Chapter One
Introduction
- Background of the Study
The importance of marketing has been stressed in many quarters. Peter and Waterman (2008, P. 8) pointed out that most successful firms in their over 25 years of study share dedication to marketing, which means that the key of success lies in keeping close to the customers consequently marketing is define as the activities set of institutions, and processes for creating, communication, delivering and exchanging offering that have value for customers, client, partners and society at large (AMA 2007).
In the same vein marketing is a system of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute something of value-want satisfying goods and distribute to the benefit of market-present and potential household consumer or individual users.
Marketing as a relatively new management function before the recognition of marketing as a management in the mid (1990s) the known management functions were production, sales, finance and personnel. This period was characterized by absence of competition as very few companies were engaging in the production of goods and services. Productions were scarce and there was excess of demand over supply of the available goods and services. The few companies in existence were producing what appealed to them not minding if such products or services offered and satisfaction to the customers.