Marketing of financial services

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The Presentation

Marketing of Financial Services

Difference between tangible and financial services marketing,Characteristics of services,Why is planning essential for banks?Benefits of planning,Strategic and marketing plans,Factors affecting banks’ strategy,Changes in banks’ strategy in the 1980s,New approach to banks’ marketing style,Elements of a marketing plan,Marketing mix in financial services,Planning corporate account strategy,Pricing decisions and strategy, and The future of marketing for banks.


One of the major problems facing the promotersof financial services as opposed to tangible products, is that services cannot be experiencedin a tangible manner.

Services cannot be:

(a) touched,(b) tasted,(c) handled, or(d) purchased in bulk like tangible products.


The Acronym (HIPI) will help you remember thecharacteristics of services.HeterogeneityAlthough all bank branches sell the same services, thestandard of service is not uniform from branch to branch.

Service marketing relies heavily on the individual sellingthe service.

It is this individual who is judged as the “bank” rather thanthe underlying service being sold.

Hence, marketing manager must pay great attention to:product knowledge, sales training, selling skills andinterpersonal skill of the seller.


IntangibilityMarketing of financial services must necessarily stress theBenefits because services cannot be touched, tasted or inAny way experienced by the senses.

While a service may have some tangible representationslike: cheque book covers, bank statements, plastic cards,these represent only a small part of the intangible service.

Purchase of financial services often involves a highlyemotive decision.

Different services also present a different level of risk tothe customer.e.g current account may be considered low risk mortgage account may be considered high risk.


Perishability

Services are highly perishable since they cannot be stored(e.g. time when sales persons are not serving customers cannot be

utilized to expand service at peak periods.)

Demand for services fluctuates from day to day, week toweek, month to month, especially for branches in touristareas.


Inseparability

Most of the time services cannot be separated from thesales consultants (e.g. investment advisor, corporate manager).

If a customers need investment advice, they must go toan investment advisor duly authorized by the bank toprovide an advisory service.

Services are frequently created at the time they are used,unlike the tangible products, which must be producedbefore they can be sold to customers.


A bank without a formal planning process is like aship without a destination.

Quotation: “A bank that fails to plan – is planning to fail”.

Any commercial organization, which fails to plan itsfuture will quickly become out of touch with itsenvironment, thus leaving itself vulnerable tocompetitor activity aimed at gaining a dominantplace in the market.


The value of planning lies in the bank or financialinstitution, being in a position to control its ownfuture.

This is principally due that the bank should be inconstant touch with a fast changing environment.

A systematic appraisal is developed and incorporated in a written plan, which will providecontinuity of thought and action from one year tothe next.


(a)Executives are forced to set corporate objectives thus providing guidance for the bank’s operations

(b) Planning identifies the resource needs of each activity, balances these needs against available resources, and allocates these resources in the most efficient way,

(c) A good planning process should make all staff more aware of their own roles and responsibilities

(d) A formal plan forces banks or other organizations to considers its own Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (e.g. SWOT Analysis).


(e) A good plan will enable a bank or financial services provider to identify the customers’ needs and wants, thus enabling the bank to build strategies for any profitable segment identified,

(f) The bottom line of any planning process is to monitor new development in the business environment, and try to be in control.

FinancialPlan

HumanResources

Plan

MarketingPlan

Risk Management

Plan


With the growing level of competition, and the rapidpace of change, banks started to focus their attentionon strategic planning,

Marketing plan emerged as an essential tool in theoverall strategic plan,

In spite of this new development, some traditionalbanks remained with the “old banking business concept” instead of employing modern managementbusiness skills within the banking business.

Unfortunately, some traditional banks went out of Business earlier than expected.


1. Mission Statement It states the overall purpose of bank or any organization.

2. Key Objectives Objectives are cited for variables such as: (a) financial return expected, (b) degree of efficiency required, © size of loans or credit on offer, and (d) service quality

3. Market Assumptions These contain explicit statements about future trends in strategic market segments, which may affect the bank’s freedom to act.

4. Competitive Strength Evaluation An evaluation exercise of the strengths & weaknesses based on factors such as: ( relative costs, service quality, and market share).


