Project
Submission
Pro­Forma


NAME: Arinze Chizoba Onyekwere

Home Address. 3 Beauchamp House Greyfriars Road Coventry, CV1 3RW

I wish the dissertation to be considered for (tick one only)

MSc in Digital Manufacturing Management 
MSc in Electronic Business Management 
MSc in Engineering Business Management 
MSc in Engineering Enterprise Excellence 
MSc in International Technology Management 
MSc in Manufacturing Systems Engineering 
MSc in Process Technology & Business Management 
MSc in Programmes & Project Management 
MSc in Supply Engineering & Logistics 

I have checked that my modules meet the requirements of the above award

I confirm that I have included in my dissertation:
An abstract of the work completed 
A declaration of my contribution to the work 
A table of contents 
A list of figures 
A glossary of terms (where appropriate) 
A clear statement of my project objectives 
A full reference list and bibliography 

I am willing for my marked dissertation to be used for staff training purposes



Signed: AC ONYEKWERE Date: 28/08/2008




MARKETING
IN
NIGERIAN

TELECOMMUNICATION
INDUSTRY




WARWICK
MANUFACTURING
GROUP



 
 
 

 UNIVERSITY
OF
WARWICK



 
 
 
 
 COVENTRY


Submitted
by:
ARINZE
C
ONYEKWERE

Course:
ENGINEERING
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT

Date:
August
2008


Supervisor:
Andy
Young



 ii




ABSTRACT


The
 dissertation
 is
 focused
 on
 marketing
 in
 Nigerian
 Telecommunication


Industry
 with
 some
 reference
 to
 the
 industry
 in
 United
 Kingdom.
 The
 Nigerian

telecommunication
industry
has
become
quite
competitive
in
recent
years
due
to

its
liberalization,
and
the
market
potential.
This
has
seen
the
influx
of
companies,

both
foreign
and
indigenous
into
the
industry.
Their
competition
has
been
a
bid

to
 attract
 and
 retain
 subscribers,
 with
 the
 companies
 displaying
 several

marketing
 techniques
 to
 realize
 this
 objective.
 Some
 companies
 within
 the

industry
that
can
not
compete
or
have
feeble
strategies
seize
to
exist.


The
 dissertation
 documents
 the
 various
 processes
 in
 the
 investigation
 of
 the

companies’
 various
 approach
 towards
 realizing
 the
 objective.
 The
 various

processes
include
the
review
of
literatures,
and
research
methodologies
towards

having
 an
 in‐depth
 knowledge
 of
 the
 industry.
 Also,
 discussion
 of
 the
 results

obtained,
 in
 a
 bid
 to
 display
 knowledge
 of
 marketing
 within
 the
 industry.
 The

research
 implemented
 resulted
 in
 discovering
 gaps
 within
 the
 industry,
 that

when
 referred
 to
 the
 UK
 industry
 are
 opportunities
 that
 can
 be
 exploited

towards
realizing
the
objective.


Finally,
the
future
trends
that
are
foreseen
within
the
industry
are
also
included

in
the
dissertation.




 iii





























































ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


I
 would
 like
 to
 express
 my
 sincere
 gratitude
 to
 my
 supervisor,
 Andy
 Young
 for

the
discussions,
and
the
time
he
spent
constantly
reviewing
the
dissertation.
The

professional
collaboration
enabled
me
complete
the
work.


Many
thanks
to
the
companies
contacted
in
a
bid
to
get
information.
Also,
thanks

to
the
respondents
of
the
questionnaire
in
Nigeria,
I
would
not
have
developed
a

robust
case
without
them.


Finally,
I
dedicate
this
dissertation
to
my
family
and
God,
for
the
support
through

its
implementation.



 iv










DECLARATION


I
 hereby
 declare
 that
 the
 entire
 work
 is
 mine
 except
 for
 quotations
 and

information
 from
 literatures
 and
 journals,
 which
 are
 duly
 referenced.
 Also,

declare
that
no
part
of
the
work
was
copied
from
a
previous
work,
and
I
did
not

let
colleagues
copy
any
aspect
of
my
work.



Name:
ARINZE
C
ONYEKWERE


SIGN:
AC
ONYEKWERE


DATE:
AUGUST
2008



 v




Table
of
Contents


Project
Submission
Pro­Forma ...................................................................................... i


Chapter
ONE:
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….1

1. Background
to
research ..........................................................................................1


1.1 Project
objectives ............................................................................................................ 3


Chapter
TWO:

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY………………………………………………..4

2. Basic
rationale
and
Justification...........................................................................4


2.1 Detailed
Research
Design ............................................................................................. 5
2.1.1 Structured
Questionnaires ....................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 Secondary
Research .................................................................................................................... 7


2.2 Limitations
of
research
methodology ...................................................................... 8




Chapter
THREE:
LITERATURE
REVIEWS.………………………………………………….10

3. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 10


3.1 Marketing ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.1.1 What
is
marketing?................................................................................................................... 13


3.2 Marketing
Environment............................................................................................. 15
3.2.1 Microenvironment .................................................................................................................... 16
3.2.2 Macro‐environment ................................................................................................................. 17


3.3 Marketing
Management ............................................................................................. 19
3.3.1 Adopting
a
marketing
philosophy...................................................................................... 21
3.3.2 Marketing
strategy.................................................................................................................... 22
3.3.3 Designing
Marketing
Mix ....................................................................................................... 28
3.3.4 Marketing
planning
and
implementation ....................................................................... 37


3.4 International
Marketing ............................................................................................ 38
3.4.1 International
marketing
environment ............................................................................. 39
3.4.2 Deciding
whether
to
go
abroad ........................................................................................... 40
3.4.3 Deciding
which
market(s)
to
enter.................................................................................... 41
3.4.4 Deciding
how
to
enter
the
market ..................................................................................... 42
3.4.5 Deciding
on
the
global
marketing
program ................................................................... 44
3.4.6 Deciding
on
global
marketing
organisation................................................................... 45









 vi




Chapter
FOUR:
RESEARCH
RESULT…………………………………………………………..47

4. Background............................................................................................................... 47


4.1 Brief
description
(Post
Independence)................................................................. 47


4.2 Questionnaires
and
Secondary
Research
Result ............................................... 49
4.2.1 Companies’
result...................................................................................................................... 50
4.2.2 Users
and
Retailers
Result..................................................................................................... 60


4.3 UK
industry..................................................................................................................... 69


Chapter
FIVE:
DISCUSSION……………………………………………………………………….72

5. Background............................................................................................................... 72


5.1 Nigerian
Telecommunications
Industry............................................................... 73
5.1.1 Fixed
wireless
Vs
mobile
telephony
operators ............................................................ 73
5.1.2 Techniques
implemented
and
effects............................................................................... 74
5.1.3 Gaps
within
the
industry........................................................................................................ 77
5.1.4 Future
trend
within
the
Industry ....................................................................................... 78


5.2 The
United
Kingdom
Telecommunication
industry ......................................... 79


Chapter
SIX:
CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………..81

6. Conclusion................................................................................................................. 81


Chapter
SEVEN:
RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR
FURTHER
WORK……………………83

7. Background............................................................................................................... 83


7.1 Inclusion
of
Interview
to
the
survey
techniques ............................................... 83
7.2 Increasing
the
Sample
size ........................................................................................ 83
7.3 Contacting
the
Nigerian
Communications
Commission
(NCC)...................... 84
7.4 Investigating
potential
entrant................................................................................ 84


8. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 86
9. BIBLIOGRAPHY:....................................................................................................... 89
10. APPENDICES.............................................................................................................. 94




 vii




List
of
Figures


Fig
3.3:
The
marketing
management
process…………………………………………....20


Fig
3.3.2:
Targets
of
competitor
analysis……………………………………………….….24

Fig
3.3.3:
Three
levels
of
a
product……………………………………………………….....29


Fig
3.3.3(a):
The
product
lifecycle………………………………………………………...…30

Fig
3.3.3(c):
The
BCG
Matrix………………………………………………………………..….32

Fig
4.2.2:
Percentage
marketshare
based
on
respondents………………..…….….61


Fig
4.2.2(a):
Percentage
of
the
package
utilized
based
on
respondents…….…62


Fig
4.2.2(b):
MTN
customer
satisfaction……………………………………..………..….64


Fig
4.2.2(c):
GLO
customer
satisfaction………………………………………..…………..65


Fig
4.2.2(d):
ZAIN
customer
satisfaction………………………………………..….……..65


Fig
4.2.2(e):
STARCOMMS
customer
satisfaction……………………………..……….66


Fig
4.2.2(f):
 VISAFONE
customer
satisfaction…………………………………..……..67


Fig
4.2.2(g):
Percentage
sales
result
for
multi‐retailers………………………....….67


Fig
4.2.2(h):
Percentage
complaint
according
to
multi‐retailers……………..….68




















 viii




List
of
Tables



Table
3.3.3:
The
Marketing
Mix
and
the
product
lifecycle………………………..31


Table
4.2.1:
main
strategies…………………………………………………………………..50


Table
4.2.1(a):
research
result
for
companies’
products
and
services……...51


Table
4.2.1(b):
companies’
targets………………………………………………………...52


Table
4.2.1(c):
Research
result
for
Place…………………………………………….…..53


Table
4.2.1(d):
Research
result
for
price…………………………………………….…..54


Table
4.2.1(e):
Research
result
for
promotion…………………………………….…..55


Table
4.2.1(f):
percentage
ratios
for
the
forms
of
advertisement

implemented………………………………………………………………………………….……..56


Table
4.2.1(g):
corporate
social
responsibility
implemented……………….…..57


Table
4.2.1(h):
concentration
of
staff
from
management
to

intermediaries…………………………………………………………………………….…….….58


Table
4.2.2:
Sample
of
respondents……………………………………………..….…….60


Table
4.2.2(a):
Responses
on
Quality
of
service,
price,
coverage,
customer

service
and
cross
network
call
access……………………………………………….…….63


Table
4.3:
UK
industry
Significant
differentiators……………………………….…..69


Table
4.3(a):
Example
of
phone
manufacturers
contracted
to
the

industry……………………………………………………………………….………………………71


Table
7.2:
sample
size
determination…………………………………………………….84



 ix













































































































































Introduction


Chapter
ONE:
 
 
INTRODUCTION


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This
 section
 introduces
 the
 overall
 research
 process,
 and
 the
 objectives
 of
 the

research



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


1. Background
to
research

In
today’s
competitive
world,
industries,
human
beings
all
compete
against
each

other
to
realize
superiority.
Porter
M.,
(1998),
stated
that
every
firm
competing

in
 an
 industry
 has
 a
 competitive
 strategy
 whether
 explicit
 or
 implicit.
 These

competitive
 strategies
 incorporate
 price
 competition,
 advertisement,
 and

product
 introduction.
 The
 research
 seeks
 to
 uncover
 marketing
 as
 a
 technique

utilized
 in
 the
 Nigerian
 Telecommunication
 Industry
 to
 achieve
 competitive

advantage.
The
Nigerian
Telecommunication
Industry
is
comprised
of
more
than

five
 telecommunication
 companies,
 all
 competing
 to
 attract
 market
 share.
 The

companies
within
the
industry
are
both
foreign
and
indigenous
companies.
The

focal
 point
 is
 studying
 the
 companies
 as
 to
 understand
 their
 approach
 towards

sustainability.
 Also,
 the
 United
 Kingdom
 telecommunication
 industry
 is

reviewed,
as
to
discover
opportunities
to
be
exploited
in
the
Nigerian
industry,

towards
gaining
competitive
advantage.
To
achieve
the
research
objective,
there

are
several
processes
that
require
implementation.



First
 step:
 The
 research
 starts
 with
 selecting
 the
 research
 design
 necessary
 to

achieve
 the
 objective.
 Tull
 and
 Hawkins
 (1993)
 stated
 that
 research
 design

incorporates
 a
 list
 of
 procedures
 involving
 decisions
 on
 what
 information
 to

generate,
 the
 data
 collection
 method,
 the
 measurement
 approach,
 the
 object
 to

be
measured,
and
the
way
the
data
are
to
be
analyzed.
This
chapter
reviews
and

implements
 these
 procedures
 that
 are
 suitable
 to
 understand
 the
 marketing

approach
 implemented
 in
 the
 Nigerian
 Telecommunication
 Industry.
 Also,
 the

design
 will
 help
 understand
 the
 UK
 telecommunication
 Industry.
 Additionally,

the
chapter
includes
limitations
that
hinder
the
approach
implemented.




 1













































































































































Introduction


Second
step:
The
subsequent
process
is
the
review
of
literatures
to
comprehend

marketing
and
the
elements
that
lead
to
gaining
competitive
advantage.
Brown,

Mc
 Dowell
 and
 Race
 (1995),
 claim
 that
 academic
 research
 should
 show
 a

comprehensive
knowledge
of
any
relevant
previous
work,
awareness
of
relevant

theories,
 debates
 and
 controversies.
 The
 section
 incorporates
 various

interpretations
 of
 marketing,
 marketing
 environment,
 marketing
 management,

and
 international
 marketing.
 This
 enables
 effective
 discussion
 of
 the
 industry,

including
 gaps
 within
 the
 industry
 that
 could
 be
 exploited
 to
 gain
 competitive

advantage.



Third
 step:
 This
 is
 the
 presentation
 of
 the
 data
 from
 the
 research
 design.
 The

presentation
 of
 the
 data
 collected
 is
 dependent
 on
 the
 type
 of
 research
 design

implemented.
As
qualitative
research
is
deemed
appropriate
for
the
research,
pie

charts
and
tables
is
mainly
used.
This
approach
enables
the
reader
to
understand

the
data
without
reading
the
discussion
section.



Fourth
 step:
 The
 discussion
 chapter
 details
 the
 status
 of
 the
 companies

investigated,
highlighting
the
strength
and
weaknesses
with
examples.
Also
some

reference
 to
 the
 UK
 industry
 to
 show
 opportunities
 for
 exploitation
 towards

gaining
 competitive
 advantage.
 At
 this
 stage,
 the
 reader
 will
 have
 a
 conclusive

view
on
the
subject
matter.



Fifth
 step:
 This
 chapter
 concludes
 the
 realization
 of
 the
 objective
 based
 on
 the

literature
 reviewed,
 result
 obtained
 and
 the
 discussion.
 Having
 examined
 the

marketing
 approaches
 by
 the
 company,
 the
 final
 thought
 on
 if
 the
 objectives

were
achieved
is
explained.


Sixth
step:
Over
the
course
of
the
research,
there
are
limitations
that
hinder
the

various
stages
highlighted
above.
These
limitations
questions
the
validity
of
the

result
 obtained.
 However,
 to
 overcome
 some
 of
 the
 limitations,
 suggestions
 for

further
 work
 are
 highlighted.
 The
 suggestions
 for
 further
 work,
 reduces
 or

eliminates
the
limitation
during
extended
or
future
work
on
the
subject
matter.




 2













































































































































Introduction


1.1 Project
objectives

The
 implementation
 of
 a
 research
 or
 project
 is
 to
 fulfill
 an
 objective.
 The

research
 is
 focused
 on
 marketing
 in
 Nigerian
 telecommunication
 industry.
 It

seeks
 to
 explain
 the
 fact
 that
 marketing
 plays
 an
 important
 role
 in
 the

development
 of
 an
 industry,
 and
 business
 sustainability.
 As
 stated
 by
 Porter

(1998),
every
firm
within
an
industry
has
a
competitive
strategy;
the
strategy
is

marketing
and
it
is
being
utilized
in
various
forms.
Hence,
the
objectives
of
the

research
is
as
follows



⇒
 Investigating
the
companies
with
the
majority
market
share.


⇒
 Investigating
 the
 marketing
 techniques
 they
 implement
 to
 attract
 and


retain
subscribers,
as
to
gain
competitive
advantage.
 


⇒
 Investigating
the
impact
of
marketing
in
the
development
of
the
Nigerian

Telecommunication
industry.


Hence,
 developing
 solutions
 to
 uncover
 the
 following
 objectives
 would
 lead
 to

understanding
 marketing
 in
 the
 Nigerian
 telecommunication
 industry.
 In‐
addition
the
importance
of
marketing
to
the
sustainability
of
businesses
will
be

understood,
at
the
end
of
the
research.




 3


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


Chapter
TWO:
 





RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This
 section
 displays
 the
 research
 design
 implemented
 and
 justification
 for
 the

choice.
 The
 design
 incorporates
 the
 survey
 design,
 and
 the
 secondary
 research

implemented
 coupled
 with
 its
 importance
 towards
 realizing
 the
 objective.
 The

limitations
that
hindered
the
choice
of
research
methodology
are
highlighted.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


2. Basic
rationale
and
Justification

This
is
the
selection
of
appropriate
research
design
to
achieve
the
objective.
This

chapter
 displays
 the
 ways
 in
 which
 the
 data
 would
 be
 collected
 for
 analysis

towards
 realizing
 the
 objective.
 The
 objective
 of
 the
 dissertation
 influences
 the

research
 design
 to
 be
 implemented.
 Investigating
 the
 required
 task,
 qualitative

research
 design
 is
 seen
 as
 the
 most
 appropriate
 to
 achieve
 the
 objective.

According
 to
 Hancock
 B.,
 “Qualitative
 Research
 is
 concerned
 with
 developing

explanations
 of
 social
 phenomena.”
 The
 research
 design
 seeks
 to
 answer
 the

following
questions,


⇒
 Which
company
or
companies
control
the
mobile
market?


⇒
 How
do
the
companies
attract
and
retain
subscribers
using
the
marketing

techniques?


⇒
 How
 did
 the
 marketing
 techniques
 enable
 the
 development
 of
 the

industry?



Two
 approaches
 will
 be
 implemented
 towards
 collecting
 sufficient
 data
 for

analysis.
The
first
approach
would
be
the
review
of
literatures
on
marketing.
The

second
 approach
 will
 investigate
 the
 companies
 approach
 to
 marketing;
 hence

would
show
their
marketing
techniques.
Subsequently,
the
effect
of
the
approach

on
customers
including
customer
perception
will
be
reviewed,
as
their
approach

to
 marketing
 determines
 their
 status
 in
 the
 mind
 of
 the
 customers,
 expressing

their
market
share.
Thus,
“company
with
the
better
approach
would
command
a



 4


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


bigger
market
share
compared
to
others.”
The
data
collection
for
the
qualitative

research
would
include
survey,
literature
reviews,
and
secondary
research.


Five
 out
 of
 the
 eight
 known
 telecommunication
 companies
 in
 Nigeria
 will
 be

investigated.
 The
 five
 chosen
 were
 as
 a
 result
 of
 their
 vast
 coverage
 in
 the

country,
as
it
would
help
obtain
a
diversified
data
sample
for
examination.
The

five
 Telecommunication
 companies
 to
 be
 investigated
 in
 Nigeria
 are
 MTN,

GLOBACOM,
 ZAIN,
 STARCOMMS,
 and
 VISAFONE.
 The
 first
 three
 companies
 are

global
system
mobile
operators
(GSM),
while
the
remaining
two
is
fixed
wireless

operators.
 Also,
 VISAFONE
 is
 considered
 because
 it
 entered
 the
 Nigerian

telecommunication
 industry
 last
 year.
 However
 as
 an
 entrant,
 the
 investigation

would
seek
to
establish
the
approach
it
implements
to
win
a
market
share
in
an

already
competitive
industry.



For
 the
 UK
 telecommunication
 industry
 reviewed,
 secondary
 research
 (the


websites
 of
 T‐mobile
 network
 and
 Vodafone
 network,
 and
 published
 journals)

will
 be
 consulted.
 This
 approach
 was
 adopted
 because
 these
 companies
 deem

some
information
confidential
hence
they
do
not
disclose
information
apart
from

their
published
information.


2.1 
 
 
 
 Detailed
Research
Design

2.1.1 
 Structured
Questionnaires


The
structured
questionnaire
was
implemented
using
the
following
steps,


⇒
 Establish
objective


⇒
 Delimiting
the
sample:
(marketing
officers
/
subscribers
/
sub
dealers)


⇒
 Questionnaire
construction:
(open
/
closed
questions)


⇒
 A
pilot
study
(reviewed
by
a
friend
or
supervisor)


⇒
 Contacting
the
respondents
(Phone
call)


⇒
 Follow
up
(emailing
the
respondents)



 5


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


⇒
 Analyzing
result
and
report
preparation


Questionnaires
 will
 be
 the
 main
 survey
 technique
 for
 both
 research
 designs.

Interviewing
 the
 marketing
 executives
 of
 these
 companies
 is
 a
 possibility
 but

will
 not
 be
 implemented
 because
 Michael
 and
 Martin
 (2004)
 deemed
 the

response
 from
 interview
 as
 personal
 ideas
 that
 may
 be
 inaccurate.
 In‐addition,

Anderson,
Silver
and
Abramson
(1998)
claim
that
interviewer’s
expectations
or

personal
 characteristics
 (such
 as
 race
 or
 sex)
 can
 influence
 responses,
 also

influenced
my
idea
of
not
conducting
interviews.
In
designing
the
questionnaire,

issues
such
as
question
wording
will
be
considered
and
appropriately
presented.



For
 the
 first
 research
 design,
 a
 user‐friendly
 questionnaire
 comprising
 of
 both

closed
and
open
questions
about
the
product,
promotion,
place
and
price
will
be

designed,
and
sent
to
the
marketing
officers
of
the
targeted
companies.
Prior
to

sending
the
questionnaire,
there
will
be
a
pilot
study,
which
is
basically
getting

someone
else
to
review
it.
Contacts
through
telephone
calls
will
be
made
to
the

marketing
officers
of
the
targeted
companies
prior
to
sending
a
questionnaire
by

email.
The
marketing
officers
would
be
sent
an
email
every
week
to
remind
them

of
 the
 response
 until
 reply
 is
 received.
 Finally
 the
 questionnaires
 would
 be

received,
 and
 analyzed
 to
 prepare
 report.
 The
 questionnaire
 seeks
 to
 uncover

their
approach,
and
perception,
to
marketing.
Based
on
the
information
from
the

literature
 review,
 their
 approach
 to
 marketing
 would
 determine
 their
 status

within
the
industry
whilst
expressing
the
techniques
utilized.
The
questionnaire

designed
for
the
companies
can
be
seen
on
the
appendix
section.



The
second
research
design
will
also
require
using
a
user‐friendly
questionnaire.

The
steps
highlighted
above
will
be
used,
but
there
will
be
no
direct
contact
with

some
of
the
respondents.
The
indirect
contact
with
some
of
the
respondents
will

be
due
to
the
diversification
of
the
sampling;
hence
intermediaries
will
be
used

to
collect
the
data.
However,
constant
contact
will
be
maintained
through
phone

calls
and
subsequently
emails.



The
 questionnaire
 will
 be
 designed
 for
 users
 and
 sub‐dealers
 (retailers).
 The

user
questionnaire
derives
the
customer
perception
of
the
product,
company
and

overall
 opinion.
 The
 questionnaire
 for
 sub
 dealers
 will
 be
 in
 two
 forms,
 multi‐


 6


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


product
sub
dealers
and
mono
product
sub
dealer.
The
multi
product
sub‐dealer

gives
a
clear
sample
of
the
most
accepted
product
and
the
least
accepted
product

by
 the
 customers
 (effect
 on
 customers).
 The
 mono
 sub‐dealer
 questionnaire

looks
 at
 the
 efficiency
 and
 effectiveness
 of
 one
 of
 the
 channels
 of
 distribution

whilst
 deriving
 information
 on
 their
 perception
 of
 both
 the
 company
 and

product.



The
 questionnaires
 for
 sub
 dealers
 and
 users
 will
 be
 sent
 to
 four
 different

regions
 of
 the
 country,
 East,
 West,
 North,
 and
 South,
 in
 order
 to
 obtain
 a

diversified
 data
 sample.
 Twenty
 questionnaires
 will
 be
 distributed
 to
 users
 in

universities
 and
 social
 centers,
 and
 sub
 dealers
 in
 city
 centers
 for
 each
 region.

Copies
of
the
questionnaires
designed
are
attached
in
the
appendices
section.



2.1.2 
 Secondary
Research


A
 secondary
 research,
 which
 includes
 on‐line
 journals,
 the
 company’s
 websites


and
media
sites
(newspapers
and
magazines),
will
also
be
reviewed
to
develop
a

robust
 case.
 This
 secondary
 research
 will
 be
 implemented
 for
 both
 research

designs.


The
 various
 companies’
 website
 will
 be
 reviewed,
 as
 most
 company’s
 website

gives
 a
 lot
 of
 insight
 about
 the
 company.
 
 The
 website
 review
 is
 based
 on
 the

company’s
 products
 and
 services,
 their
 promotional
 means,
 the
 distribution

channel
or
place,
and
price.
Also,
the
corporate
statement
will
be
studied
to
seek

a
 link
 between
 the
 company’s
 vision
 and
 mission,
 and
 their
 present
 business

activities
implemented.




On‐line
 journals
 on
 Nigerian
 telecommunication
 industry
 are
 another
 form
 of

research
to
be
implemented.
Journals
comprise
of
factual
based
articles
written

by
 professionals
 on
 the
 telecommunication
 companies,
 hence
 giving
 an
 insight

on
the
company
performance,
and
brand
image.
Nevertheless
the
comparison
of

articles
 written
 in
 a
 journal
 gives
 an
 opportunity
 for
 the
 reader
 to
 have

conclusive
evidence
on
subject
matters.
Although
journals
do
not
give
a
hundred

per
 cent
 view
 on
 a
 company,
 it
 is
 seen
 as
 a
 supplement
 for
 the
 data
 collected



 7


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


from
 questionnaire.
 The
 most
 notable
 journal
 to
 be
 consulted
 is
 the
 Nigerian

Communication
Commission
(NCC)
publications
on
the
industry.


Media
sites
such
as
the
on‐line
newspapers
and
magazines
are
another
form
of

research
 to
 be
 implemented.
 In
 the
 recognized
 local
 newspapers,
 some

companies
are
criticized
for
some
activities
and
other
praised
for
some
activities.

The
 criticisms
 are
 viewpoints
 of
 the
 writers,
 which
 could
 be
 seen
 as
 a
 user’s

voice.
Some
of
the
local
on‐line
newspapers
to
be
reviewed
are
Vanguard,
Daily

Champion,
 This
 Day,
 News
 watch,
 and
 Tell
 Magazines.
 These
 media
 sites
 also

reveal
current
news
on
the
activities
implemented
by
these
companies.



