CHAPTER ONE GENERAL

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The current difficulties and uncertainties in business underline the importance of professional and up to date marketing practice. Many companies are realizing the need to employ other strategies in their operation as cost cuts are not enough, the only sure way to improve/expand business is by improving marketing by finding more profitable customers and new high growth market.

Some would want to argue that business concerns have thrived successfully before the advent of marketers as a management concept, but one point is that, business activities today are more demanding and complex compared to what they were before. The Nigerian economy today involves actual manufacturing assemblies, packaging and of course the importation of goods and services, and this is why program marketing became crucial.

According to Kotler ('1994:33) "Marketing is getting the right goods and services to the right people at the right place, at the right time

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and the right price with the right communication and promotion" it involves the determination of test, wants, extents, the cost benefit analysis of satisfying consumers and also calculation within realistic the probable market a producer can hold. Above is the functions of the market department of business organization, but it also involves main tenancy of aggressive sales force to canvass for sales for their diversified products by adopting a serious results oriented approach, diverting in-depth and easily understood actualizing themes, formulating a comprehensive promotional strategy, providing and maintaining customer advisory services and the establishment of some marketing policy.

If the above represents the definition and function of marketing thus what is the importance of marketing to the business concerned and the relevance of the importance to be attached to marketing planning and implementation. To this Druker (1979:58) say "It is the customer who determines what a business" this is therefore to say that marketing which create customers for the business enterprise by satisfying their needs determines to a great extent the survival and prospects of business enterprise.

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Consequently, marketing planning becomes inevitable for any business worth itself.

Some managers are unaware of the above facts or being unprepared to do the inevitable often blames their short coming on inadequate sales. Many businesses see poor sales as isolated problems rather than a poorly developed marketing effort or lack of it at all. However, are views of the problem revealed to the ignorance of the need for marketing skills or deliberate neglect of the necessity for programmed marketing.

Many businesses fail today due to lack of orientation of marketing. The real problem usually starts from the product planning or at product development stages when no special attention is paid to the need of the final customer, because of the wrong assumption that the product will create a market for itself. Problems often arise for business because genuine market for their product never exist or was not found from the initial stage. This is usually as a result of inadequate analysis of the market, also companies can not survive today by simply doing a good job. They must do an excellent job if they are to succeed for the increasing competitive global market

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place, consumers and business buyers face an abundance of suppliers seeking to satisfy their everyday need.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the key to profitable business performance is knowing and satisfying target customers with competitively superior, offers. A careful study of the market is therefore never a time wasting exercise rather it is money saving.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE STUDY

The ability of a business to survive depends largely on its effective marketing planning as well as profile implementation of the plan. Some business venture are faced with the problem of drafting a very good marketing plan as well as ensuring its implementation to accelerate their growth and ultimate survival. However, there is need for business organization to take strategies on improving it's marketing planning process.

Base on this above, the researcher undertake this topic in order to access the efforts of marketing planning and implementation on the survival of a business organization and as such the following research questions are formulated by the researches;

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How market plans are done and implemented in organization? What are the problems affecting planning and implementation? How the company can improve it's marketing planning implementation.

1.3       OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The basic objective of this research is to examine marketing planning and its implementation in Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc, Sokoto. The specific objective however is to:-

Ø  Examine how marketing plans are done and implemented in organization.

Ø  To examine problems affecting marketing planning and implementation.

Ø  To offer recommendations on how the company can improve upon its marketing planning and implementation.

1.4 HYPOTHESIS: (1) that effective marketingplanning implementation enhance the achievement of organizational objectives.

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Hypothesis (2) that a number of constraints militate againstefficient planning and implementation

1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Marketing plays a significant role in the company's strategic planning in several ways. First, marketing provides a guiding philosophy the marketing concepts that suggest that company strategy should revolve around building profitable relationships with important consumer groups. Second, marketing provides inputs to strategic planners by helping to identify attractive market opportunities and by assessing the firm's potential to take advantage of them. Finally, within individual- business unit, marketing designs strategies for reaching the units objectives. Once the unit's objectives are set, marketing task is to help carry them out profitably. Ingredients in the market's formula for success, this is so because marketers alone cannot produce superior value for customers. Although it plays a leading role, marketing can be only a partner in attracting, keeping, and growing customers. In addition to customer's relationship management, marketers must also practice partner relationship management.

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