MARKETING FINANCIAL SERVICES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MARKETING FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example Marketing tools used by the organization The marketing strategy of the organisation targets four customer groups: Personal Financial Services that includes consumer finance, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Private Banking. In the present financial milieu, the tools that would best persuade customers to entrust their transactions with a particular institution would be the service attributes themselves, that such service capably meets with the clientele’s most stringent requirements. The Academy of Marketing Science (2008) states that a company’s reputation is considered a marketing tool (p. 31). HSBC’s strongest marketing tool is its reputation. The conservatism associated with its brand name is a valuable asset. In a period of general public distrust in the financial system, confidence in a financial institution is the single most important factor that would determine a customer’s patronage. Another tool that HSBC relies on to attract a nd maintain its customers’ loyalty is its global presence. Most businesses in one way or another undertake commercial transactions of an international nature, which require some form of financial settlement that only a bank with strong global exposure may capably and satisfactorily discharge. Also, innovative products that timely address the market, such as HSBC’s recent launch of low interest rate, low deposit mortgage funding, have the potential of attracting demand because such products cater closely to their need. Finally, HSBC prides itself on its global expertise not only on financial matters, but also on its knowledge concerning socio-cultural considerations. Business culture happens to be closely linked with social traditions in certain countries; HSBC thus markets itself as the local global bank, referring to its local expertise coupled with global presence. Customers of the organisation, including issues Because HSBC serves a wide range of consumer and corpor ate banking interests, its customers also span the continuum from individuals in their personal finances, to non-business organisations, to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), to large domestic corporations, to state entities, and up to large multinationals corporations (MNCs) and conglomerates. Because of these widely divergent products serving widely different clientele, the company faces several issues having to do with its customers, that may put the bank at significant risk. The diversity of HSBC’s various markets is an important risk management factor and a source of financial strength (Greer & Kolbe, 2003) and it may be consolidated into three main business models in which it has a â€Å"natural advantage† (HSBC Annual Report and Accounts, 2009, p. 12): 1. Businesses that cater to international customers for whom connections with developing markets are critical (Global Banking and Markets, Private Banking, the major part of Commercial Banking, and the mas s affluent segment of Personal Financial Services; 2. Businesses with local customers where the efficiency of output or services may be improved by access to markets on a global scale (the small business segment of Commercial Banking, and the mass market segment of Personal Financial Services; and 3. Products which may have potential in the global market, with the assistance of the HSBC Group’s efficiency, expertise and reputation, such as the bank’