Business Environment

The business environment is a marketing term and refers to factors and forces that affect a firm's ability to build and maintain successful customer relationships. The word 'business environment' indicates the aggregate total of all people, organisations and other forces that are outside the power of industry but that may affect its production.

Every business or organization is not an island to itself; it subsists, endures and develops within the circumstances of the part and forces of its situation. While an individual enterprise makes effort to change or manage these forces, it has no choice to reacting or modifying according to them. Good knowledge of the environment by business managers allows them not only to recognise and assess but also to respond to the forces outside to their enterprises.

Challenges of Nigeria Business Environment

Nigeria's business environment in the recent years has been characterized by fear and uncertainty leading to collapse of some business outfits particularly, the small scale industries and the relocation of the big ones to other countries, this is majorly attributed to the various challenges experienced in Nigeria business environment. Such challenges include the following:

1.     Power Supply: There is insufficient energy generation and distribution in Nigeria. Electricity is the life wire of any manufacturing company particularly, large scale industries which use automation of different kinds. The supply of electricity in Nigeria is poor to the extent that companies are forced to quit business in Nigeria and relocate to other African countries. This is because, alternative power supply increases overhead cost of doing business, which is capable of affecting the overall purpose of doing business (Uffot, 2009).

2.     Poor Transportation Network and Connectivity: Nigeria roads are bad, some of the roads that link one town to the other are not motorable. Movement and delivery of goods is slow and sometimes unsafe on the Nigeria roads. Incessant accident, breakdown of vehicles are common features on Nigeria roads. This discourages investors and limit business opportunity.

3.     Insecurity: There is high level of insecurity in the country, particularly, in the Northern zone where (BokoHaram) has become a threat to business activities. No investor will be willing to invest where his investment is not secured. Many companies in the Northern part of the country have stopped operation due to “Boko Haram” scourge.

4.     Multiple tax system: Another factor that affect Nigeria’s business environment is multiple tax system. There is multiplicity of taxes by tiers of government which makes the cost of doing business higher the necessary.

5.     Unpredictability of Government Policies. Government policies are not stable in Nigeria, every government comes with his own policies, some good policies can be inconclusive, some jettisoned for political reason, while some are abandoned for selfish interest of those in power and government. This attitude breeds perpetual fear in the minds of investors.

6.     Lack of synergy among agencies of government: Lack of synergy among agencies of government, existence of obsolete practices, inadequate empowerment for agency responsible for investment promotion, facilitation and coordination for support of favourable business climate, prohibitive cost of land, transferability of land titles, land securitization, weak trade and business facilitation mechanism, poor economies of integration among industries low entrepreneurial capacity, lack of appropriate technologies by SMEs, Decline national values and educational standards, high incidence of corruptions among officials of government, poor quality of graduates of higher institutions, weak national value re-orientation, insufficient mechanism for public private dialogue.

Factor to be considered when setting up business enterprise

  

Factor to be considered when setting up business enterprise

With all this excitement, it is possible for one to just jump into business without prior planning. Lack of proper initial planning can be disastrous to the business owner(s) in the long run when the truth about the business environment sets in. The following are the factor to be considered when setting up business enterprise:

1.           Location of the Business: Location of a business is an important element before one starts the business. The location is determined by one's residence, the existence of similar businesses in the area, the distance between one's area of residence and the business, the population of the area, and the demographic. All these factors play an important role in determining the success or the failure of the business.

2.           Competition: Competition comes from other people doing the same business. You should research how the competitors run their businesses, who their customers are, their pricing strategy, how well they do it, and their challenges. Their mistakes should be your strong points so as to outdo them.

3.            Target Market: Who are your consumers? What particular product do they prefer? What after sale service do they appreciate? These are the things that you should consider. After that, you should tailor your business to match up to the above factors.

4.     Startup Capital: Starting a business requires an efficient source of capital considering that some unexpected needs arise with time. Some of the options that one would consider would be getting money from family and friends, getting a loan from a bank, or even finding a willing investor.

