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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1988

John Cheese, Abby Day and Gordon Wills

An updated version of the original (1985) text, the book covers all aspects of marketing and selling bank services: the role of marketing; behaviour of customers; intelligence…

3584

Abstract

An updated version of the original (1985) text, the book covers all aspects of marketing and selling bank services: the role of marketing; behaviour of customers; intelligence, planning and organisation; product decisions; promotion decisions; place decisions; price decisions; achieving sales. Application questions help to focus the readers' minds on key issues affecting practice.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1990

Kenneth Andrew

This monograph covers a number of key articlesand presentations by the author over the lastdecade. The points contained in them reflect aclear belief based on experience of…

Abstract

This monograph covers a number of key articles and presentations by the author over the last decade. The points contained in them reflect a clear belief based on experience of creating significant cultural change so that banks become more market‐driven and customer‐orientated. Many of the forecasts made in the articles have become a reality in the marketplace. This monograph begins with a description of changes over the last decade: the introduction of the marketing function into banks, consumer responses, new competitors, technological developments, and the impact of Government. Marketing has faced many difficulties in the banking industry and competitive breakthroughs have not been easy to achieve. Many leaders in the industry believe in business/marketing strategy evolving in close association with IT planning – this is the second topic, IT support may be crucial. The importance of advertising and management of agency relationships is the subject of Chapter 3 – how can it be effectively used? Chapter 4 looks at the ways in which the consumer is presently getting a better deal; Chapter 5 describes the marketing success of the NatWest Piggy Bank within the context of a changing marketing culture. A wider repertoire of marketing techniques are used in the USA (Chapter 6) but if they are to be used in the same way here then the situation will need to approximate more closely to that of the USA – credit and credit cards are the particular focus and the US market is more aggressive. Chapters 7‐9 look at the future of financial services marketing from the retailer′s perspective – the retailer′s detailed approach to a possible new business has distinctive strengths, but their actual opportunities in this market may be restricted to an extent by, for example, inexperience and so lower credibility as vendors of some specialised services like investment management. Chapter 10 appraises the value and strategic nature of market research. Chapter 11 considers the movement of building societies into the wider personal financial services marketplace, the product′s role in the marketing mix, and the impact of the Single Market in Europe. Chapter 12 singles out the cost‐effective technique of automated vetting of customers′ creditworthiness from the special viewpoint of the building society. The monograph concludes with a discussion of the changing market and future prospects: the world of finance is no longer simple; money is no longer the common denominator; the consumer is now the focus; competition to provide services is fierce; the future is exciting!

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 8 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2011

Irinja Mäenpää and Raimo Voutilainen

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how financial service providers cross‐sell combined bank and insurance service offerings in a business‐to‐business context with the aim…

1972

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how financial service providers cross‐sell combined bank and insurance service offerings in a business‐to‐business context with the aim of increasing understanding on the creation of corporate customer value through cross‐selling.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative study of eight providers, augmented with interviews among eight of their small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) customers, form the empirical basis of the study.

Findings

Financial service providers anticipate a shift from separate sales events towards one‐stop shopping and from unilateral provision of non‐related products towards consideration of hybrid products in the SME segment. SME customers, who tend to acquire their banking and insurance services as non‐related products from separate providers, do not fully support these trends. The results are partly explained by the absence of customer loyalty programs and non‐existent provision of hybrid products in the business‐to‐business context.

Research limitations/implications

The research is focused on the financial industry within one country and bound to SME customers, limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

The results imply that financial service providers should develop their one‐stop shopping concept in the SME segment by creating a customer loyalty program that would reward customer companies according to the use of multiple products in their total portfolio. Additionally, the possibilities of introducing hybrid products solely for business customer use should be further investigated.