5. Assessment of Opportunities The plan should assess the threats and opportunities for each market segment. This is important in order to achieve the mission & objectives

6. Market Portfolio Strategy The plan must identify the desired investment strategies for each of the markets in, which bank units participate and the objectives to be attained for each.

7. Strategic Changes Objectives & goals for action plans stating changes in capabilities or resources under the control of unit management and selected as most likely for achieving the desired market results.

8. Action Plans for Implementation Specific programs including measurable goals, events and timing, which result in the changes specified in action plan objectives.


9. Expected Financial Results These include the anticipated financial outcome in terms of revenue, profits and return on assets for the units.

10. Project Review or Evaluation Realistically, with a every project concept, there should be a review or evaluation with the intention to assess its result.


MissionStatement

KeyObjectives

Environment& Market Assumptions

CompetitiveStrengths Evaluation

Assessment ofOpportunities

Market PortfolioStrategy

Strategic Changes

Action PlansFor Implementation

Action PlansFor Implementation

Evaluation Process


The banking industry around the world has beenchanging very rapidly since the early 1970s.

The industry has experienced a substantial changein competitive conditions as a result of a numberof factors:►the industry tended to go international, led by the leading US commercial banks,► new competitors entering the financial services market new approaches to servicing corporate clients► new capital markets emerged – as a result transformed traditional funding of banks & MNCs► a wide range of sophisticated products were introduced under “packaged sales”


►in response to competition, banks reacted and began to build up their own multi-national presence through their own brand name,►banks began to channel their marketing resources towards diversification, ►by the end of 1970s, banks’ operations had become more complex with the range of services on offer,►while margins on lending were eroded through competition, fee-based services were increasing,►non-bank financial institutions were also providing financial services – hence, more competition, (e.g. General Motors, Shell Co, American Express. Large stores, and Supermarkets)


► new information technology (I.T.) impacted on the operations of the banks and became one of the key drivers, (e.g. back office became automated),

►savings and loans associations initiated interest- bearing transaction accounts and brought direct competition to commercial banks, and

►professionals like accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, financial brokers, asset managers also offered financial services.


In the 1980s the banking industry experienced anacceleration in the pace of change in both:(a) retail, and (b) wholesale market.Retail Banking→ Increased Segmentation of Consumer Groups and provided Specialist Private Banking Services (e.g. rich individuals, High-Net-Worth customers)

→ Stratified Accounts (e.g. personal loans, credit finance, insurance products, 1st & 2nd line mortgages, deposits FD & S/Term)

→ Replacement of Paper-Based Accounting Systems,→ Increased competition for loans and deposits


Wholesale Banking→Competition Intensified- banks continued to strive for competitive advantage and in doing so cancel out one another’s efforts,→MNCs became stronger in their demands by negotiating their own interest rates and cost of services from banks,→Japanese banks took the first 5 top positions in the international banking league,→New development in I.T change the banks’ approach to the consumer, wholesale and corporate markets,→Increase competition from non-bank institutions (General Motors, General Electric, American Express, Merrill Lynch, and other major credit finance companies)

Banks portray themselves as a “One Stop Financial ServicesCentre”.

Banks no longer remain in their traditional service market.They are now more aggressive in providing a full menu ofservices that will cater for its customers’ needs.

The competition is so fierce that they can offer any type ofservice provided their customers are satisfied with the speedefficiency & costs involved.

Banks in certain industrial countries are now mobile in sucha manner, that they will visit you at your doorsteps.

Technology is one considered as one of the key drivers thatenables banks to cope with the intensity of competition.

• Overdraft,• Fixed Rate Short Term Loan,• Acceptance Finance,• Multi-currency Lending,• Hire Purchase,• Tax Leasing,• Leverage Leasing,• Parallel Loans,• Commodity & Stock Loan,• Variable Term Loan,• Syndicated Loan,• Secured Equipment Loan,• Merchandise Loan,• Property Construction Loan,• Merger & Acquisition Finance,• Mortgage Finance Loan.

