Financial Services Marketing

Citation

Durkin, M. (2001), "Financial Services Marketing", International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 48-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijbm.2001.19.1.48.1

Tina Harrison’s book is a welcome addition to the small range of books focusing on this important area of marketing. It represents a key text for bankers taking their professional Institute of Bankers examinations as well as for students of financial services marketing at postgraduate level. It would also be a valuable aid for those students of marketing at postgraduate level who are examining different marketing contexts, of which the fast changing financial sevices context represents a key area for learning.

This book is clearly structured and each chapter begins with learning objectives and ends with review questions, a summary and indicative reading all of which are useful and considered. Chapter 1 features a clear outline of the changing financial services environment and is especially strong on the changes that have occurred over the past decade and in discussing the strategic responses of banks in the face of such dramatic change.

Other early chapters focus on the consumer, segmentation and product development. A great asset in this text is the way in which core marketing concepts are discussed first and then later in the chapter these generic concepts are contextualised in the area of financial services. Chapters 5 and 6 are perhaps most topical as they deal with issues of distribution and the evolution of technology‐driven distribution channels (e.g. ATMs, online banking, interactive TV). While there is a dedicated section on the important areas of relationship marketing and customer retention (chapters 9 and 10) it would have been interesting to have a closer link between relationship management and the issues of technological distribution discussed in chapters 5 and 6. A key challenge facing banks in the future will be the nature and management of on‐line relationships (see Howcroft and Durkin, 2000) yet this area is largely unaddressed.

The penultimate chapter on Corporate Financial Services is to be applauded as it focuses on an area left largely ignored in other texts. How the corporate market differs from retail is important and the emphasis here on corporate buying behaviour and relationship management is excellent. So too is the important section on small business‐bank relationships which raises some interesting questions and will generate awareness amongst readers as to the key challenges of managing such relationships.

The final chapter is entitled “Projects” and is very pedagogically sound in the way it takes a multi‐themed approach and integrates prior learning through the use of “real‐life” scenarios that can be explored as individual assignments or as group‐based learning activities in a class situation.

The inclusion of up to date mini‐case studies is a real asset in this book and will be of significant help to those students studying for their bank exams who need examples of practical cases. First Direct is included as a case and while this is a good example of best practice, it would have been interesting to see the Prudential’s “Egg” more fully discussed especially in terms of pricing strategy and relationship marketing management.

All in all Financial Services Marketing is a sound and comprehensive review which will be of significant value to practitioners and students alike. Harrison’s thorough and well structured approach make it an enjoyable read and the complete index and practical case listing also make it an easy text to interrogate for those who are seeking information more quickly.