Trade Fair As An Instrument Of Increasing Marketing Performance

1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Trade fair is a form of promotional derive that enables companies to show and demonstrate their products to both middlemen and ultimate consumers. according to (Ebue) Trade fair is an excellent means of surmounting communication barriers through demonstrations. Trade fairs are time-method of bringing buyers and sellers together under mutually (equal) beneficial contrition are being tricked primarily at potential consumers, while exhibition and books are featured at trade firs which are designed to attract immediate prospect and to create awareness.
People participation in these fairs have privilege to physically examine, make comparison and learn about new products, market movement, competition and new source. This forum (show) are usually designed for special groups in a particular geographical area. (as made in Nigeria trade fair). Individuals who participate in this fair are always Interested and inquisitive about the new trend in a particular field and probably may want to know whether there is any slight change in product. Then when the exhibits are well publicized, managed, staffed the result is an increased sales volume for exhibitors. Edit staffing is considered to be the most essential factors, these show and conventions merely because it is these staff who will attend to the customers, by informing, educating and persuading them to try or use their newly Introduced products.
Trade fairs help in attending companies and enterprises get in touch with their customers and getting many inquires from serious minded enterprises and company executives who end up placing prodders. Trade fair is a good venue for sales promotion and sales.
The role of trade fair in marketing of goods is to increase marketing performance, it also create a forum for physical interaction between manufacturers and their potential customers. Manufacturers use these medium to know how much interest the buyers or consumers show in their products both the new product that are introduced and old product that have been existing in the market and how consumers reach to various features and terms, also how many express purchased intention or place order, since the participation vendors expected several benefit which include generating new sales lead, maintain new customers/contract. (though the public relation officers at the trade fair stand), selling more to present customers at company’s price, meeting new customers, introducing with publication motion pictures and visual materials.
Trade fair is organized at regular interval mostly at the same location and period of the year it usually last from seven to ten days (7 – 10 days). There are basically two kinds of trade fair organized in Nigeria.
The International trade fairs which are zonal into three in this country (Nigeria) are Lagos, Kaduna and Enugu. Lagos serves as a venue for any International trade fair that is to lasted in the Western region while Enugu and Kaduna serve in the Northern regions.
Emily Millionaire Industry Limited with head office in Lagos came into the cosmetic production in the late 1978 while that of Enugu branch was established in 1990. The company have participated in both International and local trade fair to better it’s futures in the cosmetics Industries thus the researcher looks at trade in improving market performance of cosmetic Industries with special Interest on Emily Cosmetics Limited Enugu.

1.2. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Trade fair as an Instrument for Increasing marketing performance and the company need not to be over emphasized, but most often the goals of trade fairs are not usually achieved. This starts from the fact that it takes a lot of time searching out the stand of these producer of goods because these stands are not strategically located.
The place is very crowded most often consumers cannot stand for a long struggle getting to those stands.
Most often the attitude of the attendants are noting to write home about infant they do not relate very well to the customers. Question asked or ignored are not often well treated or entirely ignored. One can find that prices of goods in the trade fairs are atimes very high compared to what obtained in the open market. Most of these stands are not attractive. It is not clean and tidy, this stand discourage visitors. These problems no doubt have affected the visitors negatively and thus impacting negatively on the sales of participant. Emily Millionaire is not an explanation. These problems and many more forms the focus of this study.

1.3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this research work is to critically assess how trade fair can help the marketing of goods of a company’s product.
The objectives are as follows:-
1. To determine how trade fair can help a company to increase their market shares and profits.
2. To determine how trade fair can help stimulate marketing products.
3. If the role aim of trade fair is to create awareness are successful is this statement with reference to past fairs.
4. Whether participants organize and consumers obtain value for their money.
5. Are the participating companies professing trade fairs and to the adjustment when the need arises.
6. To make appropriate recommendations on solving the problem identified.

1.4. SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY
This study does not have academics as it’s main significant objective it helps to orientate manufacturing Industries on how, when and where to use promotion and the type of promotional mix to apply as personal selling which is mostly used in trade fairs to enlighten customers on how to use products and the benefits involved in using such product. Other areas in which this work has significance.

1.5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Is Trade fair the most effective promotional tool?
2. Does Emily Millionaire, participating in Trade fair effects customers awareness of their product?
3. Does participation of Emily Millionaire lead to increase interest of their product?
4. Does Trade fair participation enhance the marketing performance of Emily Millionaire?
5. How Trade fair participation by Emily Millionaire increase customers patronage of their goods?
Promotion and public relation.
Personal selling: Personal selling entails meeting individuals and groups of people and presenting a product to them with the intention of achieving immediate patronage Olabunori (1999:1991) personal selling can be used for many purpose, including creating product awareness, arousing interest, developing product preference, and negotiating price. etc.
Public relation: Public relation as seen by kotler and Armstron (1996:461) is building, good relationship with the firms various public by obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good corporate image and handling or heading of unfavorable rumours, stories and events.
Advertising: of all the methods of marketing promotion advertising is the most used and popular in Nigeria. Advertising is so popular that many people regard it as the main activity of marketing. Olabunori (1999:192).
Advertising is a key paint of marketing that involves the use of media to inform consumers about something, and/or to persuade them to do something.
In effect, it brings products and consumers together, and then modulates the relationship between them pocket mark marketing (1996:25).
Sales promotion: Adirika “et al” (1996:142) view sales promotion as that something extra. That can arouse interest create a buying desire, and spark an immediate reaction from customers, middlemen or company sale force.
Ebue Bona (2000:7) classified it into consumer promotion; trade promotion and sales force promotion.
The tools used in sales promotion are the following:
1. Sampling
2. Premium
3. Offer
4. Dealer contests
5. Trade fair and exhibitions
According to Onyeke (1999:117) trade fair and exhibition as a promotional tool, offers good opportunities for the following.