Domestic Transfers• Cheques,• Banker payments,• Standing orders instruction,• Credit transfers,• Bank-to-bank transfers,• Direct debits,

International TransfersEFT transfers,Bank drafts,International cheques,

Commercial CreditsClean credits,Documentary credits,Import & Export credits.

Trust ServicesExecutorships,Share registrars,Safe deposit services,Estate planning,Tax planning,Life insurance,Trusteeships,Shares & Bonds purchases,Pension fund management,Corporate trustee services,Investment advice, andDividend payments.

Consultancy ServicesInvoicing centres,Treasury management,Pension Fund advice,Insurance Man advice,Forex forecasting,Training in finance, andFinancial plan & money management service.

Payroll management & accounting, Factoring of commercial invoices, Travel arrangements, Life Insurance planning, Economic & strategic studies, Correspondent banking services, Data processing services, Non-life insurance planning, and Consumer banking services


STAR

Strategy→ “Build”

PROBLEM CHILD

Strategy→ “Build” or “Harvest” or

“Divest”

CASH COW

Strategy→ “Hold”

DOG

Strategy→ “Harvest” or

“Divest”

High

Low

High Low

Relative Market Share

Source: Boston Consulting Group Matrix


• Star Where the bank would

make investments in order to build up or expand its Business Units (BU),

• Cash Cow Where the bank would

invest just enough money to hold the BU share at the current level,

• Problem Child Where the bank allows

market share to decline in order to maximize short-term profitability & cash flow, regardless of the long-term effect,

* Dog Where the bank sells or

phases out the BU & reinvest resources.


Ansoff identified 4 strategies following the BCGMatrix:

(1) Market Penetration,

(2) Product Development,

(3) Market Development, and

(4) Diversification.


ProductDevelopment

Diversification

MarketDevelopment

MarketPenetration

CURRENT

NEW

PRODUCT

CURRENT MARKET NEW MARKET

MARKET

Source: Ansoff Matrix


(1) Market Penetration This strategy is the least risky of the 4 strategies because it involves increasing market share in existing markets.

(2) Product Development The bank is already well known in its current market place but there is an identified need for new products to meet the changing needs of this market.

(3) Market Development The bank is already known for its current products, but the strategy is to take these products into a new market.

(4) Diversification With this strategy, the bank is moving into new market with new products.

The McKinsey model argues that businesses should develop their growth strategies based on:

• Operational skills,

• Privileged assets,

• Growth skills, and

• Special relationships.

Growth can be achieved by looking at business opportunities along several dimensions, summarized in the diagram.

The McKinsey Model resembles the Ansoff Model.

New CompetitiveArenas

New IndustryStructure

New GeographicAreas

New DeliverySystems

New Products &Services

Existing Productsto existing customers

Acquisitions

Minority Stakes

Alliances

MarketingPartnership

Organic Invt

Existing Productsto new customers

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How?

Joint Ventures

McK

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row

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Generic Options & Investment Structures for a Growth Strategy

They are the “core competences” that a business has which can provide the foundation for a growth strategy. (e.g. the business may have strong competencies in customer

service; distribution, technology).

Operational Skills

Those assets are held by the business that are hard to replicate by competitors. (e.g. in a direct marketing-based business these assets might include a particularly large customer database, or a

well-established brand).

Privileged Assets

These are the skills that businesses need if they are to successfully “manage” a growth strategy.

These include the skills of new product development, or negotiating and integrating acquisitions.

Growth Skills

Such relationships are those that can open up new options.

(e.g. the business may have specially string relationships with trade bodies in the industry that can make the process of growing

in export markets easier than for the competition) .

Special Relationships

The model outlines seven ways of achieving growth, which are summarized as follows:

Existing products to existing customers

Existing products to new customers

New products and services

New delivery systems,

New geographic areas,

New industry structure, and

New competitive arenas

Existing products to existing customers

The lowest-risk option; try to increase sales to the existing customer base; this is about increasing the frequency of purchase and maintaining customer loyalty.

