7 P's for Banking

1. PRODUCT MIX

The banks primarily deal in services and therefore, the formulation of product mix is required to be in the face of changing business environment conditions.  Of course the public sector commercial banks have launched a number of policies and programs for the development of backward regions and welfare of the weaker sections of the society but at the same time it is also right to mention that their development-oriented welfare programs are not optimal to the national socio-economic requirements.  A proportional contraction in the number of customers is found affecting the business of public sector commercial banks.  The changing psychology, the increasing expectation, the rising income, the changing lifestyles, the increasing domination of foreign bans and the changing needs and requirements of the customers at large make it essential that they innovate their service mix and make them of worked class.  The development of new generic product, especially when the business environment is regulated is found a difficult task.  However, it is pertinent that banks formulate a package in tune with the changing business conditions. Against this background, we find it significant that the banking organizations minify, magnify, combine and modify their service mix.

In the formulation of service mix, the banks can follow two guidelines, first is related to the processing of product to market needs and the second is concerned with the processing of market needs to product. In the first process, the needs to the target market are anticipated and visualized and therefore, we expect the prices likely to be productive. In the second process, the banks react to the expressed needs and therefore we consider it reactive. It is essential that every product is measured up to the accepted technical standards.  This is because no consumer would buy a product, which contains technical faults.  Technical perfection in service is meant prompt delivery, quick disposal, and presentation of right data, right filing, proper documentation or so.  If computers start disobeying, the command and the customers get wrong facts, the use of technology would be a minus point, and you don’t have any excuse for your faults.

Marketing aims not only offering but also at creating\innovating the services\schemes found new to the competitors vis-a vis- to the customers. The enhanced customer patronage would be a reward to the bank.  The additional attractions, the product attractiveness would be a plus point of your mix, which would help you in many ways.  This makes it essential that the banking organizations are sincere to the innovations process and try to enrich their peripheral services much earlier than the competitors.  We also find the product portfolio of the banks.  While formulating the services mix, it is also pertinent that the bank professionals make possible affair synchronization of core and peripheral services.  To be more specific, the peripheral services need an intensive care since the core services are found by and large the same.  Innovating the peripheral services thus appears to be an important functional responsibility of marketing professionals.  We can’t deny the fact that if the foreign banks have been getting a positive response; the credibility goes to their innovative peripheral services.  Thus, the formulation of product mix is found to be a difficult task that requires world-class professionalism.

2. PROMOTIONAL MIX:

Promotion mix includes advertising, publicity, sales promotion, word – of – mouth promotion, personal selling and telemarketing. Each of these services needs to be applied in different degree. These components can be useful in the banking business in the following ways:

Advertising

Advertising is paid form of communication. Banking organizations use this component of the promotion mix with motto of informing, sensing and persuading the customers. While advertising it is essential to be aware of key decision making areas so that instrumentally helps banks at micro and macro levels.

Finalizing the budget:

This is related to the formulation of the budget for advertisement. The bank professionals, senior executives and even the policy planners are found to be involved in the process. The business of a bank determines the scale of the advertisement budget. In addition, the intensity of competition also plays a decisive role since in the majority of cases; we find a increase in the budget due to a change in the competitor’s strategy.

Selecting a suitable vehicle:

There are a number of devices to advertise, such as broad cast media, telecast media and print media. In the face of the budgetary provisions, it is necessary to select a suitable vehicle. For promoting the banking business, the print media is found to be economic as well as effective.

Making possible creative:

The advertising professionals bear the responsibility of making the appeals, slogans and messages more creative. Here, creative means making the advertisement programs distinct to the competitive organizations, which are active in influencing the impulse of the customers and successful in informing and sensing the customers. This requires an in-depth knowledge of the receiving capacity of the target market for which the advertisements are designed.

Testing the effectiveness:

It bears an analogous significance that our advertisements are effective in influencing the impulse of customers by energizing persuasion. For making the process effective, it is essential to test the effectiveness before launching of the commercial advertisements.

Instrumentality of branch managers:

At micro level, a branch manager bears the responsibility of advertising locally so that the messages reach the target audience.

Characters and themes:

At apex level it is also important that while advertising the senior executives watch the process minutely and select events, characters having a regional orientation. The popular characters and sensational moments are likely to be impact generating. The theme for appeals and messages also needs due attention. Of course, they have a legitimate right of advertising but it is not meant that like the goods manufacturing organizations, the service generating organizations also start making invasion on culture. It is necessary to regulate a bias to gender, profession, region or so.

Public relations:

In the banking services the effectiveness of public Relations is found in high magnitude. It is in this context that difference is found in designing of the mix for promoting the banking services.

Telemarketing:

The telemarketing is a process of promoting the business with the help of sophisticated communication network. Telemarketing is found instrumental in advertising the banking services and the banking organizations can use this tool of the promotion mix both for advertising and selling. This minimizes the dependence of banking organizations on sales people and just a counter or center as listed in the call numbers may service multi- dimensional services.

