HOLISTIC MARKETING STRATEGY TO IMPROVE COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE IN ZENITH BANK, NIGERIA.

MBA (Master in Business Administration)

4.2.4 Correlation between the Variables

Correlation is a statistical technique that is used to measure and describe the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

The variables used for this research include holistic marketing and competitive performance being the independent and dependent variables respectively.

Using a holistic marketing approach encompasses and cuts across various levels in marketing concepts and business concepts. Marketing concepts such as the marketing research, market segmentation, and marketing mix. The business concept includes business strategies, strategic renewal models, brand image, and operational concepts of service business

An organization must go through certain transformation processes to adjust the strategy and be able to offer the best value for customers on both physical and virtual markets.

The markets are changing under influence of web, globalization and competition. So marketing not only has to change, it must be the most influential factor of implementing this new strategy. And its crucial instrument is the new marketing paradigm called holistic marketing.

Holistic marketing is a dynamic concept based on ever-present electronic connectivity and interactivity between companies, customers and within the network of collaborative subjects. This new concept combines the most effective from classical marketing and new possibilities of digital environment to create and stabilize long-term relationships. Such relationships can help all parts to prosper.

From this point of view the holistic marketers were successful in creating trustful firm that offer high level of quality of products, services and promptness. Same marketers gain profit increase by increasing the number of customers, creating customer loyalty and earning lifelong customer value. Following figure shows that this joint collaboration of important stakeholders is based on value and creates, maintains, and renews the value for customers.

Holistic Marketing strategy is developed by thinking about the business as a whole. When using a holistic marketing strategy, every aspect of the business must be carefully considered. The company must think about how a consumer will interact with its product, its website, its advertising materials, and everything else that has either a direct or indirect effect on the company/institution wholly.

Figure 4.1 Holistic Marketing Framework

The Bank’s growth strategy is hinged on its continued network expansion, product development, mergers and acquisitions, growth of its international footprint, advertisement, establishment of new branches and distribution of gifts to customers are now being use by bank. However, the introduction of the new, prompt services and the use of public relations have not been effectively applied. Most Nigerians are not aware of the essential services being provided by banks. Due to this, a substantial amount of money is outside the banking sector. A significant proportion of Nigeria’s money supplied varied between 49% and 60% in recent time due to

patronizing of local money lenders (Ajayi Ibi, 1987). This patronage could be due to easy accessibility collateral base on personal knowledge, prompt and twenty-four hours services being provided by the informal capital market which is expected from banks through increased mobilization of saying, effective and efficient channeling of funds to develop the economy.

Checking the comparative analysis of policies for marketing by the marketing personnel in the sample frame of 134 individuals and the confirmatory factor analysis, additional input in the coverage areas and class is in question.

Advertising Revenue Operating Profit

This implies that:

Revenue and operating profit = f (advertising)

4.3 Summary of Findings

New marketing options found to have been employed by Zenith Bank to further broaden its customer base was the use of new age digital marketing techniques which involved active inclusion in social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram also engaging the use of Google Ads and paid adverts on YouTube and these social media platforms.

Prior to this, Zenith Bank has reportedly been secluded by the lower class of individuals in the society due to a thought system that for one to get an account with the bank, the person must have an opening account balance of N10, 000 above; this made this class of people see the bank as the bank for the rich and technocrats alone of which was a misconstrued and faulty knowledge base and needs to be addressed across board.

To tackle this problematic discovery, and in the process bring more entrepreneurs, small and medium scale (SMEs), enterprises, business owners, artisans, startups, students, retailers and the everyday feel inclusive in Zenith’s banking halls and system, a new option of zero opening account balance was introduced also taking advantage of the mobile banking platform, to attract the unbanked.

Despite this some findings from Global Credit Portal showed that Zenith lends mainly to a traditionally higher quality large corporate clientele. However, the bank's operating environment involves high credit risks. Strong lending growth has

further compounded high credit risk exposure, as has the bank's exposure to certain industries--such as the downstream oil and gas segment, the real estate and construction sector, and capital market-related margin lending--though sector concentrations are only moderate overall. Given the general decline in corporate creditworthiness in recent years, asset quality indicators have deteriorated, albeit less dramatically than certain peers', with the ratio of nonperforming loans (NPLs) rising to 3.5% of lending at Sept. 30, 2009 (2.0% at year-end 2008). Coverage by reserves remains sizable, however, providing comfort in the event of further asset quality deterioration.

An observation showed that financial performance also deteriorated in 2009, negatively impacted by material provisioning charges on margin lending. Given lower expected lending growth and business activity in 2010, paired with Zenith's still high cost base, expectations were forecasted for earnings to remain under pressure--though the expectancy rates of credit risk charges were to exceed the amount of provisioning incurred in the following year, which was to support the bottom-line. Liquidity remains comfortable, while Zenith's large stock of liquid assets provides an additional cushion. Funding vulnerability is nevertheless increased by the structurally short-term nature of deposits in Nigeria. With a ratio of adjusted total equity (ATE) to adjusted assets of 19.3% at Sept. 30, 2009, and a regulatory Tier 1 ratio of 31.6%, Zenith continues to have good capitalization, the maintenance of which is important for the ratings given the bank's high risk operating environment.