Existing products to new customers

Taking the existing customer base, the objective is to find entirely new products that these customers might buy, or start to provide products that existing customers currently buy from competitors

New products and services

A combination of Ansoff’s market development & diversification strategy – taking a risk by developing and marketing new products. Some of these can be sold to existing customers – who may trust the business (and its brands) to deliver; entirely new customers may need more persuasion

New delivery systems

This option focuses on the use of distribution channels as a possible source of growth. Are there ways in which existing products and services can be sold via new or emerging channels which might boost sales?

New geographic areas

With this method, businesses are encouraged to consider new geographic areas into which to sell their products. Geographical expansion is one of the most powerful options for growth – but also one of the most difficult.

New industry structure

This option considers the possibility of acquiring troubled competitors or consolidating the industry through a general acquisition programme.

New competitive arenas

This option requires a business to think about opportunities to integrate vertically or consider whether the skills of the business could be used in other industries.


Gap Analysis of Revenue

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Time

Rev

enue

Desired Revenue

Projected Revenue

StrategicPlanning Gap


GAP analysis can be used at a number of levels ofPlanning – strategic, operational, product & market.

The resultant gap analysis will enable the bank to choose between one or two courses of action:

(a) plan strategies to close the gap, and

(b) redefine the objective so that they produce the same result as the current projected trends.


Changes in the external environment can affect thedesirability of the potential strategies of a bankdue to changes in its relative position in the market.

The changes follow the acronym (LePESTCo):

External Factors (1) Le → Legal (2) P → Political (3) E → Economic (4) S → Social (5) T → Technological(6) Co → Competition


LEGAL* Banking Regulations & Laws,• Taxation Laws,• Foreign Exchange Controls,

•POLITICAL• Attitude of the Government towards the local banks,• Attitude of the Government towards foreign banks & non-bank financial institutions.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS• Industry Structure,• Gross Domestic Product (GDP),• National Rate of Inflation & Money Supply,• Foreign Exchange Rates,• Interest Rates, and • Unemployment Levels.


SOCIAL & DEMOGRAPHICS• National Birth Rate,• Population Size,• Age Distribution,• Socio-economic Distribution,• Geographic Population Distribution,• Education/Skill Distribution,• Trend in Lifestyle,• Public Opinion & Attitudes towards financial services providers, and•Trend in Banking Usage.

TECHNOLOGY• Development in Integrated Technology,• Changes in Technological Industry,• Levels of Investment Required, and• Customers’ attitudes towards new technology.


COMPETITION• Existing players in the Market,• New Entrants penetrating the Market,• Pricing of Financial Services/Products,• Marketing Style, and• Consolidation within the Banks.


COMPETITOR ANALYSIS• Market share,• Financial position,• Reputation among suppliers and creditors,• Composition of the clientele,• Menu of product/service range,• Strategies for segmentation, key accounts,• Pricing,• Image & service quality standards & performance,• Efficiency of service delivery,• Promotion aspects (e.g. spending, timing & reach),• Technology used for service delivery,• Planning, information & control systems,• Ability to attract qualified personnel,• Training, morale, union relations,• Commitment to research & development, and• Plan to diversify within, and/or, outside the industry.


A sound marketing plan should also considersthe impact of internal factors such as:

(a) Employees,

(b) Premises,

(c) Systems, and

(d) Financial resources needed to back the plan.


EmployeesDoes the bank have adequate qualified employees to handlethe marketing campaign?

Are the employees fully aware of the marketing plan andtheir respective responsibilities?

In the event of a shortage of employees – will they be recruited from the bank’s competitors or given internaltraining?

Will the employees be given a marketing target to achievewithin a specific period of time?

Who will be responsible for the overall co-ordination?

Will they be remunerated based on performance?


PremisesWhere will the marketing campaign be executed - HeadOffice, or Branch Level?

Are the current premise visible or adequate to promote themarketing campaign?

Will there be any additional cost to be incurred to make thepremises more user friendly and appealing?

How are the premises styled – open plan or closed counters?

Are the premises comparable with the bank’s competitors?


SystemsAre the present systems adequate or robust enough to handle the marketing campaign?

Are the systems user friendly?

Are the employees fully trained to manage the systems inplace?