Furthermore
in
the
same
local
media,
professional
writers
critically
discuss
the

attitudes
 of
 these
 telecommunication
 companies.
 The
 post
 comments
 for
 each

article
(news)
by
readers
help
understand
the
customer’s
perception
and
views

on
 the
 issues
 being
 described.
 
 These
 are
 perceptions
 and
 views
 that
 present

gaps
and
opportunities
that
can
be
exploited
for
customer
satisfaction.



2.2 
 
 
 Limitations
of
research
methodology

My
 approach
 has
 some
 limitations,
 which
 can
 hinder
 the
 presentation
 of
 a

hundred
per
cent
accurate
data
on
each
of
the
companies
investigated.
This
does

not
imply
that
the
overall
data
to
be
presented
is
not
accurate;
rather
it
is
keen

on
 proving
 the
 validity
 of
 the
 data
 sampled.
 The
 possible
 limitations
 to
 my

approach
are
highlighted
below.


⇒
 The
 marketing
 officers,
 and
 companies
 contacted
 might
 not
 disclose
 all

the
 information
 required
 on
 the
 questionnaire,
 as
 they
 deem
 some

confidential.


⇒
 The
 marketing
 officers
 that
 filled
 the
 questionnaires
 might
 be
 biased,
 as

they
feel
their
Job
could
be
threatened
with
regards
to
the
feeble
nature
of

their
employment
contract.
In‐addition,
they
could
be
biased
to
promote

the
image
of
their
employers.



 8


 


















































































































Research
Methodology
 


⇒
 The
 retailers
 (sub
 dealers)
 response
 could
 be
 influenced
 by
 the
 better

incentives
they
receive
from
a
particular
network
provider.


⇒
 The
 media
 sites
 consulted
 for
 supplementary
 information
 could
 be


biased,
as
companies
are
capable
of
paying
for
good
reviews.



⇒
 As
 some
 companies
 deem
 some
 information
 confidential,
 it
 hindered


direct
 contact
 with
 the
 companies
 to
 obtain
 the
 required
 information

specifically
in
United
Kingdom.


⇒
 The
 number
 of
 respondents
 received
 could
 have
 an
 effect
 on
 the
 result

and
 conclusion,
 as
 the
 more
 respondents
 the
 more
 accurate
 the
 data

obtained.



 9


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Chapter
THREE:
 
 LITERATURE
REVIEW



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This
chapter
is
a
review
of
the
various
literatures
on
the
principles
of
marketing.
It

also
includes
critical
examination
of
the
procedures
with
relation
to
its
application

in
the
telecommunication
industry.
Some
of
the
examples
using
telecommunication

companies
 were
 included.
 It
 enables
 the
 design
 of
 appropriate
 questions
 for
 the

companies
being
investigated.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


3. Introduction


Understanding
marketing
in
Nigeria
telecommunication
industry
would
require

reviewing
 various
 literatures
 on
 marketing
 and
 its
 elements.
 This
 approach

would
 lead
 to
 understanding
 the
 techniques
 implemented,
 and
 gaps
 that
 exist

within
the
industry.
Hence,
this
chapter
reviews
various
published
journals,
and

accredited
 books
 on
 marketing.
 It
 focuses
 on
 how
 it
 impacts
 an
 industry

development,
 business
 management,
 and
 gaining
 competitive
 advantage
 within

an
industry
specifically
telecommunication
industry.



According
to
Harris
(2006),
Everyday,
new
businesses
are
set
up
because
of
the

dream
 of
 reaping
 the
 full
 reward
 of
 hard
 work
 and
 sense
 of
 accomplishment.

However,
 investors
 report
 that
 they
 only
 invest
 in
 one
 in
 every
 hundred
 of
 the

plans
they
see,
and
of
them,
one
in
five
are
successful.
Even
some
business
that

does
 not
 require
 investment,
 a
 third
 of
 start‐ups
 do
 not
 last
 for
 more
 than
 two

years.



Harris
(2006)
claimed
that
the
reason
for
this
failure
are
varied
but
the
majority

are
caused
by
poor
planning,
lack
of
appreciation
of
what
is
involved
in
starting
a

business,
 and
 lack
 of
 customer
 understanding.
 This
 reason
 has
 shown
 that
 for

business
 sustainability,
 understanding
 marketing
 as
 well
 as
 its
 elements
 is

crucial.
Hence,
when
businesses
within
an
industry
battle
for
sustainability,
the

industry
 grows.
 Marketing
 elements
 to
 be
 considered
 are
 marketing

environment,
marketing
management,
and
international
marketing.




 10


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


The
 first
 section
 introduces
 the
 various
 interpretations
 of
 marketing
 by

recognized
 marketing
 associations,
 and
 marketing
 champions.
 The

interpretations
 facilitate
 basic
 understanding
 of
 marketing,
 which
 establishes

the
 fact
 “achieving
 customer
 satisfaction”.
 Pareek
 (2007)
 emphasized
 the

importance
 of
 customer
 understanding
 in
 his
 book
 Business
 intelligence
 in

telecommunication
 industry.
 “In
 competitive
 telecommunications
 environment,

customers
choose
their
service
providers.
Today,
this
is
a
reality
for
all
sizes
of

telecommunication
 companies
 as
 well
 as
 all
 types
 of
 telecommunication

companies,
whether
long‐distance,
Internet
Service
Providers,
wireless,
or
local

POTS”
 (D.
 Pareek,
 2007).
 Pareek
 continued
 by
 stating
 that
 the
 adoption
 of
 the

retail
strategy
of
tailoring
the
products
to
individual
customers
would
eliminate

the
overtime
threat
of
driving
profit
margins
to
an
unacceptable
low.



The
 second
 section
 looks
 at
 the
 marketing
 environment
 as
 businesses
 battle
 to

stay
in
existence.
Understanding
the
environment
at
which
one
exists
is
vital
in

guarding
 and
 elimination
 of
 threats
 whilst
 seeking
 opportunities
 for
 survival.

This
section
looks
at
the
various
marketing
environments
that
exist,
and
ways
of

utilizing
opportunities
for
survival.



The
 third
 section
 discusses
 the
 management
 of
 marketing.
 The
 management
 of

marketing
 seeks
 to
 establish
 the
 processes
 or
 activities
 to
 be
 implemented
 by

firms
 in
 making
 the
 pubic
 aware
 of
 their
 product.
 Clark
 (1997)
 claims
 that

businesses
 focus
 on
 marketing
 push
 strategy
 and
 very
 few,
 focus
 on
 the
 pull

strategy,
which
is
one
of
the
secrets
to
success.
He
continued
by
claiming
that
it

is
 the
 responsibility
 of
 the
 company
 to
 make
 the
 potential
 customers
 aware
 of

what
the
products
can
do.
Hence,
the
customers
will
pull
the
products
from
the

end
of
the
pipeline
and
the
products
will
flow
smoothly
(S.
Clark,
1997).




The
 final
 section
 discusses
 international
 marketing,
 which
 is
 extending
 beyond

the
boundaries
of
home
country
in
search
of
success.
As
MTN
and
ZAIN
are
the

only
two
foreign
telecommunication
companies
operating
in
Nigeria,
it
would
be

interesting
to
review
their
technique
of
attracting
and
retaining
subscribers.





 11


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


3.1 Marketing

There
 are
 various
 interpretations
 of
 marketing
 by
 different
 academic

professionals.
 Baker
 (1995)
 literature
 on
 evolution
 of
 marketing
 stated
 that

marketing
 evolved
 during
 the
 ages
 of
 trade
 by
 barter.
 In
 an
 expression,
 Baker

equates
marketing
to
exchange.



Marketing
=
Exchange


The
 exchange
 relationship
 is
 between
 producer
 and
 user,
 and
 suppliers
 and

consumers.
He
further
emphasized
that
for
the
exchange
to
occur,
the
problem
of

timing
and
problem
of
value
has
to
be
resolved.
Also
Bishop
(2002)
used
various

activities
involved
with
marketing
to
establish
the
meaning
of
marketing.


According
to
Bishop
(2002),
Marketing
is
associated
with
the
following
activities

in
an
attempt
to
achieve
customer
satisfaction,


⇒
 Selling


⇒
 Research


⇒
 Pricing


⇒
 Image


⇒
 Services


⇒
 Market
Analysis


⇒
 Processes


⇒
 Planning


⇒
 Satisfying
customers


⇒
 Distribution


⇒
 Publicity


⇒
 Advertising
 
 
 
 
 (J.
Bishop,
2002)



 12


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Bishop
 (2002)
 further
 explained
 that
 satisfied
 customers
 will
 return
 to
 the

organisation
 in
 the
 future
 and
 will
 recommend
 it
 to
 their
 family
 and
 friends,

resulting
 in
 company’s
 profitability.
 Both
 academic
 professionals
 view
 on

marketing
is
quite
logical
because
subscribers
of
mobile
telephony
establish
such

connection
with
the
providers
(operators),
and
if
satisfied
will
spread
the
news

by
“word
of
mouth”.




3.1.1 What
is
marketing?


There
 are
 several
 accredited
 definitions
 of
 marketing
 from
 professional


institutions
 and
 academic
 professionals.
 Below
 are
 two
 different
 definitions
 by

chartered
 institute
 of
 marketing
 and
 American
 Marketing
 Association

respectively.


The
 chartered
 institute
 of
 Marketing
 (CIM)
 defines
 marketing
 as
 “the

management
process
responsible
for
identifying,
anticipating
and
satisfying

customers
profitably.”
(A.
Palmer
&
I.
Worthington,
1992)


Palmer
 and
 Worthington
 (1992)
 further
 broke
 down
 the
 above
 definition;
 the

first
 part
 of
 the
 definition
 requires
 the
 company
 studying
 the
 external

environment
 for
 the
 nature
 of
 the
 existing
 and
 potential
 markets.
 Then,
 the

second
 part
 requires
 it
 to
 study
 the
 internal
 environment
 to
 ensure
 that
 it

manages
 its
 resources
 effectively,
 in
 order
 to
 meet
 those
 needs
 that
 have
 been

identified
 in
 the
 market.
 Hence,
 the
 definition
 establishes
 the
 fact
 that

understanding
the
environment
is
vital
to
business
success.



According
to
Kotler
&
Armstrong
(2005)
whose
definition
is
based
on
American

Marketing
Association
(AMA),


“Marketing
 is
 a
 social
 and
 managerial
 process
 by
 which
 individuals
 and

groups
obtain
what
they
need
and
want
through
creating
and
exchanging

products
and
value
with
others.”
(P.
Kotler
&
G.
Armstrong,
2005)


However,
 some
 academic
 professionals
 specifically,
 Richard
 Wilson
 &
 Colin


Gilligan
(2005)
argued
that
the
AMA
definition
of
marketing
is
a
list
rather
than
a



 13


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


definition.
 Their
 reason
 being
 that
 it
 does
 not
 demarcate
 what
 is
 or
 is
 not

marketing,
thus
presenting
marketing
as
a
functional
process.



However,
 reviewing
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong’s
 (2005)
 definition
 of
 marketing


further,
 the
 following
 terms
 were
 stated
 crucial
 towards
 achieving
 effective

marketing.


Human
need:
It
is
a
state
of
felt
deprivation;
for
example
basic
physical
need
for

food,
 clothing,
 safety
 and
 warmth.
 They
 are
 a
 basic
 part
 of
 the
 human

makeup.



Wants:
 described
 in
 terms
 of
 objects
 that
 would
 satisfy
 the
 need.
 It
 also
 shows

that
different
people
at
different
places
would
want
to
satisfy
a
common

desire
with
different
objects
because
of
diversity
in
culture
and
individual

personality.



Demand:
 it
 occurs
 when
 the
 buying
 power
 backs
 “want”.
 Consumers
 perceive

products
 as
 bundles
 of
 benefits
 and
 choose
 products
 that
 give
 them
 the

best
bundle
for
their
money.



Products:
 they
 are
 responsible
 for
 satisfying
 consumer
 needs
 and
 wants.

Products
 are
 physical
 objects,
 physical
 services
 and
 a
 variety
 of
 other

vehicles
that
can
be
offered
to
a
market
to
satisfy
a
want
or
need.
This
is

reviewed
further
in
marketing
management
section.


Value
 and
 satisfaction:
 It
 is
 concerned
 with
 the
 consumers’
 perception
 of
 the

product’s
 value.
 Kotler
 &
 Armstrong
 described
 this
 perception
 to
 be

because
of
the
broad
array
of
products
available
to
a
customer
to
satisfy
a

given
need.



Exchange,
 Transactions
 and
 Relationships:
 they
 are
 interrelated
 in
 a
 bid
 to

achieve
 effective
 marketing.
 Just
 as
 Bishop
 (2002)
 emphasized
 that

marketing
 is
 vital
 for
 exchange
 to
 occur,
 marketing
 requires
 two
 parties

to
 mutually
 agree
 on
 the
 exchange
 of
 goods
 and
 services.
 However,
 the

exchange
that
occurred
as
a
result
of
the
mutual
agreement
is
transaction.

Referring
to
Transaction
as
a
core
concept
of
marketing,
a
transaction
is

marketing’s
unit
of
measurement.
As
explained
by
Kotler
and
Armstrong



 14


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


(2005),
 smart
 marketers
 work
 at
 building
 long‐term
 relationships
 with


valued
customers,
distributors,
suppliers
and
dealers.
Hence,
marketing
is

shifting
from
trying
to
maximize
the
profit
on
each
individual
transaction

to
 maximizing
 mutually
 beneficial
 relationships
 with
 consumers
 and

other
parties.
(P.
Kotler
and
G.
Armstrong,
2005)


Market:
“is
the
set
of
actual
and
potential
buyers
of
a
product”
(P.
Kotler
and
G.

Armstrong,
 2005).
 They
 further
 explained
 that
 a
 market
 could
 grow
 up

around
a
product,
service
or
anything
else
of
a
value.



Having
established
the
meaning
of
marketing
using
the
above
terms,
it
is
vital
to

understand
 the
 environment
 in
 which
 it
 is
 being
 implemented.
 Validating
 the

idea
 is
 Palmer
 and
 Worthington’s
 (1992)
 claim
 of
 understanding
 both
 internal

and
 external
 marketing
 environment,
 in
 order
 to
 eliminate
 threat,
 and
 seize

opportunities.



3.2 Marketing
Environment

As
mentioned
in
the
previous
section,
it
is
vital
to
understand
the
environment
in

which
 one
 exists,
 in
 order
 to
 guard
 against
 threats,
 and
 seize
 opportunities
 for

growth.
The
telecommunication
industry
in
Nigeria
is
at
a
growth
stage,
leading

to
 companies
 competing
 for
 subscribers.
 It
 is
 vital
 to
 understand
 the

environmental
 factors
 that
 could
 influence
 their
 techniques
 towards
 attracting

and
 retaining
 subscribers.
 According
 to
 Dawson
 (1979),
 the
 processes
 and
 the

systems
would
differ
from
country
to
country,
and
region
to
region
with
varied

social,
economic,
legal
and
political
environments.



Kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005)
described
marketing
environment
as
consisting
of

the
 actors
 and
 forces
 outside
 marketing
 that
 affect
 marketing
 management’s

ability
to
develop
and
maintain
successful
transactions
with
its
target
customers.

They
 further
 explained
 that
 as
 the
 environment
 presents
 opportunities
 and

threats,
companies
must
use
research
and
intelligent
systems
to
study
and
adapt

to
the
trends
and
developments.
Hence,
the
development
of
a
firm
depends
on
its

understanding
 of
 the
 environment
 it
 exists.
 There
 are
 two
 kinds
 of
 marketing



 15


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


environment,
 internal
 (microenvironment)
 and
 external
 (macro‐environment),


as
stated
by
palmer
and
Worthington
(1992)
in
its
explanation,
(CIM
definition).


3.2.1 Microenvironment


Based
 on
 Principles
 of
 marketing
 by
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005),

microenvironment
 consist
 of
 the
 forces
 close
 to
 the
 company
 that
 affect
 its

ability
 to
 serve
 its
 customers;
 such
 as
 the
 company,
 suppliers,
 marketing

channel,
customer
markets,
competitors
and
publics.


Company:
 the
functional
areas
of
a
company
from
top
management
through

to
accounting
all
have
an
impact
on
the
marketing
department
plans
and

actions.
 A
 good
 example
 would
 be
 a
 telecommunication
 company

designing
packages
(Pay
as
you
go
and
pay
monthly)
that
are
attractive

and
acceptable
to
customers.



Suppliers:
 the
 relationship
 between
 marketing
 and
 suppliers
 is
 based
 on

monitoring
 resources
 availability,
 and
 also
 the
 price
 trend,
 as
 an

increase
 in
 supply
 cost
 would
 increase
 the
 price
 of
 the
 products.
 The

telecommunication
 companies
 have
 to
 contract
 with
 mobile
 phone

manufacturers
 to
 make
 available
 the
 mobile
 phones
 that
 would
 be
 in

tandem
with
package(s).


Marketing
 Channel:
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 described
 it
 as
 the
 various

ways
the
producer
distributes
its
products
and
services
to
the
final
user.

Its
 management
 and
 distribution
 channels
 are
 discussed
 in
 detail
 in

section
3.3.3.


Customers:
 the
customers
are
the
main
focal
point
of
any
business.
Hence,
the

customer
markets
require
close
attention
and
study
in
order
to
segment

the
customers
and
understand
them.


Competitors:
competitors
are
threats
to
any
organization;
hence
marketers
need

to
 gain
 strategic
 advantage
 by
 positioning
 their
 offerings
 strongly

against
their
competitor
offering
in
the
mind
of
the
customers.




 16


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Publics:
 the
 publics
 include
 media,
 financial,
 government,
 local,
 and
 general

publics.
 These
 functional
 areas
 impact
 the
 marketing
 plan
 of
 an

organisation.
 An
 example
 of
 the
 effect
 is
 that
 marketers
 of

telecommunication
 companies
 have
 to
 be
 thorough
 about
 the
 safety
 of

the
 mobile
 phones
 on
 publics.
 As
 any
 hazard
 caused
 by
 the
 product

would
lead
to
lawsuits.


3.2.2 Macro­environment



Macro‐environment
 is
 seen
 as
 the
 environment
 outside
 or
 within
 which
 the

business
 exists.
 Within
 the
 macro‐environment,
 there
 are
 six
 major
 forces
 that

shape
opportunities,
and
pose
threat
to
a
company.
Kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005)

described
 these
 forces
 that
 affect
 the
 marketing
 plan
 as
 demographic
 forces,

economic
forces,
natural
forces,
technological
forces,
political
forces,
and
cultural

forces.



Demographic
 Environment:
 kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 described


demographic
 influence
 on
 marketing
 plan
 as
 involving
 people,
 and

people
 make
 up
 the
 target
 markets.
 It
 would
 require
 businesses

strategically
targeting
a
particular
or
a
wide
range
of
customers.



Economic
 Environment:
 the
 economy
 of
 a
 country
 would
 influence
 the


purchasing
power
and
buying
pattern
of
the
customers.
For
example,
the

democratic
stability
of
Nigeria
has
influenced
the
increase
in
income
per

capita
of
the
populace.
This
increase
has
influenced
their
buying
pattern,

and
buying
behaviour.
Hence,
as
the
economy
grows,
the
buying
pattern

and
 purchasing
 power
 changes.
 This
 change
 prompted
 Kotler
 and

Armstrong
(2005)
to
state
that
companies
need
to
watch
the
change
in

variables,
and
take
advantage.



Natural
Environment:
the
natural
environment
has
been
a
cause
for
concern,
and

would
 influence
 marketing
 decisions.
 The
 increasing
 abuse
 of
 the

environment
alerted
Kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005)
to
emphasize
on
the

four
 trends
 in
 the
 natural
 environment
 that
 would
 have
 an
 effect
 on



 17


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


marketing.
 These
 trends
 are
 shortages
 of
 raw
 materials,
 increased
 cost

of
 energy,
 increased
 pollution
 and
 government
 intervention
 in
 natural

resource
management.
For
example
the
shortage
in
raw
materials
would

increase
its
cost,
and
in
turn
affect
the
cost
of
products
for
the
customer.




Technological
 Environment:
 “new
 technologies
 create
 new
 market
 and


opportunities”
(P.
Kotler
and
G.
Armstrong,
2005).
This
environment
is

highly
 important
 for
 telecommunication
 industry,
 because
 customers

constantly
 seek
 innovative
 products.
 The
 competitive
 nature
 of
 the

industry
 presently
 is
 attributed
 to
 the
 rapid
 pace
 of
 technology

advancement,
and
regulations.
These
factors
coupled
with
research
and

development,
are
the
trends
that
require
monitoring.
In
as
much
as
the

marketers
 need
 to
 rely
 on
 research
 and
 development
 to
 improve,
 they

need
to
be
aware
of
any
negative
aspects
of
their
innovation
that
might

harm
users.



Political
 Environment:
 the
 political
 environment
 consists
 of
 laws,
 government


agencies,
and
pressure
groups.
The
developments
within
these
elements

of
 the
 political
 environment
 affect
 the
 marketing
 decisions
 of
 a
 firm.

These
 agencies
 do
 not
 directly
 influence
 marketing
 but
 the
 employees

that
 oversee
 these
 organisations
 make
 poor
 decisions
 that
 are

detrimental
to
marketing,
as
they
do
not
have
business
knowledge
and

understand
its
operations.
Hence,
marketers
need
to
set
aside
strategies

to
tackle
such
development
if
arise.



Cultural
Environment:
 these
 are
 forces
 that
 influence
 a
 society’s
 basic


values,
perceptions,
preferences,
and
behaviours.
These
values
shape
the

society
 that
 the
 firm
 exist
 and
 the
 marketers
 have
 to
 understand
 the

society
in
order
to
develop
a
robust
marketing
plan.
This
is
an
important

factor
 for
 the
 telecommunication
 industry
 to
 understand,
 as
 it
 would

pave
 way
 to
 developing
 strategies
 that
 would
 attract
 and
 retain
 the

customers.


The
marketing
environment
and
how
it
influences
marketing
decisions
discussed

have
 shown
 its
 relevance
 towards
 achieving
 competitive
 advantage.
 The



 18


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


competitive
 advantage
 in
 this
 scenario
 is
 commanding
 a
 huge
 market
 share.

Considering
 a
 telecommunication
 industry,
 all
 the
 forces
 discussed
 will
 have
 a

huge
influence
in
the
status
of
the
companies.
Also
the
trends
within
the
industry

would
depend
on
the
environment.
The
environmental
forces
cannot
always
be

affected
by
marketing
management,
but
would
rely
on
monitoring
and
reacting

to
the
environment.



3.3 Marketing
Management

According
 to
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 marketing
 management
 is
 “the

analysis,
planning,
implementation,
and
control
of
programs
designed
to
create,

build,
 and
 maintain
 beneficial
 exchanges
 with
 target
 buyers
 for
 the
 purpose
 of

achieving
organizational
objectives.”
(P.
Kotler
and
G.
Armstrong,
2005)


Many
 academic
 professionals
 stated
 the
 importance
 of
 marketing
 management


using
case
studies.
Although
their
analysis
was
from
different
perspectives,
their

literature
 still
 establishes
 the
 main
 idea
 of
 understanding
 the
 targeted

customers,
 and
 developing
 solutions
 whilst
 accommodating
 some
 marketing

factors.
 This
 section
 considers
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000)
 literature
 on

marketing
management.



Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000)
 established
 the
 importance
 of
 marketing


management
by
citing
example
of
two
companies;
one
seized
an
opportunity
and

grew,
while
the
other
faded
away.
They
stated
that
IBM
got
into
trouble
because

they
 focused
 on
 selling
 products
 from
 the
 past,
 while
 GE
 (General
 Electric)

identified
 and
 followed
 global
 marketing
 strategies
 for
 the
 future.
 They
 also

stated
 the
 relevance
 of
 appointing
 the
 right
 candidate
 for
 the
 chief
 executives.

According
to
Dalrymple
and
Parsons,
research
showed
that
more
top
executives

come
out
of
marketing
than
any
other
field;
hence
the
right
candidate
needs
to

possess
marketing
backgrounds.



Marketing
 management
 incorporates
 a
 list
 of
 sequential
 interactive
 activities


that
help
the
firm
achieve
its
goals.
This
list
of
activities
may
vary
according
to

the
products
or
services
being
offered
by
the
firm.
However,
the
list
of
activities



 19


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


discussed
 is
 applicable
 within
 a
 telecommunication
 industry.
 Different


literatures
 share
 the
 same
 principles
 of
 marketing
 management
 though
 the

terms
used
are
different.



Marketing
management
process


Adopt a marketing
philosophy

Do a customer analysis Do a competitor analysis

Develop a marketing strategy;

Estimate market potential market segmentation - positioning

Take into account

Take into international factors
account societal
concern

Develop marketing mix; product /

service price channel promotion

Forecast sales and Plan and implement marketing Obtain feedback on

contribution programs results

Figure
3.3:
The
marketing
management
process
(Dalrymple
D.,
and
Parsons
L.,
(2000);

Marketing
management
text
and
cases)




The
 flowchart
 above
 fig
 3.3
 shows
 the
 sequential
 activities
 to
 be
 implemented

towards
 achieving
 a
 firm’s
 goal.
 The
 main
 processes
 are
 adopting
 a
 marketing

philosophy,
 developing
 a
 marketing
 strategy,
 designing
 a
 marketing
 mix,

planning
and
implementing
marketing
program,
and
obtain
feedback
on
results.

The
feedback
obtained
would
enable
the
top
management
develop
or
redesign
a

marketing
strategy
that
would
lead
to
gaining
competitive
advantage.
However,

whilst
implementing
the
processes,
there
are
factors
worth
considering,
such
as

customer
analysis,
competitor
analysis,
and
international
factors.



 20


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


3.3.1 Adopting
a
marketing
philosophy


This
is
the
first
step
in
marketing
management
as
it
states
clearly
the
focus
of
the

firm
 either
 on
 the
 customer
 or
 the
 product.
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000)

emphasized
 the
 importance
 of
 firms
 adapting
 to
 changing
 economic

environment
 and
 meeting
 competitive
 threats
 to
 prevent
 loss
 of
 market
 share,

stagnation
 and
 perhaps
 even
 bankruptcy.
 They
 emphasized
 the
 fact
 by
 citing

example
 with
 H.
 J.
 Heinz
 that
 dominated
 the
 US
 ketchup
 business
 for
 over
 100

years
but
lost
the
French,
Swedish,
and
Japanese
market.
The
loss
was
as
a
result

of
 their
 slow
 to
 change
 and
 lack
 of
 customer
 focus
 in
 these
 countries.
 (D.