Originality/value

This study is the first to show how business customers perceive the value of cross‐buying bank and insurance services, presenting a reminder to managers about the importance of recognizing their SME customers' value expectations.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 29 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2001

Alan Davis

The European Commission has published a revised proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive to harmonise member states' rules on consumer protection in relation to…

Abstract

The European Commission has published a revised proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive to harmonise member states' rules on consumer protection in relation to the distance marketing of financial services. Financial services had been specifically excluded from the scope of the Distance Selling Directive which came into force in the UK on 31st October, 2000. Included in the proposal is the right of a consumer to receive a comprehensive set of information about the financial services supplier and the contract before the contract has been concluded, and the right to withdraw from the contract without penalty during a period of 14 days after entering into the contract. Questions have arisen as to whether the proposal is an example of wholly unnecessary intervention at European level and whether it is introducing unnecessary red tape for the financial services industry. One of the most important problems with the proposal relates, however, to a fundamental disagreement between member states as to whether the directive should be a maximum harmonisation measure or simply minimum harmonisation. With the current protracted state of negotiations, it remains unclear as to whether this proposal will ever achieve political agreement.

Details

Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1358-1988

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2018

Ankitha Shetty and Savitha Basri

This study aims to review the published empirical research on relationship orientation in banking and insurance services. The objective of the study is to understand whether a…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to review the published empirical research on relationship orientation in banking and insurance services. The objective of the study is to understand whether a strong customer–sales representative relationship contributes to sales effectiveness and to know the significance of relational behaviors in developing and maintaining long-term relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

Through Boolean search, a systematic review with narrative synthesis was conducted. Relevant electronic bibliographic databases and reference lists of pertinent review articles were searched. Screening and eligibility of articles were based on participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes (PICO) model and PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews) guidelines.

Findings

A total of 22 papers were finalized for the study, and results reveal that customer orientation behavior and adaptive selling behavior of sales representatives improve relationship quality, culminating in higher customer satisfaction, enhanced loyalty and escalated commitment, whereas selling orientation diminishes the relationship quality. The attributes of sales person especially contact intensity, contact frequency and client knowledge augment sales effectiveness and longstanding relationship with the customers.

Practical implications

This paper would provide valuable insights for financial sales representatives, academicians and practitioners of relationship marketing in the area of banking and insurance services. Personalization and customizations are important aspects of the provision of social benefits that strengthen competitive advantage.

Originality/value

Although the relevance of relationship marketing has been acknowledged, the conceptual base of relationship orientation in banking and insurance services has received only limited attention.

Details

Journal of Indian Business Research, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4195

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2012

Ho Taek Yi, Alan J. Dubinsky and Chae Un Lim

The purpose of the article is to present and test a model regarding important factors that may help reduce unethical behavior (i.e. misselling) of salespeople in the financial

2397

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to present and test a model regarding important factors that may help reduce unethical behavior (i.e. misselling) of salespeople in the financial services industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses, telemarketers from the life insurance industry in South Korea were surveyed (n=204).

Findings

Using structural equation modeling, the results indicate that: ethics training is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; ethical climate is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; selling pressure is unrelated to ethical attitude; competitive intensity is positively related to salesperson ethical attitude; competitive intensity is unrelated to misselling; and misselling is inversely related to salesperson ethical attitude, positively associated with product complexity, and positively related to product variety.

Research limitations/implications

Future empirical work could: investigate different variables from those utilized in this study; consider inter‐country and gender differences; use alternate sources of data to examine stability of the findings; and employ samples of firms in other industries and other marketing channels. Limitations include a limited number of study variables, use of solely the telemarketing channel for life insurance, a preponderance of female respondents, and potential for socially desirable responses.

Practical implications

Management should seek to maintain a high ethical attitude among sales agents to help foster a reduction in unethical behavior. Sales personnel should receive extensive ethics training to help enhance their ethical attitude in the job. Salespeople should also seek to establish and maintain long‐term relationships with their customers and to pursue long‐term profitability. Sales managers should seek to educate consumers about the various types of financial products, their respective strengths and weaknesses, and the appropriate conditions under which they should be purchased.

Originality/value

The potential for financial services industry salespeople to behave unethically has received extensive research attention. A key area, though, which has been virtually ignored is antecedents of misselling of financial services. The article seeks to address partially this gap in the literature.