Can the systems be replicated by the bank’s competitors?

Who will be responsible to manage the systems?

Can the systems be tempered with?

Is there a contingency plan in place in the event of a systembreak down?


Financial Resources

Is there a specific budget allocation for the marketing campaign?

Who will be responsible to manage the budget?

Has adequate provisions made to include cost overrun ofthe campaign?

Does the budget time frame match the marketing campaignperiod?

Is the marketing campaign costs built into the service costs?

Market Characteristics Assess the market size,

Test for historic growth rate,

Make a projection of the growth rate,

Count the number of accounts in total,

Evaluate the trend in market concentration,

Consider the buying decision process,

Evaluate the service delivery process, and

Assess the characteristics of customers.

Service Characteristics

Relative capital intensity, Work out the degree of service differentiation, What is the “Value Added”? Consider the level and type of risk faced by the bank, Test the relative profitability of the service, What are the potential for cross-selling opportunities?, The impact of shared-cost structures, Rate of service change and innovation, Service integration with other bank services, and Attitude of customers to new services/products.

Environmental Characteristics

Political stance and their impact on the industry,

Impact of new technology and trends,

Impact of social attitudes, and

Economic dynamics and its impact on the industry.

Identify the existing competitors and their market share (to include non-bank financial institutions), Evaluate the bank’s market share towards its competitors, Consider the impact of changes of competitors, What is the major trend in the market share?, Evaluate the degree of competitor concentration in the market, Test for relative service price, cost, and marketing effort, Assess the relative capital intensity, What is the position regarding entry or exit barriers?, Work out the relative employee skills required, Consider the relative resource availability to the bank, and Assess the systems capability, and Evaluate the services life cycle of the industry.

Life Cycle Position

STAGES IN THE BANK’S SERVICES LIFE CYCLE

Embryonic Growth Shakeout Maturity Decline

Your Bank’s Position

De

ma

nd

Time

Threats of

New Entrants

Threats ofSubstituteServices

BargainingPower

of Customers

CompetitiveRivalry

BargainingPower

of Lenders

Porter’s Five-Forces Model

Source: Adapted from M E Porter, Competitive Strategy (1980)

1.COST LEADERSHIP

2. DIFFERENTIATION

3 (a) COST FOCUS

3 (b) DIFFERENTIATIO

N FOCUSNarrowTarget

BroadTarget

COMPETITIVE

SCOPE

Lower Cost Differentiation

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Porter’s Generic Strategy Model

Cost LeadershipThis can be achieved through market leadership, or fromeconomies of scale (e.g. with high sales and aggressive costscontrol).

The bank can try to achieve lower costs by means ofencouraging customers to use products in a way that ischeaper for the bank (e.g. ATMs, SWITCH, DELTA cards).

The bank will also have to promote the benefits such asconvenience to the customers.

Depending on the type of market, cost leadership may bedifficult to maintain in banking, because many servicesare broadly similar.

For a small market, diversification for cost leadership strategy may not be feasible.

DifferentiationThis is where a bank seeks to be unique in the financialservices sector by producing a product/service, deliverysystem or image that is distinctive from its competitors.

Differentiation is only successful if the customers perceivethe difference.

Banks would tend to use marketing slogan such as: You’re better of talking to Barclays, The bank that says Yes The listening bank Your partner in development Your solutions bank

The major problem with differentiation as a strategy is thatfinancial services can be easily copied and adapted byother competitors using slight different wordings.

Cost FocusWhile the cost leadership and differentiation strategies aimat a broad target, the focus strategies aim at a narrow target.

The bank would normally select a target market (s) & tailors its strategy to the specific need of the target market (s).(e.g. select a quoted MNCs as its target market, and aim to serve themto the virtual exclusion of other target markets).

The bank can either aim at cost focus or differentiation focus.

Differentiation FocusThis approach can be described as “finding a niche in themarket place and developing services that matches theniche market”.

If the target market is too small, the bank may be left with aservice menu that is not profitable.

