ABSTRACT

          The Nigerian economy is filled with different kinds of services providing industries, ramping from the large ones like banks to very small ones such as hair saloon services. The deepering economic problems in the country has made services provision of all kinds very expensive and competitive. The only solution to survive is to engage vibrant and strategically marketing. But most service firms expenditure the small ones neither have a specialized marketing unit nor seen to take marketing programmes and concept very serious.  

          It is on this lapses, that this study was based. The major objective of this study is to critically examine the marketing programmes of service based firms (in Enugu) in order to identify ways in which customers services can be improved through the application of marketing concept.

Title Page                                 II
Approval page                             III
Dedication                                 IV
Acknowledgement                         V
Abstract                                 VI
List of table     
Table of content                             VII

CHAPTER ONE
1.1    Background of the study                     1
1.2    Statement of problem                     3
1.3    Purpose of the study                     4
1.4    Hypothesis formulation                     5
1.5    Scope of the study                         5
1.6    Significance of the study                     6
1.7    Definition of terms                     7

CHAPTER TWO
    Review of literature                      8
2.1    Overview of services                     8
2.2    Nature and scope of the service industries.         13
2.3    Characteristics of services                 14
2.4    Importance of service to the economy             16
2.4.1    Definition of the elements of customers services.      18
2.4.2    The place of customers services             19
2.5    Quality of customer services                 22
2.5.1    Formation of customers services programme and strategy 26
2.5.2    Perception of the customer’s view point         27
2.5.3    Designing of competitive service package            28
2.5.4    Establishment of performance control             28
2.6    Application of the marketing concept in the service industries 29
2.7    Application of the marketing concept in Ibeto colour laboratory Enugu.                        33

CHAPTER THREE
    Research methodology
3.1    Research design                         35
3.2    Area of study                         36
3.3    Population of the study                     36
3.4    Sample and sampling procedure             36
3.5    Instruments for data collection                 39
3.6    Validation of the instrument                 39
3.7    Reliability of research instrument             40
3.8    Method of administration of the research instrument 40
3.9    Method of data analysis                     41
3.10    Limitation of the study                     43

CHAPTER FOUR
    Presentation, analysis and interpretation of data
4.1    Presentation and analysis of data             44
4.2    Test of hypothesis                         47

CHAPTER FIVE
    Summary of findings, recommendations and conclusion
5.1    Summary of findings                     75
5.2    Recommendations                         77
5.3    Conclusion                             78
5.4    Suggestions for further study                 80
Bibliography                         82
Appendix                             85