Telemarketing is likely to play an incremental role in marketing the banking services. The leading foreign banks and even some of the private sector commercial banks have been found promoting telemarketing and they have been getting positive results for their efforts.

Word-Of- Mouth:

Much communication about the banking services actually takes place by word- of- mouth information, which is also known as word- of- mouth promotion. The oral publicity plays an important role in eliminating the negative comments and improving the services. This also helps the banker to know the feedback, which may simplify the task of improving the quality of services. This component of promotion mix is not to influence budget adversely or generate additional financial burden. By improving the quality of services and by offering small gifts to the word- of- mouth promoters, bankers can get more business command in their area.

The above facts make it clear that such kind of promotion is influenced by a number of factors. The most dominating factor is the quality of services offered. The bank professionals, the frontline staff and the senior executives should realize that degeneration in quality would make this tool effective.

3. PRICE MIX:

In the formulation of marketing mix, the pricing decisions occupy a place of outstanding significance. The pricing decisions include the decisions related to interest and fee or commission charged by banks. Pricing decisions are found instrumental in motivating or influencing the target market. The RBI regulates the rate of interest and the Indian Banks’ Association controls other charges. In our country, the price mix is more important because the banking organizations are also supposed to sub serve the interests of the weaker sections and the backward regions. Also in making the pricing decisions, the Government Of India instrumentalists or commands everything as a shadow policy maker. This also complicates the price mix for banking sector.

Pricing policy of a bank is considered important for raising the number of customers vis-à-vis the accretion of deposits. Also the quality of service provided has direct relationship with the fees charged. Thus while deciding the price mix customer services rank the top position. Banks also have to take the value satisfaction variable in to consideration. The value and satisfaction cannot be quantified in terms of money since it differs from person to person. Keeping in view the level of satisfaction of a particular segment, the banks have to frame the pricing strategies.

The banking organizations are required to frame two- fold strategies. First, the strategy is concerned with interest and fee charged and the second strategy is related to the interest paid. Since both the strategies throw a vice- versa impact, it is important that banks attempt to establish a correlation between two. It is essential that both the buyers as well as the sellers have feeling of winning.

4. THE PEOPLE

Sophisticated technologies no doubt, inject life and strength to our efficiency but the instrumentality of sophisticated technologies start turning sour id the human resources are not managed in a right fashion.  We can’t deny the fact that if foreign banks are performing fantastically; it is not only due to the sophisticated information technologies they use but the result of a fair synchronization of new information technologies and a team of personally committed employees.  The moment they witness lack of productive human resources even the new generation of information technologies would hardly produce the desired results.  In addition to the professional excellence, the employees working in the foreign banks are generally value- based.  Thus we accept the fact that generation of efficiency is substantially influenced by the quality of human resources. The quality for banking sector is an aggregation of all the properties, which are found essential for generating the efficiency and projecting a fair image.  Even efficiency essentially is supported by ethical dimension, humanity and humanism.

The development of human resources makes the ways for the formation of human capital.  Human resources can be developed through education, training and by psychological tests.  Even incentives can inject efficiency and can motivate people for productive and qualitative work.

5. THE PROCESS

Flow of activities:  all the major activities of banks follow RBI guidelines.  There has to be adherence to certain rules and principles in the banking operations.  The activities have been segregated into various departments accordingly.

Standardization:  banks have got standardized procedures got typical transactions. In fact not only all the branches of a single-bank, but all the banks have some standardization in them. This is because of the rules they are subject to.  Besides this, each of the banks has its standard forms, documentations etc.  Standardization saves a lot of time behind individual transaction.

Customization: There are specialty counters at each branch to deal with customers of a particular scheme.  Besides this the customers can select their deposit period among the available alternatives.

Number of stores: numbers of steps are usually specified and a specific pattern is followed to minimize time taken.

Simplicity:  in banks various functions are segregated.  Separate counters exist with clear indication.  Thus a customer wanting to deposit money goes to ‘deposits’ counter and does not mingle elsewhere.  This makes procedures not only simple but consume less time.  Besides instruction boards in national boards in national and regional language help the customers further.

Customer involvement: ATM does not involve any bank employees.  Besides, during usual bank transactions, there is definite customer involvement at some or the other place because of the money matters and signature requires.

6. THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The physical evidences include signage, reports, punch lines, other tangibles, employee’s dress code etc.  The company’s financial reports are issued to the customers to emphasis or credibility.  Even some of the banks follow a dress code for their internal customers.  This helps the customers to feel the ease and comfort

Signage: each and every bank has its logo by which a person can identify the company.  Thus such signages are significant for creating visualization and corporate identity.

Tangibles:  banks give pens, writing pads to the internal customers.  Even the passbooks, chequebooks, etc reduce the inherent intangibility of services.

Punch lines: punch lines or the corporate statement depict the philosophy and attitude of the bank.  Banks have influential punch lines to attract the customers.

            Banking marketing consists of identifying the most profitable markets now and in future, assessing the present and future needs of customers, setting business development goals, making plans-all in the context of changing environment.