Marketing practices and firm competitiveness of commercial banks in Kenya

Abstract

The study was aimed in determining the influence of the marketing practices in the competitiveness of commercial Banks. The specific objectives were to identify the marketing practices adopted by commercial banks in Kenya, and to determine effectiveness of the marketing practices on the competitiveness of commercial banks in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional study as the research design in which relevant data related to marketing practices was collected. This design helped in getting information related to the current status of an issue and describes it in the “what exists” in relation to the variables in the study. The target population of the study consisted of all 43 operating commercial banks in Kenya, registered with the CBK. Because of the small number of banks and easy accessibility from their Nairobi offices, all of the banks were included in the study hence a census. The current study used primary data collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire had both the open and closed ended questions in which the respondents had a chance to give their views on the issue under study. The questionnaires were administered to the marketing managers or the strategic manager in the 43 commercial banks in the country. Collected data was first edited, coded and then entered to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for the purpose of analysis. Qualitative data required content analysis and for the quantitative data, it was analyzed through descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation through SPSS. Descriptive analysis was necessary so as to understand the basic characteristics of the study. The study found that banks use pricing skills and systems to respond quickly to market changes. The study also found that developing new product had contributed greatly to the performance of the bank. The study concluded that bank undertakes media planning to identify the most effective way of reaching the customer. The study recommended that commercial banks should make use of technology to increase their competitiveness in terms of product innovation, customer satisfaction and market orientation. These intelligences ensure that internal strengths of the bank are utilized for the betterment of the firm which leads to profitability.