PERCEPTIONS OF ARCHITECTS ON MARKETING IN THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN SELECTED NORTH CENTRAL STATES OF NIGERIA

The professional code of conduct for architects in Nigeria has not changed. Despite this, many architects ignore ethicalconduct in marketing and advertising and still promote their professional services, following a worldwide practicebecause of the movement toward globalization.In light of this, the article aimed to understand how Nigerian architectsperceived the marketing of their professional services.The research employed a quantitative methodological approachand purposive sampling was utilized to gather data for the study using a structured, closed-ended questionnaire. The dataare analyzed using descriptive analysis.The list of architects registered with Architectural Registration Council ofNigeria (ARCON) is used to define the respondent targets.The research finding showed that mainstream of Nigerianarchitects has diminutive knowledge of marketing as related to service-oriented profession. Also, Nigerian architecturalfirms are unconsciously engaging in marketing-related activities to position themselves to draw clients withoutexplicitly adopting them. The results presented academic and professional analphabetism as the obstacles to marketingpromulgation and implementation in the profession. The research suggests that Professional regulatory bodies need toreview their code of conduct in light of the national and globally competitive economies that are creating increasinglycompetitive architectural practices. Hence, the findings have significant implications for the nation's architecturaleducation. Therefore, the study suggested the incorporation of the fundamentals of marketing into the architecturalcurricula. The novelty of the study is the connection between the architectural profession and service marketing as acutting-edge strategy for repositioning architectural firms in a competitive economy.