4.3.1 Contribution of the Findings

Findings garnered showed the key strategies Zenith Bank prides in ranges from Products to deliver superior tailor-made service experience to all our customers at all times through diversified quality product and service offerings: retail products and services, corporate products including e-banking products, Relationships, Diversification, International dealings, core strengths, cross-selling, and ICT.

Whilst banks contribute to economic and social development of the nation, it has been observed that some banks are performing poorly. Ekpenyong (1994), attributes failures of some banks to

Competition, abnormal creation and composition of banks Poor Management Board room politics Inadequate supervision Government interference Unsavory monetary policies Lack of corporate culture Poor attitude of corporate/individual borrowers to debt obligation Reserve requirements General negative attitude to public wealth

Marketing Evolution

The heart of modern marketing thinking and practice lies on understanding, creating, communicating and delivering customer value and satisfaction at a profit. Modern marketing is centered on customers. Sound marketing is critical to the success of every organisation – large or small, profit or nonprofit, domestic or global. The results of marketing are seen in the abundance of products everywhere.

Many people see marketing only as buying and selling of goods and services. However buying and selling are only two of many marketing functions and are often not the most important.

Kotler and Armstrong (2001), define marketing as a social and managerial process whereby individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. In their view, the most basic concept underlying marketing is that of human needs which they see as states of felt deprivation. These human needs include physical needs for food, clothing, warmth and safety; social needs for belonging and affection; and individual needs for knowledge and self-expression. Wants on the other hand are seen as the form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Wants therefore are described as objects that will satisfy needs. Wants are insatiable yet resources to satisfy them are limited. Therefore people want to choose products that provide the most value and satisfaction for their money.

According to (Ogusaya, 1993) “the continued monitoring of customers need with a view to providing better product/services at a profit”.

According to Kotler (1988) banks had no understanding of supplying needed services e.g. they did not have to make a case for checking accounts, saving, loans or safe deposit boxes etc. the bank building was created in the image of a Greek temple calculated to impress the public with the banks importance and solidarity.

A very critical aspect in the banking industry is marketing. While defining marketing with particular citation to banking ‘Weyer’ gave a five (5)-point definition:-

Identifying the most profitable market now and in the future; Assessing the present and future needs of customer; Setting business development goals and making plans to meet them; Managing the various banking services and promoting them to achieve the

plans; and Adapting to the fast changing environment.

From the afore mentioned resolution, it is clear that effective banking services are attached on marketing. From the bit-by-bit definition above, banks must know the direction they are headed, have a good knowledge of their customers and clientele, build objectives and earmark appropriate machinery to achieve them, not forgetting the dynamism of the competitive and changing environment.

The main aim of businesses is for profitability which is incorporated in banking as well. The said profit may be made at the detrimental cost of the customer but in free market condition, to last in business, banks must continually assess their operation and examine how far they are meeting the needs of their customers and society in general.

It can be recalled that some decades ago, banks in Nigeria were few and the level of competition was generally low. What was present then was a sellers’ market. Now, things are much different. Currently there has been a dynamic shift and proliferation of banks in the years past and the banks have met stiffer competition and quite tense market. Referring to Onwuzuruoha, “there has been a steady erosion of customer loyalty and the bank that provides the best services is the one that will get the lion’s share of the business”.

4.3.2 Reference to Research Questions

Zenith Bank’s Strategy

The overall vision of the bank is to make the Zenith brand a reputable international financial services network recognized for innovation, superior Customer Services and performance while creating premium value for all stakeholders.

Key strategies Zenith Bank prides in ranges from Products to deliver superior tailor-made service experience to all our customers at all times through diversified quality product and service offerings: retail products and services, corporate products including e-banking products, Relationships, Diversification, International dealings, core strengths, cross-selling, and ICT

Fig 4.3 Distribution Chart of Zenith Bank’s Relationships

RELATIONSHIPS

One of Zenith Bank’s strategies includes developing deeper and broader relationship with all clients and strive to understand their individual and industry peculiarities with a view to developing specific solutions for each segment of our

customer base by maintaining a departmental structure equally as diversified as our client base.

This helps the bank understand the individual and industry peculiarities of our clients and helps us build niche relationships with them, with a view to providing specific solutions that meet their needs.

DIVERSIFICATION

Significantly, Zenith Bank expands their operations by adding various distribution channels and entering new markets through exploitation of our existing large network and improved cross selling of non-interest income products & services we can access new frontiers and grow opportunities in banking.

By Sector, significant opportunities exist to meet the funding gaps in power, infrastructure and telecommunications.

By Business, Diversification by business lines and geography e.g Zenith Capital, Zenith Bank UK

By Distribution, it is found that approximately 60% of Nigerian population still unbanked, showing a large market yet to be tapped into.

By Innovation, Information & communication technology - reinforcing competitive advantage

INTERNATIONAL

Zenith Bank maintain the institution’s position as a leading service provider in Nigeria while expanding their operations internationally in West Africa and the financial capitals of the world replicating our leading formula for success wherever we go.

