IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE LEVELS IN SERVICES INDUSTRIES, THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT (A CASE STUDY THE IBETO PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOUR LABORATORY, ENUGU). A RESEARCH PROJECT MATERIAL ON MARKETING
Abstract
The Nigerian economy is filled with different kinds of services providing industries, ramping from the large ones like banks to very small ones such as hair salon services. The deep economic problems in the country has made services provision of all kinds very expensive and competitive. The only solution to survive is to engage vibrant and strategically marketing. But most service firms expenditure the small ones neither have a specialized marketing unit nor seen to take marketing programmes and concept very serious. It is on this lapses, that this study was based. The major objective of this study is to critically examine the marketing programmes of service based firms (in Enugu) in order to identify ways in which customers services can be improved through the application of marketing
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Marketing implies all those human functions performed to satisfy consumer needs through production and exchange processes. Organization that adopt the marketing concept mostly aim at finding what the consumers needs and wants are, and providing such needs and wants effectively and efficiently to the consumers.
Offering marketing services as a form of business is fast growing within the scope of marketing over the year. The relative amount of services has been growing in the economy representing about two third of the Gross National Product. Marketing of service as an intangible product, apart from the existence as separate industrial sector, services also represent a major strength of Nigerian firm and the world at large. It has dominated the spectrum of Nigerian businesses.
Competition has become more intense than before and people are becoming too conscious of the quality of services being offered to them.
1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The company, Ibeto photographic colour laboratory, is a subsidy of Ibeto Group of companies. Ibeto photographic colour laboratory was incorporated in 1984 in the Eastern part of Nigeria under the name of Ibeto Industries limited (IIL). With an array of modern and sophisticated machines it has been able to meet the demands of its numerous customers in both quality and services, through its networks of branches all over Nigeria.