THE EFFECT OF TEST MARKETING ON PRODUCT INNOVATION (A STUDY OF MARKSON CHEMICAL INDSUTRY)

ABSTRACT
This research was carried out to investigate the effect of test marketing on product innovation in markson chemical industry limited at Onitsha. The term test marketing on product innovation is a great importance to any profit oriented organization which engages itself in the activity of production on chemical or good and rendering of some useful services to customer. Most organizations, aims at exchanging goods or services to make profit which is uses for its daily operations. As this topic dwell on the effect of testing marketing on product innovation in relation to highlight the advantages and disadvantages to the procedure and type of test marketing which seen favourable for the company any also consideration of consumers when innovating their new product and test marketing. The researcher will use questionnaires and interview to collect its result to form the consumers, staff and also from the distributors and later will analyzed it using a contingency table and statistical tools to arrived at a very explanatory answer, the readers of this work will find it favorably to use of work in any company they find themselves working as a staff or distributors of such company.

INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with the complete overview of this work. It is the base of this research work and portrays the background of the study, objectives, research questions, and other important sub topics.
The work is centered on two main concept test marketing or services, is to be accepted it must pass through certain process and among these are the process of marketing and product innovation.

1.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STUDY
The company was incorporated in Nigeria on the 5th of October 1984, under the division of Shirley chemical industry, importer, exporter and manufacturer.
The company use located at No. 42 Francis street Onitsha in Anambra state along old market road Onitsha with other two branches as well. It was incorporated in Britain in 9th day of January 1959 as Britain paint Wakko (WA) limited.
Markson chemical industry (Marketing group of companies) subscribed 87.9% of the company issued share capital and retained the controlling interest. Its principles activities is that of production of soap, cosmetics and plastic. Currently, there is a total number of 278 staff in the company of which twenty (20) are skilled workers, eighty (80) semi – skilled and the remain others are cause workers (187). This wide range of product, manufactured by the company today has been more house hold names, some example are as follows: in the soap and detergent range, they have Rock, Medicated soap, Bona Black soap, other important product are hair rollers and baby boy cream, and Cusson baby body cream, and Cusson baby product in term of plastic and cosmetics. Indeed, it can be seen from sample listed that almost every home is likely to have a product by Markson chemical industry.

1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The work is centered on two main concept test marketing and product innovation, before a product or goods or services is to be accepted it must pass through certain process and among these are the process of marketing and product innovation.
Test marketing according to Bush and Houston, product in limited geographic areas to determine if the product should be introduced to the national market. From the business dictionary, test marketing is a product development stage where the product and its marketing plan are exposed to a carefully chosen sample of the population deciding it to be reject it full scale launch. Product innovation according to wikipedia is the creation and subsequent introduction of goods and services of its kind. It is an integrated approach to new product development. Many innovated product enters the market everyday, some stayed for a very long time, other fade away in few weeks or months after introduced. Some product that do not have proper planning do not model so fast to be sold, this is as a result of failure in the product innovation while other last in the market other fail. This study is going to exposed in detail why Markson chemical industries is the market.
Testing marketing is vital to chemical oriented product in the market. In it all plans of the company product such or similar product.
Finally this work is centered Markson chemical industry limited located at Onitsha Anambra state. Many researcher will find it helpful to analyze what will happen to a new product at last marketing stage of the product life span and the response of customers.