Zenith Bank prides itself to be entwined in the tagline of being people-oriented, provide top-notch services and doing all this with technology

CORE STRENGTHS

Includes striving to be a leading service provider in Nigeria by continuing to build on long-standing relationships, capabilities, and strength of our brand and reputation.

Theses core strengths are in strong local franchise, best quality in Nigeria, Solid Track Record, ICT Leadership, Conservative Approach and Solid Management

CROSS-SELLING

This entails expanding the business through the establishment of key subsidiaries for the provision of non-bank financial services to accentuate the service offerings and experience of our customers through complementary business lines that allow us to better leverage our customer base.

These subsidiaries include the Zenith Trust Company, Zenith Capital, Zenith Registrars in Medicare as well

ICT

Continually, Zenith Bank enhances their processes and systems platforms to deliver new capabilities and improve operational efficiencies and achieve economies of scale leveraging our unparalleled competitive advantage in delivering superior ICT/E-solutions.

This cuts across platforms for customer's ease in getting cash, paying bills, doing transfers and transactions in and outside the bank, making purchases, buying online, and integrating these platforms with the technology of internet banking.

4.3.3 Conclusion

The economic transformation of the rural/urban communities in any state carries with it a lot of the relief of the burden which it has in the area of capital development. The Banks with the marketing of their services are capable of playing a vital role and have in fact played a vital role in the sustenance of the economy. This fact has a direct linkage to the importance of basic industries and small and medium scale enterprises to the industrial and technology advancement of any country.

The reason why most banks are into marketing of banks services is to face the high competitive nature of banking business as well as to achieve higher profit base. The success of this research project will help the bank to withstand further intense competition on marketing of bank services in acquisition of new customers and the retention of old ones.

CHAPTER FIVE

GENERATION AND EVALUATION OF OPTIONS

5.1 Options

Options Generation and Evaluation Study represents an interim stage of analysis which supports the role and function of the Holistic Marketing Strategy as defined in precious studies and will provide the technical analysis needed by the financial institution in order to develop a highway investment strategy.

A very abstract notion of options can be found in, for example, Wardetal. (2011), who define options as statements that are relevant to the attainment of a certain goal. This means that in their view, options can be predictions, desires, perceived possibilities, or plans, to name just a few possibilities. In their empirical study, Wardetal. (2011) examined the options generated by police officers in a simulated situation of potential threat. A statement like “I think the suspect has a gun” is in their study counted as an option because it is a statement that is relevant to the attainment of a certain goal (namely preventing the suspect from using lethal violence).

A second, more restricted definition of options is found in work on hierarchical reinforcement learning. Here, the term “options” refers to “abstract actions”: temporarilly extended sequences of lower-level actions (Suttonetal., 1999; Botvinicketal., 2009). This means that lower-level actions such as cutting an onion, getting butter from the fridge, frying the onions, and soon can be grouped into an option such as “making dinner.” This proposal aims to do better justice to the hierarchical structure of action descriptions and provides a framework for studying the role of reinforcement learning in more complex forms of behaviour.

Thirdly, problem-solving studies use the term “option” in an even more restricted sense, referring to “steps that could be taken in solving a problem” (Keller and Ho, 1988; Klein et al., 1995). The range of options is then determined by the range of actions that are allowed within the context of the problem. For example, in their study on option generation in chess, Klein et al. (1995) asked participants to generate possible moves in response to a certain situation on the chess board. In this study, options are conceptualized as possible chess moves as judged by the participants. Similarly, in solving a problem like the Tower of London (Shallice, 1982), options would be the different moves allowed within the puzzle.

This part of the research seeks to overview that the different areas of research on option generation differ widely in focus; thus, this makes the outcome of various studies on option generation arrive at a point of comparison.

A question can be raised whether this research analyzes statements relevant to goal attainment is really about the same thing as a study that examines different ways to attain the same point of actions or line of results and goals. Precisely because the field of option generation is in an early stage, it seems important to aim for clarity regarding what the options generated are and as such what connects the different studies that examine it.

As a problem exists with differentiating studies varying vastly in their particular use of terms, a persistent problem is in the area of decision-making as very little is done in that aspect. Almost all studies focus on decision-making situations that have stringent constraints. The most important reason for this seems to be a methodological one: constraining the range of options participants work with increases control over the experimental situation. However, this also implies that the experimental set- tings in which decision-making is studied are far removed from everyday decision-making situations, where the range of options is often wider and less strictly constrained than the range of possible moves in a chess problem or in sports. In order to be able to cover also such under constrained situations in empirical research, it is first needed to see more clearly how options for action in real life could be understood.

It should be noted that the option proposal developed below is to provide a more systematic conceptual analysis of options and option generation that can be used in broad areas of decision-making.

This study confirms desired performance measures, defining problem areas and provides a summary of the generation and evaluation of candidate improvements needed to protect the role and functions as well as to ensure the best use of existing infrastructure, minimize costs and maximize benefits of the marketing modus operandi, enable development of clear and practical priorities for facility investments and preservation of working methodologies, support the need for innovative methods to finance marketing needs and personnel to carry out tasks across the stipulated, most sensitive areas with the attention it requires for implementation of options and guidelines to draw new unbanked into the institution.

