OKOMU OIL PALM COMPANY

MARKET DRIVE AND 7PS

The essence of productions and services rendering is to turn
them over to revenue through marketing. Thus, marketing is a
process through which peoples’ behaviour is influenced towards
accepting and patronising a product or a service with the mind
of making profits or gains. It is clear that the concept of
consumers’ behaviour is central to marketing and it is,
therefore, important that a marketing mix such as 7P’s of
marketing is used to demonstrate how the demographics of
palm oil consumers can be well understood to achieve continual
consumers’ loyalty to OKOMU Oil Palm Company. This
infographic beams a searchlight into business models and
theories adopted by OKOMU Oil Palm Company which is
responsible for the advancement of the brand.
Product
Anything that is offered to a market for awareness, purchase, consumption, and or use for the
satisfaction of a customers’ needs or wants is referred to as a product (Al-Kubaisi and Ibrahim,
2021).

Products and services are both consumers targeted in that they are meant to satisfy the needs, wants,
and aspirations of the consumers. Though, Simonsson (2021), argued that product and service are not
directly the same, the two, however, are inseparable in an industry such as OKOMU Oil Palm Company
which produces palm oil and renders marketing services for the oil palm produce. As for OKOMU Oil Palm
Company as an industrial product/service-oriented business that produces palm oil and sales
internationally, its business model has to be configured strategically based on the assumption of
Adrodegari, Pashou, and Saccani, (2017) and Brax and Visintin, (2017).

The main product of OKOMU Oil Palm Company is palm oil which is
highly refined and premium finished to attract the international
market standard. Its services include target consumers such as
top echelons in the Nigerian community and international buyers,
particularly, Nigerians and other Africans in the diaspora who eats
palm oil.
OKOMU Oil Palm Company relies on making difference in the palm oil
business through its products, staffing, strong agricultural background, an
environmentally friendly attitude, and servicing happy and productive
people. This is likened to the Theory of New Product Development
(Gürbüz, (2018). Still, one could argue that palm oil has been in existence in
Nigeria, the product used to be a local one and its acceptance is
threatened by the production of refined coconut oil with low cholesterol.
OKOMU Oil Palm Company used the Theory of New Product Development
to introduce new highly refined and premium packaged palm oil into the
market to gain local and international prominence.
Price
Pricing is highly essential in determining the salability of a product or service (Goodie-Okio Jennifer, (2022).
The amount of money needed to acquire a product or have a service rendered is the price. It is often
determined based on the production cost and the profit margin.
There are basically seven product pricing strategies including value-based, competitive, price skimming, cost-
plus, penetration, economy, and dynamic pricing strategies.

Value-based is the pricing strategy adopted by OKOMU Oil Palm Company since its product is consumable
and highly sought after. The value attached to the palm oil is what the company leverages on the fact that
the product sells for itself since people will eat and thus, the choice of value-based pricing strategy.
Promotion
Communication is key in making a product or a service salable. The process of communicating a business
idea, product, or service to the populace is called promotion. Promotion is a tool for convincing a buyer to
purchase a product or service (Rezende de Azevedo, 2013).

The 7Ps laid much emphasis
on product promotion which
can be in the form of guides,
newsletters, announcements,
advertisements, exhibitions,
brochures, word of mouth,
local newspaper publications,
emails, listservs, displays,
flyers, posters, newsletters,
online social networking,
mail-outs, pamphlets,
personal selling, electronic
billboards, and social media
(Michael and Joshua (2020).
Promotional activities of food
products have been linked with
higher sales. According to
Szymański (2021), the food industry
is known for constant value increase
which makes the populace swing
from one food product to another. It
has been noted that some food
products such as organic foods are
not enjoying higher patronage due
to a lack of sufficient promotion
(Vega, Torres, Murgado, and Parras,
2014) and better-informed
consumers will even go for
biotechnology products because of
sufficient promotional activities for
them (McComas, Besley, and
Steinhardt, 2014).
OKOMU Oil Palm Company
is leveraging promotional
activities to the extent of
using its website and online
space for promoting its
products. The company airs
its promotions on the
television and sponsors food
cooking competition
programme on the television
where the product is used to
prepare different types of
meal that people might not
think is possible. With this,
the company’s product
continues to get noticed and
bought.
Place
The distribution of products and services to clients is metamorphosing. The channel of
distribution in marketing is becoming mobile rather than stationed (Pradhan and Leepsa,
2015).

