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ABSTRACT
The study examines “The impact of public relations strategies on distribution and sales of made-in-Nigeria product (a case study of Aba-made bags). Stiff competition in the business environment and consumers misconception on made-in-Nigeria products had initiated the need for public relations strategies. The work aimed at investigating the importance of public relations in a competitive marketing environment and how it has enhanced good image and goodwill for an organization thereby creating a conducive business environment for cooperate survival and profit making. The study population comprises of all the producers of Aba-bag. The staff of KC Manufacturing Nigeria Limited Aba, Abia State was studied where four departments were interviewed which made up the sample size. The findings revealed that public relations covers a rang of activities such as the creation and maintenance of corporate identity and image. The researcher also recommended that public relations personnels should therefore embark on frequent research to obtain information on what the organization’s competitors are doing and what trends might be on the horizon. Using the information on organization can differentiate their products and in turn leads to increase in sales.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 4
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 5
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 6
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 7
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 7
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 8
1.8 LIMITATIN OF THE STUDY 8
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS 9
REFERENCES 11
CHAPTER TWO 12
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES 12
2.1 ORIGIN OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 12
2.2 THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 14
2.3 APPROACHES TO PUBLIC RELATIONS 18
2.4 THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN SALES AND DISTRIBUTION OF MADE IN NIGERIA PRODUCTS (ABA- MADE-BAGS). 29
2.5 CONSUMER’S PERCEPTION IN THE CONSUMPTION OF MADE-IN- NIGERIA PRODUCTS 30
2.6 CHALLENGES IN ADOPTING PUBLIC RELATION STRATEGIRS FOR EFFECTIVE SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF MADE-IN-NIGERIA PRODUCT (ABA-MADE-BAGS). 33
2.7 SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGY IN THE SALES AND DISTRIBUTION OF MADE-IN-NIGERIA PRODUCTS. 34
REFERENCES 36
CHAPTER THREE 38
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 38
3.1 INTRODUCTION 38
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 38
3.3 POPULATION OF THE STUDY 39
3.4 SAMPLING SIZE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES 39
3.5 SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION 40
3.6 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 40
3.7 STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR DATA ANALYSIS 41
REFERENCES 42
CHAPTER FOUR 43
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 43
4.1 DATA ANALYSIS 43
4.2 QUESTIONNAIRE DISTRIBUTED, RETURNED AND NOT RETURNED 43
4.3 RESPONSES OF RESPONDENTS 46
4.4 PRODUCED QUESTIONS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE II 48
4.5 TEST OF HYPOTHESIS I 48
CHAPTER FIVE 57
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 57
5.0 INTRODUCTION 57
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 57
CHAPTER SIX 59
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 59
6.1 SUMMARY 59
6.2 CONCLUSION 59
6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS 60
BIBLIOGRAPHY 61
APPENDIX I 64
APPENDIX II 65
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Public relations include information that an organization wants its public (customers, employees, stakeholders, general public) to know. It involves creating a positive image for a company.
Organizations also use sales promotions to generate positive customer conceptions and sales, sales promotions are promotional activities companies do in addition to advertising public relations and personal selling in order to sell a product.
The manufacturing sector in Nigeria recently becomes very competitive that without the use of good promotional tools, such as public relations, success in business may become uncertain and elusive, if not impossible. Since the major aim of every business is to make profit and continue to stay afloat by having its products and services patronized, consumed and appreciated by its target market, it has become important therefore that the organization must also communicate with its present and potential consumers.
The constant changes being experience in the business environment have further made marketing services and business operations harder, more intensive and highly competitive.
The dynamic nature of today’s business, resulting from stiff competitions, necessitates the need for a good promotional tool which can boost the image and good will of an organization and position it properly among its publics.
Public relations is therefore a powerful communication tool which is available to every organization in building up, sustaining good and mutual relationship with its target publics. Over the years, organizations have come to realize that for them to carry out their business effectively and efficiently a good environment and cooperative publics must be maintained, hence they see public relations as the best tool in achieving their aims.
The importance of public relations was recognized early at the dawn of civilization by the “Greeks who conceived the idea of public will”. Bittner (1999:229). From this recognition, public relations have grown to become a part and parcel of every image conscious cooperative organization. For public relations creates good business environment, an understanding cooperative external public, a dedicated and hardworking internal public, who serve the external public by utilizing the conducive environment.
In the post independence era in Nigeria, there was significant development in government public relations, with the formation of information department which handles and manages information related activities in the different government ministries and parastatals.
In the private sector, the successes achieved motivated them into establishing public relations department to carry image laundry building of goodwill, creating and sustaining patronage for their goods and services. For long therefore, public relations practice in Nigeria has been dynamic and has been growing with the changing tides of the country’s environment.
The dynamism of public relations in Nigeria is that it adapts to changes at the business environment, as well as the external and internal publics changes with varying techniques and methodologies.
It is obvious therefore that the major jobs of public relations are to establish, maintain and sustain good relationship with its publics.