Place

PeoplePrice

Product

Promotion

Product/ServiceThis concerned with the features of the bank products, andany option available to the customer.(e.g. bank lending would include the term of loans – fixed or variable rate and option to switch from variable to fixed rate or vice versa).

PlaceWhere the product or service is being made available to thecustomer, or how can the customer obtain the service.(e.g. branch network, ATMs, Internet banking).

PriceThis refers to the interest rates offered to depositors andborrowers, bank charges, commissions for services.

PromotionIt is concerned with advertising, direct sales, tele-marketing,internet, personal visits to the customer.

PeopleIn view of the heavy competition, banks expect their staff totake a pro-active selling or customer service role.

In fact, bankers are more sales persons these days than twodecade ago.

It requires training or re-training and in many cases a profound cultural change in the bank as a whole, as peopleadjust to new selling roles.

In the marketing of financial services, it is imperative thatthe staff (people) takes the centre stage in order to achievesuccess.

In planning to target the corporate market, a bank wouldnecessarily have to consider the following factors:Financial Data

* Sales, * Gross margin, * Sales growth rate potential, * Net margin, * Trend in the margin for the other banks, * Sales percentage by the major line of business, * Stock turnover, * Debtors ageing trend, * Creditors facilities, * Trends in working capital for the corporate, * Demand for plant & equipment, * Trends in fixed asset investments, * Short-term & long-term debts profile, * Debt maturity schedule, * Interest rate charged & paid, * Equity capital injected, and * Major shareholders.

Market Planning

General Screening

Prospecting

Needs Identification

Strategy Assessment

A/Cs Action Planning

Relationship Dev

Procedures to Adopt in Targeting Corporate Customers

Review

General Business Considerations Lines of business, Number of employees, Market position, Main brand names, Subsidiaries (domestic & international), Production/service sites (no & location), and Names & position of board and finance officers.

Competitor AnalysisExisting lead bankers,Other bankers.

Advisorso Accountants,o Lawyers,o Consultants

Industry Background InformationGrowth Rate (i.e. historic & projected),Capital Intensity,R & D investment,Marketing intensity,Profitability,Industry economic trends, &Industry competitiveness

Pricing decisions are not only made in relation to new products, but also in relation to the existing products.

Pricing decisions must be made, taking into account the bank’s environment & how the factors constituting the environment can be controlled.

The factors can be divided into (a) internal & (b) external.

Internal factors• marketing objectives,• marketing mix strategy,• costs involved, and• organization for pricing.

External factors• nature of the market & demand,• competition, and• LePEST

Once a new product/service has been developed, a bankwill need to decide upon the price to charge, and to testthe acceptability by the target market using market research approach.

Three of the most important strategies for pricing newProducts/services are as follows:

(1) Skimming Pricing,

(2) Penetration Pricing, and

(3) Perceived Value or Value Pricing.

Skimming PricingThis involves setting a high initial price for the product/service so as to just “skim the cream” of demand for theproduct/service. It is especially suitable for new productsbecause:

(a) new products are less affected by price until the competition arrives,(b) a high initial price many help the product gain an image of prestige and quality,(c) a high initial price often produces more revenue in the early days, thus bringing in funds to finance expansion into larger markets,(d) there are sufficient buyers to pay the high price, (i.e. demand is inelastic), and(e) a skimming price can be means for testing demand.

Penetration PricingThis the opposite of skimming pricing; it sets a low price inorder to capture a large share of the market quickly.

This is a valid policy if one of more of the following conditions apply:

(1)The intention is to capture a large share in a mass market,

(2) Strong competition will emerge soon after introduction,

(3) When the market appears price sensitive, and

(4) Substantial economies in production, and/or, distribution costs can be achieved with a large sales volume.

Perceived Value or Value Pricing

Bank marketers should use this strategy to get beyond thestage of “what does it cost us to deliver this service?” to“what is the perceived value (benefit) of this service to thecustomer?”.

The more tangible and intangible features (including say

Prestige) that can be added to a service, the higher the value perceived by the customer.

This enables the bank to charge a higher price.

A bank must consider changing the price of the existingproducts/services in certain circumstances.