OKOMU Oil Palm Company utilizes several channels of distribution. The company uses
sales outlets in several states of the federation and equally does home and shop
delivery to its customers. Sales agents are everywhere representing the company and
the company makes it easy for its customers to book different brands online using
online platforms. With this, customers are engaged seamlessly.

Modern ways of contacting customers are canvased by Saha Tripathy, Nayak, Bhoi,
and Barsocchi, (2021) to include omnichannel (which allows customers
Place to connect
on their own terms), a 24/7 self-service (that enables round the clock support for
customers using artificial intelligence-powered chat and voice virtual agents), using
super agents (who delivers exceptional experiences for the customer every time),
reports and dashboards (to improve efficient real-time and historical reports of
activities and operational dashboards) and collaborative contact centres for
customers.
 The concept of people in the 7Ps is centred on
People the association existing between consumers
and producers through their sales
representatives and managers. Customer
loyalty must be attained in the current
multivariant market. The people are central to
a product’s success (Suksanguan,
Siwadamrongpong, Champahom,
7Ps positioned the people in the Jomnonkwao, Boonyoo,and Ratanavaraha,
company and the customers (2022).
highly in the market chain. There For companies to survive in the
is supposed to be adequate current virtual world, the people, OKOMU Oil Palm Company
training in strategic and tactical both in the organization and outside, prides itself on investing in its
approaches to marketing the should be taken care of (Pogorelova,
company’s products and
staff. According to the
Yakhneeva, Agafonova, and company’s website, “We are
services for marketers. There is a
link between how people in the Prokubovskaya, (2016). The authors passionate about positively
organization are well attended to posited that the ‘people’ represent
impacting the livelihoods of our
and how they facilitate personnel service in organisations,
customers’ satisfaction. according to the 7Ps model. Though workers and all stakeholders by
automation is changing people with endeavoring to improve their
machines due to artificial living conditions and to protect
intelligence, yet, the role of the the rights of our neighboring
people in an organization cannot be communities”.
over-emphasized.
Process The concept of process in the 7Ps means a set of activities
that propels products benefits delivery. The ‘process’ entails
the structure of the production, methods in carrying out
business activities of the company, international cooperation
with sister companies abroad, cooperation with the business
environment, cooperation with employees, the possibility of
engaging with customers, research projects, and monitoring of
careers of employees (Ryńca and Ziaeian, 2021).

As of December 2021, OKOMU Oil Palm Company recorded a total

net of 38,912,116 book balance which the company claim is a result
of the process of carrying out the business activities of the
company. The company’s process includes its principal activities
which are the development of oil palm plantation, palm oil milling,
palm kernel processing, and the development of rubber
plantations. The products are palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm kernel
cake, Banga (package), and rubber cup lumps.
Physical evidence
The lasting proof that stipulates that service has occurred is the physical evidence according to the 7Ps.
Physical evidence involves all the activities and decisions that are related to the space and environment where
the service occurs.
All the tangible commodities and artifacts that facilitate the service performance are considered as part of
physical evidence. Decisions related to facilities, spatial layout, signage, interior design, ambient condition, and
artifacts are to be set up by the service provider. In other words, all the nonhuman elements of the service
encounter are classified as physical evidence. For example, tangibles like business stationery, billing statements,
photographs, souvenirs, brochures, etc. that add the tangible elements to the intangible service products while
communicating with the customers are considered physical evidence (Balakrishnan, Muthaly, and Leenders,
2016).
OKOMU Oil Palm Company conducts timely information to their consumers through social and other media,
takes orders both offline and online, consults with customers through their 24/7 enabled website interactions,
hospitable to their staff and customers. Timely training to their staff and high-level service to their customers
with the aim of rendering quality service. Customers’ data in terms of emails, contact addresses, payment
information, etcetera is well safeguarded. The company also conducts personalized services, bills appropriately,
and runs seamless payment platforms.