Article
Publication date: 6 April 2012

Irinja Mäenpää

This paper aims to examine the extent of and key determinants for bank and insurance provider selection and usage by business customers from the small to medium‐sized enterprise…

2349

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the extent of and key determinants for bank and insurance provider selection and usage by business customers from the small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) segment, thereby aiming to increase understanding of the drivers of customers' cross‐buying behaviour across these financial service sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with key decision makers from 22 SMEs within one country. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data.

Findings

Empirical findings suggest use of multiple banks as the norm among SMEs, whereas insurances are dominantly purchased from a single provider. As SME customers appear to prefer using separate, independent providers for their banking and insurance services, absence of customer loyalty programs, unfavourable pricing of the total offering and image conflicts were identified as main factors limiting the willingness to cross‐buy across these financial services sectors.

Research limitations/implications

This qualitative research is focused on the financial industry within one country and bound to smaller business customers, limiting the generalisability of the findings.

Practical implications

The results imply that in order to succeed in cross‐selling bank and insurance services in the SME segment, financial service providers should improve their cross‐selling concepts by creating customer loyalty programs that would reward customer companies according to the use of multiple products in their total portfolio.

Originality/value

This study is the first to describe the customer perceived drivers of cross‐buying bank and insurance services from the same service provider in the business‐to‐business context.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1994

Clifford J. Shultz and Russ Alan Prince

Examines factors that predict the successful sale of financial servicesto affluent investors. Reports on a study in which data were collectedusing a new set of scales that measure…

1086

Abstract

Examines factors that predict the successful sale of financial services to affluent investors. Reports on a study in which data were collected using a new set of scales that measure traits, selling strategies, and compliance‐gaining tactics. Results suggest that these tactics, called “infotainment”, are used by effective relationship managers to sell the services of financial service institutions to various, geographically diverse, affluent investors – a population that has received little attention in the selling, sales management, and bank marketing literature. Suggests that the study makes a contribution, because of the size and representativeness of this unique sample, and its recognition and assessment of some of the critical factors that affect the selling process. It also determines several significant and meaningful relationships. Discusses practical applications and future opportunities for research.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2008

Min‐Hsin Huang

To compare the selling orientation (SO) versus customer orientation (CO) selling behavior of a service employee and examine the impacts of SO versus CO behavior on customer…

3667

Abstract

Purpose

To compare the selling orientation (SO) versus customer orientation (CO) selling behavior of a service employee and examine the impacts of SO versus CO behavior on customer relationship quality and retention in financial services selling. Specifically, this research hypothesizes that a salesperson's SO is negatively related to relationship quality while salesperson's CO is positively related to relationship quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework is proposed that considers customer retention as a consequence, and a service employees' SOCO behavior as an antecedent of, relationship quality. Structural equation modeling techniques are applied to data collected from customers in the two important financial services (insurance and banking) in Taiwan to test the framework.

Findings

A service employee with CO approach increases relationship quality while a SO approach decreases relationship quality with customers. Furthermore, relationship quality is verified to positively affect customers' future retention.

Research limitations/implications

Although the sample may be representative of the financial industry in general, it is possible that results may vary for specific service industries. Also, the fact that data were collected in Taiwan raises the question of its transferability into other cultural regions.

Practical implications

The results should lead managers to consider the importance of emphasizing a CO approach when service employees are selling services. This study suggests that service employee training emphasizing CO can add additional value to a company's service offering and influence future retention of the service firms.

Originality/value

This is the first study to completely compare the CO approach with SO approach in a service selling.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1993

James F. Devlin and Christine T. Ennew

The strategic importance of distribution for financial services wasreflected in and reinforced by the provisions of the Financial ServicesAct. Through requirements relating to…

Abstract

The strategic importance of distribution for financial services was reflected in and reinforced by the provisions of the Financial Services Act. Through requirements relating to polarization, best advice and commission disclosure, the Financial Services Act sought to create a regulatory framework which would provide the level of investor protection which was appropriate in a market characterized by a high level of information asymmetry and a heavy dependence on commission‐based selling. In practice the desired level of investor protection has failed to materialize, and this can be attributed not so much to a failure of the principles within the Financial Services Act as to a failure in the way in which those principles have been implemented.

Details

International Journal of Bank Marketing, vol. 11 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-2323

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 57000