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Abstract
This study examined the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. The case study research design was employed since the study was to ascertain the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourts. The population of this study constitutes all management and staff of Hero Beer, Port Harcourt which was unknown. The judgmental sampling technique which is a non-probability sampling technique was used for selecting the sample. The sample size of this study was a judgmental sample of 20 respondents which comprises of both senior and junior staffs of Hero Beer, Port Harcourt. In this study both the primary and secondary data were used. A self-designed questionnaire on personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt was used and administered for the collection of data from the respondents. The data collected were processed electronically using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS). The statistical test used in the analysis of the data collected was Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings amongst others reveal that face to face interaction, mutual relationship and direct mailing associate with sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt in Hero Beer, Port Harcourt. Based on the findings of the study, we recommended that firms should adopt personal selling in promoting their products as it has greater influence on sales revenue and market share and also enhances customer loyalty.
Table of Contents
Declaration iii
Certification iv
Dedication v
Acknowledgement vi
Abstract vii
Table of Contents viii
List of Tables xi
List of Figures xii
CHAPTER 1 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 3
1.3 Objectives of the Study 5
1.4 Research Question 5
1.5 Research Hypotheses 5
1.6 Operational Framework 7
1.6 Significance of the Study 7
1.7 Scope of the Study 8
1.8 Limitation of the Study 8
1.9 Definition of Terms 9
CHAPTER 2 11
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 11
2.1 Theoretical Foundation and Conceptual Framework 11
The Game Theory 11
2.2 Sales Growth 12
2.2.1 Sales Volume 13
2.2.2 Market Share 14
2.2.3 Profitability 15
2.3 Personal Selling 17
2.4 Personal Selling and Sales growth 18
2.4.1 Face to Face Interactions and Sales Growth 20
2.4.2 Mutual Relationship and Sales Growth 21
2.4.3 Direct Mailing and Sales Growth 22
CHAPTER 3 24
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24
3.0 Introduction 24
3.1 Research Design 24
3.2 Population of the Study 24
3.3 Sampling Techniques Used 25
3.4 Sample Size 25
3.5 Source of Data 25
3.5.1 Primary Source (S) of Data 25
3.5.2 Secondary Source of Data 25
3.6 Research Instrument for Data Collection 25
3.7 Validity and Reliability of Instrument 26
3.8 Techniques for Data Analysis 26
CHAPTER 4 27
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 27
4.1 Data Presentation and Analysis 27
4.2 Data Analysis 28
4.3 Hypotheses Testing 33
4.4 Discussion of Findings 39
CHAPTER 5 42
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 42
5.2 Summary 42
5.3 Recommendations 43
References 45
Appendix I 47
Appendix II 48
List of Tables
Table 4.1: Questionnaire Administration and Retrieval 27
Table 4.2: Sex 28
Table 4.3: Age 28
Table 4.4: Educational Background 29
Table 4.5: Marital Status 29
Table 4.6: Face to Face Interaction and Sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. 30
Table 4.7: Mutual Relationship and Sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. 31
Table 4.8: Direct Mailing and Sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. 32
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1: Operational Framework 7
Fig. 1: A Conceptual Framework Showing the Relationship between Personal Selling and Sales Growth. 12
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Personal selling is simply to make a sale on individual’s basis. Sales person serves as the link between the selling and buying system (Kotler, 2013). Today, sales persons are required to have more education and technical training than their predecessors. Sales people have many resources at their at disposal and are better equipped to develop long term relationship with buyers. They are backed by a team of specialists, including market researchers, financial experts and engineers. Salesman of today are very good diagnosticians of customers needs and they are also problems consultants who make well considered recommendations. They (sale people) are at home to all facets of a prospective customers business that will in any way relate to the goods and services to be sold.
The impact of personal selling on the sales cannot be underestimated. Personal selling remains an effective tool in assisting and/ or persuading customer to patronize a firm’s offerings or to act favourably upon an idea that has commercial significance to the firm. Esu (2012) identified the following as key roles of personal selling – managing relationship, creating customer for life, customer service, coordinating corporate resources and gathering information. Personal selling remains a cornerstone that assist firms to build strong customer relationship; increase in sales volume, customer retention, the needs, taste and preferences of customer, stimulating demand of a firm’s products. Through personal selling, information are provided about the relevant of products/services in order to reduce the risk involve in purchase and use; create awareness, arouse desire and interest. Firms make large investments in personal selling in response to several major trends: products and services are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Competition has greatly increased in most product/services areas and demand for quality, value, and service by customers has risen sharply. In response to these trends, personal selling seems to offer solution to these trends. Personal selling implies direct communication with customers. This is the process of developing relationship, through identifying customers’ needs, designing and providing products based on these needs, as well as tailoring marketing communication strategies that facilitate his purchase decision making process.
Adebesi, (2006), defined personal selling as a process of conversing the sale of a company’s products or service by sales man or woman, it is a dynamic process involving direct contact between the seller of a product or service and the prospective buyers through oral or face to face or telephone discussion or written mail exchange of ideas through opinion.
Discussing the importance of selling Adirika (1993) defined selling as the process of including a prospective customer to act favourably on an idea advantage to the buyer and commercial significant to the seller.