5.     Naming of the Business: The name of the business is usually the first thing the customers get to know about. This step, therefore, requires a long thought since once the business picks up, it would be hard and expensive to change it. The name will also coincide with the businesses website and web domain.

6.     Financial Management: Before you could start a venture, it is very crucial to have a clear financial plan on how you will manage your finances, or how you will hire someone to do so. Financial management requires a professional accountant who understands the balancing between the inputs and output. It is very easy to think that the money in the business is enough, only to end up using the capital for the wrong purpose.

7.     Possible Partnerships: Partnerships usually help in terms of expanding one's customer base, getting lessons concerning starting or running a business, and various elements required for a business startup.

8.     Online Presence: Nowadays, everything is done online, from the start to the growth of the business. Before starting the venture, you should have plans of creating a business website or a blog, creating a twitter, Facebook, and Instagram account, and much more. These are main areas where people get to know about your business. You could also use these channels to chat and speak directly to your clients. A business website is the face of the business.

9.     Legal Requirements: Different businesses require different legal considerations. For instance, a business dealing with foodstuffs would be required to provide a safety license. To be on the safer side, you should make sure that you have set terms and conditions that ought to be signed to avoid any inconveniences. The local authority takes care of offering such licenses, so you should make sure that you acquire one. There are more legal considerations to take care of, so make an effort to talk to a legal advisor to clear any doubt.

10.Education, Experience, and Skills: Going into a business with no experience, or skills or even knowledge on that particular field could be very dangerous. Wearing designer clothes does not mean that you know how to run such a business. Before going in a business, make sure that you have prior experience, or the required knowledge needed to do that venture.

11.Return on Investments: The ROI is got by dividing the Net Profit by the Investment. During the start of the business, the Return on Investments is usually low, then rises as the years go by. For a business to be successful, the Return on Capital should be bigger than the interest rates earned from a bank deposit. 

THE EFFECT OF ONLINE MARKETING ON REAL ESTATE BUSINESS IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREAL COUNCIL

THE EFFECT OF ONLINE MARKETING ON REAL ESTATE BUSINESS IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREAL COUNCIL

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effect of online marketing on real estate business in abuja municipal areal council. The following specific objectives are pursued to achieve the aim of this study; to examine the effect of online marketing on real estate in Abuja, to determine the effectiveness of online marketing in real estate sector in the study area and to identify the problems associated with online marketing in real estate sector. The researcher adopt the use of questionnaire, observation and personal interview to gathered relevant data from the respondents while tables, simple percentage and descriptive statistics were used for data presentation and analysis. The research reveals that online marketing business have a significant effects on real estate market in Abuja and therefore it should be encourage to cover all areas of real estate market such as estate agency, development, sales, and management of real estate property.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Prior to the age of the Internet, people selected their rental homes through realtors, newspaper advertisements, by word of mouth, and by touring neighborhoods (Bensinger, 2007). Since the inception of the Internet and social media marketing, however, the real estate sector workforce has another viable tool to advertise their properties (Wagner, 2008). Identifying consumers’ preferred rental amenities and methods of selecting rental properties should enhance the success of any property management company.

The growth of the use of the Internet, and in particular the World Wide Web, over the last 10 years has been phenomenal and impacted on nearly every area of life in developed societies. One of the most important aspects of peoples’ lives is their physical living conditions and in Nigeria just like in many other countries. Traditionally Nigeria has adopted new technology rapidly, with the relatively large population of over 170 million and the high demand for housing. The use of Internet or online marketing business has followed this pattern with World Wide Web access now available to the vast majority of Nigerian homes.