Addressing the dire need for an integrated strategy that will encompass the use of Michael Porter’s strategy for market integration, segmentation putting in consideration the Blue and Red Ocean strategies which are used in different scenarios addresses the generation of strategic options based on the analysis covered in previous chapters.

5.2 Evaluation of options

The Overall Process

The overall process is a coordinated approach to planning, funding, designing, constructing and operating marketing facilities and proper functional inclusiveness throughout the various locations and integration in the locale where there are branches of the bank. It promotes and supports the goals and objectives of provincial, regional and local level plans through a structured analysis framework which is implemented through a flexible process suited to the marketing characteristics. Unlike many long range plans however, this process provides a means of developing a broad plan which can easily be translated into short-term and medium-term programs and schedules with appropriate monitoring programs and updates. The result will be years of investment strategy which will be established once the evaluation of options is complete.

Fig. 5.1 Source: Adapted from Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. Exploring Corporate Strategy, Prentice-Hall, 1989

LINKING TO PORTFOLIO AND MATRIX ANALYSIS

The industry maturity-competitive position matrix, the growth-share matrix, the directional policy matrix and the business/industry attractiveness screen not only analyse the position of products or strategic business units, but also provide recommendations as to the strategic directions in which strategic business units (SBUs) should be developed.

Matrix analysis is therefore a useful tool in helping to generate strategic options and understand the cash flow implications of strategic decisions for a portfolio of products. The advantage is that the strategies for several products or SBUs are looked at not in isolation but in the context of a business with limited resources, which should be allocated to the products or SBUs that produce the greatest return on investment.

Holistic Marketing Concept

The holistic marketing concept is based on the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs, processes, and activities that recognize their breadth and interdependencies.

Holistic marketing acknowledges that everything matters in marketing—and that a broad, integrated perspective is often necessary.

Fig. 5.2 Holistic Marketing Dimension, Source: Marketing Management, Kotler and Keller.

Weighing the path towards actualizing the use of holistic marketing strategy as an option, relationship marketing, integrated, internal and performance marketing are incorporated to make the entity “holistic marketing” feasible.

The following are as stipulated by Kotler and Keller Kotler, Keller (2012) in Marketing Management:

Relationship Marketing

The ultimate outcome of relationship marketing is a unique company asset called a marketing network, consisting of the company and its supporting stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, distributors, retailers, and others—with whom it has built mutually profitable business relationships. The operating principle is simple: build an effective network of relationships with key stakeholders, and profits will follow. Kotler, Keller (2012)

Today, research in relationship marketing encourages analyzing variables of satisfaction, commitment and trust through studying their consequences on the future behaviors, namely, loyalty, positive word-of-mouth activity, cooperation and performance. Payne (2000)

Integrated Marketing

Integrated marketing occurs when the marketer devises marketing activities and assembles marketing programs to create, communicate, and deliver value for consumers such that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Two key themes are that (1) many different marketing activities can create, communicate, and deliver value and (2) marketers should design and implement any one marketing activity with all other activities in mind.

Internal Marketing

Internal marketing, an element of holistic marketing, is the task of hiring, training, and motivating able employees who want to serve customers well. It ensures that everyone in the organization embraces appropriate marketing principles, especially senior management. Smart marketers recognize that marketing activities within the company can be as important—or even more important—than those directed outside the company. It makes no sense to promise excellent service before the company’s staff is ready to provide it.

Internal marketing requires vertical alignment with senior management and horizontal alignment with other departments, so everyone understands, appreciates, and supports the marketing effort.

Performance Marketing

Performance marketing requires understanding the financial and nonfinancial returns to business and society from marketing activities and programs. Top marketers are increasingly going beyond sales revenue to examine the marketing scorecard and interpret what is happening to market share, customer loss rate, customer satisfaction, product quality, and other measures. They are also considering the legal, ethical, social, and environmental effects of marketing activities and programs.

5.3 Justification of Options

Ratings on Zenith Bank PLC are supported by the bank's leading market position in high-end corporate banking in the Federal Republic of Nigeria (B+/Stable/B), comfortable funding and liquidity profile, and good capitalization and loan loss reserves, supporting loss-absorption capacity.

Offsetting factors include the very high economic and industry risks associated with operating in Nigeria and Zenith's limited business and geographic diversification, being focused on domestic corporate banking. Exposure to credit risk is consequently high and accentuated by the economic slowdown and capital market turmoil in 2009, reflected through increasing numbers of problem loans. Financial performance has also been weakened by significantly increased provisioning charges. The ratings on Zenith reflect the bank's stand-alone credit profile, and do not incorporate any uplift for potential extraordinary support from the Nigerian government.

Therefore options suggested add that, these are included therein:

- Cost Minimisation Analysis

- Cost effectiveness Analysis

- Cost benefit Analysis

- Cost utility Analysis

The analysis inclusions have a healthy outcome with a value for the benefit.

All costs for the holistic marketing strategy will make initial costs, ongoing, consequential and there is distribution of risks across board.

