Marketing Of Communication Services

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Consumption is basic to human existence. The human nature is usually involved in an every day activity which stems from manufacturing, buying and consumption. The consumer also must be aware at the existence at a product before thoughts of buying and testing the product will ever come to his mind.
Therefore, the manufacture utilizes different options to eep the consumer aware of the existence at his products and to determine how such products can serve the purpose of the consumer. Such options stem from the bill boards, radio, posters, souvenirs (eg. Can stickers, opener, table mat etc) testing market to television.
It does not necessarily mean that the only use of the television is for advertising purposes. Television is an electronic medium, through which information, entertainment and education are offered to the populace most of the time without cost.
On the other hand, television marketing is a service marketing contrary to marketing concept, has no profit motive. Its priority is to identify way of solving the public entertainment and leisure problems and making sure that daily information concerning the people reach them first-hand without adulteration an delay.
The American marketing association (AMA) defines services as activities, benefits or satisfaction which are offered for sale or are provided in connection with the sales of goods. The services described in the second half of the definition are those included in the sale of records to the customers. Viz, pre-sale services. This paper is primarily concentrating on the first part of the foresaid definition viz, activities benefits or satisfaction which are offered for sales. The marketing of these kinds of services usually do not include the sale of the goods to customers such activities, benefits and satisfactions offered are intangible in nature i.e. they are not concrete objects which can be tested, felt, moved and so on.
When a customer buys a service in the service market, he buys the time knowledge, skill or resources of someone else who is the provider or supplier of the service. The buyer receives satisfaction or benefit of the activities of the provider who may be an individual, a firm or a company or even and institution specializing in selling certain benefits or satisfaction.
Television marketing, could make us define marketing as the creation and delivery of customer satisfaction, service at a profit to the supplier or provider of the service. The roles of customer satisfying services assumes unique importance in the customer- oriented marketing approach. In the sale of service to customer, what is important is that customer be satisfied, that their needs and wants be fulfilled by the provider of services.
When you talk of television marketing in Nigeria, the profit motive include in the marketing concept could be ignored totally because both federal and state owned television stations in this country do not make profit compared with the counterparts overseas. The equipment designed to help television houses and researchers to know the number of viewers a channel records everyday has since been in use in the united kingdom and America. The number of television set owners are also known and each and every owner has a television license just as you have you vehicle license which is renewed annually. Such things as television and radio license do not exist here in Nigeria and may not exist in the very near future. This is why the television houses depend on the government Federal or state depending on ownership for subventions to sustain ie. Otherwise. It generates revenue from advertisements and sponsored programmes.
Television is the latest medium of mass communication and has begun to be extensively used for advertisement. It uses audio – visual appeals to contact consumers of general utility products. Like radio advertising, television advertising may take the form of short commercials as well as sponsored programmes combining entertainment with publicity. This medium is now available in our country but the only price we pay is the cost of our television sets period.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The research problem is therefore centred on identifying the opportunities through which television houses could generate funds to sustain them and also enough funds to enable them and also enough funds to enable them serve the public more effectively.
Under customers –oriented marketing, selling the demand at the customer is the central marketing function. It is guaranteed road to even profitability. Profit is the by-product of consumer satisfaction. The concept of service to customers and to society is based on ethical views of marketing practices services to customer is the master- key to both survival as well as profit.
It is also the intention of this researcher to identify the impact of television advertising or the consumers, how they react to it (whether negatively or positively) and how much it influences their buying behaviour and buying decision, also the successes of television advertising through the advertiser/manufacturers point of view. It should however be understood that this analysis is specifically restricted to the advertisement on Nigerian Television Authority channel 8, Enugu: Viewers in Enugu as on area in its channel 8) geographical coverage and the experiences at its commercial crew.

1.3 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
(1) The purpose of this study is to take a critical look on ow the Nigerian television authority channel 8, Enugu markets its station through effective programming and performance standard
(2) Highlight the effect (whether positive or negative) its programme content has on its number of viewship.
(3) Highlight the loophole created by the poor performance of the station especially in carrying advertisements, and how their counterparts, the Nigerian television authority channel 8 take advantage of this.
(4) Study the effect of the economic crunch on the station as regards the amount of subvention they get from the government annually and what efforts they are making to generate more revenue for the station.
(5) Study the contribution of the commercial division to the running of the station and identify what inhibits their efforts.
(6) Analyses the influence of television advertising from the consumers points of view. This includes the moral influences and how the consumers respond to the advertisement due to ignorance on the part of the consumer or audiquity of the advertisement message.
(7) Suggest ways of improving sales advertisement spots so as to help generate more revenue for the station.
(8) Study the cause of high cost of advertisement spots on the television channel and how it effects the cost of the advertised product in the market and also how it affects the rate of response from the advertisers.