The online marketing or internet is still seen as a fairly new tool by many people. With respect to the current graphic-intensive state of the media (multi-media presentations) and encrypted e-commerce (secure on-line purchasing) used on the internet, this technology is very new (Birvin, 1999). However, the backbone of the Internet has roots going all the way back to the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik in 1957. In response (to Sputnik), US forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the following year, within the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish America’s lead in science and technology applicable to the military. Real estate listings were part of the fabric of the Internet. Originally, entire Usenet message boards were reserved for listing homes, with eager homeowners looking to cut out the real estate commission which has been in operation in advanced countries (Rosen, 1996). When the Internet started to boom, real estate practitioners got in on the game as well, adding their listings on their own sites. Real estate services also started developing Internet platforms. In 1996, LendingTree.com introduced their marketplace concept. This was the first service offered for real estate that existed only in cyberspace. Many other banks offering on-line loans already existed, but this showed the unique power of the Internet. Today, sites offer a myriad of real estate services in an online environment all over the world. While some of them have traditional brick and mortar operations, many of these new companies exist only over TCPIP (Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol) (Rosen, 1996).

The role of online marketing business in real estate has grown profoundly over the past few years. In an industry that once used print media as its primary form of delivering the marketing message, there is now an urgent need to have transitioned to the internet in order to reach today’s homebuyer. An online presence is a vital component of a real estate professional’s marketing strategy. Because today’s consumers want accurate information quickly and conveniently, real estate professionals must harness the features and capabilities of online marketing to meet these ever-increasing needs. In this study, the researcher examine the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Nigeria and Abuja in particular.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Individuals currently seeking a new apartment home to rent or purchase are faced with many challenges in the process of searching, contacting the real owner or property managers, most of the times fall victims of scrupulous individuals posing as real estate agents in Abuja and its environs. To interested individuals in real estate sectors uses realtors, newspaper advertisements, word of mouth, and touring neighborhoods to scout for properties of their interest, this traditional process comes with a lot of challenges. However, It has been estimated that 80% of homebuyers in the developed countries begin their housing search online (Bensinger, 2007). However, not all property managers or property management companies use the Internet or social media websites to market their properties. Property managers and leasing professionals need to determine if the marketing techniques they use meet the needs of the renters they hope to acquire. Therefore, in an attempt to increase productivity and profitability, brokerage firms are using the internet to deliver market information to consumers about the real estate market. This study examines the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Abuja and Nigerian cities at large.

1.3       AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is examine the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Abuja.

The following objectives are pursued to achieve the aim of this study:

1. To examine the effect of online marketing on real estate in Abuja.
2. To determine the effectiveness of online marketing in real estate sector in the study area.
3. To identify the problems associated with online marketing in real estate sector.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions shall guide the researcher towards achieving the aim and objectives of the study:

1. What is the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Abuja?
2. What is the effectiveness of online marketing business in real estate sector?
3. What are the problems associated with online marketing in real estate sector?

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study evaluates the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Abuja, it will enlightens the general stakeholders in real estate sector on the effects of online marketing on the real estate market. The following are the significance of this study:

1. The result from this study will educate the general public on the rudiments of online marketing and especially how it can influence the real estate business.
2. This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.

1.6       SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study on the effect of online marketing business on real estate in Abuja will cover the level of online marketing in Nigeria especially in the real estate development sector. It will also cover the online business activities of real estate agents in Nigeria with particular interest in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.7       DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purpose of this creative project, the following definitions will be used:

E-Commerce: The Use Of Computers To Carry Out Transactions Such As Buying And Selling On Internet.

Emerging Market: An Emerging Market Economy Is A Nation’s Economy That Is Progressing Toward Becoming Advanced, As Shown By Some Liquidity In Local Debt And Equity Markets And The Existence Of Some Form Of Market Exchange And Regulatory Body.

Information Technology (IT): This Represents Set Of Tools, Processes, And Methodologies And Associated Equipment Employed To Collect, Process, And Present Information.

Service Delivery: This Is The Act Of Providing The Needs Of Customers Or Clients.

Spamming: This Is The Use Of Electronic Messaging Systems (Including Most Broadcast Media, Digital Delivery Systems) To Send Unsolicited Bulk Messages Indiscriminately.

