Extent to which commercial banks in Kenya have adopted and implemented Integrated marketing
Abstract
The Kenyan banking industry has become very competitive, with the increasing number of
banks, dynamic government policies, emerging technologies and demanding customers,
driving this scenario. .As a result, it is important for banks to incorporate the latest
marketing thinking in their operations. Integrated marketing is one non-traditional
marketing approach that banks in Kenya can use to gain competitive advantage. Research
was needed, as it was not clear the extent to which commercial banks in Kenya use this
approach. The objectives of this study were to determine the extent to which commercial
banks in Kenya have adopted integrated marketing and also to establish the challenges faced
by banks towards attaining an integrated marketing approach.
This was a descriptive study and the population of interest included all registered commercial
banks in Kenya at the time of study. The entire banking sector comprised 42 commercial
banks (see Appendix 3) and therefore, a census study was carried out due to the relatively
small size of the population. Primary data" was collected using a structured questionnaire
(Appendix 2), which was dropped at the respective ba~ and collected at a later period.
The respondents consisted of the CEO or the senior most manager within the banking
organization. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.
The findings indicate that generally the banks in Kenya practice integrated marketing to a
large extent. However, some elements tend to be practiced to a very large extent including;
"involvement of functional heads in developing organization's mission and vision', 'focusing
on retaining existing customers', 'including customer satisfaction' as a key aspect of the
vision! mission' and 'developing a customer oriented culture'. All aspects were at worst
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practiced to small extent tending to some extent with none of the elements being practiced
to no extent at all. These include the extent to which employees are treated as customers,
considering employee's preference in structuring incentive rewards, treating colleagues as
customers and carrying out regular staff surveys. The banks seem to be focussed on external
customers' needs, disregarding the needs of internal customers.
The key challenges faced in the implementation of integrated marketing are high cost of
implementing change, inability to meet all customer needs, lack of coordination among
departmental heads, resistance to change by employees, resistance to change by managers,
lack of training in marketing among top management and ensuring that every employee
understands the vision and mission. Other challenges were mentioned by few respondents
but are of importance because they were not predetermined. These were: unstable
investment market, dynamics of the banking industry, government policy, qualifying reward
to a consultant and making the customer understand, lack of proper reward system for
employees and resistance from board members. Resistance by various interest groups
emerged as a key challenge. This in the resear"cher's view has to do with the fear of unknown -. given that the financial market places a high value on security. It is a major limitation in
making innovative bank products and concepts see the light of the day.
The research had several limitations such as unavailability of top bank managers and the
secrecy policy in some banks. This made it impossible to get responses from some banks.
Also the respondents were the people in charge of making policies in the banks, this may
have brought in some subjectivity. The researcher recommended further research
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covering lower levels of management and operational staff and including other financial
sub sectors.
The researcher recommends that banks in Kenya should look at the aspects of integrated
marketing that they are not practicing to a large extent. The researcher further recommended
marketing and change management training for the top and middle managers. The existing
integrated marketing practicing level needs to be increased as a way of enhancing customer
longevity. Loyal customers are more willing to pay premiums, demand less handholding and
make referrals. Integrated marketing can help the banks achieve high customer retention
levels as it is based on the interdependence of systems, which incorporates all interest groups
as 'partners in progress'.
Citation
MBASponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
University of Nairobi School of Business, College of Humanities and Social Sciences