The Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ict) on Wood Product Marketing (sawn Wood) in Selected Plank Markets in Rivers State

ABSTRACT In the past two decades, technology advancement greatly exceeded imagination. Communication technology advances have allowed companies and consumers to be more productive and efficient in everyday marketing activities. One of the most widespread contemporary tools that has emerged as a result of the rise of the digital marketing is the use of social media. This study therefore evaluated the impact of information and communication technology on sawn wood products marketing in selected plank market in Rivers State. A structured questionnaire was administered on one-hundred and twenty (120) while one-hundred and fourteen (114) were utilized after quality screening. Result indicates that most utilized ICT tools by Sawn Wood Marketers are WhatsApp (44.7%), SMS with a usage rate of 21.9%, Facebook holds the third position with (18.4%), while 15% of respondents did not use an ICT tool for marketing. The intention of Sawn Wood Marketers to use ICT tools in marketing was illustrated, 73.7% express a positive inclination, indicating a strong willingness for continuous use of ICT tools for marketing purposes, 18.4% remains undecided, expressing a possibility ("Maybe") regarding the use of ICT tools, a smaller proportion, 7.9%, indicates a negative intention ("No") to use ICT tools in their marketing activities. Factors affecting the utilization of ICT tools among Wood Product Sellers include the lack of technical skills and rapid technological changes. Lack of awareness was majorly considered not a constraint with 78.9% of respondent attesting that it was not a constraint, 19.3% indicated it as a mild constraint, while 1.8% indicated that it was a severe constraint. Social media marketing affects sales and marketing positively as majority (74.6%) affirmed, whereas (12.3%) expressed a negative view, while 13.1% provided no response. Notably, a substantial percentage of respondents found social media marketing to be highly effective or effective across all categories (reduce marketing cost, increase sales output, improve relationship with customers, boost business). Conclusively social media platforms play a pivotal role in the marketing of sawn wood products, however high cost of internet subscription and poor power supply constitute a major challenge. It is recommended that policymakers and businesses should collaborate to address infrastructure challenges. Keywords: Sawn wood, Marketing, ICT, Social Media.