Marketing Skills for Sustainable Development of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Plateau State, North Central, Nigeria

This paper examined the impact of marketing skills for sustainable development of small and medium scale enterprises Plateau State, North Central Nigeria. The study uses the descriptive survey research design approach with the Marketing Skills Assessment Questionnaire (MSAQ) developed by the researchers as the instrument for data collection. A total of 205 questionnaires were administered out to respondents and out of the number, one hundred and ninety-five were filled and returned by the randomly samples respondents in the study area. A four point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Strongly Disagree (SD) and Disagree (D) was used for data collection. Mean rating of 2.50 and above forms the decision rule for either accepting and below 2.50 from the decision for rejecting an item. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation; the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics. The findings of the study revealed that most of SMEs in the state do not have the requisite marketing skills required to enhance the economic states of their business. The paper therefore, concludes that the acquisition of marketing skills by owners of SMEs is non-negotiable, looking at the benefits associated with possessing these skills to the owners of the SMEs and the country at large. The paper recommends that owners of SMEs should avail themselves the opportunity to acquire marketing skills that would help to increase sales profitability of their products and services.