SOURCE:

Faculty: Education
Department: Vocational Education

CONTRIBUTORS:

Akarahu, C. U.
Ndinechi, G. I.

ABSTRACT:

The study sought to assess the extent of utilization of marketing mix components by small and medium scale enterprises in Imo State. Four research questions and 16 null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The survey design was used for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 250 registered operators of small and medium scale enterprises in Imo State. There was no sampling since the population size was manageable. Fifty five questionnaire items relating to aspects of product, price, place and promotion components of marketing mix were developed from the literature and validated by experts. The internal consistency reliability co-efficient of the instrument was established using test-retest and a co-efficient of 0.98 was obtained. The instrument was distributed and collected with the help of research assistants. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation in answering research questions, while t-test inferential statistics was used to test the null hypotheses. The data analyzed revealed that small and medium scale business operators utilized the various product components of marketing mix to a moderate extent. The study also revealed that small and medium scale business operators made use of price components of marketing mix to a moderate extent and that small and medium scale business operators generally used the place components of marketing mix to a moderate extent. Furthermore, the study revealed that small and medium scale business operators utilize promotion components to a moderate extent. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that SME business operators in Imo State moderately utilized the marketing mix components which could be the reason for their poor performance and therefore need to improve on the use of the components. Sequel to the findings, it was recommended among others that small and medium scale business operators should be dynamic and committed to the use of Product, price, place and promotion components of marketing mix for a successful business venture. Implications of the study were discussed and suggestions for further research were made.