Application of marketing control techniques in manufacturing firms in enugu l.g.a of enugu state (a case study of emenite limited emene enugu state)

Thesis Overview

<p> 1: 1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY<br>Marketing plays a dominant role in the successful management of business<br>in the world of Drucker [1973; 9] business enterprises have two basic functions,<br>marketing and innovation. Only marketing and invocation produce results; all the<br>rest are cost. Marketing as the only revenue generating functions; must make plan<br>attempts to implement and control such plans to the extent that its objectives are<br>achieved.<br>Developing good strategies and tactics, after analysis the marketing<br>environment are only the beginning toward the successful managing of the<br>marketing efforts, usually surprise occurs during the implementation of marketing<br>department therefore must engage in marketing control system and essential in<br>making sure that the company operate efficiency and effectively. As a plan<br>implementation and control are related. All resource available to any business<br>whether human or otherwise must be mobilized into a daily; monthly, yearly and<br>even annual activities that will cause the strategic plan to work well. Management<br>should develop its basics control process along the following step as suggested by<br>Koontz and Weihrich [1988; 540<br>-establishing standard<br>-measurement of performance and<br>-correct of deviations<br>Standards may be in the form of short term goal and long term objectives<br>which should be measured against actual result and corrective action should be<br>taken when necessary. When actual performances deviates greatly from annual<br>plans, the corrective plans may be to adjust objectives and long term objectives<br>which should be measured against actual result and corrective actions. Would be<br>taken when necessary. Where actual performance deviates greatly from annual<br>plans, the corrective action may be to adjust objectives and goals by making them<br>realistic and attainable.<br>A number of techniques have been developed overtime and these are readily<br>used in marketing management across the globe kotler[1980;640-644]broadly<br>classified marketing control process into four categories namely;<br>1. Annual plan control; sales analysis; marketing ratio analysis; market share<br>analysis and consumer attitude tracking.<br>2. Profitability control; consisting of effort to determining profitability of<br>different products, territories, trade channel and consumer groups.<br>3. Efficiency control; means determining more efficient ways of managing<br>sales force advertising, sales promotion and distribution.<br>4. Strategies control; consists of efforts aimed at periodically examine whether<br>a company basics strategratics marched to its opportunities.<br>Marketing control techniques as a component of the marketing information<br>system must be able to provide information to management about performance.<br>Interestingly, a good management will like to know which product sales and<br>highest and why, whether the product is profitable; what is selling and at what cost.<br>very often; the traditional accounting report are usually of little help to the manager<br>;a company account might be showing an overall profit arising from the business.<br>Without specifying which of the centre is doing very fine and which is not?<br>A detailed breakdown of firm’s sales records can be very useful and<br>informative such breakdown can update marketing executives who have been out<br>of touch. Additionally, routine sales analysis prepared weekly; monthly or even<br>yearly may show trend thus permitting marketing executing to check their basics<br>assumptions about performances, [kotler1986].<br>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE STUDY<br>The important of marketing control techniques in the efficient management<br>of companies cannot be over stressed.<br>Thus in the word of Mocker [1972:2] marketing or management control is a<br>systematic effort to set performances standard with planning objectives, to design<br>information feedback system, to compare actual performances with those perdetermined<br>standard, to determine whether there are deviation and to measure their<br>significance, and also to take any action necessary to ensure that all corporate<br>resources are being used in the most effective and efficient way possible in<br>achieving corporate objectives.<br>This view was also supported by Udeagha (1999:281) when he defined<br>management control as consisting all the measures undertaken by an organization<br>to measure performances against standard to ensure that the planned organization<br>activities objectives and goal are achieved.<br>Notwithstanding the positive views; expressed by these two authors above,<br>evidences abound that most of the companies do not apply marketing control in<br>their day to day operations.<br>This view was expressed when Kotler (1980:729) argued that in spite of the<br>need for effective marketing control; many companies have inaugurate control<br>procedures. He recent further to argue that many companies fall to compare them<br>price with competition to analysis warehousing and distribution costs, to analysis<br>the cause of returned merchandize, to conduct formal evaluation of advertising<br>effectiveness, and to review their sales-forces reports.<br>The negative attitude of some companies towards the application of<br>marketing techniques control for their operations as pointed in one of the major<br>factors that stimulated to researcher to embark on this study. The ideas was to find<br>out whether Enemite Limited as a roofing sheet manufacturing company based in<br>Enugu applies the concept of marketing control in its operation and the findings of<br>the study to make some recommendations.<br>1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY<br>The researcher work was embarked upon to achieve the following objective<br>i. To investigate to what extent manufacturing firm time formal plans for their<br>activities.<br>ii. To determine whether the application of marketing control has any effect on<br>the achievement of the corporate goals and objectives of their organization<br>iii. To find out the specific area where the application of marketing control are<br>necessary.<br>iv. To determine the various marketing control techniques available in their<br>company.<br>v. To determine whether the application of marketing control techniques<br>enhance a firm’s competitive position.<br>vi. To ascertain the most frequently used marketing control techniques among<br>manufacturing firms.<br>vii. To make recommendation based on the findings of the researcher work that<br>will ensure improved productivity and efficiency. <br></p>