Consumer Perceptions towards Personal Selling Strategy of Eastern

Bank Limited

Term Paper on

Consumer Perceptions towards Personal Selling Strategy of Eastern Bank Limited

Course: Marketing Management

Course Code: MKT 201

Section: 2

Submitted to:

Mr. Mahmud Zubayer Assistant Professor

Department of Business Administration

East West University

Submitted by:

Shati Itminan 2008-2-10-121

Md. Ashrafuzzaman 2008-2-10-136

Md. Shoheb Chowdhury 2008-2-10-225

Date of Submission:

December 5, 2010

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgement …………………………………………………………… v

2. Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 6

3. Research Scope &Methodology ………………………………………………...7

3.1 Research Design & Type ……………………………………………….7

3.2 Primary Sources ………………………………………………………. 7

3.3 Secondary Sources ………………………………………………….… 8

3.4 Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………… 8

4. An Overview of Eastern Bank Limited …………………………………….... 9

5. Personal Selling Strategy ………………………………………………………10

6. Consumer Perception towards General Personal Selling ………………….. 11

7. Eastern Bank Limited’s Personal Selling Strategies ……………………….. 12

8. Consumer Perceptions towards EBL’s Personal Selling …………………….13

9. SWOT Analysis of EBL’s Personal Selling Strategy …………………..…… 14

10. Future Growth of EBL’s Personal Selling Strategy ………………………. 16

11. Recommendations ……………………………………………………………..17

12. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..18

Bibliography

13. References ………………………………………………………………………19

14. Sample Questionnaire ………………………………………………………….20

December 5, 2010

Mr.Mahmud Zubayer

Assistant Professor, DBA

East West University

Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Subject: Submission of term paper on consumer perception towards personal selling strategies of Eastern Bank Limited.

Dear Sir,

Here is the term paper we, three group members were assigned to work for the

assignment on “Consumer Perception towards personal selling strategies of Eastern Bank

Limited” as the final term paper for the course “MKT-201”.

During group work, we found it quite absorbing and enjoyable to work with the practical

aspects and consumer perceptions towards personal selling strategy. As a result, the

group participation was maximum and the outcome was quite productive.

Due to company policy, we were able to have limited information from company

website. Despite the time constraints and other problems, we have tried our best to make

the project as logical as we could.

Therefore, we would be obliged if you please accept this assignment. If any further

assistance are needed please contact us.

Sincerely yours,

.............................. ………………………… ……………………….

Shati Itminan Md. Ashrafuzzaman Md. Shoheb Chowdhury

2008-2-10-121 2008-2-10-132 2008-2-10-225

1. Acknowledgement

It is inconceivable that we would get support from different persons for completing this

report. But it gives us much pleasure to be grateful to a large number of individuals for

their heartily cooperation and contribution directly and indirectly to making this term

paper.

To start with, we would like to express our deep gratitude to almighty Allah for keeping

us physically and mentally alert to work and prepare the report.

We would like to thank Mr. Mahmud Zubayer, assistant professor, East West University

for his kind advices and guidance in completing this term paper successfully.

We would also like to thank the employees of Eastern Bank and specially Mr.

Asaduzzaman of Eastern Bank Limited for helping us by providing some necessary

information to successfully finish this project.

 

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2. Introduction

The private banks in Bangladesh are offering full range of consumer, corporate,

international trade, foreign exchange, lease finance and capital market services. These

banks are also providing numerous modern services like online banking, debit and credit

cards which are not available in the traditional state owned banks. Eastern Bank Limited

(EBL) is becoming a preferred choice in banking for friendly and personalized service,

cutting edge technologies and tailored solutions for business needs assuring excellence in

banking services. Currently EBL has 39 branches covering all the major cities of

Bangladesh.

To survive and facilitate banking services, banks have no other option but to offer

customized offerings and packages. So these banks are focusing more on personal selling

day by day. EBL is not different from them. Today, Eastern Bank Limited is offering

loads of customized offering to the consumers.

