EFFECT OF PERSONAL SELLING AND MARKETING ON
SALES GROWTH
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Personal selling is an important component of the overall marketing
strategy of an organization. According to Adamu (200) personal
selling is the presentation of a persuasive message by selling to a
potential customer or group of customers, personal selling can also
take place through personal correspondence telephone conversation
or email.
Personal selling is an effective communication with potential buyers
of a product with the intention of promoting sales. Personal selling
may focus initially on developing a relationship with the consumers
and potential buyers of a product. This relationship ultimately ends
with an attempt to “close the sales” (Okoh, 2009).
The oldest form of promotion is personal selling. It involves the use
of a sales force to encourage intermediaries to buy the product or a
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pull strategy where an organization may be limited to supporting
retailers and providing after sales services.
Personal selling is designed to present a form of face-to-face
communication, personal correspondence, or a personal telephone
conversation, unlike advertising a personal sales message can be
justified. For example, the marketing of a sophisticated computer
system may require the use of personal selling, while the introduction
of a new products are door-to-door selling and home demonstration
parties. These two personal selling methods are primarily used for
personal care products, cosmetics, cookware, encyclopedias, books,
toys foods and other items of special interest to home markets.
Ideally, personal selling should be supported by advertising to
strengthen its impact. Delivery of a specially desired message to a
prospect by a seller usually in the form of face to face
communication, personal correspondence, or a personal telephone
conversation, unlike advertising, a personal sale message can be
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more specifically targeted to individual prospects and easily altered if
the desired behaviour does not occur.
However, inspite of the importance of personal selling to the overall
marketing strategy of an organization, previous studies have
indicated that organization do not hold it to a high esteem like other
promotional tool. For example Emena (2006) in her study of problem
and prospect of personal selling in business enterprise, observed that
most companies in Nigeria seldom used personal selling to promote
their product or do not channel the required resources to it.
It is against this background that the researcher sees the subject
matter worthy of investigation.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Inspite of the importance of personal selling in sales promotion,
scholars in Nigeria have done few empirical investigations on the
subject matter. Although a lot of researches on sales promotion study
personal selling as a component or segment of such empirical work.
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This has created a gap in the study of personal selling from a broad
perspective (Okoh,2008).
Hence, Personal selling is neglected by so many companies in
Nigeria. This is sequel to the fact that personal selling fail to realize
its objectives in most companies in Nigeria (Okoh, 2007), this failure
may be attributed to the poor capital budget, poor sales
management and ineffective sales campaign.
It is against this, that the researcher seek to carry out an empirical
investigation on the subject matter to cover this gap
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The central objective of this research is to examine the effect of
personal selling on sales growth in Dansa food. The specific
objectives of the study are:
i.
To determine how personal selling affects sales growth in
Dansa food limited.
ii.
To find out the effect of personal selling on customer
satisfaction and retention
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iii.
To determine how personal selling affect sales volume in Dansa
foods limited.
iv.
To identify the problems militating against personal selling in
Dansa food limited
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will add to the existing body of knowledge on personal
selling on sales growth. As such will be a useful reference materials
for incoming students who may wish to undertake a similar study.
The study will also be useful to corporate organization, in particular
Dansa foods limited in policy formulation regarding personal selling.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION
i.
How does personal selling affect sales growth in Dansa food
limited Kaduna?
ii.
To
what
extent does personal
selling
affect
customer
satisfaction and retention in Dansa Food?
iii.
What is the effect of personal selling on sales volume of Dansa
food products?
iv.
What are the problems militating against personal selling in
Dansa food limited?
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1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study covers an empirical examination of the effect of personal
selling on sales growth in Dansa foods limited Kaduna. The study
shall cover a time from 2006 to 2011.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
For the fact that the study is restricted to Dangote food limited
Kaduna, it is not certain if the same result would be obtained if this
research is carried out in another area. for the fact that questionnaire
as well as the survey design constitute the instrument of data
collection as well as the research design, it is not certain if the same
result would be obtained if other research design as well as
instrument is used.
Other limitation arise from the non challant attitude of some
respondent as well as there uncooperative attitude. Bias exhibited by
some respondent made. Them either to exaggerate or under state
their responses.
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Other limitation include the inability of the research to get adequate
literatures on the subject matter.
All these limitation impede the study in one way or the other, hence
incoming researcher should take cognizance of these limitations.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Personal selling: presentation of a persuasive message by selling to a
potential customer or group of customer.
Customer satisfaction: making customer happy by meeting their
needs and expectation.
Sales volume: High or low rate of sales
Sales growth: Increase of sales
Customer retention: These are strategies of making customer to
stay with an organization and not defecting to another r organization
in terms of patronage.
Creating awareness: Establishing means of informing customers
about the existence of a product.
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