Dalrymple
and
L.
Parsons,
2000)



The
 widely
 accepted
 marketing
 philosophy
 is
 the
 marketing
 concept.
 This
 is

widely
accepted
and
implemented
because
it
maintains
that
the
key
to
achieving

organizational
 goals
 is
 to
 determine
 the
 needs
 of
 the
 target
 markets,
 and
 to

deliver
 the
 desired
 merchandise
 more
 efficiently
 than
 do
 competitors.
 This

concept
 has
 three
 basic
 facets
 that
 include
 customer
 orientation,
 integrated

company
 effort
 and
 goal‐directed
 behaviour.
 (D.
 Dalrymple
 and
 L.
 Parsons,

2000)




 Customer
orientation
is
entirely
focused
on
understanding
and
serving

the
 customer
 better.
 However,
 the
 target
 customers
 have
 to
 be

established
first
before
a
study
of
their
need
and
how
it
could
be
satisfied.

A
good
example
is
an
article
on
BMW
zooms
ahead
of
Mercedes
Benz
in

1993.
In
the
article,
it
explains
how
and
why
BMW
sold
more
cars
in
1992

than
its
German
rivals
Mercedes
Benz.
In
the
year,
BMW
designed
a
wide

range
of
its
products
specifically
the
3
series
in
order
to
attract
customer

that
 like
 the
 product
 but
 cannot
 afford
 the
 higher
 priced
 models.
 Also,

their
understanding
of
the
customer
resulted
in
only
including
the
value

adding
features
to
the
product.
This
act
reduced
the
number
of
employees

needed
but
increased
the
number
of
cars
produced
in
their
South
Carolina

plant.
(K.
Miller
and
T.
Aeppel,
1993)



 An
integrated
company
effort
is
about
closely
coordination
of
the
firm’s

marketing
 activities,
 and
 other
 functional
 areas
 towards
 satisfying
 the



 21


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


customers’
 needs.
 
 The
 marketing
 activities
 including
 sales
 and


production
 would
 require
 working
 in
 tandem
 in
 order
 to
 meet
 the

customer
 demand
 as
 and
 at
 when
 required.
 Its
 operation
 justifies
 the

marketing
 concept,
 which
 works
 to
 unify
 the
 independent
 functional

areas
of
a
firm
to
increase
satisfaction
and
improve
profit.



 Goal
directed
behaviour
emphasizes
the
need
to
channel
the
behaviour

of
 the
 staff
 from
 top
 management
 to
 shop
 floor
 towards
 achieving
 the

company
goal.
Also,
the
behaviour
of
the
various
departments
has
to
be
in

accordance
with
the
goal
of
the
firm.
An
example
cited
in
the
literature
is

the
problem
encountered
by
General
Motors
in
1980s.
According
to
them,

General
Motors
spent
$40
billion
on
plant
and
equipment
to
achieve
cost

reduction
 and
 standardise
 products
 and
 unfortunately,
 the
 goal
 was
 not

fully
 realized.
 The
 act
 impacted
 on
 their
 cost
 of
 cars
 and
 their
 market

share
reduced
from
50
percent
to
33
percent.



The
 facets
 have
 established
 marketing
 concept,
 which
 is
 one
 of
 the
 best

marketing
philosophies
that
would
impact
a
firm’s
market
share.
The
marketing

concept
discussed
has
established
how
a
competitive
advantage
can
be
achieved.

The
growth
stage
of
the
mobile
market
in
Nigeria
has
presented
an
opportunity

for
companies
within
the
industry
to
implement
the
facets
in
order
to
attract
and

retain
customers.



3.3.2 Marketing
strategy


“Organisations
that
fail
to
plan
for
the
future
will
find
themselves
fading
into
the

market.”
(D.
Dalrymple
and
L.
Parsons,
2000)



Another
activity
in
marketing
management
is
the
design
of
a
marketing
strategy,

which
 will
 include
 the
 three
 following
 factors,
 customer
 analysis,
 competitor

analysis
and
market
potential.



Dickson
 (1992)
 claimed,
 “In
 this
 rapid
 and
 unpredictable
 environment,


developing
 a
 sustainable
 competitive
 advantage
 would
 rely
 on
 the
 ability
 to

learn
 fast
 and
 adopt
 quickly”
 (P.
 Dickson,
 1992).
 Also
 Hooley,
 Saunders
 and



 22


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Piercy
 (2004),
 supported
 the
 claim
 by
 stating
 that
 designing
 the
 marketing

strategy
 should
 be
 based
 on
 meeting
 the
 changing
 economic
 environment.
 In

their
proposal
for
the
marketing
strategy,
they
developed
three
stage
processes,

defining
 the
 business
 purpose
 and
 deciding
 on
 strategic
 focus
 to
 be
 adopted

through
 customer,
 competitor,
 and
 organisation
 resource
 analysis.
 The
 second

stage
 is
 based
 on
 competitive
 positioning
 that
 would
 lead
 to
 selection
 of
 target

customers
and
establishing
the
competitive
advantage.
Then
the
final
stage
is
the

use
 of
 marketing
 mix,
 organisation
 and
 control
 of
 marketing
 effort
 to
 achieve

positioning.



First
 stage:
 in
 customer
 analysis,
 two
 different
 literatures
 reviewed
 expresses

the
same
motive
but
in
different
ways.
However,
both
seeks
to
understanding
the

following
about
a
customer,


⇒
 Who
are
my
customers
–
consumer,
business
or
non‐profit?


⇒
 Where
are
my
customers
–
location?


⇒
 When
do
my
customers
buy
–
seasonality?


⇒
 What
do
my
customers
want
–
explicitly?


⇒
 How
do
my
customers
buy
–
motives
and
influence?


⇒
 How
do
my
firm
become
customer
oriented?


⇒
 Finally,
 in
 the
 future,
 how
 will
 the
 customer
 requirement
 and
 need

change?
(G.
Hooley,
J.
Saunders,
and
N.
Piercy,
2004)


The
answers
to
these
above
questions
would
result
in
explicit
understanding
of

the
 targeted
 customers,
 and
 ways
 to
 satisfy
 their
 needs.
 Understanding
 the

targeted
customers
would
lead
to
developing
products
and
services
that
would

attract
 them,
 but
 retaining
 them
 and
 overcoming
 the
 competition
 within
 the

industry
would
be
a
challenge.
This
challenge
prompted
the
quest
to
learn
about

the
competitors,
as
it
is
the
only
way
to
compete
against
them.


There
 is
 fierce
 competition
 within
 different
 industries,
 and
 companies
 that

cannot
 match
 and
 better
 the
 products
 seize
 to
 exist.
 In
 the
 medium
 term,
 only



 23


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


the
 companies
 in
 the
 strategic
 group
 have
 to
 be
 screened
 but
 in
 long
 term,

potential
entrants
would
be
a
threat
to
the
industry
(G.
Hooley,
J.
Saunders,
and

N.
 Piercy,
 2004).
 A
 good
 example
 is
 the
 recent
 entry
 of
 VISAFONE

Telecommunication
 Company
 into
 the
 Nigerian
 Telecommunication
 industry.

Their
 recent
 entry
 poses
 a
 real
 threat
 to
 the
 companies
 within
 the
 industry.

However,
the
company
with
a
robust
strategy
would
withstand
the
threat
posed

by
these
entrants.
This
shows
that
the
main
threat
an
industry
faces
is
not
only

the
 current
 competitors
 but
 also
 substitute
 (new
 entrant)
 that
 are
 eager
 to

question
 the
 conventional
 industry
 practise.
 Fig
 3.3.2
 shows
 the
 targets
 of

competitor
analysis.


Target
of
competitor
analysis


New entrants or substitutes

Industry
competition

Strategic
group

Fig
3.3.2:
Targets
of
competitor
analysis
(adopted
from:
marketing
strategy
and

competitive
positioning,
Hooley
G.,
Saunders
J.,
and
Piercy
N.,
2004)

In
 implementing
 competitor
 analysis,
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000),
 proposed

seven
simple
stages,


⇒
 Who
are
your
competitors
–
both
current
and
potential
entrants?


⇒
 What
 are
 your
 relations
 with
 your
 competitors
 –
 conflict,
 competition,


coexistence,
cooperation,
and
collusion?


⇒
 How
 do
 you
 learn
 about
 your
 competitors
 –
 using
 tools
 (strength
 and

weaknesses)?




 24


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


⇒
 Where
do
you
compete?


⇒
 When
do
you
compete?


⇒
 How
do
you
compete
–
attack
strategies
and
defence
strategies?


⇒
 Finally,
how
do
you
position
your
products?



These
 questions,
 just
 like
 in
 customer
 analysis
 would
 help
 the
 firm
 understand

the
competitors
within
the
industry,
and
how
to
compete,
but
would
not
lead
to

maintaining
a
sustainable
competitive
advantage.


Hooley,
Saunders
and
Piercy,
(2004),
stated
that
while
an
organisation
can
boost

a
 wide
 range
 of
 resources,
 it
 is
 highly
 crucial
 that
 it
 identifies
 those
 resources

that
would
help
create
a
competitive
advantage
within
the
industry,
and
can
be

sustained
 for
 a
 long
 period.
 Also,
 Mahoney
 and
 Pandian
 (1992)
 supported
 the

claim
 by
 stating
 that
 strategic
 management
 theorist
 have
 showed
 that
 with
 the

distinct
resources,
firms
can
isolate
themselves
from
limitation
and
duplication,

leading
to
maintaining
a
sustainable
competitive
advantage
within
the
industry.



Hooley,
 Saunders
 and
 Piercy
 (2004)
 named
 these
 distinct
 resources
 as
 Brand

Equity,
 relationship
 with
 customers,
 effective
 distribution
 channel,
 and

competitive
 position
 occupied.
 Some
 of
 these
 resources
 are
 described
 latter
 in

the
 section.
 However,
 Beath
 and
 katsoulacos
 (1991),
 claimed
 “while

differentiation
enables
a
firm
to
insulate
its
own
market
to
some
degree
from
the

actions
of
its
competitive
rivals,
the
relationship
is
a
symmetric
one,
and
it
also

makes
 it
 harder
 for
 the
 firm
 to
 effectively
 compete
 in
 its
 rivals’
 own
 market.”

This
 claim
 by
 Beath
 and
 Katsoulacos
 is
 really
 important
 as
 the

telecommunication
companies
are
within
one
market.


Nevertheless,
the
realisation
of
the
distinct
resources
would
depend
on
the
firm’s

core
 competencies
 (capabilities
 and
 assets).
 Prahalad
 and
 Hamel
 (1990)
 who

argued
 that
 the
 most
 fundamental
 source
 of
 competitiveness
 lies
 in
 the
 core

competency
 of
 the
 organisation
 suggested
 three
 tests
 to
 identify
 a
 firm’s
 core

competence.




 25


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


⇒
 A
 core
 competence
 should
 contribute
 heavily
 to
 the
 satisfaction
 or


benefits
the
customer
derives
from
using
the
product.


⇒
 A
 core
 competence
 should
 be
 difficult
 for
 the
 competitors
 to
 copy
 or

duplicate.


⇒
 A
core
competence
should
provide
wide
access
to
a
variety
of
market.


However,
 the
 final
 test
 would
 be
 to
 identify
 whether
 the
 competencies
 can
 be

combined
with
other
skills
and
capabilities
to
create
a
value
for
the
customers.



Second
 stage:
 “positioning
 is
 the
 act
 of
 designing
 a
 company’s
 offering
 and

image,
so
that
they
occupy
a
meaningful
and
distinctive
competitive
position
in

the
target
customers’
minds”
(Kotler
P.,
1997).
Ries
and
Trout
(2001)
described

positioning
 as
 a
 creative
 process,
 and
 were
 quoted
 by
 Hooley,
 Saunders
 and

Piercy
as,


Positioning
starts
with
a
product.
A
piece
of
merchandise,
a
service,
a
company,
or

even
 a
 person
 .
 .
 .
 But
 positioning
 is
 not
 what
 you
 do
 to
 a
 product.
 Positioning
 is

what
 you
 do
 to
 the
 mind
 of
 the
 prospect.
 That
 is,
 you
 position
 the
 product
 in
 the

mind
of
the
prospect.


According
to
Hooley,
Saunders
and
Piercy,
customers
buy
products
and
services

based
 on
 their
 perception
 of
 the
 company,
 the
 product
 and
 services,
 and
 the

brand.
Gaining
a
competitive
advantage
would
be
positively
differentiating
from

the
competitors
within
the
industry.

Kotler
(1997)
highlighted
six
criteria
that

must
be
met
to
create
differentiation.



⇒
 Importance
–
the
difference
should
create
a
significant
value
adding
to
a

significant
number
(majority)
of
customers.


⇒
 Distinctive
 and
 pre‐emptive
 –
 the
 difference
 cannot
 be
 duplicated
 or


bettered
by
others.



⇒
 Superior
–
the
difference
has
to
provide
high
benefit
to
the
customers.


⇒
 Communicable
 –
 being
 able
 to
 communicate
 with
 customers
 is
 an


important
aspect
of
the
difference.



 26


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


⇒
 Affordable
–
the
targeted
customers
should
be
able
to
pay
the
difference.


⇒
 Profitable
 –
 the
 price
 for
 the
 difference
 should
 be
 adequate
 to
 make
 it

profitable
for
the
company.


Third
 stage:
 This
 final
 process
 is
 using
 the
 marketing
 mix
 (4P’s)
 to
 achieve

competitive
positioning.
Bishop
(2002)
described
marketing
mix
as
a
marketer’s

toolbox.
 The
 marketing
 mix
 famously
 known
 as
 4P’s
 stands
 for
 Price,
 place,

promotion
 and
 product.
 Bishop
 states
 that
 it
 is
 the
 marketing
 mix
 that

encourages
customers
to
spend
money;
hence
it
is
the
basis
for
positioning.
The

marketing
mix
is
discussed
in
detail
in
section
3.3.3


Examining
 marketing
 strategies
 further,
 Jag
 Sheth
 and
 David
 raised
 concerns

about
 the
 rapid
 pace
 of
 environmental
 change
 influence
 on
 the
 strategy

formulation.
 They
 cited
 this
 claim
 in
 1997
 at
 the
 Academy
 Marketing
 Science

conference.
 Jag
 Sheth
 in
 his
 speech,
 mentioned
 six
 factors
 that
 have
 to
 be

considered
 in
 order
 to
 slightly
 deviate
 from
 conventional
 marketing
 thinking

(Hooley
G.,
Saunders
J.,
and
Piercy
N.,
2004).



⇒
 Global
 positioning:
 it
 is
 about
 strategists
 focusing
 on
 business
 core

competencies
and
extending
into
the
global
market.



⇒
 The
 master
 brand:
 
 A
 good
 example
 used
 in
 the
 literature
 is
 Toyota
 and

Honda.
 The
 brand
 name
 portrays
 the
 efficiency
 of
 the
 product
 that
 is

recognized
all
over
the
world.



⇒
 The
 integrated
 enterprise
 and
 end‐user
 focus:
 this
 is
 about
 channelling

the
people,
processes,
and
infrastructures
in
a
business
to
deliver
value
to

a
customer.


⇒
 Best‐in‐class
 processes:
 this
 is
 primarily
 working
 or
 continuous


improvement
of
the
services
in
order
to
achieve
world‐class
standards.


⇒
 Mass
 customisation:
 producing
 a
 product
 that
 is
 primarily
 to
 satisfy
 a


customer
need
and
at
same
time
achieve
scale
economies.




 27


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


⇒
 Breakthrough
 technology:
 A
 good
 example
 is
 the
 3G
 phones
 that
 are

presently
 in
 use.
 This
 service
 is
 considered
 awesome,
 as
 two
 people

separated
by
distance
can
see
each
other
whilst
talking
over
the
phone.


Accommodating
 these
 factors
 in
 the
 planning
 of
 the
 marketing
 strategy
 would

lead
any
company
including
Telecommunication
Company
to
differentiate
from

competitors.
 Considering
 Nigeria,
 where
 there
 is
 a
 continuous
 change
 in
 the

economic
 environment,
 companies
 have
 to
 continuously
 develop
 strategies
 to

adapt
as
and
at
when
required.
Hence,
Jag
Sheth
and
David
claim
is
deemed
vital

for
any
company
to
maintain
competitive
advantage.


3.3.3 Designing
Marketing
Mix


As
 described
 in
 the
 previous
 section,
 it
 is
 regarded
 as
 the
 marketer’s
 toolbox.

Bishop
 also
 added
 that
 it
 is
 used
 strategically
 and
 tactically
 to
 achieve
 the

marketing
 objectives,
 and
 therefore,
 the
 overall
 corporate
 objectives
 (J.
 Bishop,

2002).
 The
 marketing
 mix,
 famously
 known
 as
 the
 4P’s
 are
 price,
 product,

promotion
 and
 place,
 although,
 additional
 3P’s
 (process,
 people
 and
 physical

evidence)
 are
 being
 included
 by
 some
 academic
 professionals.
 “People”
 is
 the

only
additional
marketing
mix
discussed,
because
of
the
goal
directed
behaviour

explained
 in
 the
 marketing
 concept
 facet.
 Their
 application
 and
 influence
 in

attracting
market
share
is
discussed
below.



Product:
As
discussed
in
the
previous
section,
the
product
has
to
be
attractively

designed
 and
 positioned
 in
 the
 mind
 of
 the
 customers,
 in
 order
 to
 achieve
 a

potential
market
share.
A
product
can
be
anything
including
people,
organization

and
services.
In
telecommunication
industry,
a
product
/
service
is
the
price
plan

(package),
 customer
 support,
 and
 mobile
 phones
 if
 purchased
 with
 the
 price

plan.
Nevertheless,
Bishop
(2002)
stated
that
a
product
could
be
viewed
on
three

levels
 because
 the
 marketer
 is
 selling
 a
 bundle
 of
 satisfaction.
 These
 levels
 are

seen
 as,
 core
 product,
 actual
 product
 and
 augmented
 product.
 The
 diagram

below
fig
3.3.3
shows
the
different
levels.



 28


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Levels
of
a
product


Augmented

Actual
Augmented, e.g.
Core after-sales service,
installation,
warranty, credit,
and delivery.

Actual, e.g.
features, quality,
packaging, and
brand name


 Core

Fig
3.3.3:
Three
levels
of
a
product
(adapted
from:
principles
of
marketing,
Kotler

P.,
and
Armstrong
G.,
2005)



The
 explanation
 of
 the
 different
 levels
 as
 described
 by
 Bishop
 (2002)
 is

highlighted,


⇒
 Level
 one
 (the
 core
 product):
 the
 basic
 benefit
 the
 customer
 buying
 the

product
 intends
 to
 reap.
 In
 telecommunication,
 this
 is
 the
 talk‐time
 that

the
customers
reap
from
a
line
rental.



⇒
 Level
 two
 (the
 actual
 product):
 Bishop
 described
 this
 as
 those
 elements

that
make
the
core
product
physical.
An
example
is
the
quality
of
service

that
establishes
a
brand
name.
This
is
another
form
of
differentiation
that

a
firm
can
capitalize
on.



⇒
 Level
 three
 (Augmented
 product):
 Bishop
 described
 this
 as
 additional


benefits
or
elements
that
can
be
included
in
the
core
and
actual
product.

An
 example
 is
 the
 additional
 services
 such
 as
 free
 delivery
 if
 the
 price

plan
is
bought
online.




Additional
factors
that
relate
to
the
product
mix
of
a
firm
are
brand
management,

and
product
lifecycle
understanding
and
monitoring.




 29


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Branding
is
a
tool
solely
used
by
marketers
to
differentiate
their
products
from

their
 competitors
 and
 give
 them
 unique
 identities
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 Bishop

stated
that
it
encourages
customer
loyalty
and
therefore
helps
to
increase
profit.

Brand
also
helps
when
launching
a
new
product,
as
customers
are
likely
to
try
a

new
 product
 with
 a
 brand
 name
 they
 recognise.
 Bishop
 highlighted
 three

branding
 processes
 as,
 deciding
 the
 branding
 strategy
 (corporate,
 family
 or

individual),
identify
the
brand
name
and
image,
and
protecting
the
brand.


Understanding
 and
 monitoring
 the
 product
 lifecycle
 is
 crucial,
 as
 gaining

competitive
 advantage
 would
 require
 monitoring
 a
 product
 through
 its
 entire

lifecycle.
 
 A
 product
 lifecycle
 shows
 the
 sales
 of
 a
 product
 over
 time
 (J.
 Bishop,

2002).

A
good
example
highlighted
by
Bishop
is
the
sale
of
mobile
phones.
When

mobile
 phones
 were
 introduced,
 the
 sale
 was
 relatively
 low
 because
 of
 its
 high

cost,
 and
 poor
 reliability
 and
 hence
 was
 commonly
 used
 by
 businessmen.

However,
 as
 the
 reliability
 improved,
 and
 cost
 reduced,
 the
 sale
 gradually

increased
 shifting
 from
 businessmen
 to
 everyone.
 However,
 it
 is
 predicted
 that

soon,
the
sale
of
the
mobile
phones
will
reduce
due
to
fewer
people
that
are
left

without
 one.
 However,
 at
 this
 stage,
 only
 new
 product
 introduction
 can
 restart

the
 cycle
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 The
 diagram
 below
 fig
 3.3.3
 (a)
 shows
 the
 product

lifecycle.


The
product
lifecycle


Introduction Growth Maturity Decline




Fig
 3.3.3(a):
 The
 product
 lifecycle
 (adapted
 from:
 effective
 marketing,
 J.
 Bishop,

2002)



 30


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


The
 introduction
 stage
 of
 a
 product
 is
 important
 as
 it
 determines
 if
 it
 will
 be

successful
 or
 not.
 This
 has
 prompted
 most
 companies
 to
 spend
 time
 in
 the

introduction
 stage
 of
 any
 product
 or
 service
 to
 ensure
 it
 satisfies
 the
 customer

needs.
The
potential
of
the
mobile
market
in
Nigeria
makes
it
vital
for
entrants
to

spend
 time
 on
 introductory
 stage
 to
 develop
 products
 and
 services
 that
 would

attract
 and
 retain
 subscribers.
 Bishop
 designed
 a
 table
 showing
 the
 product

lifecycle
stages
and
the
marketing
mix
decisions
that
has
to
be
implemented.
The

table
below
table
3.3.3
shows
the
marketing
mix
and
product
lifecycle.


Marketing
mix
and
product
lifecycle



 Introduction

 Growth
 Maturity
 Decline


Product
 Basic
product
 Improve
 basic
 Add
 product
 Rationalise


product
 features
 and
 product
 range

generate
 new
 and
 launch
 new

product
lines
 product


Price
 Price
 skimming
 Price
 to
 increase
 Match
 or
 beat
 Lower
price

or
penetration
 sales
 the
competition


Place
 Building
 Find
new
outlets
 Build
 more
 Rationalise


distribution
 intensive
 outlet

network
 distribution


Promotion
 Promote
 to
 Build
 brand
 Emphasize
 Minimal
levels


encourage
trial
 image
 brand
strength


Table
 3.3.3:
 The
 Marketing
 Mix
 and
 the
 product
 lifecycle
 (adapted
 from

effective
marketing,
J.
Bishop,
2002)


Increasing
 market
 share
 would
 require
 continuous
 sale
 of
 the
 product
 through

the
 product
 lifecycle.
 This
 continuous
 sale
 would
 require
 monitoring
 of
 the

product
 to
 determine
 its
 performance
 in
 the
 market.
 Hence,
 monitoring
 the

performance
 of
 the
 product
 introduced
 is
 deemed
 as
 important
 as
 the

introduction
of
the
product.
Although
there
are
several
forms
of
monitoring,
BCG

(Boston
 Consulting
 Group)
 Matrix
 is
 the
 widely
 recognised
 tool.
 Bishop
 (2002)



 31


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


stated
 that
 BCG
 matrix
 considers
 the
 performance
 (market
 share
 and
 market

growth
 rate)
 of
 all
 the
 organisations
 products
 and
 can
 be
 displayed
 on
 one

matrix.
 This
 tool
 would
 be
 highly
 effective
 in
 assessing
 package
 ranges,
 and

determine
 its
 potential
 in
 the
 market
 by
 telecommunication
 companies
 in

Nigeria.
Figure
3.3.3(b)
is
a
diagrammatic
representation
of
the
BCG
matrix.




BCG
Matrix


High QUESTION

STAR MARK


Market
growth rate
CASH
 DOG

Low
 COW


High Low

Relative market share


Fig
3.3.3(b)
The
BCG
Matrix
(adapted
from:
effective
marketing,
Bishop
J.,
2002)


Price:
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000)
 regard
 price
 as
 the
 only
 element
 of

marketing
 mix
 that
 generates
 revenue,
 as
 the
 rest
 are
 costs.
 All
 literatures

reviewed
emphasized
on
the
importance
of
getting
the
price
right
for
a
product

or
 service.
 Bishop
 (2002)
 emphasizes
 that
 a
 customer
 might
 not
 purchase
 a

product
if
the
price
is
high
and
if
the
price
is
low,
the
firm
might
not
make
profit

or
 the
 profit
 margin
 will
 be
 low.
 The
 high
 price
 set
 by
 businesses
 is
 seen
 as
 a

strategy
 to
 make
 short‐term
 profit,
 but
 such
 strategies
 are
 not
 successful
 in

winning
a
new
market.
As
pricing
is
an
important
element
of
the
marketing
mix,

there
has
to
be
an
influence
in
the
pricing
of
products.


Bishop
(2002)
stated
some
influences
on
the
pricing
of
products
and
services,
as

stages
 in
 the
 product
 lifecycle,
 corporate
 and
 marketing
 objective
 of
 the



 32


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


company,
 the
 product
 portfolio,
 the
 target
 market,
 competition
 within
 the

industry,
 customer
 perception
 of
 the
 product
 /
 service,
 state
 of
 the
 countries

economy
 and
 distribution
 medium.
 In
 as
 much
 as
 these
 influences
 affect
 the

price
 of
 the
 product,
 higher
 prices
 could
 be
 attributed
 to
 too
 much
 reliance
 on

the
 cost
 to
 set
 the
 price
 of
 a
 product.
 Ignoring
 the
 effects
 of
 demand,
 whilst

setting
 prices
 based
 on
 cost
 affects
 the
 sale
 of
 the
 product.
 However,
 Bishop

claimed
that
depending
on
whether
it
is
a
new
product
or
established
product,
a

strategy
is
used
in
pricing.
The
strategies
claimed
by
Bishop
are
price
skimming

and
 price
 penetration
 for
 new
 products,
 and
 premium
 pricing
 and
 economy

pricing
for
established
products.