According to Kotler (1988:657), the contribution of public relations in the distribution and sales of “made in Nigeria” products, to assist in repositioning a matured product category, influenced specific target groups, defend and build the cooperate image in a way that reflects favourably on its products.
Furthermore, public relations carry out intensive research on the target public on their perception about similar goods and services and make valuable recommendations to management. It also researches on the activities of competitors and reports accordingly to the management on ways of checkmating them.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The stiff environment of manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy has necessitated an array of strategies adopted and being adopted by the competitors towards attracting new customers and maintains old ones.
In this era of distress and liquidation in the industrial public relations job is now at its peak.
This is because people are gradually losing confidence in the sector and are at the point of withdrawing patronage from the existing ones in order to restore the much needed confidence, public relations becomes the only tool to effectively erase doubt and re-establish trust in the system.
The theoretical framework on which this research would be based is derived from following premises:
Are promotional tools effective in marketing?
How useful is public relations in distribution and sales?
Is public relations as promotional tool able to sustain an organization’s competence?
Is public relations able to checkmate competitors?
Is public relations capable of projecting organization’s image?
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This research work is aimed at advising manufacturers on the impact of public relations strategies in the distribution and sales of “made in Nigeria” products and suggests appropriate socio-economic reforms and measures that will enable the development of the manufacturing industries in Nigeria.
Hence, it is widely acknowledged that the main objective of very business organization is to produce and market its products and services to a target market in the best way possible and at a profit. It becomes necessary for such an organization to choose an effective promotional tool, like public relations purposely to project its image and status in a better way than its competitors. The objectives of this study include:
- Investigating the needs and importance of public relations in a competitive marketing environment.
- Evaluating the general contributions of public relations in the distribution and sales of make in Nigeria products.
- Ascertaining how public relations could enhance good image and good will for an organization.
- Finding out how public relations activities have helped in establishing and maintaining good relationship with customers and thereby creating a conducive business environment for cooperative survival and profit making.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The essence of a good promotional tool for any organization cannot be underestimated I the overall survival and growth of its business.
This research would be of immense help to many organizations, because good public relations have become the reason for business progress and profitability.
Furthermore, it is historically and generally observed that economic development i.e. wealth accumulation and prosperity of any nation in the world has significant relationship with the level of industrialization within the state. One of the major objectives of most business include to communicate and create awareness on the importance of its services or products and to have the target audience patronize them.
The study intends to acquire such organization with basic and major ways, tools and technique of public relations in the achievement of such objectives or goals.
Hence, it would help organizations build their corporate image in a way that will project its products and service favorably. Will also help in creating a mutually acceptable two way communication between it and its public.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- Does public relation increase brand awareness for made in Nigeria products.
- Does public relation enhance marketing penetration for made in Nigeria product.
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
Ho: There is no significant relationship between public relation and increase in brand awareness of made in Nigeria product.
Ho1 There is no significant relationship between public relation and market penetration for made in Nigeria product.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research work focuses on impact of public relations strategy on the distribution and sales of made in Nigeria products (a case study of Aba-made Bags).
It will be shown that the performance of any organization should be measured by its involvement in marketing of its products and services.
Public relations are used in almost every public oriented organization in Nigeria be it profit or nonprofit making. Since all of such organization cannot be covered in an academic exercise like this, the scope of this work would be limited to public relations activities in the distribution and sales of made in Nigeria products (a case study of Aba-made Bags).
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In the course of this research, data availability has always been the main limitation of this research study. The data are either not available or incomplete.
Hence, due to inadequate time, this work was grossly affected and also the absence of the required financial and material resources help underscore the success recorded.
This study would not be in any way exhaustive because of some apparent limiting factors. The main reason being lack of some vital information and data which the firm has dubbed “secret” because they serve as the life wire of their existence, the leakage of which will cause some corporate harm, as they may be copied by their competitors.
This fear is somehow general as most organized information which serves as their personalized information which services as their edge against their competitors. This work would therefore relay on the information and data willingly made available to this researcher.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
For the purpose of clarity of this work, the definition of basic concepts which would be used in this work is necessary. The concept to be defined forms the bedrock of this study, and would be used as defined throughout this work.
Promotion: This is derived from the word “promote” which mean to raise, encourage, organ or help the progress of, to encourage the buying of, to advertise. (Kirkpatrick, 1980).
Marketing: The chartered institute of marketing defines marketing as the management process responsible for identify, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably (Ajala, 2001).
Publics: Every public relations activity has its target group or point of focus within a given population. The target group is regarded as “public”. Publics are therefore the group or individual to which a public relations message or activity is directed. The word ‘public’ as defined by (Kotler, 1988) is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a company’s ability to achieve its objectives.
Image: Image can be described as the impression, feeling or opinion which somebody has about an organization, product, services or individual, as a result of his contact with any of them. (Wally, 1939) defines image as the totality of all “the impressions that an organization makes on all its audiences”.
Communication: Communication is an instrument of social interaction. It helps us to understand ourselves, to keep in touch with other people, to understand them and to predict their response to situations.
Industry: Is a group of firms or sellers engaged in producing or selling goods and services that can serve the same purpose or similar needs and wants.