| dc.description.abstract | The study reported here analyzed the extent to which commercial
banks in Kenya utilize the promotion mix elements of advertising, sales pro
motion, public relations and personal selling to market their services. The
study also explored the factors that determine the use of the promotion mix
and the problems encountered by the commercial banks in trying to promote
their services. The basic premise of the study was that the success of any
business in a competitive environment, depended to a large degree on the extent
to which the organization is able to aggressively promote its services to
the customers. The rationale for the study arose out of the fact that commercial
banks in the Kenyan market are now facing stiff competition from.
other institutions as a result of changing customer requirements, technological
changes and a changing banking environment following the recent trade
liberalizations, decontrols and deregulation of interest rates.
The study was a census survey of all the commercial banks m Kenya.
Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed and
presented using frequency tables, proportions and percentages. The Chisquare
lest was used to test for association between the various categories of
banks and the use of promotion mix elements.
The findings from these analysis led to the following conclusions.-
a) The most extensively used promotion mIX elements in the commercial
tanking sector are personal selling and public relations. They are the
key elements of-promotion in all the banks while sales promotion is the
least used element. The promotion tools most commonly used to bring
awareness to the public include advertising through the electronic and print
media, sponsorship of sports activities, contributions and donations to "harambees"
and public i~stitutions and give-aways such as calendars, ties or diaries.
The findings also revealed that there is no significant relationship between
the size, ownership and the period a bank has been in operation and
the extent to which it uses promotion mix elements.
b) The most important factors considered by banks when considering
promotion mix elements to use are their company policies, type of service,
type of customers, message and the cost of providing the service.
c) The promotion of bank services in Kenya are hindered by lack .of
skilled" staff, resistance to change, government restrictions, lack of awareness
and competition, among others. These findings differ from problems encountered
in other parts of the world such as in Western Europe and North
Arnerica perhaps because of the different macro-environments.
On the basis of these findings, the following managerial recommendations
appear appropriate:
a. Commercial banks should approach their marketing activities from
both internal and external view points. Internally, they should train their employees,
both management and support staff, to be customer-oriented. Integrated
marketing must be practised so that both the management and staff
aim at the same marketing objectives in the organization. The internal marketing
activities will give support to the external marketing activities of adverusing,
public relations, persof12l selling and sales promotion so as to achieve
the bank objectives.
b. Company policies should have long-term objectives which support
marketing activu.es. These include the setting of promotion objectives,
, media plannmg, end evaluation of promotion activities. They should also In-
elude the necessary budgetary support for the promotion activities.
With the recent trade liberalization, removal of credit restrictions
and deregulation of interest rates, the banking environment in Kenya will
change drastically, as competition will be more pronounced. Commercial
banks must, therefore, employ a more aggressive use of the promotion mix
elements in their marketing activities in order to maintain their share of the
market and increase or maintain their profit levels. | en |