Price
 skimming
 is
 used
 when
 new
 innovative
 products
 are
 introduced
 and
 the

price
is
usually
high.
A
good
example
given
by
Bishop
is
when
mobile
phone
was

introduced.
However,
the
disadvantage
is
that
it
would
encourage
new
entrants,

and
the
demand
could
be
low.


Price
penetration
is
used
for
entrants
to
gain
a
market
share
by
initially
lowering

the
 price.
 The
 low
 price
 increases
 the
 demand
 for
 the
 product
 and
 most
 times

discourages
competitors.



On
 the
 contrary,
 premium
 pricing
 and
 economy
 pricing
 is
 used
 for
 established

products.
 Premium
 pricing
 is
 setting
 high
 prices
 and
 hugely
 dependable
 on
 the

quality
 of
 the
 product,
 examples
 such
 as
 iphone
 and
 Vertu
 mobile
 phones.
 The

latter,
economy
pricing
is
basically
setting
relatively
low
prices.
However,
Bishop

described
 them
 as
 long‐term
 decision,
 hence
 short
 term
 decisions,
 firms
 use

pricing
tactics.
These
short‐term
tactics
is
seen
as
a
strategy
to
gain
market
share

by
attracting
customers.
They
include
the
following,


Geographical
pricing:

 this
is
because
of
the
variation
in
disposable
income
of

a
 country.
 Some
 locations
 specifically,
 urban
 areas

experience
 high
 prices
 whilst
 the
 rural
 areas
 have

lower
 prices
 because
 of
 their
 income.
 This
 is
 not

applicable
in
telecommunication
industry.



 33


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Psychological
pricing:

 Bishop
 (2002)
 described
 it
 as
 a
 tactics
 used
 to
 get

customers
 to
 respond
 emotionally
 to
 price,
 example

using
£9.99
instead
of
£10.00.


Off
Peak
pricing:

 this
 is
 variation
 in
 price
 based
 on
 time
 of
 the
 day.

Mostly,
off
peak
is
cheaper
than
peak
periods.



Discounts:

 discounts
are
used
in
short‐term
to
attract
customers,

and
also
at
the
decline
stage
of
a
product
lifecycle.


Trade
discounts:
 specifically
for
distributor
or
retailer
because
they
buy

in
bulk.


Loss
leaders:
 This
is
a
strategy
implemented
by
some
companies
to

accommodate
loss
in
short
term
in
order
to
make
their

presence
 known
 to
 customers
 and
 profit
 from
 other

purchases.


Optional
feature
pricing:

 Bishop
 (2002)
 described
 it
 as
 the
 additional
 features


for
a
product
that
are
on
offer
of
a
separate
sale.


Promotional
pricing:
 use
of
promotional
prices
to
encourage
sales
and
is
for

certain
periods.
(Bishop
J.,
2002)




The
 above
 pricing
 tactics
 is
 different
 from
 countries
 to
 countries
 or
 regions
 to

regions.
 For
 example,
 pricing
 tactics
 such
 as
 psychological
 pricing,
 loss
 leaders

and
 geographical
 pricing
 are
 not
 applicable
 in
 Nigerian
 telecommunication

industry,
 while
 all
 but
 geographical
 is
 applicable
 in
 the
 foreign
 markets

specifically
United
Kingdom.


Place:
 In
 the
 marketing
 mix,
 place
 is
 used
 as
 a
 term
 to
 describe
 distribution.

Distribution
 involves
 all
 the
 activities
 that
 are
 required
 to
 get
 a
 product
 to
 a

customer
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 stated
 that
 a

management
board
faces
an
uphill
task
in
making
decisions
about
the
marketing

channels
 (distribution).
 They
 believe
 this
 because
 the
 channel
 decision
 directly

affects
 every
 other
 marketing
 decision.
 A
 good
 example
 cited
 is
 that
 the



 34


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


company’s
 pricing
 depends
 on
 whether
 it
 uses
 mass
 merchandiser
 or
 high

quality
speciality
stores.
In
the
mobile
market,
the
tariff
plan
is
the
same
except

for
 the
 Internet
 deals.
 Also,
 the
 firm’s
 sales
 force
 and
 advertising
 decisions

depend
 on
 how
 much
 persuasion,
 training,
 and
 motivation
 the
 dealers
 need.

They
 finally
 emphasized
 that
 management
 must
 design
 its
 channels
 carefully,

with
an
eye
on
tomorrow’s
likely
selling
environment
as
well
as
today’s.



Bishop
 (2002)
 stated
 two
 kinds
 of
 distribution
 channels,
 direct
 and
 indirect

channel.
 Direct
 channel
 involves
 only
 producer
 and
 consumer
 while
 indirect

channel
 involves
producer,
agent,
 or
retailer
and
consumer.
 
Direct
 channels
 of

distribution
 provide
 producers
 with
 the
 opportunity
 to
 understand
 their

customers
 while
 indirect
 selling
 do
 not
 present
 such
 opportunity.
 In
 making

distribution
 decision,
 there
 are
 three
 major
 decisions
 associated
 with

distribution:



⇒
 Level
of
market
exposure
required


⇒
 Selection
of
suitable
channels
of
distribution


⇒
 Channel
management
techniques


Level
 of
 market
 exposure
 required
 relates
 to
 the
 availability
 of
 a
 product
 to

prospective
 customers
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 A
 good
 example
 would
 be
 the

probability
of
seeing
a
Motorola
phone
in
stores,
compared
to
a
Vertu
phone
is

high.
This
is
because
Motorola
phones
are
easily
sold
compared
to
Vertu
phones.



In
selecting
suitable
channel(s)
of
distribution,
some
elements
such
as
location
of

customer,
 market
 size,
 customer
 needs,
 attributes
 and
 competitions
 has
 to
 be

incorporated
 strategically
 to
 develop
 a
 channel.
 These
 elements
 would

determine
 if
 the
 company
 would
 use
 both
 direct
 or
 /
 and
 indirect
 channels
 of

distribution.
(J.
Bishop,
2002)


Managing
 channels
 of
 distribution
 is
 important
 but
 highly
 important
 if
 you
 are

using
intermediaries.
Bishop
deemed
it
essential
because
the
distribution
system

should
 be
 effective
 and
 efficient.
 She
 further
 stated
 “if
 each
 channel
 member

considers
 itself
 distinct
 then
 the
 channel
 may
 become
 ineffective
 because



 35


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


individual
 members
 may
 take
 actions
 that
 are
 disadvantageous
 to
 other

members,”
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 
 Hence
 to
 alleviate
 channel
 conflict,
 Vertical

Marketing
 Systems
 tool
 is
 implemented.
 As
 described
 by
 Bishop,
 Vertical

Marketing
System
tool
takes
three
forms,
corporate,
administered
or
contractual.



Promotion:
 This
 is
 more
 than
 advertising
 and
 involves
 any
 form
 of

communication
that
a
company
established
with
its
customers
(J.
Bishop,
2002).

Bishop
termed
the
forms
of
communication
as
communication
mix.
The
elements

of
the
communication
mix
are
all
directed
towards
attracting
the
target
audience.

The
elements
of
communication
mix
described
are:


Advertising:
 any
paid
form
of
non‐personal
presentation
of
ideas,
goods

or
services
by
an
identified
sponsor.


Public
Relations:
 building
 good
 relations
 with
 the
 company’s
 various


publics
by
obtaining
favourable
publicity.


Direct
Marketing:

 direct
 interaction
 with
 the
 targeted
 customer
 to
 obtain


response.


Personal
selling:
 involves
personal
presentation
by
the
firm’s
sales
force
in

order
to
make
sales
and
build
customer
relations.


Sales
promotion:
 involves
 use
 of
 short‐term
 incentives
 in
 order
 to


encourage
purchase
of
products
or
services.















However,
the
use
of
the
communication
mix
is
dependent
on
various
actors
such

as
 products
 being
 sold,
 the
 target
 market,
 product
 lifecycle
 and
 the
 strategy
 of

the
 company
 (pull
 or
 push
 strategy),
 (J.
 Bishop,
 2002).
 Hence
 in
 the
 case
 of

telecommunication
industry,
all
of
the
communication
mix
is
applicable.


People:
This
is
among
the
extended
marketing
mix.
As
stated
earlier
it
is
being

considered
 because
 of
 the
 goal
 directed
 behaviour
 explained
 in
 the
 marketing



 36


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


concept
 facets.
 According
 to
 Dibb
 et
 al
 (2001),
 “for
 technologically
 advanced

products,
 the
 need
 to
 have
 a
 face‐to‐face
 explanation
 and
 guidance
 is

fundamental
to
the
customers’
perceived
level
of
satisfaction.”
Based
on
Dibb
et

al
 (2001)
 literature,
 another
 importance
 of
 people
 as
 a
 tool
 in
 marketing
 is
 in

international
 marketing.
 International
 marketers
 need
 to
 understand
 the

environment
they
exist,
hence
are
required
to
employ
indigenes
of
the
country,

in
 order
 to
 be
 able
 to
 understand
 the
 environment
 and
 develop
 solutions
 to

satisfy
the
needs.
The
employees
are
not
the
only
crucial
personnel
for
effective

marketing,
but
agents
who
need
basic
knowledge
of
the
products
and
the
right

skill
to
deliver
it
to
the
customers.



The
 marketing
 mix
 reviewed
 has
 shown
 its
 importance
 towards
 attracting
 and

retaining
customers.
“People”
in
the
extended
marketing
mix
has
shown
that
it
is

as
 important,
 as
 the
 4P’s.
 Effective
 management
 of
 people
 would
 influence
 the

price,
 product
 developed,
 promotional
 means,
 and
 place.
 Considering
 the

telecommunication
industry,
the
marketing
mix
is
considered
an
important
tool

towards
realising
the
objective.


3.3.4 Marketing
planning
and
implementation


As
reviewed
earlier,
marketing
management
is
a
sequential
interactive
process.

According
 to
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 (2000),
 marketing
 plan
 provides
 a

comprehensive
 statement
 of
 future
 expectations
 from
 each
 brand
 or
 service.

Sections
 of
 the
 marketing
 plan
 include
 company
 situation,
 environment,
 target

market,
 objectives,
 strategy,
 action
 programs,
 anticipated
 results
 and

contingency
 plan.
 They
 further
 stated
 that
 the
 testing
 of
 the
 marketing
 plan
 is

done
 using
 computer
 simulations.
 This
 approach
 saves
 time,
 and
 provides

secrecy.
However,
if
the
objectives
are
met,
the
successful
results
are
fed
back
to

the
starting
point
and
used
to
set
objectives
for
the
following
planning
period.




As
 marketing
 management
 is
 an
 interactive
 process,
 the
 control
 and

implementation
of
the
marketing
plan
is
deemed
vital
for
business
success.





 37


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


3.4 International
Marketing

There
are
two
foreign
telecommunication
companies
in
Nigeria;
hence
reviewing

international
 marketing
 becomes
 crucial.
 There
 are
 various
 explanations
 of

internationalization
 of
 a
 firm
 or
 international
 marketing
 by
 academic

professionals,
but
the
objective
for
internationalizing
remains
the
same.


According
 to
 Jan
 and
 vahlne
 (1977),
“Internationalization
 is
 a
 process
 in
 which

an
 enterprise
 gradually
 increases
 its
 international
 involvement.
 This
 process

evolves
 in
 the
 interplay
 between
 the
 development
 of
 knowledge
 about
 foreign

market
and
operations
on
one
hand,
and
increasing
commitment
of
resources
to

foreign
 markets
 on
 the
 other.”
 However,
 Gilligan
 and
 Hird
 (1989)
 described

international
 marketing
 in
 two
 perspectives,
 as
 a
 simple
 level
 and
 a
 complex

level.
“At
its
simplest
level,
it
involves
the
firm
in
making
one
or
more
marketing‐
mix
 decisions
 across
 national
 boundaries.
 At
 its
 most
 complex,
 it
 involves
 the

firm
 in
 establishing
 manufacturing
 facilities
 overseas
 and
 making
 what
 are

perhaps
very
different
mix
decisions
in
a
variety
of
markets”
(C.
Gilligan
and
M.

Hird,
 1989).
 They
 further
 differentiated
 international
 marketing
 from
 domestic

marketing
 by
 claiming
 that
 in
 many
 cases,
 the
 controllable
 variables
 such
 as

price
 and
 cost
 structures,
 opportunities
 for
 advertising,
 are
 likely
 to
 differ

significantly
 between
 markets,
 just
 as
 the
 uncontrollable
 variables
 (such
 as

cultural
values,
competitors)
differ
between
one
market
and
another.



According
 to
 Gillian
 and
 Hird
 (1989),
 a
 primary
 objective
 of
 international

marketing
 is
 to
 achieve
 a
 degree
 of
 synergy
 in
 the
 overall
 operation
 so
 that
 by

taking
advantage
of
different
exchange
rates,
tax
rates,
labour
rates,
skills
levels

and
 market
 opportunities,
 the
 organisation
 as
 a
 whole
 will
 be
 greater
 than
 the

sum
 of
 its
 parts
 (C.
 Gillian
 and
 M.
 Hird,
 1989).
 As
 reviewed
 in
 chapter
 3.2,
 the

importance
of
understanding
the
environment
at
which
it
exists
or
seek
to
exist

is
also
applicable
for
international
marketing.



 38


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


3.4.1 International
marketing
environment

The
 international
 marketing
 environment
 is
 different
 from
 a
 local
 marketing

environment,
because
it
seeks
to
understand
the
economic,
cultural,
political
and

legal
aspect
of
the
foreign
market.
Gilligan
and
Hird
(1989)
regard
analysing
the

environment
as
a
necessary
element
in
marketing
programme
development.
For

foreign
 companies
 entering
 the
 Industry,
 these
 forces
 within
 the
 environment

should
be
their
major
consideration
when
developing
the
marketing
techniques.


Economic
 Environment:
 the
 economic
 environment
 can
 be
 viewed
 in
 two

interrelated
 perspectives,
 micro
 level
 and
 macro
 level.
 The
 micro
 level
 focuses

on
 the
 company’s
 capabilities
 to
 satisfy
 the
 customer
 needs
 and
 compete

effectively
within.
On
the
contrary
macro
level
focuses
on
the
country’s
economic

policy,
 its
 state
 of
 development
 and
 the
 economic
 outlook
 (C.
 Gilligan
 and
 M.

Hird,
1989).


Cultural
 Environment:
 Some
 countries
 have
 diverse
 cultures,
 and
 different


countries
 have
 different
 cultures.
 The
 cultural
 differences
 could
 be
 language,

attitudes,
 beliefs
 and
 perceptions.
 Marketers
 that
 understand
 this
 diversity
 in

culture
 strive
 to
 meet
 the
 needs
 in
 relation
 to
 the
 culture
 of
 the
 people
 and
 in

return
gain
sales.
However,
the
fact
that
culture
change
over
time
is
an
obstacle,

in
 which
 marketers
 need
 to
 review
 and
 change
 their
 approach
 to
 adapt
 to
 the

culture
change.



Political
 Environment:
 “The
 politics
 of
 a
 country
 are
 inexorably
 linked
 with

government
 attitudes
 to
 business
 and
 to
 the
 freedom
 with
 which
 they
 are

allowed
to
operate”
(C.
Gilligan
and
M.
Hird,
1989).
The
state
of
the
government

needs
 analysis
 before
 entry
 is
 implemented.
 For
 example
 there
 was
 only
 the

national
 telecommunication
 company
 present
 in
 Nigeria
 prior
 to
 year
 2001,

because
 of
 the
 unstable
 government.
 However
 the
 change
 in
 government
 has

seen
an
influx
of
telecommunication
companies.


Legal
 Environment:
 Several
 markets
 are
 bound
 by
 both
 the
 market
 legislation

and
country’s
legislations.
These
legislations
vary
from
country
to
country,
and

the
 interpretation
 also
 varies.
 Hence
 to
 reduce
 complexity,
 it
 is
 vital
 to

understand
 the
 legislation
 of
 the
 potential
 market
 and
 the
 foreign
 countries



 39


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


legislation.
 The
 aspects
 of
 the
 legislative
 framework
 mentioned
 by
 Gilligan
 and

Hird
(1989)
worth
noting
are
the
foreign
legislative
framework,
parent
country

legislation,
and
international
laws.




Nevertheless
for
an
organisation
to
enter
a
market
outside
its
local
market,
there

are
 key
 decisions
 that
 needs
 revising
 and
 careful
 consideration.
 Kotler
 and

Armstrong
(2005)
claimed
these
decisions
to
be
deciding
whether
to
go
abroad,

deciding
 which
 market
to
 enter,
deciding
 how
 to
enter
 the
market,
 deciding
 on

the
global
marketing
programs,
and
deciding
on
the
global
market
organisation.

Implementing
 the
 appropriate
 decisions
 for
 each
 of
 the
 factors
 would
 lead
 to

sustainability
in
operations
within
the
market.



3.4.2 Deciding
whether
to
go
abroad




Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 stated
 that
 for
 global
 industries
 to
 succeed,
 they

need
to
compete
on
a
worldwide
basis.
Nevertheless,
firms
that
share
this
theory

also
 have
 several
 distinct
 reasons
 for
 internationalising.
 All
 the
 reasons
 lead
 to

attempt
 in
 gaining
 competitive
 advantage
 within
 the
 industry.
 Most
 of
 the

reasons
 as
 described
 by
 several
 literatures
 including
 kotler
 and
 Armstrong’s

include:


⇒
 The
potential
profit
opportunities
than
the
domestic
market


⇒
 Shrinking
of
domestic
market


⇒
 Need
for
an
enlarged
customer
base
to
achieve
economies
of
scale


⇒
 Reducing
dependency
on
one
market
to
reduce
risk


⇒
 Pursuing
international
customer
base


⇒
 To
gain
sales


Any
of
these
reasons
are
enough
to
drive
firms
into
internationalising.
However,

although
the
reasons
are
worthwhile,
it
is
worth
noting
the
risks
involved
in
such

action.
 Counter
 attacking
 the
 risks
 involved
 would
 mean
 the
 firm
 considering

several
factors.
According
to
kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005),
before
going
abroad,



 40


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


the
 company
 must
 weigh
 several
 risks,
 and
 answer
 many
 questions
 about
 its

ability
 to
 operate
 globally.
 
 The
 questions
 highlighted
 by
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong

(2005)
include



⇒
 Can
 the
 company
 learn
 to
 understand
 the
 preferences
 and
 buyers

behaviour
of
consumers
in
those
countries?


⇒
 Can
it
offer
competitively
attractive
products?


⇒
 Will
 it
 be
 able
 to
 adapt
 to
 other
 countries’
 business
 cultures
 and
 to
 deal

effectively
with
foreign
nationals?


⇒
 Do
the
company’s
managers
have
the
necessary
international
experience?


⇒
 Has
 the
 management
 considered
 the
 impact
 of
 foreign
 regulations
 and

political
environments?



Successfully
 answering
 these
 questions
 and
 implementing
 strategies
 to
 realize


objective
 would
 lead
 to
 avoiding
 risks
 that
 would
 include;
 cash
 flow
 problem,

credit
 problem,
 exchange
 rate
 fluctuations,
 bureaucracy,
 cultural
 resistance,

communication
problem
and
political
problems.
When
the
decision
is
concluded,

the
market
to
enter
would
be
reviewed
as
to
maximise
opportunities
available.


3.4.3 Deciding
which
market(s)
to
enter


Kotler
 and
 G.
 Armstrong
 (2005),
 states
 that
 before
 going
 abroad,
 the
 company

should
try
to
define
its
international
marketing
objectives
and
policies.
The
first

decision
 would
 be
 the
 volume
 of
 sales
 it
 intends
 to
 establish
 on
 the
 foreign

market.
The
number
of
countries
it
intends
to
market
its
products
also
needs
to

be
 established.
 This
 is
 quite
 important
 because
 it
 would
 determine
 the
 market

share
 to
 be
 achieved
 in
 those
 countries.
 An
 example
 cited
 in
 the
 literature
 is

Bulova
 Watch
 Company.
 The
 company
 decided
 to
 be
 present
 in
 over
 100

countries
 in
 the
 world,
 stretching
 thinly
 within
 the
 market.
 As
 a
 result,
 the

company
 incurred
 a
 loss
 of
 around
 $40million
 and
 only
 made
 profit
 in
 two

countries.
 Thus
 showing
 that
 the
 fewer
 the
 countries
 the
 deeper
 the
 market

penetration.
 Hence,
 deciding
 on
 the
 types
 of
 countries
 to
 enter,
 there
 are



 41


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


indicators
of
market
potential
stated
by
Douglas,
Craig
and
Keegan
(1982)
that

could
be
used
to
select
the
type
of
country
to
enter.



Indicators
of
market
potential



⇒
 Demographic
 characteristics
 –
 size
 of
 population,
 rate
 of
 population


growth,
degree
of
urbanization,
population
density,
and
age
structure
and

composition
of
population


⇒
 Geographic
 characteristics
 –
 physical
 size
 of
 a
 country,
 topographical


characteristics,
and
climate
conditions


⇒
 Economic
factors
–
GNP
per
capita,
income
distribution,
rate
of
growth
of

GNP,
and
ratio
of
investment
to
GNP


⇒
 Technological
 factors
 –
 Level
 of
 technological
 skill,
 existing
 production


technology,
existing
consumption
technology,
and
education
level


⇒
 Socio‐cultural
factors
–
Dominant
values,
lifestyle
patterns,
ethnic
groups,

and
linguistic
fragmentation


⇒
 National
 goal
 and
 plans
 –
 industry
 priorities
 and
 infrastructure


investment
plans
 


With
 the
 market
 potential
 indicator,
 the
 firm
 or
 marketer
 will
 seek
 the
 market

that
 offers
 the
 best
 return
 on
 investment
 (ROI).
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons
 shared

this
 view
 by
 claiming,
 “The
 ROI
 should
 be
 compared
 and
 adjusted
 for
 the

different
 levels
 of
 risk;
 remember
 that
 a
 high
 ROI
 is
 less
 attractive
 if
 there
 is
 a

strong
 chance
 for
 property
 expropriation
 and
 restricted
 profit
 transfers”
 (D.

Dalrymple
and
L.
Parsons,
2000).


3.4.4 Deciding
how
to
enter
the
market


Deciding
 how
 to
 enter
 the
 market
 is
 an
 important
 aspect
 because
 it
 would

influence
the
marketing
techniques
and
the
result
with
regards
to
attracting
and

retaining
 customers.
 The
 foreign
 telecommunication
 companies
 in
 Nigeria



 42


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


established
 huge
 presence
 within,
 hence
 it
 would
 be
 interesting
 to
 understand

their
mode
of
entry,
and
effects
of
the
decision.


Gilligan
and
Hird
(1989)
stated
its
importance
saying
“The
question
of
how
best

to
enter
foreign
market
is
the
first
and
in
many
ways
the
most
fundamental
to
be

faced
 by
 the
 marketer,
 since
 it
 is
 this
 choice
 that
 subsequently
 influences
 and

shapes
the
whole
international
marketing
programme”
(C.
Gilligan
and
M.
Hird,

1989).
 They
 both
 further
 claimed
 that
 since,
 the
 operation
 involves
 balancing

cost,
control
and
risk,
the
marketer
needs
to
carefully
consider
the
distribution

alternatives
available.
Various
literatures
share
the
same
entry
strategy
although

the
 terms
 used
 are
 mostly
 different.
 However
 based
 on
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong

(2005)
 literature,
 exporting,
 joint
 venture
 and
 direct
 investment
 are
 the

suggested
three
choices.



Exporting:
 This
 takes
 two
 forms,
 indirect
 and
 direct
 but
 both
 involve

manufacturing
 the
 products
 in
 the
 home
 country.
 This
 entry
 strategy
 is
 not

suited
to
Telecommunication
business.



Indirect
 exporting
 involves
 moving
 the
 products
 to
 the
 foreign
 market
 through

middlemen
 while;
 direct
 exporting
 involves
 the
 company
 handling
 its
 export

activities.



Joint
Venturing:
Joint
venturing
is
partnering
with
a
foreign
company
to
market

or
 produce
 the
 products
 and
 services.
 According
 to
 Dalrymple
 and
 Parsons

(2000),
 “the
 objective
 is
 to
 find
 local
 partners
 to
 share
 the
 risks
 and
 profits
 of

foreign
market
expansion.
This
can
be
done
by
buying
an
interest
in
an
existing

local
business
or
by
starting
up
a
new
venture
with
a
resident
business”.
A
good

example
 is
 the
 ongoing
 talks
 between
 MTN
 (mobile
 telecommunication

network),
and
Anil
Ambani
(Reliance
India)
to
bring
its
services
and
products
to

India.




The
major
problem
is
the
disagreement
that
often
arises
on
how
to
manage
the

business.
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 mentioned
 the
 four
 types
 of
 joint

venturing;
licensing,
contract
manufacturing,
management
contracting
and
joint

ownership.




 43


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


Licensing
 involves
 partnering
 with
 a
 licensee
 in
 a
 foreign
 market
 to
 use
 the

company’s
manufacturing
process,
trademark,
patent,
or
trade
secret
for
a
fee.
A

good
 example
 is
 Tokyo
 Disneyland;
 operated
 by
 Oriental
 Land
 Company
 under

license
from
Walt
Disney
Company.


Contract
 manufacturing
 involves
 partnering
 with
 a
 local
 manufacturer
 in
 the


foreign
market
to
produce
the
products.


Management
 contracting
 is
 the
 process
 whereby
 a
 local
 firm
 in
 the
 foreign

country
provides
the
management
services
for
the
company.
A
good
example
is

the
Hilton
Hotel
around
the
world.


Joint
 ownership
 is
 same
 as
 joint
 venturing
 where
 a
 company
 partners
 with
 a

foreign
investor
to
share
the
marketing,
risk
and
loss
of
a
firm
together.
This
is

the
likely
option
to
be
implemented
by
MTN,
and
Anil
Ambani
(Reliance
India)
if

the
on‐going
talks
become
successful.



Direct
 investment:
 
 companies
 that
 started
 with
 exporting
 and
 have
 attracted

substantial
 market
 share
 mostly
 venture
 into
 direct
 investment.
 Direct

investment
 involves
 setting
 manufacturing
 facilities
 or
 assembly‐based
 plant
 in

the
 foreign
 country.
 This
 operation
 leads
 to
 improving
 company
 image
 and
 full

control
over
the
investment.
However
the
disadvantage
is
that
the
risks
are
high

and
 are
 only
 borne
 by
 the
 company.
 This
 is
 the
 type
 of
 entry
 strategy

implemented
by
the
two
foreign
telecommunication
companies
in
Nigeria.