Both cost and benefits have positiv3 effects on the society, industry and individuals involved, being:

- Proportional

- Transparent

- Having stakeholder's involvment

- Subject to review

- Consistency

- Wider range of options

5.4 Ethical and CSR Considerations

Marketing ethics deals with the moral principles and values in marketing. Ethics in marketing is applied in different areas such as in advertising, promotion, pricing. It also includes the explanation of the ethical issues like:

Do children have the capability of understanding marketing tactics? Do they have the final buying power? Should marketers take permission from their parents? Do children understand the negative effects of the products advertised?

A proper understanding and constituted guide is needed to comprehend fully what is being dealt with.

MARKETING

Philip Kotler’s Marketing is basically the interaction with your consumer in order to persuade the consumer to purchase your product or service. Basically the Marketing is the process of creating, promoting and delivering the products and services. Meeting needs profitably.

Marketing is about understanding customers prospective or potential and fulfilling their needs and wants.

ETHICS

Ethics is the study dealing with what is the proper course of action for human or living being. It answers, "What do I do?" It is the study of right and wrong in human behaviors, basically, it is the method by which we define our values and pursue them.

Ethics is a requirement of human life. It is the means of deciding what should be our action. In its absence, our actions would be haphazard and aimless.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethics in Marketing

According to Kotler and Levy, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined as a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders. CSR is a concept with many definitions and practices.

Some of the gains of being socially responsible include: (a) Improvement in company and brand image (b) Easiness to attract and retain employees (c) Increase in market share (d) Less operating costs (e) Helps to attract investors.

A socially-responsible firm cares about its customers, employees, suppliers, the local community, society, and the environment. CSR is an approach by which a company finds that its activities have a wide impact on the society and development and actively manage the economic, social, environmental and human rights.

5.5 Consideration for Colleagues Involved

Meaningful engagement of employees in organizational change processes requires recognizing that reactions are not simply about a particular individual or a group of individuals but all personnel involved directly or indirectly in the process of reaching a set out goal or result.

Use of organizational change by introducing a behavioural ethics perspective on change recipients’ reactions highlighting an ethical orientation where moral motives that trigger change reactions get more attention than is common in the change management literature. Beyond the specifics, there is the genuine concern of change recipients for the wellbeing of others, and the impact of the organizations’ activities on internal and external stakeholders, needs to be considered more systematically in research on organizational change.

According to Jacobs, Keegan (2016), an implicit assumption in most works on change recipient reactions is that employees are self-centered and driven by a utilitarian perspective. According to large parts of the organizational change literature, employees’ reactions to organizational change are mainly driven by observations around the question ‘what will happen to me?’

Forbes’ Jacquelyn Smith opines that one of the most important hiring criteria for many companies is the ability to work as a team player—yet, so many of companies have colleagues who don’t play well with others.

Andy Teach opines that if you have one bad apple in the bunch, it can really hurt the morale and enthusiasm of an entire department. A department, or company, that works well together, has the most success together. When you enjoy working with your colleagues and look forward to interacting with them, everyone benefits.

Working with other team members whom you have a great work relationship with can actually make work fun. Morale is high, which leads to better productivity and directly leads to better results.

A high-morale work environment will always produce more than a low-morale work environment. When people care about the people they work with, things get done faster, he says. People will go the extra mile; they will take ownership of a job, a decision or problem and work through it without feeling like they have to go up the chain to get things done.

Another benefit of colleagues working well together includes the free flow of information, as the group’s wellbeing and success become more of a priority; patience, generosity and a gravitation toward interaction grows; and good moods and dynamic information beget better moods and even more dynamic information, he says. All of this conspires to create a more balanced, functional, aggressive and successful company.

The top management and decision makers are expected to draft a plan to effectively train, retrain and equip the staff (marketing personnel inclusive) with the right tools and an emphasis to making the best use of this opportunity to root out the problematic areas stalling the exponential growth of the bank.

CHAPTER SIX

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

6.1 Discussion of Findings

The idea of strategy implementation might at first seem quite straightforward, namely that the strategy is formulated and then implemented. However, transforming strategies into action is a far more complex and difficult task and this was confirmed in the review of holistic marketing strategy implementation literature. This is further corroborated by the research results from this study which showed that respondents were far less satisfied with the actions associated with strategy implementation, than with strategic planning.

In addition, based on the findings from the literature review, a number of impeders of strategy implementation were identified. The research findings confirmed that numerous of these impeders are also eminent in the supposed improvement of strategy implementation in the competitive performance in Zenith Bank.

This chapter provides a discussion of the main findings and implementation plan from the research and where applicable, links the literature to the research outcomes

6.2 Implementation Plan, Activities and Progress

Ikpefan (2013) opines that the need for marketing in financial institutions cannot be over emphasized because it is a vital arm of any sector. Competition within and outside the shores of the country brought about by globalization and an improvement in customer awareness have made banks to use marketing as an important tool to increase returns, improve on the efficiency of the Nigerian banking system and compete efficiently.

This stage therefore involves plans, activities and progress revolving around the marketing concepts to be used.

