CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Personal
selling consist of individual, personal communication i.e. face to face
communication of information from the seller to prospective buyer. Personal
selling is person-to-person communication in which the receiver provides
immediate feedback to the source message through words gestures, expressions
e.t.c such instant feedback allows the source to make instantaneous changes in
encoding to adopt message to the receiver i.e if a sales person detects that a
prospective buyer dislikes the features or the price of a products he or she
can stress the advantages and benefits of the product’s feature to justify the
price or even show the customers some other products which may be substituted,
supplementary or complementary. Unlike advertising, personal selling focuses on
communication and encouraging exchange and it also provide the human touch that
is lacking in advertising.
Personal
selling enable marketers to tailor their presentation to fit the needs, wants,
motives and behaviour of individuals customers to a particular sales approach,
personal selling often results to particular purchase. The need for personal
selling increases with the complexity of products and services for these
reasons, manufacturer like to promote their goods and services through personal
selling.
Personal selling is seen as an effective tool used by
organizations to receive the desired response from its customers and prospects.
Effective personal selling will include effective communication. Educating
customers, problem solving, stimulating and or motivating and ultimately
soliciting of favourable response. Personal selling has become necessary in
today’s organizational operations due to the nature of the economy, which is
becoming highly competitive. The effective implementation of personal selling
may go a long way to assist organizations in achieving their overall sales
objectives and goals.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE SUBJECT MATTER
Personal selling is simply to make a sale on individual’s
basis. Sales person serves as the link between the selling and buying system.
Today, sales persons are required to have more education and technical training
than their predecessors. Sales people have many resources at their at their
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 they 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.
1.2
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF UNILEVER
Unilever is a company engaged in the manufacturing and
marketing at detergents, soaps, creams, toothpaste, squash drinks, edible oil
and fats, tea and coffee. Unilever Nigeria Plc formerly Lever Brother Nigeria
Plc RC 113) was established in April 1923 as Lever Brother (West Africa).
Limited in 1955. It changed to Lever Brothers Nigeria Plc in 1973 and
subsequently to Unilever Nigeria Plc in 2000. Lipton of Nigeria limited was
merged with the company on the 31st of July 1985. In compliance with
the Nigeria Enterprises promotion act of 1972, forty percent (40%) of the
company equity capital was sold to Nigeria citizens and institutions by
Unilever (common wealth holding Limited). This percentage was increased to 60%
in 1978, spread over 31,000 individuals and institutional Nigerian
share-holders. The balance of 40% is currently hold by Unilever (Common Wealth
Holdings) Limited. The company started with the production of bar soaps using
local palm oil, this has now extended to international brands such as Lux,
Astral and Asepso soaps.
Also produced by Unilever Nigeria Plc are Omo and surf
detergents, pepsodent and close-up tooth pastes and tree top squash drinks.
Aba factory built in 1957, producing detergents at Agbara
is food factory which was commission in 1983 and Oregun, the latest after the
merger of Unilever over seas with Lever Brother Nigeria Plc, where the
manufacturing of personal products brands is consolidated.
Unilever is the oldest surviving manufacturing outfit in
Nigeria today. The business as conceived by the founder Lord Lever Iulme, was
basically to manufacture soaps over the years, however, it has diversified into
the production and marketing of non-soap detergents, food and personal
products. Unilever Nigeria Plc is a multi-local and multi-national company.
Through selective acquisition and mergers, the company’s range of quality
product has broadened with breath and depth. These include Omo, Lux, fresh
Esteem, hair care range, Vaseline, blue band, Breadeen, Royco Lipton Yelow
label tea etc.
A major restructuring of the company was effected early
in 1998, for a more effective control and management, the post of chairman and
managing director formerly held by an individuals was split, thus, on 1st
January 1998, Mr. Felix Ohiwere was appointed chairman and Mr. R.E Clanke
become Vice chairman and chief Executive.
The company also changed from its individual structure to
functional one. Unilever Nigeria Plc now has a functional director of corporate
relations, personnel, logistics, finance, marketing and customer services and
technical duties. The organizational structure, the company now runs makes it
slimmer and fitter for the very Nigeria socio-economic operating environment.
The company remains a good, responsible and responsive
corporate citizen that has the interest of the communities, public and
stake-holders very much in their heart.
Quality is the company’s watchword and no effort is
spared in ensuring every product that comes off the production line is high
quality in accordance with international quantity standard. They also embark on
sales promotion to market their product
1.3 STATEMENT OF GENERAL PROBLEM
The current economic situation has forced most business
organisations to sell and operate within a dynamic and competitive environment.
This has made salesmen to engage in many activities, putting a lot of energy
and traveling extensively in an attempt to sustain the organisations growth as
well as to meet most customer’s satisfaction. He is thus face with the problems
of total selling activities. Such goals brings the sales person in contact
within many different people from all works of life. This contact gives birth
to many problem amongst which are:-
a. Limited knowledge of product offerings especially good
and services where nature is highly technical.
b. Their inability to communicate and recognize customers
true needs.
c. Most salesmen portray poor personality especially in
their appearance, intelligence and sense of humour
d. Inability to deliver the right product at the right time
e. Discriminatory attitude towards certain customers and
giving preferential treatment to chosen customer instead of all customers.
1.4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study
are;
·
To know the significance of personal selling on marketing of detergent
·
To know if personal selling influences the buying decision of consumers
of Omo detergent
·
To know the level at which Unilever PLC engage personal selling in the
marketing of Omo detergent
1.5
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research
questions guides the study
·
What is the significance of personal selling on marketing of detergent?
·
Does personal selling influence the buying decision of consumers of Omo
detergent?
·
What is the level at which Unilever PLC engage personal selling in the
marketing of Omo detergent?
1.6 HYPOTHESIS
The following is the research hypothesis which the
researcher may prove right or wrong.
Ho – That personal selling does not lead to a high sales
volume in the marketing of detergent.
H1 – That personal selling leads to a high sales volume in
the marketing of detergent.
1.7 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY
Generally the study will help business organisations in
ensuring that objectives and goals are achieved. To the management of Unilever
Nigeria plc, the manufacturer of Omo detergents, the study will point out how
personal selling technique can be applied in their operations and how their services
can be effectively applied in creating relationship; with customer and be
improved respectively. The study is hope to provide for incoming students a
pragmatic approach to personal selling and scope for their research needed to
succeed in this field finally to provide and fulfill academic requirement for
the award of Higher National Diploma Certificate.
1.8
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The researcher will limit her study to only Omo
detergents of Unilever PLC. The scope of personal selling will be restricted to
types of salesmen, selling process, sales force training and sales force
management.
1.9
LIMITATION
A problem in gathering facts and figures for a project of
this nature is inevitable. The researcher encountered some problems in
administering the questionnaire. It look a lot of time and patient to get the
appropriate people to fill and return the questionnaires, and getting access to
the necessary documents was even more difficult.
Finally, time constraint is another limitation in the
conduction of this research work. Although, despite the researcher work-load in
preparing for the final examination during this research work, serious efforts
were made to keep appointments with respondents and collection of other data
that are objective factual and adequate for this research work.