3.4.5 Deciding
on
the
global
marketing
program


Kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005)
mentioned
two
extremes
at
which
a
company
must

decide
if
at
all
to
adapt
its
marketing
mixes
to
local
conditions.
Both
extremes
are

standardized
 marketing
 mix,
 and
 adapted
 marketing
 mix.
 However,
 there
 has

been
 an
 issue
 of
 standardization
 versus
 adaptation
 in
 the
 international

marketing
 activities.
 Levitt
 (1983)
 claimed
 that
 if
 global
 corporation
 views
 the

world
as
a
small
number
of
standardized
markets
rather
than
a
large
number
of

customized
markets,
it
could
serve
the
world
more
economically
with
large
scale

production.
 On
 the
 contrary,
 Wind
 (1986)
 argues
 that
 no
 practical
 evidence



 44


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


shows
 that
 the
 world
 is
 becoming
 more
 homogenous
 or
 that
 the
 consumers

universally
are
becoming
more
price
conscious.


Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 shared
 the
 view
 of
 standardization
 claiming
 that
 “global

standardization
is
not
an
all
or
nothing
proposition,
but
rather
matter
of
degree”

(P.
Kotler
and
G.
Armstrong,
2005).
They
continued
by
saying
“companies
should

look
 for
 more
 standardization
 to
 help
 keep
 the
 cost
 and
 prices
 and
 to
 build

greater
 global
 brand.
 But
 they
 must
 not
 replace
 long‐run
 marketing
 thinking

with
short‐run
financial
thinking”


However
 company’s
 considering
 the
 marketing
 mix
 for
 their
 international


businesses
 have
 to
 analyse
 the
 best
 suit.
 For
 some
 businesses
 standardization

might
be
suit,
and
others
adaptation
might
suit.
It
is
imperative
that
international

businesses
consider
the
environment
of
their
foreign
business
when
developing

the
strategy.
This
precisely
applies
to
the
4P’s,
which
can
be
affected
by
cultural,

legal,
 and
 demographic
 factors.
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005)
 claimed
 that
 the

first
 step
 in
 international
 product
 marketing
 is
 to
 find
 out
 whether
 the
 foreign

customers
 really
 need/want
 the
 product
 and
 in
 what
 form
 they
 prefer.
 They

cited
an
example
that
Philips
Shavers
started
making
profit
in
Japan
when
they

started
making
its
shavers
to
fit
smaller
Japanese
hands.
The
same
act
applies
to

promotion,
price
and
place.
Hence,
in
internationally
marketing,
it
is
still
vital
to

understand
the
consumers
of
the
product
before
implementing
strategies
to
gain

market
share.



3.4.6 Deciding
on
global
marketing
organisation


All
businesses
require
organisation
to
realize
objective,
however
a
failure
in
this

part
would
return
disaster.
Kotler
and
Armstrong
(2005)
states
that
companies

organise
 their
 international
 activities
 in
 three
 ways;
 export
 department,

international
 division
 and
 global
 organization.
 According
 to
 them,
 companies

start
 with
 having
 an
 export
 department
 that
 handles
 the
 export
 activities.

However,
 as
 sales
 increases
 and
 the
 company
 moves
 into
 joint
 venturing
 or

exporting
 in
 more
 than
 one
 country,
 before
 international
 division
 is

implemented.
 
 International
 division
 could
 be
 implemented
 without
 having
 an



 45


 


















































































































Literature
review
 


export
 department
 at
 first.
 International
 division
 is
 different
 from
 export

department,
as
it
has
marketing,
manufacturing,
research,
finance,
planning,
and

personnel
specialist.
Finally,
global
organization,
that
view
the
entire
world
as
a

single
 borderless
 market.
 “The
 top
 management
 and
 staff
 plan
 world
 wide

manufacturing
 facilities,
 marketing
 policies,
 financial
 flows,
 and
 logistical

systems”
(P.
Kotler
and
G.
Armstrong,
2005)


The
 Literatures
 reviewed
 for
 marketing
 and
 the
 associated
 elements
 have

proved
 useful
 in
 assessing
 the
 techniques
 that
 would
 lead
 to
 retaining
 and

attracting
 subscribers
 within
 a
 telecommunication
 industry.
 Notably,
 the

marketing
 environment
 is
 the
 most
 important
 element;
 as
 it
 enables
 the

company
 develop
 marketing
 strategies
 that
 enable
 it
 achieve
 competitive

advantage.
 According
 to
 Porter
 (1998),
 the
 quintessence
 of
 formulating

competitive
 strategy
 is
 relating
 a
 company
 to
 its
 environment.
 Also,
 as
 the

environments
 are
 different,
 so
 would
 the
 strategy,
 and
 trend
 that
 would
 exist

within
 the
 industry.
 Hence,
 it
 could
 be
 disastrous
 for
 the
 same
 industry
 in

different
environment
to
implement
the
same
strategy
or
follow
the
same
trend.



 46


 


















































































































Research
result
 


Chapter
FOUR:
 








RESEARCH
RESULT



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This
 chapter
 displays
 the
 data
 collected
 from
 the
 questionnaires
 and
 secondary

research
 implemented.
 It
 uses
 statistical
 representations
 such
 as
 Pie
 charts
 and

tables
 to
 show
 the
 result.
 Also
 the
 differentiators
 for
 the
 United
 Kingdom

telecommunication
industry
are
included.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


4. Background


This
 chapter
 relays
 the
 result
 from
 the
 qualitative
 research
 implemented.
 
 The

result
obtained
includes
a
brief
history
on
the
development
of
the
industry,
and

the
 result
 of
 both
 the
 structured
 questionnaire
 and
 secondary
 research

implemented.
A
brief
description
of
the
emergence
of
the
industry
is
explained,

in
order
to
understand
the
background
of
the
industry
that
enabled
the
country

claim
number
one
position
in
telecommunication
markets
ranking
in
Africa.
The

information
 on
 the
 industry
 development
 was
 obtained
 from
 the
 Nigerian

communications
 commission,
 a
 regulator
 of
 the
 industry.
 Subsequently
 the

responses
 received
 from
 the
 survey
 implemented
 are
 shown.
 A
 total
 of
 eighty

responses
were
received
for
the
questionnaire
designed
for
users,
and
retailers.

The
 questionnaires
 sent
 to
 the
 five
 companies
 in
 Nigeria
 were
 also
 received.

Furthermore,
 the
 research
 results
 for
 UK
 telecommunication
 industry,
 which

involves
only
T‐mobile
and
Vodafone
network
is
also
included.


4.1 Brief
description
(Post
Independence)

In
 1992,
 the
 Nigerian
 telecommunication
 industry
 was
 partially
 liberalized
 due

to
the
incompetency
of
Nigerian
Telecommunication
Company
(NITEL)
to
serve

the
 customers
 effectively.
 However,
 not
 until
 1996
 that
 there
 was
 licensing
 of

network
 operators,
 but
 NITEL
 still
 retained
 monopoly
 in
 the
 industry.
 The

partial
liberalization
approach
only
attracted
slow
growth
because
of
cost,
poor

technology,
 and
 regulations.
 Nevertheless,
 the
 full
 liberalization
 of
 the
 industry

in
 year
 2000
 (post
 military
 regime),
 and
 technology
 advancement
 enabled
 the



 47


 


















































































































Research
result
 


industry
 to
 flourish.
 It
 was
a
 gateway
for
 the
 entrance
 of
further
fixed
 wireless

and
global
system
mobile
operators
(GSM),
and
competition
within
the
industry

emerged.



In
 year
 2001,
 three
 major
 mobile
 telecommunication
 companies
 (GSM),
 MTN,

NITEL
 and
 ECONET
 (ZAIN)
 were
 licensed
 to
 begin
 full
 operation.
 MTN
 and

ECONET
are
foreign
operators,
while
NITEL
is
an
indigenous
operator.
Between

2001
 and
 2003,
 MTN
 and
 ECONET
 were
 the
 major
 forces
 in
 the
 industry

controlling
 about
 ninety
 per
 cent
 of
 the
 market
 that
 included
 STARCOMMS,

RELTEL
 and
 NITEL
 (MTEL).
 However
 the
 introduction
 of
 GLOBACOM,
 another

indigenous
 operator
 in
 2003
 increased
 the
 competition
 within
 the
 industry,
 as

they
 all
 compete
 to
 attract,
 and
 hold
 on
 to
 their
 customers.
 The
 entrant

(GLOBACOM)
 capitalized
 on
 the
 weaknesses
 within
 the
 industry.
 Their
 first

approach
was
introduction
of
per
second
billing
as
opposed
to
per
minute
billing,

and
 this
 approach
 attracted
 substantial
 subscribers.
 Also,
 the
 company

introduced
 competitive
 starter
 pack
 price
 and
 low
 tariff
 for
 subscribers
 that

make
international
calls.
Their
third
approach
was
partnering
with
Alcatel
as
to

expand
 coverage,
 and
 improve
 quality
 of
 service.
 Towards
 the
 end
 of
 2004,

GLOBACOM
 started
 competing
 effectively
 with
 ECONET
 to
 challenge
 for
 the

second
 best
 operator
 in
 the
 country.
 The
 four
 strategic
 management
 changes

including
 its
 brand
 name
 by
 ECONET
 affected
 its
 ability
 to
 compete,
 and
 it
 fell

behind
MTN
and
GLOBACOM
in
ranking.



However,
among
the
fixed
wireless
telephony
companies
available,
STARCOMMS

was
 unchallenged,
 but
 still
 could
 not
 compete
 with
 global
 system
 mobile

operators.
 NITEL
 that
 boosted
 400,000
 lines
 in
 2001
 cannot
 presently
 boast
 a

mere
5000
lines
because
of
their
poor
awareness
and
management
approach.
In

2007,
two
further
companies
(VISAFONE
AND
ETISALAT)
were
licensed
to
begin

operation.
While
VISAFONE
has
rolled
out
its
operation,
ETISALAT
is
yet
to
begin

operation
 seeking
 to
 “get
 it
 right
 the
 first
 time”.
 The
 competitive
 nature
 of
 the

industry
has
seen
the
country
claim
the
number
one
telecommunication
market

in
 Africa.
 In
 present
 day,
 eight
 known
 telecommunication
 companies
 are

operational
with
the
five
investigated
commanding
huge
coverage
in
the
country.

The
 reasons
 for
 the
 existence
 of
 the
 telecommunication
 companies
 licensed
 in



 48


 


















































































































Research
result
 


year
 2000
 and
 beyond
 are
 discussed
 in
 detail
 in
 chapter
 5,
 while
 the
 research

result
that
reflects
their
approach
towards
sustainability
is
displayed
below.




4.2 Questionnaires
and
Secondary
Research
Result


The
data
collected
is
represented
in
tables,
pie
charts
and
words.
This
section
is

partitioned
in
two
parts.
The
first
part
shows
the
different
marketing
techniques

implemented
 by
 the
 companies
 investigated
 to
 attract
 and
 retain
 subscribers.

This
 displays
 their
 understanding
 of
 marketing
 within
 the
 environment
 they

exist.
 The
 subsequent
 part
 shows
 the
 effect
 of
 these
 marketing
 techniques

implemented
 on
 the
 subscribers.
 This
 displays
 their
 status
 within
 the
 industry,

proves
that
the
company
with
the
better
technique
would
command
the
majority

of
 the
 market.
 It
 also
 displays
 the
 subscribers’
 opinion
 of
 the
 company
 and
 the

package.



The
 data
 collected
 that
 relates
 to
 the
 techniques
 implemented
 by
 these

companies
 are
 represented
 in
 both
 word
 and
 tables.
 This
 gives
 a
 clear

differentiation
 on
 their
 approaches.
 On
 the
 contrary,
 the
 data
 obtained
 that

shows
 the
 effect
 of
 their
 technique
 on
 the
 subscribers
 is
 represented
 in
 pie

charts
 and
 tables.
 
 This
 approach
 was
 adopted
 to
 achieve
 transparency
 in

communicating
the
result.



The
 companies
 investigated
 implement
 similar
 strategies
 but
 the
 significant


differentiators
 are
 represented,
 as
 to
 show
 the
 marketing
 techniques
 that
 exist

within
 the
 industry.
 Also,
 it
 shows
 their
 approaches
 that
 enable
 them
 achieve

various
statuses
within
the
industry.



















































 49


 


















































































































Research
result
 


4.2.1 Companies’
result

Reviewing
 their
 slogans
 is
 the
 first
 approach,
 as
 companies
 use
 it
 as
 a

communication
medium
to
reach
the
minds
of
the
subscribers.


MTN:

 
 “The
better
connection”
on
entering
the
industry.




 “Your
best
connection”
on
securing
market
share


“Everywhere
you
go”
on
expanding
further
in
coverage


“Go”
empowering
the
populace


GLOBACOM:

 “Glo
with
pride”
on
entering
the
industry



 
 “Rule
your
world”
on
securing
market
share



ZAIN:

 
 “A
wonderful
world”


STARCOMMS:
“We
speak
your
language”


VISAFONE:

 “your
passport
to
reach
the
world”


Prior
to
displaying
their
distinct
techniques,
the
companies
investigated
rely
on

some
main
strategies
to
attract
and
retain
subscribers.



Companies’ main strategies

MTN GLO ZAIN STARCOMMS VISAFONE

Better coverage Expansion Expansion Cheap tariff Cheap tariff

Innovative Tariff Innovative Cheap mobile Cheap mobile

products and competitiveness products and phones phones
services services
Innovative Pay phone centers Expansion
Brand management products and Tariff initiative
services competitiveness
Quality of service Expansion
Quality of service Quality of service
Partnerships
Partnerships


 
 
 
 Table
4.2.1:
main
strategies



 50

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


PRODUCT
&
SERVICES


MTN GLO ZAIN STARCOMMS VISAFONE

Packages Prepaid (5), Prepaid (5), Business (2), Talkie phone: Prepaid (3),
postpaid (1), and postpaid (6), calling bundled (4), and Prepaid (6), and postpaid (1), VPN
enterprise solution cards (4), and CTO value plan (3) postpaid (1). plan and CTO
plan (1). (commercial Mobile: prepaid (4), (commercial
telephone operator) postpaid (1), and telephone operator)
package. VPN plan. package.

Roaming 130 countries 94 countries 110 countries

worldwide. worldwide. worldwide &
onboard aircraft

Phones Smart mobile Smart mobile Smart mobile Smart mobile Smart mobile
phones, mobile phones and mobile phones and mobile phones, mobile phones, mobile
phones and box phones phones phones and box phones and box
telephones telephones telephones

Online Bill payment M-banking Bill review Voucher purchase

services

Media Music tones, TV Music tones Music tones Music tones Music tones
services

Internet WAP WAP WAP Broadband Broadband

service

Customer Toll free number Toll free number Toll free number Toll free number Toll free number
service available, and in- available, and in- available, and in- available, and in- available, and in-
stores stores stores stores stores

After sales Installations and Installations, Customer care Installations, Installations and
services customer care customer care advice customer care and customer care
advice and repair. advice, and repairs advice. advice.

Product 6 months 6 Months 6 months 9 months 6 months

launch

Differentiator Value
 added
 Cheap
 recharge
 Aircraft
roaming
 Broadband
service
 Cheap
phones


s
 services
 cards
















Table
4.2.1
(a):
research
result
for
companies’
products
and
services



 51

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


Referring
 to
 table
 4.2.1(a),
 the
 factors
 that
 are
 related
 to
 the
 products
 and

services
offered
are
displayed
coupled
with
each
of
the
companies’
approach
to

it.
 Notably,
 none
 of
 the
 companies
 utilize
 BCG
 matrix
 to
 assess
 their
 product’s

potential.
 Additionally,
 the
 customers
 and
 markets
 that
 the
 tailored
 products
 /

packages
were
designed
for
was
investigated.
Table
4.2.1(b)
shows
the
targeted

customers,
and
markets.


Targets
Market
and
Customers



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Target
 Businessmen, Businessmen, Businessmen, Businessmen, Businessmen,

customers
 Professionals, Professionals, Professionals, Professionals, Professionals,
students, unskilled students, unskilled students and students, unskilled students, unskilled
worker, and worker, and unskilled worker
 worker and worker,
organizational commercial organizational organizational
groups.
 telephone groups.
 groups and
operators
 commercial
telephone
operators


Target
market
 Local and Local and Local and Local
 Local


International
 International
 international


Product
 varies
 Yes
 Yes
 Yes
 
 


according
 to

countries


Product
 varies
 No
 No
 No
 No
 No


according
 to

cities




 
 
 
 Table
4.2.1(b):
companies’
targets


This
 approach
 is
 referred
 to
 as
 market
 segmentation
 in
 the
 literature
 review

section.
 Their
 products
 are
 varied
 according
 to
 the
 target
 customers.
 As

explained
 in
 the
 literature
 review,
 appropriate
 segmentation
 would
 lead
 to

achieving
competitive
advantage
within
the
industry.




 52

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


As
the
markets
are
segmented,
the
companies
need
to
be
present
to
satisfy
the

needs
 of
 each
 of
 the
 segments.
 The
 result
 obtained
 for
 the
 questions
 about

‘place’,
which
is
a
marketing
tool
is
shown
below
in
a
tabular
form.



PLACE



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Coverage

 223
 cities,
 and
 Major
 cities
 in
 35
 265
 cities
 and
 14
 cities
 within
 Major
 cities
 in
 15

over
 10,000
 states
 out
 of
 36
 towns
 within
 the
 36
states
 states
 out
 of
 36

communities
 states
 including
 36
states
 states

within
36
states
 highways


Presence
 Not
 in
 all
 289
 Major
 cities
 in
 35
 Not
 in
 all
 265
 14
cities
covered
 Major
 cities
 in
 15

cities
covered
 states
covered
 cities
 and
 towns
 states
covered

covered


Distribution
 Outlets,
 sub‐ Outlets,
 sub‐ Sub‐dealers,
 Outlets,
 Sub
 Outlets,
 sub

channels
 dealers,
 street
 dealers,
 street
 street
 retailers
 dealers,
 retailers
 dealers,
 retailers

retailers
 and
 retailers
and
road
 and
 roadside
 and
 roadside
 and
 roadside

roadside
vendors
 side
vendors
 vendors

 vendors
 vendors


Kinds
 of
 Direct
 and
 Direct
 and
 Direct
 and
 Direct
 and
 Direct
 and

channel
 Indirect
 Indirect
 Indirect
 Indirect
 Indirect


International
 Middle
 East,
 and
 Africa
 Middle
 East,
 and
 
 


presence
 Africa
 Africa












































Table
4.2.1
(c):
Research
result
for
Place


The
 elements
 studied
 for
 ‘place’
 are
 coverage
 of
 the
 network,
 the
 various

companies’
 presence
 (location),
 the
 distribution
 medium
 they
 utilize
 to
 market

the
 products,
 and
 foreign
 markets
 they
 are
 present
 in.
 These
 elements
 were

developed
 based
 on
 the
 marketing
 decisions
 stated
 by
 J.
 Bishop
 (2002)
 in
 the

literature
review.
Their
approach
to
the
elements
displays
intent
on
acquiring
a

substantial
market
base.

A
significant
discovery
is
the
companies’
huge
presence

in
 the
 East,
 West
 and
 South
 regions
 of
 the
 country.
 These
 regions
 are
 seen
 as

potential
areas
to
attract
subscribers.



 53

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 



Subsequently,
getting
the
price
right
is
a
strategy
which
is
a
marketing
mix
that

needs
to
be
approached
with
optimum
care,
as
to
attract
and
not
scare
potential

customers.
 Depending
 on
 the
 price
 strategy,
 a
 company
 can
 enjoy
 continuous

sales,
 hence
 retaining
 subscribers.
 The
 companies’
 approach
 to
 price
 is
 studied

and
the
response
from
survey
tabulated
below.


PRICE



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Pricing
 Price
 skimming,
 Price
 skimming,
 Price
 skimming,
 Price
 penetration,
 Price
 penetration,

strategy
 premium
 pricing,
 premium
 pricing,
 premium
 pricing,
 premium
 pricing,
 premium
 pricing,

and
 economy
 and
 economy
 and
 economy
 and
 economy
 and
 economy

pricing
 pricing
 pricing
 pricing
 pricing


Off
 peak
 Free
 calls
 in
 Cheap
 tariff
 Free
 weekend
 Free
 calls
 within
 Free
 calls
 within

pricing
 midnight

 within
network
 calls
 the
network
 network


Discounts
 Mobile
phones
 Mobile
phones
 Mobile
phones
 Mobile
phones
 Mobile
phones


pricing


Trade
 Intermediaries
 Intermediaries
 Intermediaries
 Call
 centers
 and
 Intermediaries


discounts
 intermediaries

pricing


Loss
 leaders
 
 
 
 Cheap
 tariff
 and
 Cheap
 tariff
 and


pricing
 mobile
phones
 mobile
phones


Optional
 Mobile
 value
 Mobile
 value
 Mobile
 value
 Broadband
 Broadband


feature
pricing
 added
services
 added
services
 added
services
 services
 services


Promotional
 Tariff
 and
 mobile
 Tariff
 and
 mobile
 Tariff
 and
 mobile
 Tariff
 and
 mobile
 Tariff
 and
 mobile

pricing
 phones
 phones
 phones
 phones
 phones


Table
4.2.1
(d):
Research
result
for
price


The
 companies
 were
 presented
 based
 on
 their
 pricing
 strategy
 and
 pricing

tactics
reviewed
in
the
literature
in
chapter
3.
Referring
to
the
literature
review,

companies
 use
 the
 various
 price
 strategies
 depending
 on
 the
 product
 lifecycle,

while
price
tactics
is
used
in
short
term
to
attract
customers.




 54

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


Furthermore,
 in
 creating
 awareness
 for
 the
 product
 companies
 indulge
 in

various
 forms
 of
 promotion.
 The
 promotions
 implemented
 by
 these
 companies

are
presented
below
in
table
4.2.1
(e).


PROMOTION



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Advertisement
 Newspaper,
 Newspaper,
 Newspaper,
 Newspaper,
 Newspaper,


Media,
 Internet
 Media,
 Internet
 Media,
 Internet
 Media,
 Internet
 Media,
 Internet

and
Billboards
 and
Billboards
 and
Billboards
 and
Billboards
 and
Billboards


Sales
 Buy
 one
 SIM
 get
 Buy
 cards
 and
 Rewarding
 Number
 game
 Reduction
 in

promotion
 another
 SIM
 free,
 Win
 a
 car,
 and
 subscribers
 with
 reward.
 phone
prices

and
 Answer
 and
 Free
 SIM
 cards
 in
 airtime
 and
 free

Win
game
play
 selected
cities
 weekend
 calls
 for

prepaid

customers


Direct
 Reviews
 Reviews
 Internet
polls
 Questionnaire
 Reviews



marketing


Personal
 Yes

 Yes
 Yes
 Yes
 Yes


selling


Public
 Corporate
 social
 Corporate
 social
 Corporate
 social
 
 Corporate
 social


relations
 responsibility,
 responsibility
 responsibility
 responsibility

and

Governmental

event
partnering











































Table
4.2.1(e):
Research
result
for
promotion


As
 examined
 in
 the
 literature
 review,
 companies
 utilize
 several
 means
 to

communicate
 their
 products
 and
 services
 to
 customers.
 The
 five

Telecommunication
 companies’
 approach
 to
 promotion
 was
 studied
 as
 to

determine
 the
 techniques
 they
 implement
 to
 make
 customers
 aware
 of
 their

products
 and
 services.
 Bishop
 (2002)
 termed
 it
 communication
 mix,
 as
 it
 is
 a

medium
 to
 communicate
 the
 products
 and
 services
 to
 customers.
 
 The
 various

companies
 investigated
 implement
 the
 communication
 mix
 in
 various
 forms.



 55

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


Also
 their
 rate
 of
 involvement
 in
 the
 activities
 defers
 from
 each
 other,
 and
 this

could
 have
 a
 significant
 effect
 on
 pursuit
 for
 market
 share.
 In
 advertising,
 the

various
 forms
 of
 advertisement
 utilized
 by
 the
 companies
 are
 newspapers,

media
(TV
&
Radio),
Internet,
and
billboards.
However,
there
is
disparity
on
the

ratios
of
each
of
the
form
implemented
amongst
the
companies.
The
table
below

represents
the
results
obtained.



Advertisement
utilized



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Newspaper
 35
 35
 35
 50
 30


(%)


Media
(%)
 35
 35
 45
 35
 35


Internet
(%)
 5
 5
 5
 5
 5


Billboards
 25
 25
 15
 10
 30


(%)






Table
 4.2.1(f):
 percentage
 ratios
 for
 the
 forms
 of
 advertisement


implemented


This
 result
 was
 achieved
 through
 research
 on
 the
 forms
 of
 advertisement
 and

the
 form
 that
 the
 companies
 deem
 highly
 important
 and
 least
 important.
 This

result
 was
 based
 on
 the
 number
 of
 times
 each
 element
 occurred
 during
 the

research
to
identify
the
forms
implmented,
hence
it
is
deemed
an
estimation.
The

unavailability
of
internet
in
most
homes
and
public
places
attributed
to
the
low

percentage
 of
 the
 internet
 form.
 Another
 form
 of
 promotion
 widely
 utilized
 by

the
 companies
 is
 public
 relation.
 As
 a
 third
 world
 country,
 the
 activities

(responsibilities)
implemented
in
towns,
villages
and
cities
by
the
companies
is

highly
crucial,
as
it
would

leave
a
good
impression
on
the
inhabitants
resulting

in
 company’s
 sales
 growth.
 Also,
 it
 could
 lead
 to
 favours
 being
 granted
 by
 the

local
 authorities
 to
 these
 companies.
 The
 widely
 utilized
 public
 relations
 is

corporate
 social
 responsibility
 activities.
 The
 table
 below
 table
 4.2.1(g)
 shows

the
corporate
social
responsibility
implemented
by
each
company,



 56

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


Public
relations
result




 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Corporate
 Sports
 Sports
 Rebuilding
 
 Sponsor


social
 sponsorship,
 sponsorship
 community
 university
 night

reposnibility
 Entertainment
 schools
 in
 towns
 outs,
 and

implemented
 sponsorship,
 21
 present
 university
 beauty

days
 of
 care
 for
 peagents.

involving

employees
 for
 all

communities

present,
 Health

portfolio,
 and

Educational

portfolio.





