Marketing theory and practice are justified in the belief that customers use a product or service because they have a need, or because it provides a perceived benefit (Kotler and Keller, 2006).Two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers (acquisition) and the retention and expansion of

relationships with existing customers (base management. For marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four “Ps” must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they do not want is extremely expensive and seldom unsuccessful. Marketers depend on insights from marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive advantage (Meldan, 1984).The study of Akinyele (2011) for the oil and gas sector in Nigeria suggest that strategic marketing is a driver of organizational positioning in a dynamic environment, and that it helps to enhance the development of new product/service for existing markets.

Banks offer wide range of financial services, to personal and business customers; some of these services which are bank account, guarantor ship, and investment adviser are needed by an appreciable number of customers, but many other financial services such as import/export services, money transfers, credit cardsandsoonhave to be brought to the attention of potential users, who then must be persuaded to use them (Abolaji, 2009, Eckie, 1973). Many services offered by banks are also offered by rival organizations.

Banks not only compete with each other but also have to contend with challenges from other types of organization in the market (Soyinbo, 1988). To do this successfully, bankers need an understanding of the process of marketing which will aid in improving banks performance. Marketing is an area of activity infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture. (Oke, 2012).

Marketing strategy

Marketing strategy beholds businesses all marketing goals. Marketing strategy is, ideally, built around market research to create an ideal product mix to achieve maximum profit potential. (Business Dictionary, 2012a)

Marketing strategy is stated in businesses marketing plan which can be product specific, market specific or company-wide plan. Organizations market plan illustrates activities to be taken in achieving the businesses marketing objectives in a specific timeframe. First step to market plan is to perform a market research to

identify specific customer needs and steps to fulfill them, while generating profit. Analysis of current market situations, action programs, budgets, sales forecasts, strategies, and financial statements are also included. (Business Dictionary, 2012b)

The marketing concept

The marketing concept is a philosophy which states that the key to achieving goals is to determine the needs of the target customers and to satisfy those needs more efficiently and effectively than competitors. The marketing concept does not target to maximize profitable sales volumes but to generate profits through customer satisfaction. Therefore, the emphasis is not solely on selling products but on selling satisfaction. (Chopra 2012, 239-240) The marketing concept resorts to marketing research, which defines the market segments, the size of segments, and the needs of the segments. In order to satisfy the needs of the target markets the marketing mix can be used to create a strategy. (NetMBA 2010a)

Marketing research

Marketing research is a method of obtaining a wide range of information and activities necessary to run a business. Marketing research covers gathering, recording, and analysis of information about transfer and sale of goods and services from producer to consumer. The objective of marketing research is to offer analyzed facts and knowledge in order to overcome problems and to make the right marketing decision at a right time. Every company must research its markets, customers and competition in order to go in the right direction and be profitable. Continuous monitoring is the key in staying in the right course as markets can change rapidly and customer preferences and needs may shift away from the previous results. (Chopra 2012)

Market segmentation

A market holds a large number of individual customers who have different needs, preferences and buying habits and capacities. Market segmentation is the division of this total market into different customer groups. Each customer group has charasteristics that include the customer into the specific group. Not only does marketing segmentation enable a company to match their marketing efforst to the

needs of the target market, marketing segmentation also shows which customer groups not to target. Market segmentation can be done on the basis of geographic, demographic, psychological, and behavioural variables. (Chopra 2012, 243-244)

Marketing mix

Marketing mix describes the set of tools that can be used to impact sales. Although Neil H. Birden used the term marketing mix in his teaching already in the late 1940’s, the term popularized in 1964 after Bordens article “The Concept of the Marketing Mix”. Bordens marketing mix included product, planning, pricing, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, packaking, display, servicing, physical handling, and fact finding and analysis. It was E. Jerome McCarthy who later compressed Bordens marketing mix into the 4 P’s of marketing that are known today; product, price, place, and promotion. (NetMBA 2010b)

6.3 Stakeholders Acceptance

Business success and continually satisfying the customer and other stakeholders are closely tied to adoption and implementation of high standards of business and opportunity for corporations to be globally competitive by expanding their production base and market share.

Recent years have seen many progressive organizations in Nigeria keenly playing a social role. In some of these organizations the approach has been to take up only business-centric activities, i.e. which are directly relevant to their business. The guiding philosophy in these organizations is that social reasonability is good only if it pays.

This approach benefits both the organization and the stake-holder.

6.4 Challenges and Risk During Implementation

If there is no profound understanding about the marketing mix as a simple concept in detail, then there is a reasonably sure chance that one will miss out on the fundamental factors that will guarantee ascendable success from the ground to the top.

Emphasis has been laid in business that if a target market is not known adequately and figured out what they exactly want, it will result to a catastrophic outcome leading the business will inevitably fail.

On the other hand, you can be sure to attract mountains of profits when you have a deep understanding of these concepts. Understand this fully and you will know exactly how to maximize profits on your own sustainable business or help become a valuable asset within your company and gain endless promotions.

Unfortunately, a lot of existing marketers and wishful marketers, this concept is annotated over as almost everyone seems to know what it is and is disregarded as basic knowledge.