This term paper is prepared with a view to revealing the general perception on personal

selling and also the perception on EBL’s personal selling strategies.

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3. Research Scope and Methodology

In order to carry out the research study, certain approaches and methodologies are

required to be followed. The following approaches were followed in conducting this term

paper.

3.1 Research Design and Type:

The research was based on both exploratory and descriptive method. A random set of

sample had chosen and a questionnaire was given. The facts and figures of this term

paper was derived based on the data given by the sample and also by the face to face

contact of the management of Eastern Bank Limited and different reference periodicals

and journals.

3.2 Primary Sources:

The report was mainly based on the data derived from primary sources and the primary

sources of data was mainly derived from the analysis we got form the answers given by

the random samples on the survey. The primary sources are given below.

• Questionnaire given to the consumers

• Face to face conversion with the bank managers and workers.

3.3 Secondary Sources:

The secondary sources that helped us to perfect and enrich this term paper are given

below.

• Eastern Bank’s annual report

• Bangladesh Bank reports and different articles.

• Electronic references and newspaper

• Different books on banking sector

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3.4 Limitations of the study:

Of course this term paper is not flawless and we had several limitations. The limitations

of the study are given below.

• The stipulated time was not sufficient to get a clear and real picture of the personal

selling strategy of Eastern Bank Limited.

• We also faced a budget constrain to undertake a massive scale survey program.

• Due to the company policy and highly classified database, bank employees and

managers showed little interest on disclosing their confidential marketing plans.

• Many procedural matters conducted directly in the operations by the top

management level, which also gave some sort of restriction.

• The survey is entirely Dhaka based. We undertook the survey in Dhaka city only

so probably this report does not reveal a total depiction of the entire scenario of

160 million people.

• As the report was based on data given by different persons, a distortion in report

may occur if they had given wrong information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4. An Overview of Eastern Bank Limited

With a vision to become the bank of choice and to be the most valuable financial brand in

Bangladesh, Eastern Bank Ltd. (EBL) began its journey in 1992. Over the years EBL has

established itself as a leading private commercial bank in the country with undisputed

leadership in Corporate Banking and a strong Consumer and SME growth engines.

EBL’s ambition is to be the number one financial services provider, creating lasting value

for its clientele, shareholder, employees and above all for the community it operates in.

Bangladesh Banking Sector has grown from strength to strength over the past one decade

and is fiercely competitive, especially in the Consumer Banking segment. EBL offers a

wide range of depository, loan and card products to cater virtually for every customer

segment. From Student Banking to Priority Banking to Platinum card EBL has almost all

banking products in its repertoire. The product basket is rich in content featuring different

types of Savings & Current Accounts, Personal Loans, Debit Cards, Credit Cards, Pre-

paid Cards, Internet Banking, Corporate Banking, SME Banking, Investment Banking,

Treasury & Syndication services. The customers are served through a network of 39

Branches, 62 ATMs and 5 Kiosks countrywide. EBL has its presence in 11 major

cities/towns in the country including Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi &

Cox’s Bazar.

Here are some facts about Eastern Bank Limited.

• EBL is the first bank in Bangladesh to go online.

• EBL is the first ever local bank to finance Aircraft purchase deal of Biman

Bangladesh Airlines. Prior to this, only multinational banks used to finance such

projects.

• EBL generates highest profitability per employee in Bangladesh Banking sector.

• EBL launched first ever Bank- sponsored Mutual Fund in Bangladesh.

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5. Personal Selling Strategy

Personal selling is the delivery of a specially designed message to a prospect by a seller,

usually in the form of face-to-face communication, personal correspondence, or a

personal telephone conversation. Unlike advertising, a personal sales message can be

more specifically targeted to individual prospects and easily altered if the desired

behavior does not occur. Personal selling, however, is far more costly than advertising

and is generally used only when its high expenditure can be justified.

