CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Of all business activities or functions, none is as interested in the consumer and his purchasing behaviour as marketing.  Marketing is invariably connected with the research into consumers purchasing behaviour, namely what the consumer want, need, prefer and value, who are the prospective consumers and where they live, their income and mode of spending, how and why they make purchase decision and so on. Infact  the influencing of the buyer behaviour is the primary task of the marketing department in any organisation.

Equally, marketing tries to define the right type of products in terms of the company’s objective and attempts to make it available at the right place and at the right price, with the right promotions.  This the performance of marketing functions involves basically marrying consumer wants and with the appropriate products and services. It is the duty of the firm to adopt appropriate marketing strategy to attract customers to its products. This is important because in a free market economy, the ultimate judge of the firm performance is the consumer.

Consumer purchasing behaviour will determine the fate of the enterprise, this behaviour can best be described by a marketing manager who can also tell how he will be influenced by market variables such as price, promotion, product (variation and distribution) and place.

Marketing strategy depicts the overall company program for selecting a particular market segment and then satisfying it’s consumers through careful use of elements of the marketing mix-product, price place (distribution) and promotion.  Effective marketing requires decisions that successfully integrate a forms marketing program towards satisfying the consumer whose act in obtaining and using goods and services, including his decision process that precede and determine those acts are highly affected by the strategy adopted by the marketing manager in marketing the firm’s products.

Since the performance of marketing functions involves basically marrying consumer needs and wants with the appropriate products and services and since it is generally believed that marketing begins and ends with the consumer, this project therefore attempt to examine how the use of marketing strategies have generated sales for Guinness Nigeria Plc following it’s impact on consumer purchasing behaviours.  Efforts are therefore made to show the relationship between sales turnover and amount spent on marketing activities and it’s resultant impact on consumer purchasing behaviour.  We shall also concentrate on establishing how consumer purchasing behaviour is influenced by a forms strategy for accomplishing marketing objectives and plans.  We shall pay special attention to Guinness Nigeria Plc.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This is considered as the first major step and of great importance in carrying out research.  Here the researcher attempts to define or describe the research problem.

The primary objective of most business enterprises is to make profit.  This is because profit ensures growth, survival and continuity in business.  Many companies like Guinness Nig. Plc recognizes this fact but many enterprise still fail to realize that the achievement of this goal depends on their ability to satisfy the needs of marketing strategies, besides a primary task of marketing is to influence the buyers.

This study will therefore examine the following problems.

1. The marketing strategies used by Guinness Nig. Plc.
2. The extent these strategies are used in this company in generating sales.
3. Essentially, the impact of these strategies on the consumers will be assessed by finding out how they are propelled into buying the company’s products.

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to investigate and identify the marketing strategies employed by Guinness Nigeria Plc, Benin City.  We shall look at the various elements of marketing strategy and determine how this company uses them to identify and retain customers and how this firm uses them to find out how to compete favourably in the industry and make profit.

This research will also try to determine the marketing strategy used Guinness Nigeria Plc Benin City in its operations, the attainment of corporate/marketing goals and move emphatically consumers of Guinness products.

Further we shall try to identify the major problems associated with the implementation and use of the marketing strategy in this company.  We shall suggest possible solutions, which might help eliminate or reduce these problems.

This study is also aimed at bridging the gap between classroom theory and the realities of industrial practice, particularly in the area of marketing and consumer purchasing behaviour.  In this vain it is hoped that this little effort will stimulate the interest of other students, profession managers and marketing policy makers to pay attention to research in the relationship between marketing strategies and consumer purchasing behaviour.  It will in no doubt leave the consumer and producers interest harmonized.