6.4.1 Identified Challenges and Risk

Major Rating Factors

Strengths:

· Leading market position in top-tier corporate banking in Nigeria.

· Comfortable funding and liquidity profile.

· Good capitalization and loan loss reserves, supporting loss-absorption

capacity.

Counterparty Credit Rating

B+/Negative/B

Nigeria National Scale

ngA/--/ngA-1

Weaknesses:

· Very high economic and industry risks associated with concentration in Nigeria.

· Limited business diversification given top-tier corporate banking focus.

· High exposure to credit risk and deteriorated asset quality indicators.

· Weakened financial performance.

Just as Unachukwu (2004) discovered that the use of strategic Marketing strategies makes banks achieve their individual financial intermediation objectives, facilitates in the adoption of marketing public relations tools in the operation of the bank also helps her in build customers confidence on the banking industry. Strategic marketing also helps in the increase of customer’s patronage etc.

Given Zenith's focus on high-end corporate banking, earnings remain relatively undiversified. Net interest income drives profitability contributing to total revenues which is generated through corporate loans and advances, followed by short-term placements and investments in government bonds.

Commercial margins are wide, albeit tightened it should remain relatively stable as management focuses on retail deposit gathering while actively pricing its corporate loan book. Fees and commissions also contribute to a high share of Zenith's revenues and are derived from ancillary business with corporate customers and transactions. Market-related earnings are minor, related mainly to foreign exchange transactions.

High costs related to personnel expenditure and investments on Zenith's branch network have continued to constrain financial performance, limiting financial flexibility during periods of reduced earnings. As At Sept. 30, 2009, operating expenditures represented a high 5.4% of the bank's average adjusted assets, and are expected to likely reduce significantly over the short term.

In conveying intermediation services, there should be high employment of result-oriented marketing strategies.

6.4.2 Managing Challenges and Risk

Pitching in from Economic Intelligence Unit, there are risks associated with generic strategies.

For a strategy to be successful (that is, increase value), it must be sustainable. If other businesses can copy the strategy, the competitive advantage will be lost and returns will decline to the industry average. Depending on the strategy chosen, managers must carefully monitor what factors can challenge the business position.

For example, if a strategy of cost leadership largely succeeds because of volume production, the firm is particularly exposed to technological changes. A competitor with much lower volumes may be able to enter the market using new technology, whereas the incumbent would have to make massive investments to convert existing capacity to the new technology. In this situation, the incumbent may use its financial strength to acquire the newcomer and gradually introduce the new technology. Indeed, the new entrant may consider this the best option because expanding businesses are often financially vulnerable.

The risk of differentiation is that products become commoditised and customers no longer perceive or care about differences. This means there is no value in differentiation; the competitive advantage is lost. It may also be possible for volume-based manufacturers to use some aspects of their products to achieve a significantly lower cost base for differentiated products. For example, volume car manufacturers generally use the same platform for high-value, low-volume models and share research and development costs across the whole product range. As a result, many luxury car brands are now owned by volume manufacturers.

Focus brings with it the risk of specialisation. Highly specialised businesses may live profitably in their chosen niche. However, as businesses become more adapted to serve their niche market they also become less flexible. Small changes in demand or the competitive environment may lead to rapid failure. Other risks include imitation and a narrowing of differences between the niche and the general market.

Unachukwu (2004) opines that the process of exploring marketing opportunities, investing times and money to pursue those opportunities and predicting the outcome of those investments is the strategic marketing planning process. Companies that live by the marketing concept realized that marketing efforts and more successful when they are carefully planned. The planning will start from identification of the opportunities and development of means of reaping the ‘opportunity through cost commission and performance prediction”. Putting simple, strategic marketing planning is the process of examining a company’s

marketing opportunities, allocating resources to capitalize on those opportunities and predicting market and financial performance that is likely to occur. The result of strategic marketing planning are documented the marketing plan, which summaries the current situation, states your objectives and outline strategic and programmers designed to help the company reach those objectives.

6.5 Contribution to Organisation Performance

Building societies have developed customer accounts which are similar in many ways to a bank account. Thrift and cooperative societies provide lending services to their numerous members and indirectly to the society at large. Solicitors act as executors, and trustees and accountants give advice and so on. Banks not only compete with each other but also have to contend with challenges from other types of organization in the market. To do this successfully, bankers need an understanding of the process of marketing which will aid in improving banks performance. Marketing is an area of activity infamous for re-inventing itself and its vocabulary according to the times and the culture. Babatunde (2014)

Bank services have started as far as 1892 when the First Bank was called Standard Bank of Nigeria Limited. Since the marketing of financial services has been group simultaneously in the banking industry through a narrow way. The emergence of numerous new banks and their financial institutions bring the awareness to the banks, the need to market their services extensively. Most of the business leaders thought that gaining an advantage against their competitors is enough to declare themselves as the successful organization. While other believes that they can be successful if they keep the trust and loyalty of the consumers. But without second thoughts, competitive advantage or their influence in the market are achieved is only the effects of their application of various strategies such as technological support, strong investments, organizational culture and practice, the efficiency of the suppliers, and the use of appropriate marketing strategy. All of these factors contribute in the organization’s performance.(2014)

6.7 Research Gap and Further Research

Due to the constraints surrounding this research which was earlier mentioned, the researcher was unable to sample other locations of Zenith Bank in other states in Nigeria and outside Nigeria and as such interested researchers who would love to engage in going beyond what has been done here can consider these areas.

