THE IMPACT OF MARKETING STRATEGY ON PRODUCTIVITY OF ORGANIZATIONS

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of Study

Every organization needs to have clear marketing objectives and the major route to achieving organizational goals. Profitability is the function of productivity, a company success depends on how marketing strategies are used to achieve marketing objectives, which will result in productivity.

To achieve a set of organizational goals and objectives, companies, conceptualize, design and implement various strategies. These strategies can be corporate, business, operational or functional. Marketing strategies constitute one of the functional strategies to application by contemporary companies in order to enhance performance. Marketing has been defined and conceptualized In various ways, depending on the author’s background, interest and education for example marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the perceived needs, wants and objectives of individuals and organization (Arens, 2011).

Marketing strategy is important for the success of any organization, whether service or product-oriented. Marketing strategy is a method by which needs, attributes and competitors products are assessed and the firm concentrates it’s limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage (Nymous.2006).

Marketing strategy focus on delivering greater value to customers and the firm at a lower cost however, quantifying the return on investment form marketing expenditure on activities such as advertising. Promotion and distribution is one of the most complex issue facing decision markers. Marketing performance is central to success into day’s fast moving competitive markets and measuring marketing performance is critical to managing it effective (Chiliya, 2009).

In order to measure marketing strategy effectiveness, a business has to break down it’s marketing function into constituent parts, along with a mechanism through which to analyze the interaction between those parts. By doing this, decision-makers will finally be in a position to relate marketing expenses to shareholders value and to understand how to tie marketing initiative back into the value created for the company. Decision-makers will be able to understand the internal motives that propel the marketing value of business. The manipulation of the following marketing variables namely price variation and price promotion, research, advertising, product differentiation, quality, packaging and place will yield increased returns for firms.

Marketing strategies in commercial banks serve as the fundamental components of marketing plans designed to fill market needs and reach marketing objectives. Marketing strategy involves careful scanning of the internal environmental factors including marketing mix, plus performance analysis and strategic constraints. While external environmental factors include customer analysis as well as evaluation of the element of technological, economic, cultural or political/legal environment likely to impact success.

Marketing strategy in commercial Banks in Nigeria is basically designed to direct the flow of banking services profitably to target customers. The need for an effective marketing strategy stems from intense competition, not just from bank but other financial organization. Therefore banks strategize their marketing to create customer value as well as to establish customer need and to provide needs, in-order to add more value to their service and gain competitive advantage.

However, there are challenges in measuring market strategies in relations to productivity. Indeed several researchers indicate that there is a gab in this regard (Okoh, 2009). It is against this, that the researcher considers the subject matter as a problem worthy of investigation.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Impact of Marketing Strategy on Productivity of Organizations.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The study addresses the challenges of measuring marketing strategy in relation of productivity which has not been addressed by previous research and marketing text in Nigeria.

In view of this, majority of banks in Nigeria have developed concrete strategic plans to increase their business, a strategy towards increasing the penetration levels within the Nigerian banking industry. Some of the marketing strategies put forward are: − intensified marketing activities locally (through market penetration, market development and product development strategies), increased the level of customer service and focus in all departments of the company; intensified personal selling as a marketing communication strategy and pursue a competition oriented pricing strategy in all markets, (Osalo, 2007). In order to operationalize these market driven business objectives, it’s critical to have in place some silent strategies that fuel them such as sales promotion, market intelligence and product innovation.

The argument is that the major contributors to the sector productivity are the marketing strategies adopted by banks. It is important to emphasize that good marketing practices by banks in Nigeria is imperative if the industry is to effectively play a key role in the overall development of the country.

From this study’s background information, productivity and achievements of most banks depends largely on the use of effective marketing strategies that are tailor-made to suit customer needs among other strategies. It is evident from this argument that the development and implementation of effective marketing strategy is a very important function for an organization.

1.3 Aim and Objectives Of The Study

The main aim of the study is to examine the impact of marketing strategies on productivity. In achieving this aim, the following objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine if the marketing strategies are managed in-house or outsourced.
2. To assess the social media strategies used to manage the marketing function.
3. To examine how decision-making processes are influenced by marketing strategies.
4. To examine how the organization productivity helped the organization to succeed?
5. To determine the marketing strategies attributed to the productivity of the organization.

1.4 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does registration services strategy has positive significant effect on organizational productivity?
• Do place strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity?
• Do Higher education marketing strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity?
• Do Social media marketing strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity?
• What social media strategies are used to manage the marketing function?
• How is decision-making process influenced by marketing strategies?
• How has the organization productivity helped the organization to succeed?
• What marketing strategies attribute to the productivity of the organization?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Marketing strategies have positive significant no effect on Organization Productivity.
• H1: Marketing strategies have positive significant effect on Organization Productivity.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: Services strategies have positive significant no effect on organizational productivity.
• H1: Services strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity.

Hypothesis Three

• H0: Price strategies have positive significant no effect on organizational productivity.
• H1: Price strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity.

Hypothesis Four

• H0: Promotion strategies have positive significant no effect on organizational productivity.
• H1: Promotion strategies have positive significant effect on organizational productivity.

1.6 Significance of Study

The relationship between marketing strategies and business sustainability needed further investigation for small business survival because small businesses have been able to expand local economies by offering employment opportunities. The study goal was to determine the pattern of business startups that survive the first 5 years; interpreted through interviews with bank students, staff, and employees. The researcher’s intent was to understand the effect of marketing strategies on small business startups, having completed the first 5 years in business, by studying marketing and decision-making practices of successful businesses.

The government and other institutions involved in the country’s policy formulation cannot overlook the banking sector as one of the major contributor to the country’s GDP. The findings from this study will therefore be of importance because they will have the capacity of being used to formulate positive fiscal policies which are relevant and sensitive to the forces influencing the banking sector productivity and penetration in Nigeria.

To those who have scholarly interest in marketing of banks and overall financial sector, this study will provide a source of reference; literature review and basis upon which further studies can be developed.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study is carried out within Asaba metropolis, Oshimili south local government area of delta state, Nigeria. The study focuses on the banking system and selects first bank as the case study. The sampling objects used in the study are executives and customer of both banks. It is presumed that this group of people could provide more information to the question contained in the questionnaire relating to the title of the study.

1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
5. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).