Social media – uses Internet-based technologies that facilitate the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Social media refers to websites that permit people to interact with the site and with each other using simple interfaces.

Facebook: Facebook is more than just a website; it is a network unprecedented and unlike any other website in existence (McElvain & Smyth, 2006). Facebook is an online directory that connects people though social networks.

Twitter – is a social media website like Facebook, but Twitter is a much more active form of social communication in which the way the user communicates with people on the social network emerges as much more conversational. The main difference between Facebook and Twitter is Facebook limits the users’ status updates to more than 63,000 characters but Twitter limits the users characters to a mere 140 (Tagtmeier, 2010).

Property Management Company – is responsible for running day to day operations for a rental property including maintenance, rent collection, move ins, move outs, lease renewals and evictions and marketing. (Paris, 2006).

LinkedIn – is a social networking site that allows the user to learn about another contact’s interests, making it a great resource to help the user build a strong relationship (Comer, 2011).

1.8       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY AREA

Abuja was formally a town under traditional emirate of Suleja in Niger state, north central of Nigeria. The town is situated along the river Iku, a minor tributary of the river Niger at the foot of the Abuchi hills and lies at the intersection of several roads. The emirate’s savannas areas of approximately 2,980sqkm originally included four secondary Koro Cheifdoms that paid tribute to the Hausa kingdom of Zazzau. In the period 1804, Zaria, the capital of Zazzua (220km North-Northeast) was captured by warriors of the Fulani jihad (holy war). Muhamman Makau, the king of Zazzua (Sarkin Zazzua) guided a large section of the Hausa nobility to the Koro town of Zuba (10km southwards)

Abu Ja (Jatau) the brother of the king and later his successor, founded the town of Abuja in 1828 and a year later started the construction of the town wall. Abu Ja then proclaimed himself the emir of Abuja and withstood Zaria’s attacks, allowing Abuja emirate to remain an independent Hausa refuge. During the reign of Emir Abu Kwaka (1851-77), trade with the Fulani emirate of Bida (Westwards) and Zaria began. But the trade route between Lokoja (160km South-Southwest) and Zaria was disrupted by Abuja’s leaders, resulting in the British occupation of the town. During the reign of Emir Musa Angulu (1917-44) alluvial tin mining began.

A Hausa emir who retains advisory role oversees the traditional emirate, with its predominate Gbari (Gwari) and Koro population. During the administrative reorganization in 1976, Abuja town became the headquarters of a local government council. The town was renamed Suleja in the late 1970’s after development began on the urban area of federal capital territory of Nigeria (FCT). The new Federal capital adopted the name Abuja.

ECONOMY AND POPULATION OF ABUJA

Abuja although is said to be bless with natural endowment such as; its rolling hills, isolated highlands and other endearing features which makes it a delight. The savannah grassland of the north and the middle belt, the riches of the tropical rain forest of the south and equable climate all combined make the city a soil rich agricultural and tourist heaven.   But despite all this, the city is not economically buoyant due to absent of industrial activities.

Projection called for a population of more than one million early in the 21^st century, the population estimate as at 2006 stand for a four million with annual growth rate of 2.8

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ABUJA

Abuja created in 1976 by the federal military government of the late general Muritala Mohammed via decree No. 6 of the same year; it officially replaced Lagos in December 1991after fifteen years of planning and construction. The city was divided into two zones; central zones contains the national assembly, the city hall, national cultural institution, government related offices that include the administrative headquarters of all federal government ministries and parastatals, also major private sector organizations and foreign missions. The second zone provides housing, shopping facilities and other urban amenities.  

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

The federal capital is located in the geographical center of Nigeria. It has a land area of 8,000square kilometers. It is bounded on the north by Kaduna state, the West by Niger state, the East and Southeast by Nasarawa state and Southwest by Kogi state. It falls within latitude 70^o20”north of the equator and longitude 60^o45”and 70^o39’.