Table
4.2.1(g):
corporate
social
responsibility
implemented


Corporate
 social
 responsibility
 implemented
 results
 in
 establishing
 a
 brand


name.
 The
 brand
 name
 would
 be
 positioned
 in
 the
 mind
 of
 the
 inhabitants

always,
and
would
influence
their
buying
attitude.



PEOPLE


People
are
an
important
addition
to
the
marketing
mix,
as
people
carry
out
the

business
 strategies
 and
 implementation.
 This
 makes
 choosing
 the
 right
 people

and
keeping
them
focused
on
the
objective,
as
important
as
attracting
customers.

Dibbs
et
al
in
the
literature
review,
emphasized
on
employing
the
right
people
in

an
 organization.
 The
 result
 was
 obtained
 by
 asking
 the
 question
 “what
 is
 the

concentration
of
the
staff”.
Reviewing
the
companies,
and
their
people,
the
table

below
shows
the
concentration
of
the
staff
from
management
to
intermediaries

with
the
executives
majoring
in
marketing
background.



 57

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 


Concentration
of
staff



MTN GLO ZAIN STARCOMMS VISAFONE

Executives Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and
indigenes indigenes indigenes Indigenes Indigenes

Middle Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and Internationals and
management indigenes indigenes indigenes indigenes indigenes

Shop floor staff Indigenes Indigenes Indigenes Indigenes Indigenes

Intermediaries Companies and Companies and Companies and Companies and Companies and
individuals individuals individuals individuals individuals

Table 4.2.1(h): concentration of staff from management to intermediaries

Further
question
to
understand
their
approach
towards
eliminating
threats
was

asked
as
to
understand
their
competitive
approach.
However,
it
is
worth
noting

that
 the
 responses
 which
 was
 from
 the
 marketing
 officers
 could
 be
 biased,
 as

there
is
no
way
to
prove
its
validity.
The
question
and
their
responses
are
below,


QUESTION:
How
do
you
guard
against
competitors
including
entrants?



MTN
RESPONSE:
“Improving
the
strength
of
our
BRAND
within
the
industry.”


GLO
RESPONSE:
“We
focus
on
our
strength,
and
do
not
look
at
competitors.”


ZAIN
RESPONSE:
“Satisfying
our
customers.”


STARCOMMS
RESPONSE:
“continuous
improvement
of
our
services.”


VISAFONE
RESPONSE:
“no
response.”


Furthermore
 to
 understand
 the
 trends
 expected
 within
 the
 industry,
 the

marketing
officers
were
asked
through
the
questionnaire
the
trends
they
foresee

within
the
industry.
Below
is
the
reply



 58


 


















































































































Research
result
 


QUESTION:
What
are
the
future
trends
in
the
market
and
the
future
changes
that

could
happen
within
the
industry?


MTN
 RESPONSE:
 “Fierce
 competition
 that
 would
 lead
 to
 competing
 on
 services

offered,
 hence
 companies
 would
 accommodate
 more
 services
 as
 to
 attract

substantial
market
share.”


GLO
RESPONSE:
“Frequent
change
in
promotion
and
marketing
strategies
as
to

attract
and
retain
subscribers.”


ZAIN
 RESPONSE:
 “Injecting
 new
 equipment
 into
 the
 network
 capacity,
 as
 good

network
would
lead
to
sales
and
marketing
potential.”


STARCOMMS
 RESPONSE:
 “Using
 state
 of
 the
 art
 services
 to
 attract
 and
 retain

subscribers.”


VISAFONE
RESPONSE:
“Tailoring
services
to
the
subscribers
needs.”


These
responses
are
the
various
thoughts
of
the
marketing
officers
of
the
various

companies
investigated
in
Nigeria.
However,
as
they
are
solely
focused
on
their

companies,
 and
 not
 aware
 of
 the
 strategies
 of
 the
 other
 companies,
 their

assumption
might
not
materialize.
Hence,
the
industry
would
be
better
suited
to

rapidly
 changing
 to
 the
 changing
 economic
 environment,
 as
 to
 maintain
 a

competitive
edge.



 59


 


















































































































Research
result
 


4.2.2 Users
and
Retailers
Result

Referring
to
the
literature
review,
Bishop
(2002)
stated
that
satisfied
customers

would
 return
 to
 the
 organization
 in
 the
 future
 and
 will
 recommend
 it
 to
 their

friends
 and
 families,
 leading
 to
 company’s
 profitability.
 Sixty
 responses
 were

received
 from
 business
 owners,
 company
 executives,
 students,
 and
 skilled
 and

unskilled
workers.
The
table
below
shows
a
sample
of
respondents.


Sample
of
respondents



 North
Region
 South
Region
 East
Region
 West
Region


Students
 6
 5
 0
 5


Company
 0
 3
 6
 3

Executives


Business
 4
 0
 6
 6

owners


Skilled
workers
 2
 7
 0
 1


Unskilled
 3
 0
 3
 0

workers















































Table
4.2.2:
Sample
of
respondents


The
data
above
was
presented
to
show
the
respondents
that
were
approached,

and
the
number
of
samples
derived.
The
remaining
twenty
responses
were
both

multi‐retailers
and
mono‐retailers
in
the
above
regions.
A
sample
of
a
completed

questionnaire
 by
 the
 users
 and
 retailers
 are
 attached
 in
 the
 appendices.
 The

main
retailers
consulted
were
sub
dealers,
although
vendors
were
also
consulted

to
 obtain
 their
 views.
 The
 entire
 responses
 obtained
 in
 the
 survey
 are

represented
in
pie
charts,
and
tables
below.





 60


 


















































































































Research
result
 


Market
share
based
on
respondents


The
 result
 representation
 starts
 with
 analyzing
 the
 percentage
 of
 the

respondents
utilize
the
networks
investigated,
in
order
to
ascertain
the
company

that
controls
the
majority
of
the
market.































 
























 








Fig
4.2.2:
Percentage
marketshare
based
on
respondents


The
pie
chart
represents
the
percentage
market
share
based
on
the
respondents

(both
 users
 and
 retailers)
 of
 the
 questioners.
 The
 percentage
 was

mathematically
 calcuated
 to
 present
 accurate
 data.
 The
 above
 result
 could
 be

argued
 because
 only
 a
 portion
 of
 the
 whole
 population
 was
 approached.

However,
the
technique
of
sending
the
questionnaire
to
the
vaious
regions
of
the

country,
to
obtain
diverisfied
sample
counters
the
claim.


Package
utilized
by
respondents


As
the
market
share
has
been
determined,
packages
that
the
subscribers
utilize

based
on
the
reponse
obtained
from
the
questionnaires
is
presented
below.




 61


 


















































































































Research
result
 






























 


 
 

Fig
4.2.2(a):
Percentage
of
the
package
utilized
based
on
respondents


According
to
the
literature
review,
it
is
important
to
understand
the
customers
in

order
 to
 develop
 attractive
 products.
 The
 result
 obtained
 shows
 that
 the

populace
 widely
 utilize
 the
 pay
 as
 you
 go
 package
 in
 comparison
 to
 the
 pay

monthly
 package.
 The
 pay
 monthly
 includes
 mobile
 VPN
 (virtual
 private

network)
which
is
widely
used
within
organizations
while
the
CTO
(commercial

telephone
 operators)
 packages
 was
 grouped
 as
 pay
 as
 you
 go
 package.
 The

disadvantage
is
that
pay
as
you
go
does
not
commit
the
customers
to
long
term,

hence
leading
to
short
term
profit.
This
is
discussed
later
in
detail
in
chapter
5.




Customer
perception


The
 open
 ended
 question
 designed
 to
 ascertain
 customer
 satisfaction
 yielded

reponses
 about
 Quality
 of
 service,
 price,
 coverage,
 poor
 customer
 service
 and

cross
 network
 call
 difficulty.
 This
 could
 be
 referred
 to
 as
 the
 customer

perception
 of
 both
 the
 product
 and
 the
 companies.
 The
 response
 obtained
 is

tabulated
below



 62

 
 


















































































































Research
result
 



 MTN
 GLO
 ZAIN
 STARCOMMS
 VISAFONE


Quality
 of
 80%
 75.5%
 70%
 75%
 78%


service
(QoS)


Price
 High
 High
 High
 Low
 Low


coverage
 80%
 85%
 60%
 20%
 25%


Customer
 40%
 40%
 40%
 40%
 40%


service



Cross
 network
 90%
 75%
 75%
 80%
 80%


call

access


Table
 4.2.2(a):
 Responses
 on
 Quality
 of
 service,
 price,
 coverage,
 customer

service
and
cross
network
call
access


Quality
of
service
(QoS)
is
diverse,
as
some
locations
experience
better
coverage

compared
to
others.
This
is
attributed
to
their
poor
coverage
of
the
geographical

landscape.
 During
 survey,
 the
 southern,
 western
 and
 eastern
 regions
 were

discovered
to
boost
better
reliability
in
service,
although
overall
improvement
is

required
according
to
the
respondents.
Notably,
the
fixed
wireless
offers
better

reliability
 in
 these
 regions,
 but
 outside
 these
 regions
 they
 are
 worse
 than
 the

mobile
 telephony.
 
 The
 complaint
 about
 price
 is
 the
 fact
 they
 do
 not
 get
 their

value
 for
 money
 on
 the
 products
 with
 high
 prices.
 Respondents
 expressed
 the

need
 for
 improved
 customer
 service
 for
 all
 the
 companies
 investigated.

Moreover,
 cross
 network
 call
 which
 is
 accessible
 in
 developed
 countries

specifically
 in
 UK
 within
 networks
 is
 a
 disappointment
 according
 to
 the

respondents.


Customer
satisfaction


Furthermore,
 as
 understanding
 marketing
 means
 understanding
 wants,
 and


value
and
satisfaction
by
the
makers
of
the
product
and
services.
The
packages

offered
 by
 the
 companies
 were
 investigated
 to
 measure
 if
 it
 satisfies
 the
 best

value
 for
 the
 money
 spent
 by
 the
 customers.
 This
 also
 exposes
 the
 extent
 of



 63


 


















































































































Research
result
 


satisfaction
 the
 customers
 enjoy
 in
 using
 the
 packages
 purchased.
 A
 major

discovery
 on
 the
 customer
 satisfaction
 is
 that
 almost
 all
 the
 respondents
 are

subscribed
to
more
than
one
network,
expressing
their
dissatisfaction.
“Does
the

package
 prove
 value
 for
 money
 spent”
 was
 asked
 to
 the
 respondents,
 and
 the

result
obtained
for
the
various
companies
are
displayed
below;


MTN
respondents




 























Fig
4.2.2
(b):
MTN
customer
satisfaction


This
result
shows
that
approximately
sixty
per
cent
of
the
respondents
that
use

the
 network
 consider
 the
 package(s)
 worth
 the
 money
 spent.
 Their
 reason

includes
 the
 coverage,
 mobile
 value
 added
 services
 and
 reliability
 enjoyed

compared
 to
 other
 networks.
 However,
 this
 was
 not
 the
 case
 with
 the

GLOBACOM
subscribers,
as
their
view
on
the
package
used
is
different.


GLOBACOM
respondents


Half
of
the
respondents
that
use
the
GLOBACOM
network
are
not
satisfied
with

the
 package
 available
 to
 them.
 This
 dissatisfaction
 prompted
 their
 subscription

to
multiple
networks
in
a
bid
to
satisfy
their
needs.
However,
compared
to
MTN,

it
 is
 deemed
 a
 better
 option
 for
 making
 international
 calls.
 Fig
 4.2.2
 (c)
 below

displays
the
result.



 64


 


















































































































Research
result
 




 





















Fig
4.2.2
(c):
GLO
customer
satisfaction


ZAIN
respondents


ZAIN
customers
that
have
witnessed
four
management
changes
including
brand

name,
 were
 less
 satisfied
 with
 the
 product.
 Fig
 4.2.2(d)
 shows
 their
 rate
 of

satisfaction
of
the
subcribers.

































 
 


 
 
 Fig
4.2.2
(d):
ZAIN
customer
satisfaction


The
 acrimonius
 feeling
 of
 the
 subscribers
 could
 be
 seen
 by
 the
 rate
 of

satisfaction
 expressed.
 The
 most
 significant
 discovery
 is
 that
 all
 users
 of
 this

network
are
also
contracted
to
other
networks
as
well,
insearch
of
satisfaction.

This
was
discovered
during
research,
as
respondents
of
this
network
completed

more
than
one
questionnaire;
each
representing
the
networks
utilized.
However,

the
number
portability
limitation
prevented
them
from
disposing
the
SIM
cards.




 65


 


















































































































Research
result
 


The
fixed
telephony
network
(CDMA)
subscribers
seem
to
have
an
opposite
view

compare
to
the
global
system
network
subscribers.
The
figure
below
justifies
the

above
claim.



STARCOMMS
respondents































 



 






Fig
4.2.2
(e):
STARCOMMS
customer
satisfaction


The
 regions
 that
 experience
 excellent
 quality
 of
 service
 (QoS)
 rate
 the

satisfaction
derived
highly
while
the
regions
with
poor
quality
of
service
seem
a

bit
 dissatisfied
 with
 the
 product.
 Also,
 their
 fast
 broadband
 service
 makes
 the

product
worthwhile
according
to
the
respondents.
However,
in
general
majority

of
the
subscribers
deem
the
product
best
value
for
the
money
spent.



VISAFONE
respondents


Subsribers
 of
 the
 entrant
 (VISAFONE),
 seem
 satisfied
 at
 the
 moment
 although

they
voiced
concern
of
future
deterioration
when
the
package
is
fully
accepted.

The
result
obtained
for
the
satisfaction
of
the
subscribers
is
below
fig
4.2.2
(f).



 66


 


















































































































Research
result
 





































 



 






















Fig
4.2.2(f):
VISAFONE
customer
satisfaction


The
 result
 shown
 above
 was
 obtained
 from
 the
 few
 respondents
 that
 have

started
using
the
network.
The
present
concern
is
the
limited
cities
the
network

providers
 are
 present.
 This
 is
 a
 major
 concern
 for
 the
 fixed
 wireless
 telephony

subscribers,
 as
 they
 supplement
 the
 package
 with
 either
 MTN
 or
 GLOBACOMM

packages.


Percentage
sales



Investigating
 the
 percentage
 sale
 of
 the
 products
 and
 services
 offered
 by
 these

companies
 was
 achieved
 through
 the
 response
 from
 multi
 retailers.
 The

respondents
were
from
the
different
regions
of
the
country.
The
result
obtained

from
the
investigation
is
displayed
below.







































 





















Fig
4.2.2(g):
Percentage
sales
result
for
multi­retailers



 67


 


















































































































Research
result
 


The
 result
 displayed
 above
 represents
 the
 percentage
 sales
 of
 the
 products
 by

the
multi
retailers
consulted.
The
multi
retailers
response
were
derived
from
the

four
 regions
 of
 the
 country
 to
 obtain
 diversified
 sample
 that
 would
 lead
 to

accurate
 analysis.
 The
 sales
 figure
 shows
 the
 status
 of
 each
 of
 the
 companies

investigated.
 Hundred
 per
 cent
 satisfaction
 for
 the
 customers
 
 would
 reflect
 a

hundred
 per
 cent
 sale
 of
 the
 products
 by
 the
 companies.
 Fig
 4.2.2(g)
 does
 not

show
 a
 hundred
 per
 cent
 sales
 for
 neither
 of
 the
 companies,
 hence
 the

percentage
complaint
for
each
of
the
companies
is
reviewed.



Percentage
complaint


The
complaint
includes
all
aspects
of
the
companies
activities
that
are
related
to

the
customers.





































 


 






Fig
4.2.2(h):
percentage
complaint
according
to
multi­retailers


This
was
reviewed
to
obtain
the
customers
view
on
the
most
accepted
product

and
 the
 least
 accepted
 product.
 The
 chart
 shows
 that
 the
 CDMA
 group
 is
 the

highly
 accepted
 product
 which
 could
 be
 attributed
 to
 their
 value
 for
 money

spent.













 68


 


















































































































Research
result
 


4.3 UK
industry


Reviewing
 the
 industry
 in
 United
 Kingdom
 with
 specific
 attention
 to
 T‐mobile

network
 and
 Vodafone
 network,
 their
 approach
 to
 marketing
 is
 entirely

different.
The
industry
base
their
attraction
and
retention
technique
on
offering

innovative
products
and
services,
and
competitive
tarriff.
The
difference
could
be

attributed
to
the
environment
they
exist,
which
includes
technology,
culture
and

policies.
The
result
displayed
below
are
the
most
significant
differentiators.




 Vodafone
network
 T­mobile
network


Packages
 Pay
 as
 you
 go
 (4
 plans)
 and
 Pay
 as
 you
 go
 (3
 plans)
 and

pay
monthly
(24
plans)
 pay
monthly
(45
plans)


Coverage
 Nationwide

 Nationwide


Online
services
 Purchase,
 bill
 payment
 and
 Purchase,
 bill
 payment
 and


review.
 review.


Media
services
 TV,
music,
video
and
internet
 TV,
music,
video
and
internet


Price
strategies
 Price
 penetration,
 Price
 Price
 penetration,
 Price


skimming,
 premium
 pricing,
 skimming,
 premium
 pricing,

and
economy
pricing
 and
economy
pricing


Reliability
(QoS)
 99%
 99%


Cross
network
call
access
 100%
 100%


Number
portability
 Yes
 yes


International
presence
 Europe,
 America,
 Asia
 and
 Europe,
America,
and
Asia


Africa


Distribution
channel
 Outlets,
internet
and
retailers
 Outlets,
internet
and
retailers


Intermediaries
 Companies
 Companies


Customer
service
 80%
 80%




 
 




Table
4.3:
UK
industry
Significant
differentiators



 69


 


















































































































Research
result
 


The
data
above
are
deemed
significant
because
they
are
in
direct
contrast
with

the
industry
in
Nigeria.



Packages



Unlike
the
Nigerian
industry,
pay
monthly
is
widely
in
use
than
the
pay
as
you
go

packages.
 The
 packages
 offered
 specifically
 for
 pay
 monthly
 depends
 on
 the

duration
 of
 the
 contract
 (12
 months
 and
 18
 months
 available).
 With
 the
 18

months
contract,
price
penetration
is
implemented,
as
it
is
cheaper
than
the
12

months
contract.
The
number
of
plans
offered
for
either
package
is
designed
to

meet
 the
 various
 needs
 of
 the
 customers.
 However,
 at
 the
 end
 of
 the
 contract

(upgrade
 period)
 or
 at
 the
 beginning
 of
 the
 contract,
 incentives
 are
 offered
 to

subscribers.



Number
portability



The
 retaining
 of
 numbers
 (number
 portability)
 when
 switching
 to
 a
 new

network
 is
 possible
 in
 the
 industry,
 hence
 makes
 it
 more
 competitive
 than
 the

Nigerian
 industry.
 
 it
 is
 also
 a
 marketing
 startegy
 to
 attract
 and
 encourage

subscribers
that
retain
their
mobile
numbers.


Coverage


The
coverage
within
the
country
is
satisfactory,
although
some
areas
still
witness

network
failure
on
intervals.
This
makes
it
possible
for
competition
to
be
beyond

network
coverage.


Online
and
Media
services


Subsribers
constantly
look
for
more
innovative
solutions
to
their
problem,
hence

offering
state
of
the
art
services
is
a
strategy
to
attract
substantial
market
share.


International
presence


The
international
presence
is
a
strategy
to
make
foreign
markets
aware
of
their

product.




 70


 


















































































































Research
result
 


Distribution
channel


The
 industry
 utilise
 outlets,
 internet
 and
 retailers
 as
 their
 distribution
 channel,

making
it
easy
to
manage.


Another
 marketing
 strategy
 implemented
 by
 these
 companies
 is
 on
 the
 phones

they
offer
with
the
tarriff.
They
contract
with
phone
manufacturers
to
be
the
sole

provider
of
some
of
the
sophisticated
mobile
phones
available
in
the
market.
The

table
 below
 shows
 the
 telecommunication
 companies,
 and
 some
 of
 the

contracted
phone
manufacturers.



 Vodafone
 T
mobile
 Orange
 O2


Phone
 Sharp
 MDA
 smart
 SPV
 smart
 (Apple)


manufacturers

phones
 phones
 iphone





Table
4.3
(a):
Example
of
phone
manufacturers
contracted
to
the
industry


This
 result
 shows
 that
 the
 competition
 within
 the
 industry
 has
 shifted
 to
 tariff

competitiveness
 and
 mobile
 value
 added
 services
 offered.
 Hence,
 there
 are
 no

significant
weaknesses
that
could
be
exploited
within
the
industry.




 71


 


















































































































Discussion
 


Chapter
FIVE:
 
 DISCUSSION


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


This
 chapter
 explains
 the
 data
 obtained
 with
 the
 aid
 of
 the
 literature
 reviewed,

towards
 answering
 the
 research
 questions.
 It
 also
 includes
 future
 trends
 and,
 the

gaps
 within
 the
 industry,
 coupled
 with
 reference
 to
 the
 UK
 telecommunication

industry



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


5. Background


The
 literatures
 reviewed
 have
 given
 a
 comprehensive
 understanding
 of
 the

marketing
 techniques
 that
 would
 have
 an
 influence
 in
 securing
 a
 huge
 market

share.
Securing
a
huge
market
share
includes
attracting
and
retaining
customers.

The
 two
 main
 factors,
 understanding
 the
 environment,
 and
 managing
 the

marketing
 activities
 effectively,
 enables
 companies
 develop
 robust
 techniques

that
ensure
business
survival.



The
 result
 obtained
 through
 research
 displays
 the
 various
 techniques


implemented
 within
 the
 Nigerian
 Telecommunication
 industry.
 Nigeria
 is

experiencing
 a
 massive
 growth
 in
 mobile
 market,
 thus
 resulting
 in
 influx
 of

telecommunication
 operators.
 Two
 operators
 (MTN
 and
 ZAIN)
 within
 the

industry
 are
 foreign,
 while
 the
 remaining
 operators
 are
 indigenous
 operators.

The
 influx
 has
 seen
 the
 industry
 become
 quite
 competitive
 that
 only
 effective

marketing
 is
 the
 key
 to
 survival.
 NITEL
 network
 operator
 is
 a
 good
 example
 of

repercussion
 that
 occurs
 as
 a
 result
 of
 failure
 to
 retain
 and
 attract
 subscribers.

The
 operator
 boasted
 four
 hundred
 thousand
 lines
 in
 2001
 when
 it
 was

introduced,
but
cannot
boast
a
mere
five
thousand
lines
presently.




In
Nigerian
telecommunication
industry,
attracting
subscribers
is
easy
as
cheap

phones
 and
 low
 tariff
 can
 enable
 the
 realization.
 However,
 retaining
 them
 is

quite
difficult
because
of
the
pay
as
you
go
package
that
is
widely
utilized.
This

makes
the
industry
quite
competitive
in
a
bid
to
retain
their
subscribers.



 72


 


















































































































Discussion
 


5.1 Nigerian
Telecommunications
Industry

5.1.1 Fixed
wireless
Vs
mobile
telephony
operators


Studying
 the
 result
 from
 the
 research,
 the
 market
 share
 and
 the
 highest

percentage
selling
result
displays
the
companies’
status
within
the
industry.
This

status
 can
 change
 with
 time,
 and
 would
 depend
 on
 the
 strategies
 implemented

by
the
companies.
Studying
both
operators,
fixed
wireless
operators
utilize
low

tariff,
 Broadband
 services
 and
 cheap
 phones
 to
 attract
 their
 customers.
 On
 the

contrary,
mobile
telephony
operators
attract
and
retain
subscribers,
as
a
result

of
 their
 better
 coverage
 of
 the
 country,
 and
 their
 mobile
 value
 added
 services.

Hence
Mobile
telephony
(GSM)
operators
control
the
telecommunication
market

presently.
However,
the
fixed
wireless
operators
have
an
opportunity
to
control

a
 significant
 market
 share,
 if
 they
 include
 coverage
 expansion
 to
 their

competitive
tariff
presently
on
offer.
This
claim
is
valid
because
according
to
the

respondents
 of
 the
 questionnaire,
 their
 main
 interest
 is
 quality
 of
 service

coupled
 with
 tariff.
 Also,
 the
 satisfactory
 result
 obtained
 showed
 it
 is
 the
 most

accepted
product.


The
various
companies
investigated
implement
similar
strategies
specifically
in

promotion.
 However
 their
 distinct
 techniques
 implemented
 influences
 their

status
 within
 the
 industry.
 The
 industry
 is
 open
 to
 duplication
 and
 imitation;

operators
 within
 the
 industry
 imitate
 and
 duplicate
 a
 significant
 strategy
 once

introduced.
 A
 good
 example
 is
 per
 second
 billing
 introduced
 by
 GLOBACOM
 on

entering
 the
 industry.
 Within
 three
 months
 of
 introduction,
 all
 other
 operators

switched
to
per
second
billing.

Hence,
the
speed
of
introduction
and
adapting
to

the
changing
economic
environment
is
really
crucial
within
the
industry
to
retain

and
attract
subscribers.
The
imitation
and
duplication
has
prompted
some
of
the

companies
 to
 implement
 differentiation,
 in
 order
 to
 gain
 a
 competitive

advantage
within
the
industry.
Anderson,
De
Palma,
and
Thisse
(1992)
claimed

that
 introducing
 product
 differentiation
 leads
 to
 much
 more
 realistic
 and

economically
 appealing
 results.
 Thus
 appropriate
 differentiation
 influences
 the

status
of
the
companies
within
the
industry.




 73


 


















































































































Discussion
 


5.1.2 Techniques
implemented
and
effects

Reviewing
the
various
companies
and
their
status,
the
techniques
implemented

by
 MTN
 are
 a
 major
 influence
 behind
 their
 status
 as
 the
 number
 one
 mobile

operator
 in
 Nigeria.
 Nigerians
 have
 a
 culture
 of
 expressing
 themselves
 vocally

either
on
the
phone
or
otherwise,
and
the
duration
normally
last
long.
Hence,
the

signal
availability
would
be
a
major
influence
in
purchasing
a
price
plan,
as
they

sought
 to
 achieve
 their
 need.
 Also,
 as
 a
 developing
 country,
 their
 thirst
 for

innovative
 products
 is
 much
 bigger
 than
 the
 thirst
 from
 the
 developed
 world.

Within
 this
 context,
 price
 would
 be
 their
 least
 concern
 when
 purchasing
 a

sophisticated
 product.
 MTN
 entering
 the
 industry
 understood
 the
 environment

and
focused
their
strategy
on
fulfilling
these
needs.



