PERSONAL SELLING AS AN EFFECTIVE PROMOTIONAL TOOL IN THE NIGERIA BANKING INDUSTRY (A CASE STUDY OF UNITED BANK OF AFRICA PLC)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page                                                                                i

Certification                                                                            ii

Dedication                                                                     iii

Acknowledgement                                                                   iv

Table of Content                                                            v

CHAPTER ONE

1.1     Introduction 1

1.2     Statement of problem4

1.3     Statement of research question5

1.4     Aims and objectives of the study6

1.5     Statement of the research hypothesis 7

1.6     Significance/ justification of the study7

1.7     Scopes and limitation of the study8

1.8     Definition of key terms10

1.9     Plan and organization of the study11

CHAPTER TWO

2.1     Literature Review13

2.2     brief history of the case study14

2.3     benefit of personal selling17

2.4     personal selling in the united bank for Africa 18

2.5     summary of review 21

2.6     formulation of hypothesis 22

2.7     element of personal selling 23

2.8     the essential aspect of personal selling 24

2.9     role of personal selling in an organization 26

CHAPTER THREE

Research Methodology

3.1     introduction 27

3.2     source of data27

3.3     Data analysis techniques 28

3.4     population sample 29

3.5     significance of the study 29

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0     Data presentation and analysis31

4.1     data of presentation 31

4.2     Testing of hypothesis35

4.3     Summary of findings35

CHAPTER FIVE

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1     Summary of report37

5.2     Conclusion40

5.3     Recommendation 40

          References42

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

The evolution of different companies with different banking increases the rate of competition which brings about the need to develop approaches which serve as a guide and platform for the company’s development and survival in a short and longtime.

There must exist writing the company effective promotional tool which will ensure steady growth and development of the company. Especially in the face of depression in a developing country like Nigeria.

The role of personal selling as an essential tool for company growth cannot be over emphasized as it helps to define longtime policy of the company and ways of achieving these effects for the company benefit.

Personal selling means findings alternation opportunities and developing profitable personal selling, selling specifics a target market. It is a process of promoting and maintaining personal selling between the goals of the company, the capacities and its selling opportunities. It relies on developing a clear company’s objectives.

Hence, the bank management will be saddled with the responsibility of seeing their own plan work effective as expected.

In one of the reasons that could be adduced for it is that might be doe to the fact that people have lost faith in the banking services, either for the delay the encountered in the bank whenever they want to save or collect money from the bank. Personal selling is the interpersonal arm of the promotion mix; advertising consists of one way non personal with target consumer groups.

In contrast, personal selling involves two ways personal communication between salespeople and individual customer, whether face by telephone or by other means.

As such personal selling can become effective than advertising in more complex selling situations sales personal can probe customers to learn more about their problems.

They can build long-term personal relationship with key decision makers. The role of personal selling varies from company to company, some firms have no sales personal at all for example, organization that sell only through mail order catalogues or through, customer, representative, sales agent or brokers.

As banks more toward a stronger market orientation, their sale forces are becoming more market focused and customer oriented. The old view was that salespeople should worry about sales and the company should worry about profit.

Personal selling rather than a sale oriented sales force will more effective in the long run. Beyond winning new customers and marking sales, it will help the company to create long-term, profitable relationship with customers. As such, the company sales terms can be central force in an organization relationship in selling program.

1. STATEMENTS OF PROBLEMS OF THE STUDY

          The problems of personal selling cannot be overloaded despite the usefulness of personal selling in both industrial and customer market. These difficulties arise from a number of problems that faced sales person. The various problems encountered during the course of this research whether personal selling is an essential tools for company growth, in the alternatives, personal selling may not be an essential tool for company growth. These two hypothesis must considered to know which of the two as a big pictive of what a firm will do in some selling which need two interested parts which are the target market and selling. Target selling is a fairly homogenous group of customer to who a bank which to appeal some of effective arise form a numbers that face sales personal the problem are:

SIZE AND LOCATION OF MARKET: Large and wide spread markets such as retail outlets for moving the customers’ goods can only be covered at a great cost by massive sales forces. Some manufactures branded, packaged foodstuffs employ such sales force.

