IMPROVING MARKETING MIX SKILLS PERFORMANCE FOR SMEs GROWTH AND SURVIVAL IN NASARAWA STATE

This study examined the effect of improved marketing mix skills performance for SMEs growth and survival in Keffi, Nasarawa State. Small and medium scall enterprises play a significant role in every society including Nasarawa State. The problem that was addressed in this study is that past studies concentrated on the use a traditional marketing instead of improved marketing mis skills. In the context of this study, the researchers includes the modern marketing mix skills knows as 7ps. The research design employed in this study is survey research design. Thus, on the bases of time constraint cross sectional method was used. One hundred and sixty-one (127) questionnaires were retrieved. Therefore, requesting to a response rate of ninety-eight (91) percent of the total questionnaire administered to SMEs owners/managers in Nasarawa State. SPLS version 20 was used to examined demographic and descriptive statistics of the respondents while the hypothesized relationship was analyzed using partial-least square. Structure equation modelling (SMART-PLS4). The result of the analysis has revealed that product mix skills, promotion mix skills and place mix skills have a positive and significant relationship with SME’s performance in Nasarawa State. On the other hand, price skills, process skills and physical evidence skills have not statistically significant relationship with SME’s performance in Nasarawa State. Based on the finding, the study concluded that SME’s owner and managers who have the support and implemented marketing mix skills employed in this study perform better that three who did not use the seven marketing skills (7Ps). Therefore, it was recommended that owner manager should take the various marketing mix skills very serious in their business and the government should provide and avenue for adequate training, workshop, conference and seminars for SMEs operators in Nasarawa state to enable them perform and compete perfectly and SME’s operators should be assisted with palliative funding loan and infrastructural facilities in order to improve their performance for growth and survival.