1.4 HYPOTHESIS
(i) Marketing of television services in Nigeria is not consumer oriented.
(ii) Bureaucracy in Nigerian Television authority has adverse effect on its marketing efforts.
(iii) Ownership structure of television stations inhibits effective marketing effort of executives
(iv) Television marketing in Nigeria is an untapped under utilized marketing tool.

1.5 LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS.
This study is limited to the experience of the Nigeria television Authority channel 8 Enugu in the marketing or services. It also includes the viewers and advertisers in Enugu and environs who monitor and view this particular channel. It was therefore necessary to conduct studies both within and outside the corporation to enable the researcher obtain the views of the public to whom these services are rendered and views of the public to whom these services are rendered and advertisement are directed and also the opinion at the advertisers a regards the performance of the station in respect of the money spent on advertisement on his particular channel.
This study will therefore enable the researcher to know from the management of the station, the problems encountered by the station that hamper productivity and efficiency than the commercial division of the station to know what inhibits their efforts in generating revenue or increasing sales. The extent of competition from the state- owned television and how they intend to tackle it and win.
Due to the limited period for submission of this research project, the writer found it quite difficult to tract down the chief executive of the advertising agencies (e.g. M.A.A.N) etc that use channel 8 to give out their clients as a result their advertisement on this particular station. Where this was impossible use was made of file reports from their marketing division as to sales improvement or decreases or no effect reports from their clients in the last two to three years. Limited information was also received from the second in command. In each case for security reasons.

1.6 DEFINITION FO TERMS
TELEVISION
Television is an electronic medium through which message and entertainment are sent or directed to the public. Television advertising is a very successful mass communication medium. It combine the characteristics of salesmanship and advertising. The appeal can be very personal. Demonstration of the product and audio-visual appeal is easily possible making a very effective impact on viewers
Television advertising on the other and is probably very effective, especially for consumer products. Certainly it is yet the most sophisticated. It is equally very expensive and this is quite understandable learning is most easily stimulated by appealing to most of the human senses.
While other medium engage only on sense most effectively television engage two sense sigh and sound. Emotional empathy to the commercial is also achieved more. The better the equality of the commercial. We should not forget the films on our youths. Thereby we notice that even the financially down do aspire to live and consume like the super actors in commercials.
Television offers great entertainment pleasure to the general public. Football matches both life and recorded electioneering campaigns daily news of the country and the world over, all are brought to your listening and viewing pleasure. In fact. It offers the mot relaxing situation that is within reach of a good number of Nigerians. I should say, that television is in vogue now in Nigeria. In that homes that do not have access to a television set must be in the minority.
MARKETING
The various definitions of marketing. I tend to believe that marketing. I tend to believe that marketing is the business function that identifies current unfulfilled needs and wants. Defines and measures their magnitude, determines which target markets the organization can best serve, and decided san appropriate product, services and programmes to serve these markets.
Thus marketing serves as the link between a society’s needs and its pattern of Industrial response.
On the other hand in the words of the father of management, peter drucker, marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered as a separate functions. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is, from the customers point of view”
Sherleker defines marketing as “the function by which a marketer plans, promotes and delivers goods and services for customers and clients.” He went further to say that “In the context of marketing of services, we can say that marketing is the creation and delivery of customer satisfying services at a profit to the supplier or provider of services.”
ADVERTISING
Advertising is one of the four major tools companies use to direct persuasive communication to target buyers and the entire public. Visual symbols and imagery are important because they can be easily remembered and associated with the brand. The advertisement campaigns should go for high repetition with short duration message. Television is more effective than print media because it is a low involvement medium that is suitable for passive learning. The advertising planning should be based on classical conditioning theory where the buyer comes to identify a certain product by symbol that is repeatedly attached to it.