Their
first
approach
of
covering
a
wide
geographical
landscape
from
the
outset

better
 than
 other
 operators
 attracted
 subscribers
 to
 the
 network.
 Also,
 its

improved
services
compared
to
other
mobile
telephony
operators
are
an
added

value.
 Example
 of
 such
 service
 is
 mobile
 value
 added
 services
 and
 Quality
 of

service.
 Recently,
 they
 rolled
 out
 fixed
 wireless
 telephony
 as
 a
 substitute
 for

their
customers
that
deem
CDMA
(code
division
multiple
access)
service
a
better

value
 for
 money.
 This
 is
 an
 approach
 to
 retain
 their
 subscribers,
 and
 attract
 a

market
share
within
the
fixed
wireless
operators.
Furthermore,
the
management

of
 their
 brand
 has
 been
 remarkable.
 This
 they
 have
 achieved
 through
 various

corporate
 social
 responsibilities,
 and
 governmental
 event
 hosting.
 Emphasizing

on
 the
 strength
 of
 brand
 management,
 Fog,
 Budtz,
 and
 Yakaboylu (2005)

claimed
“in
order
to
retain
the
loyalty
of
your
customers
in
today's
competitive

environment,
you
have
to
create
an
experience
that
is
relevant
and
differentiates

your
brand
from
others.”



GLOBACOM
entry
into
the
industry
increased
the
competitive
nature
of
industry,

as
 the
 various
 company
 battles
 to
 retain
 and
 attract
 customers.
 Being
 an

indigenous
 operator,
 it
 could
 be
 said
 they
 understood
 the
 macro‐environment,

and
it
enabled
them
acquire
a
substantial
market
after
MTN
despite
entering
the

industry
in
2003.
Its
partnership
with
Alcatel
has
enabled
it
expand
its
coverage

within
months
and
offer
a
significant
quality
of
service
on
entering
the
industry.

The
coverage
has
attracted
motorist,
as
it
is
the
only
company
with
better
high



 74


 


















































































































Discussion
 


way
 coverage.
 Another
 strategic
 approach
 by
 the
 company
 is
 partnering
 with

SPDC
 (Shell
 Petroleum
 Development
 Corporation)
 in
 the
 south
 region
 (Oil

region)
to
provide
significant
quality
of
service.
This
has
seen
the
company
claim

majority
 of
 subscribers
 within
 the
 region.
 Its
 tariff
 competitiveness
 and

innovative
services
shown
with
its
introduction
of
per
second
billing
was
a
major

breakthrough
into
the
industry.
This
was
a
success,
as
the
problem
of
paying
for

unused
 seconds
 encountered
 in
 per
 minute
 billing
 was
 eliminated.
 
 Also,
 its

approach
to
designing
a
package
specifically
for
commercial
telephone
operators

(CTO)
 has
 seen
 the
 package
 being
 widely
 utilized
 by
 the
 sector
 (CTO).
 This

approach
has
enabled
them
reach
the
poor
rural
areas
through
the
commercial

telephone
operators.
Moreover,
they
have
gained
immensely
from
the
instability

of
ECONET
(ZAIN).



The
 constant
 managerial
 change
 by
 ECONET
 (ZAIN)
 has
 seen
 them
 fall
 behind

MTN
 and
 GLOBACOM.
 Brooks
 (1980)
 stated,
 “While
 change
 proposals
 may
 be

seen
 as
 vital
 for
 the
 success
 of
 the
 department,
 they
 may
 well
 be
 seen

threatening
to
the
status
quo
in
his
own
department.”
This
made
it
evident
that

the
 four
 management
 changes
 implemented
 by
 ECONET
 did
 affect
 its
 status

negatively
 within
 the
 industry.
 The
 only
 reason
 they
 have
 struggled
 would
 be

their
lack
of
understanding
of
the
environment
they
entered.
However
the
new

management,
 ZAIN
 GROUP
 intends
 on
 changing
 their
 marketing
 strategy
 and

approach
 to
 compete
 effectively.
 Their
 first
 approach
 has
 been
 improving
 the

mobile
 value
 added
 services.
 Example,
 they
 recently
 introduced
 roaming

services
 on
 aircraft.
 Hence
 subscribers
 can
 make
 calls
 whilst
 on
 board
 thirty

thousand
feet
above
sea
level.
The
remaining
changes
might
take
a
few
months

or
 may
 be
 years
 but
 this
 has
 been
 the
 first
 approach.
 However
 despite
 their

instability,
they
are
still
ahead
of
the
fixed
wireless
operators
with
regards
to
the

market
 share.
 This
 can
 only
 be
 attributed
 to
 their
 coverage
 of
 the
 potential

regions.



Reviewing
the
two
remaining
operators,
their
approach
is
based
on
resolving
the

complaint
 about
 price.
 Also
 in
 order
 to
 compete
 against
 the
 mobile
 telephony

operators,
 they
 offer
 mobile
 telephones
 for
 the
 subscribers’
 use
 when
 on
 the

move.
They
have
attracted
substantial
market
share
with
the
reduction
of
tariff,



 75


 


















































































































Discussion
 


and
 the
 price
 of
 mobile
 phones.
 This
 is
 a
 price
 penetration
 approach,
 as

described
in
the
literature
review
section.
Bishop
(2002),
in
the
literature
review

described
price
penetration
as
a
pricing
strategy
implemented
by
entrant
to
gain

a
 market
 share
 by
 first
 lowering
 the
 price
 of
 products.
 However,
 their
 limited

coverage
 is
 still
 a
 weakness,
 and
 presently
 they
 face
 huge
 task,
 as
 MTN
 has

started
rolling
out
fixed
wireless
telephony.



STARCOMMS
 has
 been
 able
 to
 stay
 ahead
 of
 their
 competitors
 in
 the
 fixed

wireless
 due
 to
 the
 fact
 that
 they
 develop
 their
 strategy
 around
 their
 core

competence.
 Core
 competence
 can
 be
 used
 to
 create
 a
 differentiation; Hooley,

Saunders
and
Piercy,
(2004)
emphasized
it
in
the
literature
review.
In‐addition,

they
 stated
 it
 can
 be
 used
 to
 create
 a
 competitive
 advantage,
 and
 can
 be

sustained
for
a
long
period.
The
operator
offers
the
best
broadband
service
in
the

country,
and
with
that
they
have
been
able
to
attract
and
retain
both
subscribers

of
 the
 broadband
 service
 and
 fixed
 wireless
 service.
 Their
 approach
 gives
 the

subscribers
 an
 easy
 decision
 when
 choosing
 the
 fixed
 wireless.
 However,
 their

ability
to
compete
effectively
with
the
mobile
telephony
operators
would
depend

on
the
coverage,
and
value
added
services.


VISAFONE
on
entering
the
industry
in
2007
implemented
three
main
strategies.

These
 are
 tariff
 reduction,
 mobile
 phones
 price
 reduction,
 and
 attracting

university
 students.
 The
 company
 contracts
 to
 mobile
 phone
 manufacturers
 in

China,
 and
 with
 this
 technique
 have
 been
 able
 to
 offer
 cheap
 phones
 coupled

with
 low
 tariff.
 
 Hence,
 the
 cheap
 phones
 are
 designed
 for
 subscribers
 that

regard
price
as
a
barrier
to
satisfying
their
needs.
Their
promotion
of
sponsoring

university
events
is
quite
significant,
as
it
establishes
their
brand
in
the
mind
of

the
students,
and
could
influence
their
buying
behavior.
The
university
students

occupy
a
huge
portion
of
the
country’s
population,
so
would
have
an
impact
on

the
company’s
market
share.
Presently,
their
market
share
is
the
least
compared

to
 the
 four
 operators
 investigated.
 Their
 price
 reduction
 might
 not
 have
 much

influence,
 as
 other
 operators
 are
 either
 reducing
 price
 or
 introducing
 fixed

wireless
 telephony;
 but
 the
 approach
 of
 communicating
 with
 the
 university

students
coupled
with
the
cheap
tariff
and
phones
could
enable
them
command

huge
market
share
among
the
university
students.




 76


 


















































































































Discussion
 


5.1.3 Gaps
within
the
industry

At
 present
 these
 companies
 attract
 subscribers,
 but
 their
 retention
 would
 be

tested
 if
 a
 potential
 entrant
 such
 as
 ETISALAT
 capitalizes
 on
 their
 weaknesses.

ETISALAT
Executive
on
an
interview
claimed
they
have
held
back
operation,
as

they
want
to
cover
all
areas
of
the
country,
and
offer
the
subscribers
an
excellent

value
 for
 their
 money.
 Presently,
 VISAFONE
 has
 capitalized
 on
 some
 of
 their

weaknesses
such
as
price,
but
still
lacks
quality
of
service
and
coverage.
Studying

the
industry
in
UK,
there
are
no
such
weaknesses
rather
companies
are
devising

new
 marketing
 strategies,
 and
 continuously
 keeping
 pace
 with
 the

environmental
change.
However
considering
these
weaknesses,
it
could
be
asked

whether
a
company
within
the
industry
cannot
capitalize
on
the
weaknesses,
and

control
the
entire
market.


Reviewing
the
coverage,
these
companies
focus
in
regions
with
profit
potential.

This
 could
 only
 be
 attributed
 to
 the
 added
 cost
 incurred
 in
 implementing

services
in
such
regions.
This
questions
their
understanding
of
the
environment

prior
 to
 entry.
 A
 good
 example
 is
 the
 cost
 incurred
 in
 running
 generators
 for

their
 base
 stations
 as
 a
 result
 of
 the
 unreliability
 of
 electricity
 in
 the
 country.

This
 gives
 them
 an
 alternative
 of
 covering
 potential
 regions
 and
 competing
 for

subscribers
 therein,
 forgetting
 that
 the
 subscribers
 are
 flexible
 in
 movement.

Also
the
amount
of
money
they
spend
in
licensing
and
initial
set
up
makes
them

seek
short‐term
profit.



The
 inappropriate
 management
 of
 the
 distribution
 channels
 has
 seen
 the

industry
 lack
 in
 excellent
 customer
 service.
 Bishop
 (2002),
 referred
 to

distribution
 channel
 management
 claiming
 that
 a
 channel
 will
 become

ineffective,
if
a
channel
member
considers
itself
distinct.
Ignorant
attitude
from

operators
 or
 their
 distribution
 channels
 could
 sway
 subscribers
 or
 potential

subscribers
to
a
new
network,
and
the
fact
that
the
industry
rely
so
much
on
the

Pay
As
You
Go
package
for
sales,
makes
it
easy.



As
 stated
 previously,
 Nigerians
 have
 a
 culture
 of
 expressing
 themselves;
 hence

the
poor
quality
of
service
from
operators
hinders
the
satisfaction
of
this
need.

According
 to
 Kotler
 and
 Armstrong
 (2005),
 when
 these
 needs
 are
 not
 met,



 77


 


















































































































Discussion
 


customers
would
seek
for
alternatives.
Subscribers’
measure
price
by
the
level
of

satisfaction
 gained
 from
 the
 package
 purchased.
 Presently
 the
 fixed
 wireless

operators
provide
the
best
value
for
money,
but
still
lack
quality
of
service
and

coverage.
 
 These
 gaps
 within
 the
 industry
 have
 resulted
 in
 subscribers

contracting
to
more
than
one
network
to
achieve
their
needs.



5.1.4 Future
trend
within
the
Industry


The
competition
within
the
industry
could
shift
from
price
and
quality
of
service

to
 products
 and
 services
 being
 offered
 to
 the
 individual
 subscribers.
 If
 it

happens,
would
be
attributed
to
the
rapid
change
in
the
economic
environment.

The
rapid
change
would
include
factors
such
as,
rapid
technology
advancement,

number
 portability,
 new
 policies
 and
 entrants
 that
 are
 ready
 to
 challenge
 the

conventional
processes.



As
 technology
 advances,
 so
 would
 the
 technology
 in
 products
 and
 services

offered
by
these
companies.
Comparing
the
services
offered
by
these
companies,

MTN
could
be
regarded
as
the
operator
that
offers
the
most
innovative
services.

This
 has
 immensely
 influenced
 their
 status
 within
 the
 industry.
 Presently,

subscribers
 have
 not
 been
 able
 enjoy
 number
 portability.
 This
 has
 restricted

some
 from
 changing
 networks
 and
 increased
 the
 possibility
 for
 subscription
 of

multiple
 networks.
 The
 competition
 within
 the
 industry
 would
 intensify
 if

number
 portability
 becomes
 applicable,
 as
 subscribers
 would
 easily
 change

network
if
not
satisfied
and
still
retain
their
phone
number.



In‐addition,
 with
 policies
 being
 uplifted
 and
 more
 entrants
 willing
 to
 challenge

the
 conventional
 processes,
 the
 tariff
 for
 the
 pay
 as
 you
 go
 package
 would

become
more
competitive,
pushing
companies
to
tailor
their
products
to
satisfy

individual
needs.
A
good
example
is
Pay
monthly
package
on
T‐mobile
network

that
 has
 45
 plans
 tailored
 to
 individual
 needs.
 Also,
 new
 packages
 similar
 to

mobile
 VPN
 (Virtual
 Private
 Network)
 would
 be
 introduced
 as
 to
 attract
 all

societal
 groups
 or
 group
 of
 friends.
 Finally,
 maybe
 in
 the
 future
 with
 more

advanced
technology
within
the
country,
the
pay
monthly
could
be
encouraged

among
subscribers.




 78


 


















































































































Discussion
 


5.2 The
United
Kingdom
Telecommunication
industry

Within
the
UK
industry,
the
gaps
in
the
Nigerian
telecommunication
industry
are

strengths.
 This
 has
 shifted
 competitive
 advantage
 strategy
 within
 the
 industry

towards
company
striving
to
satisfy
the
individual
needs
of
the
customers.
The

competition
 within
 the
 industry
 is
 deemed
 more
 intense
 than
 the
 Nigerian

industry
 because
 of
 the
 number
 portability.
 The
 result
 in
 chapter
 4
 has
 shown

that
they
tailor
their
product
to
satisfy
the
various
needs
of
the
customers.



Pareek
 (2007),
 in
 the
 literature
 review
 claimed
 that
 the
 adoption
 of
 retail

strategy
of
tailoring
the
products
to
individual
needs
would
eliminate
the
threat

of
 driving
 profit
 margin
 to
 unacceptable
 low.
 These
 individual
 needs
 include

sophisticated
 services,
 and
 offering
 best
 value
 price
 plan.
 These
 are
 services

offered
as
a
result
of
the
state
of
the
art
technology
present
in
the
country,
and

their
focus
on
long‐term
capital
gain.
A
good
example
is
their
encouragement
of

pay
monthly
subscription
by
offering
better
value
for
money
on
the
package
than

on
Pay
as
you
go
package.
This
enables
them
retain
their
customers
for
at
least

twelve
 to
 eighteen
 months,
 expressing
 their
 long‐term
 capital
 gain
 approach.

Moreover
 at
 the
 end
 of
 the
 contract,
 they
 offer
 free
 phones
 as
 an
 attraction
 to

retain
 the
 customers.
 
 This
 is
 a
 standard
 technique
 that
 the
 telecommunication

industry
 in
 Nigeria
 lacks,
 although
 it
 might
 not
 be
 a
 success
 because
 of
 the

substandard
technology
in
the
country.



Furthermore,
 contracting
 with
 high
 profile
 mobile
 phone
 manufacturers
 for


state‐of‐the
art
mobile
phones
is
another
technique
currently
implemented
in
UK

industry
to
attract
customers.
This
technique
attracts
subscribers
that
are
loyal

to
a
particular
kind
of
mobile
phones.
Example,
last
month
O2
unveiled
the
new

iphone
 3G
 on
 their
 list
 of
 mobile
 phones
 available
 for
 subscribers.
 This
 was
 a

success
 as
 within
 hours
 they
 were
 sold
 out
 together
 with
 various
 price
 plans.

The
 ease
 of
 sales
 was
 as
 a
 result
 of
 their
 appropriate
 management
 of
 the

distribution
channel.



Notably,
the
industry
relies
on
outlets,
Internet
and
retailers
for
its
distribution

channel,
unlike
the
Nigerian
industry
that
utilize
more
than
four
channels.
This

enables
the
companies
to
manage
their
distribution
channel,
making
it
effective



 79


 


















































































































Discussion
 


and
efficient.
Hence,
in
various
locations
only
the
outlets
and
retailers
could
be

seen.
 The
 Internet
 service
 enables
 subscribers
 to
 purchase
 the
 services
 they

want
 without
 visiting
 the
 outlets
 or
 retailers.
 This
 is
 a
 major
 difference
 in
 the

Nigerian
 industry,
 and
 it
 would
 be
 achieved
 with
 the
 influence
 of
 advanced

technology.



In
 the
 literature
 review,
 Bishop
 (2002)
 emphasized
 on
 the
 product
 lifecycle

stages
and
the
marketing
mix
decisions
that
have
to
be
implemented.
Using
the

diagram
as
a
reference,
these
companies
implement
the
marketing
mix
decision

through
the
project
lifecycle.
Example,
on
introduction
of
MDA
smart
phones
by

T‐mobile
 in
 2006,
 price
 skimming
 was
 utilized.
 However,
 as
 the
 phone

depreciated,
they
reduced
the
price
of
the
phone
coupled
with
the
price
plan,
as

to
encourage
subscribers.
This
strategy
enables
them
to
achieve
continuous
sales

regardless
of
the
product
lifecycle.


Finally,
 reviewing
 the
 UK
 industry
 is
 not
 for
 comparison
 rather
 to
 show

opportunities
 within
 the
 Nigerian
 industry
 that
 could
 be
 exploited
 to
 gain

competitive
 advantage.
 Significantly,
 it
 expresses
 the
 importance
 of

understanding
the
marketing
environment,
and
the
customers.



























 80


 




































































































































Conclusion

 


Chapter
SIX:

 
 

CONCLUSION


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Having
reviewed
the
literatures
on
marketing,
collected
data,
and
discussed
the

data
obtained
with
relation
to
the
objective,
this
chapter
states
if
the
objective
was

achieved.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


6. Conclusion

The
 competition
 within
 an
 industry
 aids
 in
 its
 development
 specifically
 in
 a

potentially
 viable
 market.
 The
 Nigerian
 mobile
 market
 is
 seen
 as
 potentially

viable
because
of
its
population
and
its
income
per
capita.
Hence
the
competition

within
 the
 industry
 as
 they
 battle
 to
 retain
 and
 attract
 subscribers
 enabled
 its

rapid
 development.
 The
 research
 conducted
 has
 shown
 the
 various
 marketing

techniques
 implemented
 by
 the
 companies
 investigated,
 in
 their
 pursuit
 for

competitive
 advantage.
 Gaining
 a
 competitive
 advantage
 within
 the
 industry

would
 mean
 retention
 and
 attraction
 of
 subscribers,
 as
 the
 number
 of

subscribers
 determines
 your
 status.
 Reviewing
 the
 results,
 the
 companies
 that

have
a
better
understanding
of
the
environment,
has
been
able
to
develop
better

techniques
 to
 attract
 and
 retain
 the
 customers,
 for
 example
 MTN.
 However
 the

techniques
 implemented
 for
 both
 retention
 and
 attraction
 by
 the
 companies
 is

still
deemed
feeble.



According
 to
 the
 literatures
 reviewed,
 companies
 within
 an
 industry
 should
 be

more
worried
about
potential
entrants.
“New
entrants
to
an
industry
bring
new

capacity,
 the
 desire
 to
 gain
 market
 share,
 and
 often,
 substantial
 resources”

(Porter
 M,
 1998).
 This
 is
 a
 concern
 within
 the
 Nigerian
 telecommunication

industry
because
they
have
gaps
that
could
be
exploited.
This
is
the
main
reason

their
 techniques
 are
 deemed
 feeble.
 A
 potential
 entrant
 (ETISALAT)
 could

capitalize
on
these
gaps,
as
discussed
in
chapter
5.
The
popularity
of
ETISALAT

in
 the
 Middle
 East,
 as
 a
 major
 competitor
 within
 telecommunication
 industries

makes
it
a
major
threat
to
MTN,
and
GLOBACOM.
This
is
also
undoubted
by
the

speech
presented
by
the
ETISALAT
executive
on
the
reason
they
are
yet
to
roll

out
 operation
 within
 the
 country.
 As
 quoted
 in
 chapter
 5,
 they
 want
 to
 give

subscribers
an
excellent
value
for
their
money.
When
this
happens,
the
loyalty
of



 81


 




































































































































Conclusion

 


the
 subscribers
 within
 the
 country
 would
 be
 tested,
 and
 they
 would
 eventually

sway
 to
 the
 company
 that
 offers
 more
 benefits
 for
 money.
 The
 UK
 industry

reviewed
 has
 shown
 that
 it
 would
 be
 quite
 difficult
 for
 a
 potential
 entrant
 to

seize
a
market
share
because
they
have
developed
their
techniques
around
the

marketing
environment,
and
the
subscribers.



Finally,
the
UK
industry
is
a
good
example
of
understanding
the
environment
and

developing
robust
techniques
to
continually
satisfy
the
needs
of
the
customers.

The
 Nigerian
 telecommunication
 industry
 needs
 to
 study
 the
 environment,
 and

continuously
 develop
 robust
 techniques
 to
 attract
 and
 retain
 subscribers.
 In‐
addition
to
developing,
they
have
to
be
monitored,
and
managed,
to
be
in
tandem

with
 the
 changing
 economic
 environment.
 The
 example
 with
 NITEL
 is
 a
 lesson

for
 other
 companies,
 as
 they
 might
 not
 be
 able
 to
 compete
 when
 potential

entrants
 challenge
 the
 conventional
 processes.
 Nevertheless,
 the
 marketing

environment
 is
 different
 for
 every
 country,
 and
 it
 would
 influence
 the
 trend

within
 the
 industry.
 Imitating
 or
following
the
 trends
 of
 an
 industry
in
 another

country
 would
 be
 detrimental,
 and
 could
 slow
 the
 growth
 of
 the
 imitating

industry.




 82


 































































































Recommendations
for
further
work
 


Chapter
SEVEN:

 RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR
FURTHER
WORK



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This
chapter
explains
the
areas
that
would
require
strengthening,
and
new
ideas
to

be
considered,
if
an
extensive
work
will
be
carried
on
the
research.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


7. Background

For
any
research
implemented,
there
has
to
be
suggestions
for
further
work,
as

to
enable
better
research
in
the
future.
In
considering
the
suggestions
for
further

work,
 two
 main
 criteria
 were
 considered.
 The
 first
 criterion
 is
 the
 limitations

encountered
as
a
result
of
the
research
method,
and
the
subsequent
criterion
is

industry
 growth
 stage.
 These
 two
 criteria
 influenced
 my
 decision
 on
 the

following
recommendations,


7.1 Inclusion
of
Interview
to
the
survey
techniques

Based
 on
 the
 limitation
 highlighted
 in
 the
 research
 methodology
 about
 the

marketing
 officers,
 the
 inclusion
 of
 interview
 would
 be
 a
 supplement.
 The

response
 from
 both
 interview
 and
 questionnaire
 would
 be
 compared
 as
 to

confirm
validity
of
the
facts
received.




7.2 Increasing
the
Sample
size


The
table
below
shows
the
percentage
error
that
is
likely
to
occur
with
regards

to
 the
 sample
 size
 implemented.
 In
 the
 research
 a
 sample
 size
 of
 eighty

respondents
was
implemented,
hence
the
percentage
error
is
above
5
–
8%.
As
a

suggestion
 for
 further
 work,
 a
 sample
 size
 ranging
 from
 two
 thousand
 to
 three

thousand
 should
 be
 implemented,
 as
 to
 obtain
 a
 minimum
 or
 no
 percentage

error.
Also,
the
number
of
questions
has
to
be
increased
to
include
their
brand

management,
 relationship
 with
 the
 distribution
 channels,
 and
 their
 marketing

environment.



 83


 































































































Recommendations
for
further
work
 


Sample size Allowance for sampling

Error (95% confidence)
200 5 - 8%
400 4 – 6%
600 3 – 5%
800 3 – 4%
1,000 2 – 4%
1,500 2 – 3%
Table
 7.2:
 sample
 size
 determination;
 Adapted
 from:
 [Tull
 D.
 and
 Hawkins
 D.

(1993),
Marketing
research,
measurement
&
methods].


7.3 Contacting
the
Nigerian
Communications
Commission
(NCC)

The
 Nigerian
 communications
 commission
 oversees
 the
 operations
 of
 the

industry
 investigated.
 The
 organisation
 sets
 up
 policies,
 possess
 an
 in‐depth

knowledge
of
the
development
of
the
industry
and
likely
trends
that
would
occur

within
the
industry.
In
the
research,
the
journals
published
by
this
organisation

were
 reviewed,
 but
 the
 fact
 that
 some
 of
 the
 publications
 were
 not
 up
 to
 date

was
 a
 limitation.
 Contacting
 them
 would
 lead
 to
 obtaining
 updated
 in‐depth

information
of
the
industry,
and
future
policies
that
could
impact
the
marketing

strategies
of
the
companies.



7.4 Investigating
potential
entrant

Marketing
 techniques
 within
 an
 industry
 is
 dynamic
 as
 they
 always
 structure

their
 strategies
 to
 respond
 to
 the
 changing
 economic
 environment.
 This
 makes

the
 investigation
 on
 the
 techniques
 implemented
 by
 the
 entrants
 crucial,
 as
 to

observe
 the
 influence
 of
 the
 entrants
 on
 the
 industry.
 A
 future
entrant
 into
 the

Nigerian
 Telecommunication
 industry
 is
 ETISALAT.
 Their
 entry
 would
 be

interesting
because
as
a
foreign
mobile
telephony
operator
(GSM),
it
has
to
battle

with
 MTN
 (foreign),
 GLO
 (indigenous)
 and
 ZAIN
 (foreign)
 for
 market
 share.

However,
 so
 much
 has
 been
 said
 about
 the
 company
 and
 how
 they
 intend
 on



 84


 































































































Recommendations
for
further
work
 


claiming
the
number
one
position
in
the
country.
Hence,
it
would
be
crucial
as
a

further
research
to
study
their
techniques,
and
how
the
companies
already
in
the

industry
react.



