make it difficult for me
to gather more information consigning the project.
2.
Financial
constraints: This is another hindrance to this
project work, it is difficult for the research to visit mere fuel marketing
firms which made the researcher to limit the scope to NNPC Nigeria Ltd in
Ilorin zone. Also in terms of publication of journals and questionnaire and my
parent has been the sources of findings, which make it easier for me to gather
the needed data and they give me emotional and physical support.
Respondent constraints:
The another hindrance together with the
needed information in carryout this research, organization/ company tag their
file as top secret but after serious of persuasion to the manager of NNPC at as
a Dam in Ilorin Kwara state that all the information will only keep as
confidential to me alone and that it is meant for educational purpose to
facilitate my project writing, all these help me to select this problem of
respondent limitations.