Every marketing manager ought to have sales persons beside him that have a thorough knowledge of what personal selling is all about in order to bring about a good level of profit to the company. The increasing prominent of identifying them as the focus of a firm’s existence has made it imperative for marketing organization to go for more sales persons.
Personal selling is a branch of marketing that is also broad which is expedient for continued existence of every marketing company.
Most marketing organization today does not take into consideration the impact of personal selling. It has to do with person-to-person communication of which an immediate feedback is provided to the audience. To achieve and gain more customers personal selling needs to be strategically planned to be effective in today highly competitive market place.
The aim of an organization’s personal selling strategy is to bring existing and potential customers to a state of relative awareness of the organization’s product and to a state of adoption.Form the foregoing therefore, the study seeks to examine the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Personal selling is a dynamic process involving direct contact between the seller of a product or service and the prospective buyers through oral or face to face or telephone discussion or written mail exchange of ideas through opinion. (Adebesi, 2006).
Personal selling could be suggested as a cornerstone towards building several relative advantages including strong customer relationship; increase in sales volume, customer retention, and the needs of customers, taste and preferences of customer, stimulating the demand of firms’ products. In addition, through personal selling, information is provided about the relevant of products/services in order to reduce the risk involve in purchase and use; create awareness, arouse desire and interest Firms make large investments in personal selling in response to several major trends: products and services are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Competition has greatly increased in most product/services areas and demand for quality, value, and service by customers has risen sharply. In response to these trends, personal selling seems to offer solution to these trends. Personal selling implies direct communication with customers. This is the process of developing relationship, through identifying customers’ needs, designing and providing products based on these needs, as well as tailoring marketing communication strategies that facilitate his purchase decision making process.
Despite the immense contributions of personal selling to different business organizations, critics still fail to recognize it as a marketing strategy to reckon with. They tend to lay much emphases on variables such as advertising, publicity, sales promotion etc. They believe that personal selling is expensive and does not bring quick response to product offering and increase sales volume.
Indeed, by showing less emphases on personal selling such marketers and organization fail to understand the fact that personal selling apart from inducing, gathering market information also help customers to know the features of the product, their price, importance and how such product can be used. In spite of all the positive attributes of personal selling, does it actually impact on the sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. Therefore, seeks to examine the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. To bridge the gap.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study is to examine the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. The specific objectives are as follows:
i. To examine the extent to which face to face interaction associate with sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt.
ii. To examine the extent to which mutual relationship influence sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt.
iii. To determine the extent to which direct mailing associate with sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt.
1.4 Research Question
The following research questions were proposed to guide the study.
i. Does face to face interaction associate with sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt?
ii. Does mutual relationship influence sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt?
iii. Does direct mailing associate with sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:
H01: There is no significant relationship between face to face interaction and sales volume of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H02: There is no significant relationship between mutual relationship and sales volume of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H03: There is no significant relationship between direct mailing and sales volume of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H04: There is no significant relationship between face to face interaction and market share of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H05: There is no significant relationship between mutual relationship and market share of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H06: There is no significant relationship between direct mailing and market share of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H07: There is no significant relationship between face to face interaction and profitability of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H08: There is no significant relationship between mutual relationship and profitability of beer products in Port Harcourt.
H09: There is no significant relationship between direct mailing and profitability of beer products in Port Harcourt.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The researcher considered the study very significant on the following bases.
The consumers and customers of Hero Beer will benefit from the study since the recommendations will help the company serve them better.
Furthermore, the significance of this study is that it will help researchers to understand and be able to differentiate between the ordinary sales person and the professional sales person and to other research as a topic for continual research work in the field of study.
The finding of the study will enable the industries specifically Hero Beer to solve their sales problem and correct whatever mistakes they have made or are still making in line with their business operations.
From the result of the findings individuals or firms prospecting to go into industrial product production or investment who are interested in investing their money in industrial production will have additional information on personal selling as a channel for sales of industrial product.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study is delimited under the following heading: content scope, geographical scope and unit of analysis.
Content Scope: The content scope of this study involves an investigation to ascertain the relationship between personal selling and sales growth of beer products in Port Harcourt. The dependent variable is sales growth, measured by sales volume, market share and profitability. While independent variable is personal selling measured by face to face interaction, mutual relationship and direct mailing.
Geographical Scope:The geographical scope of the study is Hero Beer, Port Harcourt.
Unit of Analysis: The unit of analysis in this research involves both senior and junior staff of Hero Beer at the time of carrying out the study.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
The study is limited to the following limitations:
The study was limited by the following:
Finance: Accessing fund for the research work was difficult and this limited the quality of research activity.
Time: The time allocated to the research work was not sufficient to give room for further intensive work on the field of study.
Organization Policy: Policies of the organization limited the level of information received. The personnel of the firms were not willing to give information, stating that it was against the organization’s policy.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Some terms used in the study are defined for purpose of understanding.
Industrial Products
Industrial products are products that are bought by an organization for manufacturing purposes. They are used in manufacturing other products.
Industrial Marketing
This is the marketing of industrial products and services to industrial users.
Market Potential
This is the maximum sales potential for all sellers of a product or service over a fixed period.
Personal Selling
This is just a direct personal contact with present and prospective customers for the purpose of selling customer need to goods and services.
Selling
This is the act of persuading prospective buyers to buy goods and services from which they can derive suitable benefits thereby increasing their total satisfaction.
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