1. The practical application of the new advertising opportunities to aid in the full implementation of financial backlog for existing and yet to be converted unbanked.

2. The execution of total quality marketing concepts in the operations of banking services.

3. Incorporation of other Zenith Bank branches and marketing techniques obtainable across the country.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The banking industry should come to the reality that the main function of marketing in their firm is to garner the ability to form effective marketing strategies and consolidated plans for the banks.

Based on the research findings, these particular gaps should be filled and further research carried out on them, for banks and Zenith Bank in context:

1. The organization's management should desist from relying on the present marketing struggle as this will facilitate their stay in the business sphere. A notable drive for innovation and provision of newer and more compatible product and services to their target market in marketing. This can see the light of the day via effective use and implementation of a holistic marketing strategy and mix with

effective research. Despite this, bank branches should be equipped to carry out research on their own terms in their immediate environment which in turn will facilitate effective results and lead to new discoveries based on revelations and discoveries from the research carried out with the ample provisions made. This sort after information when discovered should also be made available at all level, so as to bring good dissemination of information to help better services within the banking sector.

2. The banks should effect within every branch of operation, the process of training and retraining their employees so as to put them in the know of the dire importance of satisfying the customer's ever growing needs. Use and inclusion of ICT as technological advancements grow should be well positioned to avoid redundant system failures and collapse.

In conclusion, Zenith Bank board should consider enlarging their current marketing operations to rural commercial areas to include and enroll the unbanked, also mobilizing rural savings, which will be a ripple effect of impacting on the developmenet and improvement in the economy of the area and that of the bank branch as well.

Developing and implementing efficient and effective marketing strategies which incorporate relevant dimensions of the marketing concept involve the organic tasks of selecting a target market (customers/clients) in which to operate and developing an efficient and effective marketing ingredient combination. Marketing thought, with its practice, has been moving speedily into the service industry (Kotler and Connor, 1997). Literature, partly, centres on the discussion of whether physical product marketing is similar to, or different from, the marketing of service and concludes that the differences between physical product and service might be a matter of emphasis rather than of nature or kind (Creveling, 1995). Marketing is one of the salient and important organic functions which help to service organizations to meet their business challenges and achieve set goals and objectives (Kotler and Connor 1997).The word “service” is used to describe an organization or industry that “does something” for someone, and does not “make

something” for someone (Silvestro and Johnston, 1990). “Service” is used for companies or firms that meet the needs and want of society such organizations are essentially bureaucratic (Johns 1990; Osuagwu, 1999).

With the assertion therefore, the function of marketing strategy is to determine the nature, strength, direction, and interaction between the marketing mix- elements and the environmental factors in a particular situation (Jain and Punj

1997). According to (McDonald, 1992), the aim of the development of an organization’s marketing strategy development is to establish, build, defend and maintain its competitive advantage.

More emphasis should be laid on the managerial input and circumstances militating the full implementation of a holistic marketing strategy and the surrounding factors and the business sphere knowledge.

6.8 Ethical and CSR Implications

An ethical issue is an identifiable situation and also an opportunity which requires an individual or organization to choose from the actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical, etc.

Product – related ethical issues arise when marketers fail to disclose the risks associated with a product. In pricing, common ethical issues are price fixing or failure to disclose the full price of a purchase. The nature of price creates many misunderstandings between the seller and buyer which causes ethical problems. Promotion sometimes creates ethical issues in a various ways, which includes false or misleading advertising and manipulative or deceptive sales promotions and publicity.

Due to the globalization of markets and businesses, an ever increasing number of marketers have to deal with ethical issues. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethical issues in Marketing and analysis of the points such as:

Discoveries showed that most customers are not aware of the services rendered by their bank; this however should bring up the topic of Banks bridging the

communication gap that currently exists between customers and the bank. In bridging the gap, proper information can be disseminated through circulation of circulars, pamphlets, adverts, brochures etc. As a financial power house, Zenith Bank should devise means of making the process of obtaining information easy for their customers/clientele as there are striking similarities in the type of services offered amongst banks in the Nigerian banking sphere. The idiosyncrasy of delivery in services will make a revered difference with a huge stress on effective delivery of services. This will have a ripple effect on the need for restructuring of processes with a result in turnaround time for processing needs to improve.

There should be increased encouragement in the use of consultancy firms in carrying out market research before new products are introduced in Zenith Bank. These firms have adequate manpower and database which can be utilized, in erecting market research at a reduced cost.

An undeniable progression in the use, popularity and general acceptance of information technology which has imperatively made it more important for any bank that needs sustenance and relevance in the coming years to be fully computerized. The opportunities offered by the Federal Government’s pronouncements on provisions of a level playing field for commercial banks should be adopted by Zenith Bank with required resources in place for effective outcome.