AN EXAMINATION ON THE IMPACT OF MARKETING MIX COMPONENTS ON CUSTOMERS SATISFACTION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR(A CASE STUDY OF MTN COMMUNICATION)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background Of The Study

The marketing mix comprises an assortment of internal factors—including product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence—that are employed by businesses to engage with their target markets with the intention of fulfilling the desires and needs that customers have identified. Business organisations rely heavily on this tool to convey value propositions to their target market with the hope of eliciting favourable responses in the form of increased customer loyalty, satisfaction, revenue, market share, profitability, and overall competitive advantages (Philemon, Agwueche & Chimela, 2018). In accordance with Martin (2021), a business organisation can successfully elicit favourable reactions or responses from its target audience by implementing a marketing mix strategy that is tailored to the specific requirements of that audience. The authors further state that the marketing mix was originally implemented to promote physical products. However, due to the significant expansion and visibility of the service sector, it has been expanded to encompass the promotion of intangible services as well, including telecommunications. According to Philemon, Agwueche, and Chimela (2018), telecommunications companies, similar to other global service providers, have acknowledged the criticality of developing a unified and consistent marketing mix strategy to guide their product marketing. The fact that each telecommunications company in Nigeria employs a distinct marketing mix strategy to influence and interact with specific outcomes from their target markets is conclusive evidence of this. Additionally, they note that four of the most prevalent telecommunications companies in Nigeria, MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile, and Globacom, are utilising components of their marketing mix, including product, price, place, and promotion, to attract subscribers to their services. Nevertheless, we concentrated on product variety, promotion, people, and process within the scope of this study. 

Product variety encompasses the complete assortment of goods that a company provides to its target market. Customer-facing products comprise the complete assortment of items that an organisation offers in order to fulfil the demands of its clientele (Gyaamfi, Kwese & Adjololo, 2019). Promotion, according to Emwazzi, Jadalla, and Nazir (2018), is the process by which businesses disseminate information regarding their products and services to a specific audience with the goals of informing, persuading, convincing, and influencing consumers to have a positive response. Cleveland (2019) defines "people" as comprising all personnel engaged in the development and provision of a customer-facing service. On the other hand, "process" refers to the specific method or sequence by which a service offer is transmitted to subscribers for their perusal. Based on our pragmatic evaluation of the Nigerian telecommunications sector, it has come to our attention that telecommunications companies offer a diverse range of products and services that cater to particular market segments. Products are available to cater to individuals who vary in age, socioeconomic standing, occupation, income, and usage patterns. Furthermore, telecommunications companies employ promotion as an effective marketing instrument to generate interest and attempt to elicit favourable reactions from the target demographic. Personnel play a critical role in the telecommunications sector as they interface or interact with subscribers on behalf of the organisation. In an effort to meet customers' demands, service providers are continuously refining the process of obtaining telecommunication services. Based on the aforementioned, it is apparent that telecommunications companies in Nigeria frequently utilise the marketing mix as a strategic instrument to engage with their clientele.

Statement of the Problem

Every organisation, whether it be domestic or international, established or new, small or large, privately or publicly owned, functions within a volatile and unpredictable environment. Given the dynamic nature of customer expectations, the rapid pace of technological advancements, and the growing unpredictability of the external environment, business leaders are confronted with the formidable task of determining strategic priorities and making optimal strategic decisions to effectively allocate resources across various organisational functions and ensure long-term success (Burnett, 2018). Managers are compelled to devise novel tools, concepts, strategies, and mindsets in order to navigate the turbulent and disorderly marketing environments, which have the potential to result in organisational failure. 

Furthermore, the correlation between the marketing mix and customer satisfaction has been the subject of extensive research from around the globe. The nature and significance of the relationship between marketing mix and customer satisfaction have been subjects of scholarly contemplation; however, a consensus regarding this matter appears to be elusive. While certain scholars reject the notion that a substantial positive correlation exists between the marketing mix and customer satisfaction (Philemon, Agwueche & Chimela, 2018; Sarah & Bradley, 2022; Emwazzi, Jadalla & Nazir, 2018; Gyaamfi, Kwese & Adjololo, 2019), others support this notion (Tobias, 2021; Viktoh & Anatoley, 2021). However, despite this, the marketing mix continues to be a prevalent marketing instrument utilised by telecommunications companies globally, including those in Nigeria. In an effort to achieve market dominance in the telecommunications sector, companies in Nigeria have developed distinctive marketing mix strategies.

1.3 Objectives Of The Study 

The general objective of this study is to examine the impact of marketing mix components on customers satisfaction in the telecommunications sector using MTN communication as a case study. However, the specific objectives are to:

Determine whether product as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector.

Determine whether pricing as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector.

Determine whether promotion as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector.

Determine whether place/distribution as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector.

1.4 Research Questions

This study shall attempt to provide answers to the following questions.

Does product as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector?

Does pricing as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector?

Does promotion as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector?

Does place/distribution as an element of marketing mix has a significant effect on customers satisfaction in telecommunication sector?

1.5    Research Hypothesis

Ho:  Marketing mix elements has no significant effect on customer satisfaction in the telecommunication

Ha:  Marketing mix elements has a significant effect on customer satisfaction in the telecommunication.

1.6 Significance Of The Study 

The results of this study may contribute in the future in achieving important aspects related to identifying services marketing mix dimensions and their effect on attracting customers and retention them as an application on telecommunication. The outcome of this study, therefore, would focuses on benefits for the general community, the organization management bodies and researchers whom they want to conduct further research on the area. For the organization management telecommunication, it will help to identify most of the challenges faced by the telecommunication as well as complains table by the customers and their respective solutions will then be proffered on these identified challenges for customer satisfaction. This will go a long way to help the telecommunication to achieve its stated objectives, and in the long run increase shareholder‟s wealth. Furthermore, the study would enable telecommunication executives and indeed the policy makers of the telecommunication to be aware of service quality to making strategic decisions. For the general community, it will help to identify the challenges faced during the service and to obtain their respective solution by the telecommunication to facilitate the service delivery of the telecommunication. 

Finally, for the researchers and academicians, it will also help to make further research and study on the field of service quality and customer satisfaction by taking the present study as a reference frame.

1.7 Scope Of The Study

This study is structured to generally examine the impact of marketing mix components on customers satisfaction in the telecommunications sector. Hence, the study will be delimited to MTN communication in Nigeria.

1.8 Limitation Of The Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

Moreover, the case study method utilized in the study posed some challenges to the investigator including the possibility of biases and poor judgment of issues. However, the investigator relied on respect for the general principles of procedures, justice, fairness, objectivity in observation and recording, and weighing of evidence to overcome the challenges.

1.9 Definitions of Terms

Marketing: According by Kotler (1991) defined marketing as a social and managerial process by which individual and groups obtain what they want and need through creating offering and exchanging product of value with other.

Marketing mix is a business tool used by the management of organizations which enable them to remain in the global competitive environment (Souar, Mahi & Ameur, 2015).

Customer: A customer is a stakeholder of an organization who provides payment in exchange for the offer provided to him or her by the organization with the aim of fulfilling a need and to maximize satisfaction (Ateba et al, 2015).

Customer satisfaction: it refers to the reliable expression of the status of satisfaction will differ from person to person and product/service to product/service and is an appraisal of how products and services of a company meet up or exceed customer anticipation.