For example, the marketing of a sophisticated computer system may require the use of

personal selling, while the introduction of a new product to millions of consumers would

not. Two other forms of personal selling that are not used with high-end products are

door-to-door selling and home demonstration parties. These two personal selling methods

are primarily used for personal care products, cosmetics, cookware, encyclopedias,

books, toys, food, and other items of special interest to homemakers. Ideally, personal

selling should be supported by advertising to strengthen its impact.

In comparison to other marketing communications tools such as advertising, personal

selling tends to:

• Use fewer resources, pricing are often negotiated.

• Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g. financial services or new cars).

• There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sale so that an ongoing

relationship is built.

• Client/prospects need specific information.

• The purchase tends to involve large sums of money.

In today’s competitive market environment, it is mandatory for the companies to practice

personal selling strategies to survive and excel.

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6. Consumer Perceptions towards General Personal Selling Strategy

According to the survey we made among people of different tiers of Bangladesh and from

the other sources, we discovered that people posses both positive and negative feelings

towards the general personal selling strategy.

Positive Feelings:

• Consumers believe it is a two-way form of communication. So if a customer does

not understand the initial message (e.g., doesn’t fully understand how the product

works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns

which is not possible in Radio, Newspaper or Television commercial.

• The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective

promotional method for building relationships with customers. This is especially

important for companies that either sell expensive products that rely heavily on

customers making repeat purchases.

• People usually get happy when they see that someone is offering a custom made

product only for him/her instead a “one size fits all” approach. They really feel

zeal and form a sense of self-respect after receiving a personal selling campaign.

Negative Feelings:

• Due to the works of inapt and irresponsible salespersons, some people find

personal selling as an annoying marketing mix.

• Salespeople usually send email, messages and make phone calls on the personal

contact numbers of the target customer. So some people think it invades their

privacy and hampers their sabbaticals.

To sum up, though people hold some negative perceptions towards general personal

selling strategy, majority of them votes personal selling strategy in all ways than the

traditional selling strategies.

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7. Eastern Bank Limited’s Personal Selling Strategies

Eastern Bank Limited has gained the confidence of the corporate world and established a

unique brand image of sound efficiency and immediate delivery. Despite the large

magnitude mass marketing, EBL also have an intensive personal selling strategy. They

deliver personal selling in the following ways.

1. Stimulus Response Selling: On this process the sales person provides stimuli and

continues to make requests until the prospect makes a purchase decision. EBL

takes this policy to sale its credit cards to the executives.

2. Mental States Selling: In this process, the sales force of EBL creates interest,

conviction, desires and finally persuades the consumers to use their service. For

example, offering consumer loans.

3. Need Satisfaction Selling: In this process, EBL go to different segments to satisfy

the needs of that specific segment and offer their “Tailored” packages to lure

them. For example, campus visiting to offer education loan or student bank

account.

4. Problem Solving Selling: In this specialized process, usually the EBL sales

persons go to the high class members and corporate world; they identify their

problems, provide different alternative solutions and finally provide their

customized packages to the prospects.

Moreover, to persuade the prospects, EBL arranges road shows, organize festivals, send

e-mails, cards etc to the different segments.

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17%

36%23%

17%

7%

Consumer Perception

Excellent

Good

Average

Poor

Annoying

8. Consumer Perception on EBL’s Personal Selling Strategies

The perception of people towards the personal selling strategies was derived by analyzing

the answers we got from our sample population of 30 individuals. We asked them to

describe the personal selling strategy of Eastern Bank Limited in 5 different given traits.

Among the 30

people, 5

people told

personal

selling strategy

is excellent, 11

referred good,

7 referred

average, 5

referred poor

and 2 referred

annoying.

On another study, we asked the samples to rate Personal Selling strategy of Eastern Bank

Limited on a scale of 5. Nine persons rated EBL as 5, sixteen rated as 4 and five rated as

3.

