Abstract

This study was based on the topic “The Effects of Marketing Research on the performance of Selected higher Institutions” with two schools as a case study; CUIB and HIPS.  The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of marketing research on the performance selected Higher Institutions. Applying marketing research to Higher Institutions is unavoidable yet challenging since these institutions face problems like finding a market, understanding students’ needs, testing course materials and monitoring feedback. They also face on the other hand the growing impact of the changing environment where they have to attract a critical mass of customers and on the other hand, the requirement of the government, ministry of education and the general public to efficiently fulfil these requirements on the situation of increased is becoming necessary. (Aram, 2009).

A survey research design was used to carry out the study with data collected using questionnaires. The sample population of this study was made up of teachers of two Higher Institutions (CUIB and HIPS Buea). Pearson’s correlation coefficient as a statistical technique was also used to ascertain the relationship between the two variables under study and regression to determine the degree of this relationship. At the end of the study, some findings were arrived at which included; Sales, product and advertising research has a significant effect on the performance of Selected Higher Institutions, A conclusion was established that marketing research has a strong positive effect on organizational performance, with product research having the greatest effect on performance. Some recommendations were also made The selected higher institutions under the study should Dedicate/create a whole department to focus on better-achieving the Institution’s competitiveness and performance and also use product research to investigate and provide new, innovative services based on the latest trends in the educational milieu.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1Background to the Study

Marketing is an integral part of any organization. This would help increase the customer base and make an organization very popular. If adequately and properly done. Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising (Hunt, Shelby D, 1976). It can also be a process for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offering that has value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Organizations that want to be successful must do all it can to have an effective and efficient marketing network.

In recent years’ companies, institutions and governments are increasingly accustomed to the fact that marketing research serves as a strong component in the process of decision making and thus, achieving the desired level of validity with the market (Ballenger 1979). Marketing Research is the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of data about problems connected with the market place that is problems relating to the product, prices, promotion and distribution of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. In broader terms, it can likewise be seen as the process or set of processes that link the producer, its customer and end-users to the market through information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems, generate, refine and evaluate marketing as a process.

In terms of higher education Philip Kotler offers the following definition “marketing is analyzing, planning, implementing, and control of carefully formulated programs designed to bring about the voluntary exchange with target market need and desirers and using effective pricing, communication and distribution to inform, motivate and service these markets (Kotler & Fox, 1995).

The purpose of marketing research is to provide management with relevant, accurate, reliable, valid and up to date market information. The competitive marketing environment and the ever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision making require that marketing research provide sound information, sound decision making that is not based on good feeling intuition or even pure judgment, (Malhotra &Naresha, 2002)

Marketing research can be traced back to the medieval period in 1380, where the German textile manufacturer, Johann Fugger travelled from Augsburg to Graben in order gather information on the international textile industry and by the 1930s the first courses of marketing research were taught in universities and colleges. More so, in this new millennium web analytics were born out of the need to track the behaviour of site visitors and as the popularity of e-commerce and web advertising grew website become larger and complex and the possibility of two-way communication business and consumer which further propelling the marketing research industry. As information around the world has become more accessible, increase competition by companies and schools to demand more of market research.

To be successful and to attract students in the tough competitive environment, many universities incorporate different kinds of education marketing into their strategies (James & Philips, 1995; Oplatke, 2002), even though there is a consistent lack between educational marketing and business marketing theories. It has even been said that though competition will increase the performance of the student and the quality of research and teaching will be streamlined for the higher education industry as an effect of educational marketing (Tooley, 2000).

1.2 Problem Statement

Since marketing research concentrates on the study of product planning and development, pricing policies, the effectiveness of personal selling, advertisement and sales promotion (three wings of marketing communication), distribution structure, marketing competition and the entire area of buyer behaviour and attitude in the market place, these concepts, in the long run, become really ambiguous to implement, thus the need to understand the intricacies of marketing research is eminent. Applying marketing research to the Higher educational institutions is unavoidable yet challenging since they face problems like finding a market, understanding students’ needs, testing course materials and monitoring feedback.

Higher Educational institution also faces, on one hand, the growing impact of the changing environment where they have to attract a critical mass of customers and on the other hand, the requirement of the government, ministry of education and the general public to efficiently fulfil these requirements on the situation of increased is becoming necessary. (Aram, 2009).

The marketing research within higher education and international-based marketing of University is lacking consistency. The lack of knowledge and inconsistency towards how higher education conduct marketing provides the need of both a cheaper and a broader knowledge towards how different marketing approach is used throughout the world (Helmsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2006).

1.3 Research Question

In other to exhaust the objectives of this research, the following research questions were eminent.

• To what extend does sales research affect organizational performance?

• To what extend does product research affect organizational performance?

• To what extend does advertising research affect organizational performance?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of marketing research on the performance of selected Higher Institutions.

1.4.2 Specific Objective

• To assess the sales research techniques used by selected Higher Institutions and how they influence organizational performance.

• To Evaluate the extent to which product research affects the performance of selected higher Institution.

• To Determine the need for advertising research on the performance of selected Higher Institution.