The strategies may be considered along those lines:

(a) Cost Plus Pricing,(b) Break-Even Pricing,(c) Relationship Pricing,(d) Loss-leader Pricing,(e) Competitive Pricing,(f) Pricing for Market Share, and(g) Differential Pricing.

The marketing committee or team is usually responsibleto feed the strategist or the management team of thebest approach, considering the market circumstances.

Cost Plus Pricing MethodologyThis approach identifies the basic cost of the product/servicefirst, then adds a worked out margin to ensure that theproduct/service is sold at a profit.

The methodology is practically similar to the sales of tangiblecommodities.

For such a strategy to be very productive, it is essential thatthe true cost is obtained from the outset before the finalprice is determined.

No business wants to operate at a loss, let alone, a bank orfinancial institution.

Break-even PricingSuch a pricing strategy speaks for itself “break-even” wherethe product/service sold does not realized a profit or loss.

Both the fixed and variable costs are taken into accountwhen such a price is determined by the management.

One would ask, this is not in line with sound commercialpractice?

This strategy can be used by management to adjust the priceto fit in with expected demand and customer sensitivityuntil a price is arrived that fits the target sales and equallyproduces the desired profit result.

Unless, this practice is closely monitored by the marketersand report to the management the bank can loose a lot ofmoney within a short period of time.

Relationship Pricing

This is particularly important when a bank is trying to dealwith the corporate clientele and high net worth individuals.

In order to cross-sell other services, other prices may beadjusted downwards in order to keep the business, whileincreasing the profits overall from these customers.

It is an important development that the management of abank must be able to track down the trend in the revenuegeneration process.

Otherwise, the bank will be placed at a serious disadvantagewhich can cost the shareholders very dearly.

Loss-leader Pricing

The term “loss-leader” means that you need to sell oneparticular product at loss, which is necessarily linked toother more profitable products/services.

This is not a bad strategy, subject that the marketing teamtogether with the management team are in control of theentire campaign.

In the case, a bank would know that it is operating a serviceat a loss, but on the other side, it provide the bank with theopportunity to cross-sell other services.

The loss-leader service would be usually a service that isnot mutually exclusive (i.e. standing on its own).

This strategy resembles “buy one item- get one free”

Competitive Pricing

It is absolutely crucial that when a bank is considering itsmarketing plan, which is embodied in the strategic plan,the various pricing strategies are considered.

Customers normally would base their buying decisions afterconsidering all the built-in features including the price.

The typical psychological behaviour “ I will buy it – if theprice is right”. Financial services marketing is not differentfrom the other commodities.

If the market is fiercely competitive, then the bank may haveto price its products/services at the price that the marketis expected to bear.

Pricing for Market Share

Again, any smart management team has to consider themotive (s) of its pricing policy as a priority rather than simplyput a price on a service.

To apply such a commercial strategy is to engage the bank’sresources into a meaningless plan, which can be very costly.

In the case of pricing to gain the market share so as to operate as a cost leader in the market – the marketing teammust be able to tune the whole campaign in line with theoverall corporate philosophy of the bank.

In order to gain the market share, the bank’s profits willsuffer in the short-term, but grow in the long-term if thestrategy is implemented successfully.

Differential PricingWhat does differential means? It means to be different!

Different from whom? Externally, different from yourcompetitors, and internally, different from service-service.

Internally, certain methods of conducting business transactions are cheaper for the bank & customers.

It encourages customers to move away from voluminouspayment of say salaries by cheques, but by means ofelectronic transfer.

It is less expensive for the bank to handle thousands of“salaried payments” electronically, than by cheques – dueto the time involved.

The marketing campaign of banks’ services has always beendynamic since de-regulation of the financial services sectortook effect in the 80s.

The competitive pressure by various players in the financialservices sector will not diminished in any form or substance.

Instead, it is expected that as competition intensified from allfronts, the marketing campaign by banks to retain, let alone,increase their market share will equally become moreaggressive.

Banks’ can only retain customers loyalty through the deliveryof service quality combined with risk-based pricing method.

Banks must also pay attention to their customers’ needs.

I wish you all, good luck

in your studies.

Documents

Marketing of financial services