Developed Skills of Marketing Students through Direct Selling in Nueva Ecija ()
1. Introduction
One of the course requirements in a business marketing curriculum is direct selling that serves as a gateway to the entrepreneurial world to students. Direct selling industry has evidently shown its significant contribution to the development of the country’s economic and human capital [1] .
Direct selling is a particular marketing strategy where, apart from buying the products, participants can also sell the product to others and can hire or encourage downline dealers to sell the product together [2] .
Many people patronize this type of selling activities and even students are registered as one of the dealers of various direct selling companies [3] . The members of the Philippine Direct Selling Association (DSAP) share their activities to encourage direct selling to college students [4] . Many college students in Philippines have become direct selling members to different distribution companies [5] .
In light of the foregoing insights, the researcher would like to assess the skills being developed by marketing students through direct selling in Nueva Ecija.
2. Conceptual Framework
According to [6] , the view of the overall sales sector scale in direct selling is a valid and reliable indicator of the ideas of sales as profession of students.
Direct selling plays an important role in the development of entrepreneurial skills [7] .
To acquire knowledge related to the business of direct selling, it was concluded that one should know the marketing plan, its products and the history of the company [8] .
This research will help direct selling institutions and universities in Nueva Ecija to further assess the impacts of this selling activity to the skills being developed by the students that will be used on their professional growth.
3. Objective of the Study
The study described the role of direct selling for college students taking up marketing management in developing their skills in terms of marketing, management, financial, and technical.
4. Methodology
The descriptive method was used by the researcher. It described the nature of the phenomenon under investigation of current trends, practices, and conditions were related to that phenomenon. Its results are comprehensive presentation and interpretation of statistical tabulations of data yielded by a survey [9] .
A total of 175 college students taking up marketing management from different universities in Nueva Ecija were surveyed. The researcher used a Likert-scale type questionnaire [10] and analyzed it through statistical data treatment such as mean and weighted mean.
5. Results and Discussion
Table 1 presents the marketing skills developed through direct selling. The statement, “I’ve learned to interact with the customers by building rapport,” got the highest weighted mean of 3.51 with the interpretation, “Strongly Agree.” While the statement, “I’ve learned to apply marketing theories in selling products,” got the lowest weighted mean of 2.23 with the interpretation, “Disagree.”
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Table 1. Marketing skills developed through direct selling.
Table 2 presents the management skills developed through direct selling. The statement, “I’ve learned to meet deadlines for product delivery and allowable debt payments,” got the highest weighted mean of 3.21 with the interpretation, “Strongly Agree.” While the statement, “I’ve learned to differentiate circle of friends to circle of prospects,” got the lowest weighted mean of 1.78 with the interpretation, “Strongly Disagree.”
Table 3 presents the financial skills developed through direct selling. The statement, “I’ve learned to give discounts based on cost and price,” got the highest weighted mean of 2.98 with the interpretation, “Strongly Agree.” While the statement, “I’ve learned to take risks and handle delayed payments,” got the lowest weighted mean of 2.02 with the interpretation, “Disagree.”
Table 4 presents the technical skills developed through direct selling. The statement, “I’ve learned to check the quality of the product and detect for possible defects,” got the highest weighted mean of 3.62 with the interpretation, “Strongly Agree.” While the statement, “I’ve learned to sort products from different distributors into product-type categories,” got the lowest weighted mean of 1.87 with the interpretation, “Disagree.”
Table 5 presents the summary of mean ratings of developed skills through direct selling. Based on the weighted mean, the marketing skills got the highest score of 3.69 with the interpretation, “Strongly Agree,” while the financial skills got the lowest score of 2.60 with the interpretation, “Agree.”
6. Conclusions
The researcher concluded that in terms of marketing, the respondents learned how to communicate and market well by building rapport while interacting with customers. In terms of management, the respondents learned to meet deadlines for product delivery and allowable debt payments. In terms of finance, the respondents learned how to give discounts based on cost and price. In terms of technique, the respondents learned how to check the quality of the product and detect possible defects.
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Table 2. Management skills developed through direct selling.
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Table 3. Financial skills developed through direct selling.
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Table 4. Technical skills developed through direct selling.
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Table 5. Summary of mean ratings of developed skills through direct selling.
The researcher recommends that in terms of marketing skills, the area for improvement is the application of marketing theories in selling a product. In terms of management skills, the area for improvement is the differentiation of circle of friends to circle of prospects. In terms of financial skills, the area for improvement is the risk management in handling delayed payments. In terms of technical skills, the area for improvement is the sorting of products to product-type categories.
In light of the foregoing results, the researcher concluded that direct selling highly develops students’ marketing skills. On the contrary, the researcher suggests that the respondents improve their financial skills to be more effective and efficient in direct selling.