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)

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