So, in a nutshell, we can derive that, Eastern Bank Limited holds a favorable perception

of its personal selling strategy among the consumers. However, EBL needs to go a long

way to get the best rating from the consumers. Since it was founded in 1992 and it has

only 39 branches, it will definitely flourish and will have an immense opportunity to get

even better perception form the general people of Bangladesh in near future.

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9. SWOT Analysis of Eastern Bank Limited’s Personal Selling

Strategies

Strengths:

• Eastern Bank’s motivated and highly enthusiastic workforce can provide myriad

services of interest.

• Eastern Bank’s policy of providing customized benefit packages and different

banking offers are a plus point for the company.

• Eastern Bank has different loan packages like auto loan, merchandising loan,

housing loans, education loans and it also has different savings packages for

different people of different layers. So having this large area of services, it is very

useful for EBL to undertake the personal selling strategy.

• Personal selling is also appropriate to persuade the consumers to avail the modern

services like online banking, debit, credit, travel card etc.

Weakness:

• It is costly to undertake highly specialized and successful personal selling strategy

as we learnt already, providing high quality service at a lower price is almost

impossible.

• Arranging and maintaining a one to one personal selling strategy is very much

time consuming.

• Inappropriate and naïve decision making by the top management may cause poor

personal selling strategy.

• As Eastern Bank is practicing personal selling strategy instead of doing mass

marketing, a moderate numbers of potential customers might get omitted making

an overall fall in the market share.

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Opportunity:

• Personal selling of Eastern Bank may expand if it enters into different sectors of

the market by offering different packages according to the need of those people.

• Modern technologies like internet, email, smart phones, global wireless

connectivity and globalization gives EBL to practice its personal selling strategy

even more perfectly.

• Social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter gives EBL an increased

opportunity to mold its selling strategy according to the user’s interests.

• Eastern Bank can target the corporate world executive and upper class people by

offering some special packages tailored to their need.

Threat:

• Increased competitions from giant banking corporations like HSBC, Standard

Chartered can be a threat.

• Economic downturn, natural disasters and other demographic problems can

dampen the effectiveness of Eastern Bank’s personal selling strategy.

• Lucrative packages of some non financial banking organizations can affect the

overall performance of Eastern Bank Limited.

• Finally, government legislation and regulations (for example, fixing interest rate,

setting price floor and ceiling) may affect the personal selling strategies of EBL.

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10. Future growth of Eastern Banks Personal Selling Strategy

Eastern Bank wants to become the bank of choice by transforming the way they do

business and developing a truly unique financial institution that delivers superior growth

and financial performance and be the most recognizable brand in the financial services in

Bangladesh.

The future growths of their personal selling strategy are given below.

1. Not limiting the boundary of personal selling only in metropolitan cities. EBL

want to expand its personal selling processes throughout the countries.

2. Using the vast application of social networking sites to discover more potential

consumers and act according to their needs. For example, EBL may discover a

man is going abroad to study or someone is going to buy a house, knowing these

EBL can offer education and housing loans to these people.

3. Increasing the prospects, specially offering different packages to the lower

segments of Bangladesh. EBL can undertake a personal selling strategy for the

poor rural people.

4. Improving and enriching the online banking systems and helping the prospects.

Also using the internet backbone to deliver even better personal selling strategies.

5. Finally, expanding its personal selling strategies to serve the people in neighboring

countries and Middle East.

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11. Recommendations

• On the basis of the geographical perspective of Bangladesh, Eastern Bank should

decentralize its operations so that it can have an increased number of consumer,

retailers, and vendors which will result an increase in the overall business network.

• Developing the marketer’s vision and overall effectiveness of marketing team will

certainly help.

• Recruiting highly qualified, motivated, dedicated and enthusiastic and computer

skilled workforce is necessary.

• Hiring best management teams to make the betterment of monitoring performance,

setting standard and correcting any persisting deviations.