TIME LAGS: Where there is lags between arousing customer interest and the receipts of order, the use of such ratios as sales order to sales call may be meaningless. Business may take a long time to develop, especially in management can do is to monitor

1. Size of customer order
2. The ratio of sales proposal to sales achieved.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD: More than half a million of customer are spread all over the nation which sales people have to cover. This will increase the cost of distribution which will equally affect the turnover of the company.

1.3     RESEARCH QUESTION

In the course of research answer will be provided to the following research question.

What is personal selling?

Does personal selling creates more awareness than any other promotional mix in the banking industry?

Does the promotional mix used by the banking industry make their services known to customers?

Are the attitudes of staff in the banking industry good, comforting and encouraging to the customers?

1.4     THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

1.       To find a way of restoring confidence in the mind of people through direct discussion, regular visit to big accounts.

2.       To solve problem of concentration and attention during presentation of message.

3.       To make personal selling known to customers as a good promotional mix in banking industries.

4.       To help banks adopt the marketing concept to the services rendered in banking industries.

5.       Providing information

1.5     STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

A research hypothesis is a specific statement of expected outcomes of an experiment. The following hypothesis tested in the research work.

H₀:    Personal selling does not create more awareness than any other promotional mix in banking industry.

H₁:    Personal selling creates more awareness than other promotional mix in banking industry.

H₀:    The attitude of staffs in the banking industry are discomforting and not encouraging to customers.

H₁:    The attitudes of staffs in the banking industry are good and encouraging to customers.

1.6     SIGNIFICANCE/JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

          In view of this, the research critically examined the significance of personal selling in Nigeria banking industry to customer to the society and as an adopted by many organizations particularly, united bank of Africa plc. To what extent is it important to the social aspect of the company? Efforts will also be made in this section to look into the problems encountered in the adoption of different personal selling in sales to its consumers and all organization in general. Many people believe that the importance of existing banking system must be felt in its revenue generation and effectiveness in the adopted of personal selling pot in place, to make sure they reach satisfaction stage of consumer and ever their own target.

This research attempts to examine the importance of personal selling to the growth of a company in Nigeria, case study of united bank of Africa plc, in doing this and attempt will be made to look at the various source of revenue generation through adopted promotional mix. Mix above all, the optimum satisfaction of customer in the nearest future.

1.7     SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

          The scope of this research work shall be limited to general administration and geographical area of United Bank for Africa, it concept rationale personal selling. Every research must be limited by some factors this research is of no exemption. Some of the problems that be encountered by this research are:

1. Unavailability of relevant data which the company may regard a ‘score’ in the organization.
2. Inadequate information given to research by respondent through questionnaire
3. The research having high schedule for lecture and assignments

Nevertheless, the factors do not make the research irrelevant or invalid; the questionnaire will be clear so as to make respondents see clearly and gives relevant and sensible response and answers.

However the limitation of this study did not any way invalidated the work. The research uses some of the officer to get the need information for the investigation. Another problems encountered was that of actual getting respondent answer question because they are always busy, more so, after so many visit to the company, some relevant information to the study were acquired through staff in the united bank of Africa and customers services manager in the organization as well as customer patronizing the company.

 1.8    DEFINITION OF TERMS

This is to define the related terms in the course of this research. These terms include:

1. Personal selling
2. Finance
3. Target market
4. Marketing tools
5. Personal selling: is offering the exchange items of valve for a different item. The original item of valve being offered may be either tangible or intangible. The second item usually money is most often seen by the seller as being of equal or greater valve than that being offered for personal selling.
6. Finance: a management of large amount of money especially by the government or large companies.
7. Target market: a target marketing and related marketing mix. The targets are the potential buyers of our product. The people we want to satisfy with the quality of our product or services.