Internal marketing and organizations performance among large supermarkets in Nairobi:a case study of leading supermarkets in Nairobi county

Internal marketing plays a major role in the successful implementation of a company’s \ngoals and objectives. The ultimate goal in this context is to present internal marketing \nas a technique for gaining the acceptance of the employees or departments that are \ncritical to the successful implementation of performance improvement programs (Lewis, \n1996). The argument is based upon the view that the internal market consists of groups \nof workers and managers communicating and interacting with other external groups of \nworkers and managers within other organization, and that the establishment and \nmaintenance of effective and efficient relationships between these groups is the focus \nof internal marketing efforts. Most organizations direct their focus on the external \nmarketing (The customers who purchase the company goods and services and little or \nno attention is given to the internal market yet these individuals and groups could \ncollectively be regarded in much the same way as external “customers” of the \norganization. Then in this regard internal marketing would play a pivotal role as a \nmeans for improving corporate effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery by \nimproving ‘internal market’ relationships and processes. Employee turnover would be \ndrastically reduced and foster a sense of belonging and ownership between the \norganization and its employees. For instance, Lewis, (1996) argued that internal \nmarketing is an appropriate vehicle or approach for promoting the firm and its products \nor services to the firm’s employees (Brand ambassadors). Employees are essential and \ncentral to delivering the services that are provided, thus they must be knowledgeable and \nmotivated. In addition, they must be trained by the organization to be aware of the firm’s \npolicies and strategies. Corrall and Brewerton 1999) argued employees of the firm are \nthe cheapest and most effective way of marketing an organization. Gronroos (1985) has \nlong described this important dimension of services marketing. Many authors stress the \nimportance of training and motivating employees, in order that they can effectively carry \nout their duties to the firm in dealing with customer needs. Internal marketing as a \nphilosophy describes a customer-orientated culture in which everyone understands the \nstrategic intent or purpose, and is motivated to participate in implementing the overall \ncompany strategy