• Creating a good customer- banker relationship which will enhance the

effectiveness of Eastern Bank’s personal selling strategies.

• Eastern Bank should also introduce several packages of interests.

• Employee appraisal, performance managements are necessary.

• Online operations should be prompt.

• For betterment of the personal selling strategy, Eastern Bank can follow the clients

to their social networking websites that will give information about the client’s

fancied stance, important events etc. For example, Eastern Bank can know

someone is going to purchase a car or house by following his/her comments or

statuses of FaceBook.

• Finally, Eastern Bank should try heart and soul to preserve and uphold its

customer goodwill.

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12. Conclusion

Eastern Bank’s product assortment ranges from short term financing of day to day

business operations to long term loans for expansion of your business. They work with

the people to understand their specialized needs and design tailored and structured

solutions for their business. To implement these credos, they EBL have undertaken a

intensive personal selling strategy. Eastern Bank’s claim, ‘Simple Math’ has always been

much more than just a marketing slogan or an advertising strap line, it defines the way

that the Bank does business. Through the consistent delivery of the promise EBL aims to

live its brand promise of excellence, relevant client solutions and responsibility to all

stakeholders. According to the research studies we undertook, it is as clear as glass that,

EBL’s personal selling strategies are on the correct track. The limitations they have, we

believe should be overcome and Eastern Bank Limited will be one of the leading banks

of Bangladesh.

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13. References

Book References

1. S.J. Skinner , J.M. Evancevich : Business for the 21st Century ; “Personal Selling”,

page 566-571 , Irwin, 1992

2. E.N. Berkowtz, R.A. Kerin : Marketing ; “Roles of Personal Selling in

Marketing”, page 55-56 , Irwin , 4th Edition.

3. Eastern Bank Limited Annual Report 2008 ; page 17-18

Web References

1. “International Journal of Bank Marketing” , by Charles M. Futrell, web site:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1656594&show=pdf

2. “EBL’s Consumer Loan Product” web site: http://www.ebl.com.bd/ebl-consumer-loan.php

3. “Eastern Bank will give big push to SME lending”; The Financial Express ;

website: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?news_id

=28205&page=detail_news

4. “Eastern Bank Limited: Profile”web site: http://www.ebl.com.bd/EBL-Profile.php

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Name: ……………………….. Age: ……. Occupation: …………………….

Please put tick mark ( ) on the most suitable answer.

1. Do you usually deposit money on bank accounts? A. YES B. NO

2. If yes, how much money do you deposit in the bank on a year?

A. less than 30,000 B. 30,000 – 60,000 C. 60,000 – 1, 00,000 D. More than 1, 00,000

3. Do you usually prefer to take loans on different occasions? A. YES B. NO

4. Do you prefer to withdraw money by using ATM or debit cards? A.YES B. NO

5. Do you prefer online shopping and using credit cards? A. YES B. NO

6. Do you like to get tailored products especially made for you instead of standard products? A. YES B.NO

7. You prefer to use bank’s A. Predefined Packages B. Customized Packages

8. In a personal selling process, salespeople usually send mails, letters and offers directly to your personal phone number or email address. Do you think it is an invasion of privacy? A. YES B. NO

9. What comes to your mind, when you think of EBL’s personal selling strategy? A.Excellent B. Good C. Average D. Poor E. Annoying

10. Have you ever received any offers or requests from Eastern Bank Limited?

A. Never B. Not Recently C. Yes several times D. Frequently

11. Have you ever tried any feature of EBL which you came to know by its personal selling strategy? A. YES B. NO

12. Do you think the effort of EBL members is well enough to find and satisfy potential customers need? A. Not at all B. Yes, but they should improve C. Certainly yes.

13. Finally in a scale of 5, how much do you want to rate PS strategy of EBL? …….

…………

Signature

Thank you very much for your help sir/madam. We are highly grateful to you.