 85


 































































































Reference
 


8. REFERENCES


⇒ Adrian Palmer and Ian Worthington (1992), The Business and Marketing
Environment, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill

⇒ Alashban, A. et al (2002), international brand name adaptation/

standardization: antecedent and consequences, journal of international
marketing, 10, 3, page 22

⇒ Anderson B., Silver B., and Abramson P, the effects of the race of the
interviewer on race-related attitudes of black respondents in SRC/CPS national
Election studies; Public opinion quarterly, 1988, 52, 289-324.
⇒ Anderson S., De Palma A., and Thisse J, (1992), Discrete choice theory of
product differentiation, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
⇒ Baker, M. J. (1995), Marketing, theory and practice
London: Macmillan Business
⇒ Beath J., Katsoulacos Y., (1991) Economic theory of product differentiation,
Cambridge: University Press
⇒ Bishop J., (2002), Effective Marketing: principles and practice
Milton Keynes: Lightning source UK ltd
⇒ Brooks E., (1980), Organizational change: The management dilemma
London: Macmillan Press.
⇒ Brown S., Mc Dowell S., and Race P., (1995), 500 tips for research students,
London: Routledge

⇒ Clark S. (1997), Reasons for business failure come in three broad groups,
Puget Sound Business Journal, July 21

⇒ Dalrymple, D. and Parsons, J. (2000), Marketing Management, text and cases,

New York: John Wiley and Sons
⇒ Dawson J., (1979); The Marketing Environment
London: Croom Helm Ltd

⇒ Dibb S., et al (2001); Marketing: concepts and strategies

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company


 86


 































































































Reference
 


⇒ Dickson, P.R. (1992), towards a general theory of competitive rationality,

Journal of Marketing, 56, January 69–83

⇒ Douglas S., Craig C., Keegan, W. (1982), approaches to assembling

international marketing opportunities for small and medium-sized business,
Columbia journal of world business, p 26-32

⇒ Fog K., Budtz C., and Yakaboylu B., (2005); Story telling: branding in
practice, Berlin: Springer-Verlag
⇒ Gilligan, C and Hird, M (1989), International marketing: strategy and
management, London: Croom Helm

⇒ Hancock B., (1998) Trent Focus for research and development in primary
health care, an introduction to qualitative research, pg6.

⇒ Harris, T (2006), Start-up: a practical guide to starting and running a new

business, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

⇒ Hooley, G., Saunders, J. and Piercy, N. (2004), Marketing strategy and

competitive positioning, Harlow: Prentice Hall,

⇒ Jan, J. and Vahlne, J. E. (1977), “the internationalization process of the firm:

A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market
commitments,” journal of international business studies, 8, 23 – 32.

⇒ Kotler, P.C. (1997), Marketing Management: Analysis, planning,

implementation and control, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International.

⇒ Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2005), principles of marketing

New Jersey: Prentice Hall
⇒ Levitt, T. (1983), the globalization of markets, Harvard business review, 1, 92 –
102

⇒ Mahoney, J.T. and Pandian, J.R. (1992), The resource based view of the Firm
within the conversation of strategic management, Strategic Management
Journal, 13, 363–80.

⇒ Miller, K. and Aeppel, T (1993), BMW zooms ahead of Mercedes Benz in

worldwide sales for the first time, the wall street journal, January 20, p. B1.
⇒ Michael H. and Martin H. (2004), sociology: themes and perspective
London: Collins Educational.
⇒ Pareek, D. (2007), Business Intelligence in Telecommunications
Florida: Auerbach Publications


 87


 































































































Reference
 


⇒ Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. (1990), The core competence of the

corporation, Harvard Business Review, 68 (3), 79–91

⇒ Ries, A. and Trout, J. (2001), Positioning: The battle for your mind
New York: McGraw- Hill.

⇒ Porter M., (1998), competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries

and competitors, New York: Free Press

⇒ Strategic marketing notes (2007), Warwick Manufacturing Group

University of Warwick.

⇒ Tull D. and Hawkins D. (1993), Marketing research, measurement &

methods, Ontario: Maxwell Macmillan Inc

⇒ Wilson, R. and Gilligan, C. (2005), Strategic Marketing Management

Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann

⇒ Wind, Y. (1986), the myth of globalization, journal of consumer marketing, 3, p

23 – 26


 88


 






























































































Bibliography
 


9. BIBLIOGRAPHY:



Adrian Palmer and Ian Worthington (1992), The Business and Marketing
Environment, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill
Alashban, A. et al (2002), international brand name adaptation/ standardization:
antecedent and consequences, journal of international marketing, 10, 3, page 22

Anderson B., Silver B., and Abramson P, the effects of the race of the interviewer
on race-related attitudes of black respondents in SRC/CPS national Election studies;
Public opinion quarterly, 1988, 52, 289-324.

Anderson S., De Palma A., and Thisse J, (1992), Discrete choice theory of product
differentiation, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Baker, M. J. (1995), Marketing, theory and practice
London: Macmillan Business
Beath J., Katsoulacos Y., (1991) Economic theory of product differentiation,
Cambridge: University Press
Belk R. (2006), Handbook of qualitative research methods in marketing
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited
Bishop, J. (2002), Effective Marketing: principles and practice
Milton Keynes: Lightning source UK ltd
Braun T., (2004), The philosophy of branding
London: Kogan page
Brooks E., (1980), Organizational change: The management dilemma
London: Macmillan Press.
Brown S., Mc Dowell S., and Race P., (1995), 500 tips for research students
London: Routledge
Clark S. (1997), Reasons for business failure come in three broad groups, Puget
Sound Business Journal, July 21

Clifton R. (2003), brands and branding

London: Profile books

Dalrymple, D. and Parsons, J. (2000), Marketing Management, text and cases, New
York: John Wiley and Sons
Dawson J., (1979); The Marketing Environment
London: Croom Helm Ltd


 89


 






























































































Bibliography
 


Dibb S., et al (2001); Marketing: concepts and strategies

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company

Dickson, P.R. (1992), towards a general theory of competitive rationality, Journal of

Marketing, 56, January 69–83

Douglas S., Craig C., Keegan, W. (1982), approaches to assembling international

marketing opportunities for small and medium-sized business, Columbia journal of
world business, p 26-32

Fog K., Budtz C., and Yakaboylu B., (2005); Story telling: branding in practice,
Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Gilligan, C and Hird, M (1989), International marketing: strategy and management,
London: Croom Helm

Hancock B., (1998) Trent Focus for research and development in primary health care,
an introduction to qualitative research, pg6.

Harris, T (2006), Start-up: a practical guide to starting and running a new business,
Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Hooley, G., Saunders, J. and Piercy, N. (2004), Marketing strategy and competitive
positioning, Harlow: Prentice Hall,
Jan, J. and Vahlne, J. E. (1977), “the internationalization process of the firm: A
model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments,”
journal of international business studies, 8, 23 – 32.

Judd C., Smith E., and Kidder L. (1991), Research methods in social relations,
Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College publishers
Keegan W., and Green M. (2008), Global Marketing,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Kotler, P.C. (1997), Marketing Management: Analysis, planning, implementation
and control, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International.

Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2005), principles of marketing

New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Levitt, T. (1983), the globalization of markets, Harvard business review, 1, 92 – 102

Mahoney, J.T. and Pandian, J.R. (1992), The resource based view of the Firm
within the conversation of strategic management, Strategic Management Journal, 13,
363–80.


 90


 






























































































Bibliography
 


Miller, K. and Aeppel, T (1993), BMW zooms ahead of Mercedes Benz in worldwide
sales for the first time, the wall street journal, January 20, p. B1.
Michael H. and Martin H. (2004), sociology: themes and perspectives
London: Collins Educational.
Pareek, D. (2007), Business Intelligence in Telecommunications
Florida: Auerbach Publications

Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G. (1990), The core competence of the corporation,
Harvard Business Review, 68 (3), 79–91

Ries, A. and Trout, J. (2001), Positioning: The battle for your mind
New York: McGraw- Hill.

Porter M., (1998), competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and
competitors, New York: Free Press
Strategic marketing notes (2007), international marketing WMG.

Tull D. and Hawkins D. (1993), Marketing research, measurement & methods,

Ontario: Maxwell Macmillan Inc
Wilson, R. and Gilligan, C. (2005), Strategic Marketing Management
Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann
Wind, Y. (1986), the myth of globalization, journal of consumer marketing, 3, p 23 –
26

Obadina T., (1998), Nigeria unveils new privatization plan, Africa Recovery volume
12, no 3 page 4.
Mobile week with GSM, available from:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id
=110&Itemid=88 [accessed on 5th June, 2008]
Trends in Telecommunication market in Nigeria 2004, available from
www.ncc.gov.ng [accessed on 10th March 2008]
TELL Nigeria Magazine, available form: http://www.tellng.com [accessed on 4th
March 2008]
Ndukwe E., (2004), An overview of the telecommunication industry in Nigeria and
the trends ahead, NCC publications
Champion Newspaper Nigeria, available from: http://www.champion-
newspapers.com [accessed on 4th April 2008]
Telecom: Nigeria hits 49.6m active subscriber base, available from,
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=116559 [accessed on 12th August, 2008]


 91


 






























































































Bibliography
 


GSM quality: Minister, house committee differ, available from,

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=107523 [accessed on 13th August 2008]
Nama C., (1999), Brief status of the telecommunication industry in Nigeria
GLOBACOM rolls out in more rural areas, available from:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=118921 [accessed on 13th August 2008]
MTN Nigeria gets on high horse with humble apology, available from:
http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10007065o-209737b,00.htm
[accessed on 17th July 2008]
Vodafone UK, available from:
http://online.vodafone.co.uk/dispatch/Portal/appmanager/vodafone/wrp?_nfpb=true&
_pageLabel=templateBlank&pageID=VIRTUAL_HOME [accessed on 30th July,
2008]
T-Mobile UK, available from: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/ [accessed on 30th July
2008]
STARCOMMS Nigeria, available from: http://www.starcomms.com/ [accessed on
1st March 2008]
MTN Nigeria, available from: http://www.mtnonline.com/ [accessed on 2nd March
2008]
ZAIN Nigeria, available from: http://www.ng.zain.com/en/ [accessed on 6th March
2008]
GLOBACOM Nigeria, available from: http://www.gloworld.com/ [accessed on 5th
March 2008]
VISAFONE Nigeria, available from: http://www.visafone.com.ng/ [accessed on 6th
March 2008]
MTN expands fixed wireless in Nigeria, available from:
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?cid=630237 [accessed on 12th
August 2008]
Reviews of operations, MTN Nigeria, available from:
http://annualreport.mtn.com/rev_mtn_nigeria.htm [accessed on 13th August 2008]
Product reviews, GLOBACOM, available from:
http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/Globacom-925051522.html [accessed on
10th June, 2008]
Telecommunications industry, available from:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/telecoms [accessed on 12th June 2008]
Nigeria Telecommunications news, available from:
http://www.einnews.com/nigeria/newsfeed-nigeria-telecommunications [12th March,
2008]


 92


 






























































































Bibliography
 


Nweke R., (2008), MTN Nigeria to boost network with 1,000 base stations, available
from:
http://www.cio.com/article/206102/MTN_Nigeria_to_Boost_Network_with_Base_St
ations [accessed on June 12th 2008]
Nigeria bulletin, telecommunications, available from:
http://nigerianbulletin.com/category/nigeria-business-finance-news/nigeria-telecoms-
gsm/ [accessed on 15th March 2008]
MTN launches fixed lines in Ibadan, available from:
http://nigerianbulletin.com/nigeria-business-finance-news/mtn-launches-fixed-lines-
in-ibadan/06082008/1790/ [accessed on 15th July 2008]
VISAFONE Nigeria distributes over 200 protective helmets as CSR programme,
available from: http://nigerianbulletin.com/nigeria-business-finance-news/visafone-
distribute-over-200-protective-helmets-as-csr-programme/20082008/1910/ [accessed
on 28th August 2008]
GLO, SPDC partnership clocks one year, available from:
http://nigerianbulletin.com/nigeria-business-finance-news/glo-spdc-partnership-
clocks-one-year/14082008/1863/ [accessed on 16th August 2008]
CELTEL Nigeria and Africa change to ZAIN, available from:
http://nigerianbulletin.com/nigeria-business-finance-news/global-aspirations-leading-
emerging-markets-mobile-operator-zain-re-brands-celtel-africa-
operations/01082008/1759/ [accessed on 4th August 2008]
VISAFONE introduces mobile office handset in Nigeria, available from:
http://nigerianbulletin.com/category/nigeria-business-finance-news/nigeria-telecoms-
gsm/page/4/ [accessed on 15th July 2008]
GLOBACOM aiming to be number one operator in Africa, available from:
http://www1.alcatel-
lucent.com/com/en/apphtml/atrarticle/2006q3globacomaimingtobethe1africanoperator
18enhtmltcm1721110011635.jhtml;jsessionid=HOQCPRYPPMY4NLAWFRUE1D3
MCYWGI3GC?_DARGS=/common/atr/include/sidebar_TOC.jhtml_A&_DAV=/co
m/en/appxml/articlepaperlibrary/globacomaimingtobethe1africanoperatortcm1721110
261635.jhtml [accessed on 25th March 2008]
STARCOMMS to offer Smart centers for pay phone call centers, available from:
http://www.cio.com/article/367413/Starcomms_to_Offer_Smart_Center_for_Pay_Pho
ne_Call_Centers [accessed on June 1st 2008]
VISAFONE goes on the offensive, sets up price wars, available from:
http://www.m2ng.com/newsdetail.php?id=21 [accessed on 1st July 2008]
Okoegwale E., (2008), late entrant strategies for VISAFONE and ETISALAT,
available from: http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10007530o-
2000483498b,00.htm [accessed on 1st August 2008]
GLOBACOM unveils 3G plus mobile telephony, available from:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=97621 [accessed on 28th April, 2008]


 93


 






























































































Appendices
 


10. 
















































APPENDICES



GLOSSARY

CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access

CIM: Chartered Institute of Marketing
GSM: Global System Mobile
NCC: Nigerian Communications Commission
QOS: Quality of Service
CTO: Commercial Telephone Operators
VPN: Virtual Private Network
SIM: Subscriber Identity Module
PAYG: Pay As You Go
ROI: Return on investment

















 94


 






























































































Appendices
 


QUESTIONNAIRE
FOR
COMPANIES



Company
name:………………………………………………………………………

Location:…………………………………………………………………………………

This
questionnaire
is
designed
to
survey
the
impact
of
marketing
in
the
Nigerian

Telecommunication
Industry
in
comparison
with
the
industry
in
UK.
Please
tick

appropriately
the
answer
that
is
best
suitable.




Section
1:
 Product

1)
 What
packages
do
you
offer?


a) Pay
monthly

b) Pay
as
you
go

c) All
of
the
above

d) None
of
the
above,
(specify).
…………………………………………………….
 




2)
 How
many
Pay
as
you
go
packages
/tariff
do
you
offer?

a) 1


b) 2

c) 3

d) 4

e) 5+




3)
 How
many
pay
monthly
packages
do
you
offer?

a) 1



b) 2

c) 3

d) 4

e) 5+



 95


 






























































































Appendices
 


4)
 What
period
of
the
year
do
you
experience
most
sales?

a) January
–
April


b) June
–
September

c) October
–
December

d) All
of
the
above

e) N/A




5)
 Who
are
your
target
customers
for
the
pay
monthly
package?

a) Students


b) Businessmen

c) All
teens


d) All
Adults

e) All
of
the
above




6)
 Who
are
your
target
customers
for
the
pay
as
you
go
package?

a) Students


b) Businessmen

c) All
teens

d) All
Adults

e) All
of
the
above




7)
 Who
is/
are
your
target
markets
for
both
packages?

a) Local
market


b) National
market

c) International

d) A
and
B

e) All
of
the
above
 








 96


 






























































































Appendices
 


8)
 Do
you
offer
after‐sales
services?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




9)
 What
kind(s)
of
after‐sales
do
you
offer?

a) Repairs

b) Installation


c) Customer
care
advice

d) Returns

e) All
of
the
above




10)
 What
percentile
quantifies
the
after‐sales
service
reliability?



a) 100%

b) 80%


c) 60%

d) 40%

e) 20%
–
0%




11)
 Is
your
product/
package
user
friendly?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




12)
 What
is
the
percentage
complaint
received
each
year?

a) 100%

b) 80%


c) 60%

d) 40%

e) 20%










 97


 






























































































Appendices
 


13)
 How
often
are
new
products
/
packages
launched?

a) 6
months


b) 1
year

c) 2
years

d) 3
years

e) 4+
years




14)
 Do
you
seek
to
obtain
customers
view
of
the
packages?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




15)
 If
yes,
what
form
do
you
utilize?


a) Questionnaire

b) Reviews


c) Sales
figures

d) Internet
polls

e) All
of
the
above




16)
 Do
you
implement
BCG
matrix
in
order
to
determine
the
potential
of
the

product
portfolio?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




17)
 If
No,
please
specify
the
tool
used
to
assess
the
product
portfolio

potential………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………........................................................................................................



Section2:
 Place

1)
 How
many
distribution
mediums
do
you
utilize?


a) 1

b) 2

c) 3



 98


 






























































































Appendices
 


d) 4

e) 5+


2)
 What
is
the
main
distribution
medium?

a) Sub
dealers

b) Outlets

c) On‐line
(internet)


d) Retailers

e) Telephone
sales




3)
 How
many
cities
are
you
present
in?

a) 1


b) 1‐10

c) 1‐20


d) 1‐30

e) 30+




4)
 How
many
countries
are
you
present
in?

a) 1

b) 2

c) 3


d) 4

e) 5+






5)
 Do
you
have
after‐sales
services
in
all
cities
and
countries
present?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




6)
 Does
the
product
/services
differ
according
to
the
cities
present
in?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



 99


 






























































































Appendices
 


7)
 Does
the
product
/
services
differ
according
to
the
countries
present
in?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




Section
3:
 Promotion

1)
 What
are
the
forms
of
promotions
currently
utilized?

a) Sales
promotion


b) Advertising

c) Personal
selling

d) Direct
Marketing


e) All
of
the
above




2)
 If
sales
promotion
is
utilized,
is
it
seasonal?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




3)
 If
advertising
is
utilized,
what
forms
of
advertising?

a) Newspaper


b) Media

c) On‐line
(internet)

d) Billboards

e) All
of
the
above




4)
 Does
the
forms
of
promotion
depend
on
the
services
/
products
offered?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




5)
 Does
the
form
of
promotion
depend
on
the
target
market?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




6)
 Does
the
form
of
promotion
depend
on
the
product
lifecycle?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



 100


 






























































































Appendices
 


Section
4:
 Price

1)
 Do
you
use
off
peak
pricing
for
subscribers?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




2)
 If
yes,
is
it
seasonal
or
non‐seasonal?

a)
 Seasonal
 
 
 
 b)
 Non‐seasonal




3)
 Do
you
offer
trade
discount
for
sub‐dealers?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




4)
 Do
you
use
optional
feature
pricing
for
subscribers
/
sub‐dealers?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No





5)
 Is
low
tariff
implemented
as
a
strategy
to
gain
market
share
in
a
new

market?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




Section
5:
 People

1)
 What
is
the
concentration
of
the
executives
and
middle
management?


a)
 Indigenes

b)
 Internationals

c)
 Indigenes
and
Internationals




2)
 Who
are
your
intermediaries?

a)
 Companies

b)
 Individuals


c)
 Companies
and
individuals







 101


 






























































































Appendices
 


OPEN
QUESTIONS

6)
 How
do
you
guard
against
competitors
or
entrants?


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….


7)
 What
are
the
future
trends
in
the
market,
and
the
changes
that
could

happen?


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(Please
use
additional
sheet
if
necessary)

































Thanks
for
taking
time
to
answer
the
questions

















 102


 






























































































Appendices
 


Questionnaire
for
the
Retailers
(Sub­dealers)
{multi
product
sellers}

Name:


Location:

Network
provider(s):

Date:

This
questionnaire
is
designed
to
survey
the
impact
of
marketing
in
the
Nigerian

Telecommunication
Industry
in
comparison
with
the
industry
in
UK.
Please
tick

appropriately
the
answer
that
is
best
suitable.




Section
1:
 Product


1)
 What
products
do
you
offer?
(Please
circle
appropriate)


a) MTN
package

b) ZAIN
package

c) GLOBACOM
package


d) VISAFONE
package

e) STARCOMMS
package



2)
 Which
product
sells
most?
…………………………………………………………………


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………



3)
 Which
product
sells
the
least?
………………………………………………………………


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………



4)
 Which
product
receives
the
most
complaint?
……………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………….




5)
 Which
product
receives
the
best
compliment?
…………………………………….


…………………………………………………………………………………………………………



 103


 






























































































Appendices
 


6)
 What
packages
do
you
offer?
(Circle
appropriate)

a)
 Pay
as
you
go

 
 
 


b)
 Pay
monthly

c)
 All
of
the
above

d)
 None
of
the
above
(specify)……………………………………………………………….




7)
 Which
package
sells
the
most?

a)
 Pay
as
you
go

 
 
 
 b)
 Pay
monthly




8)
 Do
you
offer
customer
assistant
to
customers?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




9)
 D
you
have
in‐depth
knowledge
about
the
products?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




If
yes
please
specify
the
product(s)………………………………………………………………….


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..



10)
 If
yes,
is
it
for
all
the
products
or
selected?

a)
 All
products
 
 
 
 b)
 Selected


If
selected,
please
state
which
product?
………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..




Section2:
 Place

1)
 As
a
sub‐dealer,
are
you
present
in
more
than
one
city?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




2)
 As
a
sub‐dealer,
do
you
utilize
distribution
medium?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



 104


 






























































































Appendices
 




3)
 What
kind
of
distribution
medium
do
you
utilize?


a) Online
(internet)

b) Outlets
(in
shop)

c) Telephone

d) Door‐to‐Door
sales



e) All
of
the
above



Section
3:
 Promotion


1)
 As
a
sub
dealer,
do
you
use
promotions
to
create
awareness?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No


If
yes,
what
kind
of
promotion?

a) Advertising


b) Direct
Marketing

c) Sales
Promotion

d) Personal
Selling


e) All
of
the
above



2)
 Is
the
promotion,
for
all
the
products
on
offer?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




3)
 Do
you
get
discount
when
you
buy
in
bulk?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




4)
 Which
products
offer
discount
when
you
buy
in
bulk?
(Circle
all
if
applicable)

a) MTN

b) ZAIN


c) GLOBACOM

d) VISAFONE



 105


 






























































































Appendices
 


e) STARCOMMS




5)
 Which
product
offers
the
least
discount?

a) MTN

b) ZAIN

c) GLOBACOM


d) VISAFONE

e) STARCOMMS




6)
 Which
product
offers
the
best
discount?

a) MTN


b) ZAIN

c) GLOBACOM


d) VISAFONE

e) STARCOMMS




Section
4:
 Price

1)
 Among
the
products
on
offer,
which
is
cheapest?

a) MTN

b) ZAIN


c) GLOBACOM

d) VISAFONE

e) STARCOMMS




2)
 Which
product
is
the
most
expensive?

a) MTN

b) CELTEL


c) GLOBACOM

d) VISAFONE



 106


 






























































































Appendices
 


e) STARCOMMS




3)
 Do
customers
complain
about
the
price
of
the
product?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



OPEN
QUESTION
SECTION




What
is
your
perception
of
the
Global
system
network
providers,
including
any

future
changes
in
the
industry?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………




As
a
multi
retailer,
what
would
you
like
to
see
change
within
the
industry?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(Please
use
additional
sheet
if
required)




Thanks
for
taking
time
to
fill
the
questionnaire





 107


 






























































































Appendices
 


Questionnaire
for
the
Retailers
(Sub­dealers)
{single
product
sellers}

Name:


Location:

Network
provider:

Date:

This
questionnaire
is
designed
to
survey
the
impact
of
marketing
in
the
Nigerian

Telecommunication
Industry
with
some
reference
to
the
UK
industry.
Please
tick

appropriately
the
answer
that
is
best
suitable.




Section
1:
 Product


1)
 What
product
do
you
offer?


a) MTN
package

b) GLOBACOM
package

c) ZAIN
package


d) VISAFONE
package

e) STARCOMMS
package



2)
 Do
you
have
in‐depth
knowledge
about
the
product?



 a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 b)
 No




3)
 What
is
the
seasonality
of
sales?


a) January
–
April

b) June
–
September

c) October
–
December

d) All
of
the
above


e) None
of
the
above




4)
 What
packages
do
you
offer?


a) Pay
as
you
go



 108


 






























































































Appendices
 


b) Pay
monthly

c) All
of
the
above


d) None
of
the
above

5)
 What
is
the
percentage
complaint
received
in
a
month?

a) 100%

b) 80%


c) 60%

d) 40%

e) 20%




6)
 Do
you
offer
customer
assistant
to
customers?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No





7)
 What
is
your
customer
perception
of
the
product
/
company?

a) Excellent

b) Very
good


c) Good

d) Bad

e) Worst




Section
2:
 Place

1)
 As
a
sub‐dealer,
do
you
utilize
distribution
medium?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




2)
 If
yes,
what
kind
of
distribution
medium?

a) Online
(internet)

b) Outlets
(in
shops)


c) Telephone

d) Door‐to‐Door
sales



 109


 






























































































Appendices
 


e) All
of
the
above






3)
 What
is
the
main
distribution
medium?

a) Online
(internet)

b) Outlets
(in
shops)


c) Telephone

d) Door‐to‐Door
sales

e) All
of
the
above




4)
 Are
you
present
in
more
than
one
city?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No





5)
 Are
present
in
more
than
one
location
in
a
city?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




Section
3:
 Promotion

1)
 As
a
sub
dealer,
do
you
use
promotions
to
create
awareness?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




2)
 If
yes,
what
kind
of
promotion?

a) Advertising

b) Direct
Marketing


c) Personal
Selling

d) Sales
promotion

e) All
of
the
above




3)
 Is
the
promotion
for
all
the
packages
on
offer?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



 110


 






























































































Appendices
 




4)
 Do
you
get
discount
when
you
buy
in
bulk?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No


5)
 If
you
are
present
in
more
than
one
city,
does
the
awareness
program

vary?


a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No




Section
4:
 Price


1)
 Do
customers
complain
about
the
price
of
the
product?

a)
 Yes
 
 
 
 
 b)
 No



OPEN
QUESTION
SECTION


What
is
your
perception
of
the
telecommunication
network
providers,
including

any
future
changes
in
the
industry?


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….



As
a
retailer,
what
would
you
like
to
see
change
in
the
industry?


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(Please
use
additional
sheet
if
required)




Thanks
for
taking
time
to
fill
the
questionnaire



 111


 






























































































Appendices
 



 112