THE IMPACT OF PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY ON SALES PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER  ONE

1. INTRODUCTION:

The World is fast becoming a global village and a necessary tool for this process is communication of which communication is a key player.

The development in the telecommunication industry all over the world is very rapid as one innovation replaces another in a matter of weeks.  A major breakthrough is the wireless telephone system which comes in either fixed wireless telephone lines or the global system of mobile communication (GSM) communication without doubt is a major driver of any economy. Emerging trends in socio economic growth shows a high premium being placed on information and communication technology (ICT) by homes, organization and nations.

Nigeria is not left out in this race for rapid development as the nations economy has been subject to years of economic reversal via mismanagement and bad leadership. The Nigeria telecommunication  sector was grossly underdeveloped before the sector was deregulated under the military regime of General Ibrahim Babagida in 1992 with the establishment  of a regulatory body; the Nigeria Communication Commission  (NCC). So far the NCC has issued various licenses to private communication operators this include (7) seven fixed telephone providers that have activated 90,000 lines; 45 Internet Service Providers with a customer of about 17,000. Several VSAT service providers are in operations and have improved financial intermediation by providing on-line banking services to bank in Nigeria. These licenses allowed Private Telephone  Operators ( PTOs)  to roll out both fixed wireless telephone lines and analogue mobile phones. The return of democracy in 1992 paved the way for the granting of GSM license to (3) three service providers: MTN NIGERIA, CELTEL WIRELESS NIGERIA AND NITEL PLC  now TRANSCORP in 2001.

1. 1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

The journey to success in Nigeria’s telecommunication industry has been long and tortuous facilities in Nigeria were first established in 1886 by the colonial administration. At independence in 1960, with a population of roughly 40 million people. The country only has about 18,724 phone lines for use. This translated to a tele density  of about  0.5 telephone network consisted of 121 exchange of which 116 were of the manual (magneto) type and only 5 were automatic.

Between 1960 and 1985, the telecommunication sector consisted of the department of Post & Telecommunication ( P&T) in charge of internal network and a limited liability company, the Nigeria External Telecommunication NET Limited is responsible for the external telecommunications (Services) NET provides the gateway to the outside world.  The installed switching capacity at the end of 1985 was about 20,000 lines as against the planned target of about 460,000. All the exchanges were analogue, telephone penetration remained poor equaling 1 telephone  line to 440 inhabitants well below the target of 1 telephone to 100 inhabitants recommended by ITU for developing countries. The quality of services was largely unsatisfactory.

1. 1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The most obvious problems of telecommunication service like GLO (NIG) LTD is how to provide effective services to the nation has been yearning for an improved telecommunication services for a long period of time. In response to that, the Federal Government provided for the creation of a company that will function purely on commercial basis.

1. 1. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

The purpose of this study is to highlight the strategy on how different product enhances sales performance in communication industries especially (GLO LTD) and the general public.

It will also enhance the efficiency in the organization as the study will be of great benefit to the management and staff of the company and the public in general.  The researcher was of the view that through this strategy we can enhance sales performance on different product and also it will benefit the citizens and generate more revenues for the development of communication in Nigeria and also generate more revenues for the economy of the nations. Also, the organization that could not be able to research on the impact of product differentiation strategies on sales performance especially those who are in communication business.

1.4       STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

The formation of which leads to the structuring of questionnaire to asses the new of subsidiaries consumers of communication services.

H0: Product differentiation strategy does not have impact on the sales performance of Globacom Nig ltd.

H1: Product Differentiation strategy has impact on the sales performance of Globacom Nig Ltd.

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of this study is to enhance sales performance in communication industries especially Glo Nigeria Ltd and also it help other section who have different product to enhance their sales performance. In addition it will generate revenue for the organization and also help in developing the communication industry.

1.6       SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

It will not be easy for student to conclude a research work without encountering one problem or the other. One of such problem is lack of finance that is there was no adequate fund at the time the researcher was carrying out this research work.

Another problem faced by the researcher is from the staff of Glo who are suppose to give you information in regards to the research work telling you to come tomorrow.

Another problem faced by the researcher is time factor at the period of the project, lecture continue going on in class, also the semesters examination was fast approaching thereby know extra time to cover many notes at the expenses of the project. The time set for the submission of the project work was too short which made the researcher to be extra busy in this period.

Because of the time constraint we decided to focus this researcher on the activities of the North – West zone (NWZ) comprising of Kaduna, at it’s headquarter, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi and  Zamfara States. In spite of all the problem mentioned above, the research  work was strictly based  by moving about from one sections to other of the company to collect all these data used for this project work.

1. 1. BRIEF HISTORY OF GLO

Since GLO mobile launched its services on August 29, 2003, it has been at the forefront of revolutionary changes in the GSM sector of Nigeria, offering both prepaid and contract packages along with a range of value added services.

In it’s first year of operation, GLO Mobile became the fastest growing GSM network in Africa, achieving a record one million subscribers and covering over 87 towns in just nine month. The subscriber figure at the moment stands at over 9 million with coverage extending to over 40,000 cities, towns, communities and major roads. Thus, making the company the second largest operator in Nigeria while vigorously pursuing it earned the identity of the Nigerian Innovator. This is because it boasts a wide variety of innovative packages and tariff plains designed to fulfill the needs of a broad spectrum of market segments in Nigeria. Prominent among the innovation, GLO Mobile has introduced are the per second Billing, Blackberry, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Magic Plus, Glo Direct, GLO Mobile Internet, Glo Fleet. Manager, M – banking and Glo Mobile office while competition argued that per second Billing (PSB) was not possible until 2007 and that no network in the world has been able to launch with PSB, Globacom introduced the billing platform at launch. This caused a stir in the industry and is regarded as the most   innovative landmark in the communications industry. Since the introduction of GSM services in Nigeria in 2001.

In addition, Glo mobile provides the subscriber high speed access to all popular sites which have been customized for mobile phone browsing,  while GLo Direct is an advanced wireless internet access service that allows subscribers to stay connected to the world wide web, using their phones as a modem for devices such as laptop and smart phones.

Glo M – Banking is a new product which gives customers swift and easy access to their bank accounts from their mobile phones. The launch of Glo – M – Banking makes it the first time in Nigeria that one single application will provide a uniform interface to a multitude of banks.

Glo fleet manager is a revolutionary vehicle tracking solution which enables the subscriber to track, locate and communicate with a vehicle by utilizing the Glo mobile network.

Glo mobile office is a GPRS based service that allows the subscriber to access his Microsoft exchange mail, appointments calendar and tasks directly on his mobile phone. The service can also allow him to use his corporate applications like sales force automation and customers’ relationship management systems directly from the mobile phone. The service revolutionizes the way Microsoft office is accessed across the country over Glo – mobile’s GRRS coverage area. It also offers other advance mobile services.

1. 1. DEFINITION OF TERMS

GLO (NIG) LTD: Global Communication Nigeria Limited.

            NET :-    Nigerian External Communication Limited

            PET:-      Post and Telecommunications Department

Over a long distance through electrical impulses communication system today sends and receives sounds, printed materials called text massages or sound and visual images within fraction of a sound. And it includes telephone, GSM handsets, Television Set, Radio and  Teleprinter  machines.

GSM Global System of mobile is an instrument that transmits and receives sound especially human speech, text messages (GSMs) wireless cable by means of electricity.

TELEGRAPHY:-    It  is a firm of communication by electronic involving the transmission over a distance of graphic in coded materials      P. T. O Private Telecommunication Operates.