Strategic Marketing Plan for ANZ Banking - Case Study Example

ANZ MARKETING STRATEGY Name: Course Instructor’s name Institution Date 5.0 Monitoring and Control Strategies 5.1 Research ANZ is currently undertaking a survey as the main market researching method to collect data related to the following questionnaire: Which are the most frequent ANZ financial services you have used over the past six months? Were these services helpful to you as an individual or to your business? How many ANZ branches do you know of within your country? Do you find ANZ’s online platforms useful or appropriate? Do you use other banks’ financial services alongside ANZ’s? How do you find ANZ’s employees regarding their service delivery? Do you think ANZ is the best bank among other foreign banks in your region? Does ANZ assist you to achieve your goals? Which feature about ANZ influenced your relationship with the bank? Male/Female Age: 18-24, 25-35, 36-45, 46 and above. The above questionnaire was administered to a small group of 40 customers from a sample of ANZ’s branches in China and Nepal, and they revealed that: The most frequently used ANZ service is the credit card facility (48%). However, a substantial number have also used the FX online service to transact their foreign exchange business. 36% of them were confident that these services had helped them achieve their financial targets, while 28% confirmed that ANZ’s services had helped to promote their business transactions, especially the Trade Finance Help Desk. The majority of them (65%) recognized at least five ANZ branches within their state, 18% recognized at least three branches, while 17% recognized only two branches which were around their town of residence. Most of the respondents accepted the fact that ANZ’s online platforms have far-reaching benefits to the way they conduct their business. 70% of the respondents cited FX Online as the most popular online platform. Only 6% of those interviewed, acknowledged being using financial services from other banks alongside their relationship with ANZ. 56% described ANZ’s employees as welcoming and competent, and that they were satisfied with ANZ’s service delivery. However, 32% had some suggestions on a few areas of service delivery that need to be corrected. A majority of the people, (85%), feel that ANZ is so far the best financial firm in the region. 52% of those who answered believe that the financial assistance they obtained from ANZ contributed to their success, especially in conducting international trade. ANZ’s new brand of a simple bank and the new logo were cited as the major influencing factors that have strengthened the customers’ affinity towards the bank. Among those surveyed, 70% were male, and 30% were female, with the majority (52%) aged between 25-35 years. This survey should be conducted at least every eight months as the company goes around promoting this plan, and reach at least 4000 respondents from cities in both countries. 5.2 Sales Analysis ANZ has the prospect of becoming bigger and bigger in the Asian continent as more foreign banks are penetrating the region as niche players. Foreign banks have a minority impact in the Chinese economy as compared to Nepal (Richard, & Heather, 2013 p.677). Nevertheless, ANZ is currently the second-largest foreign bank commanding 10% of the Chinese market. With the aggressive advertisement being carried out to campaign for this plan through television, there is a potential for growth of financial services in the Asian region by 20% within the next ten years. The firm’s sales are anticipated to grow by a margin of 6% from 2017-2021 since these two economies are recovering from the recent financial crisis. Through mergers and acquisitions, the expansion plans in these two states can increase ANZ’s market share by a significant margin. 5.3 Marketing Audit The possible checks and control points for ANZ bank involve both internal and external factors. Internal factors comprise of the influences generated from within the company, while the external forces include the positional attributes that contribute to the bank’s competitiveness. They should monitor the following for the 2017-2021 period: The Market Expansion methods Competitiveness According to the Greenwich survey, ANZ is one of the best four international banks in the Asia-Pacific region (Pandey, 2015 p.3). Despite the firm controlling a low percentage of the Chinese investment market, it has a strong global position. Being the only international bank that deals in Chinese currency, the RMB, it has the opportunity of gaining more market share in the 2017-2021 period in China (Tan, 2013 p.109). ANZ has grown its business across the borders through partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions. Sometimes, mergers can lead to loss of control of the company. Therefore, caution must be taken when getting into a merger with other local financial institutions. The firm derives its competitive edge from offering simplicity and uniqueness of offering banking services. It is regarded as a “people-shaped” bank due to its values of listening to the customer and respecting them (Richard, & Heather, 2013 p.674). The company’s assimilation of technology also increases the customer’s affinity with them. Due to the advancement of service delivery through digitization, the company has developed a number of electronic platforms through which customer transactions can be carried out faster than before. Competitive Differentiation is highlighted below: Products Market Intangibles High quality service delivery Brand Picture (New Logo) Affordable Interest rates on loans Unique Identity Simple banking Creative & Aggressive advertising Variety of products Local & Regional brand recognition Global Solutions Value perceptions Advanced electronic platforms Good customer relations The company’s unique brand identity that is aligned with its core values is essential to the bank’s competitiveness in the international banking sector. Treating customers with respect and engaging them as well as aggressive television advertisements have generated more awareness of the bank. As a result, improvement in customers’ perception has handed ANZ a competitive edge in the global financial services market. The company’s organizational structure, networks, and trade specialists are among the internal factors that will contribute to the success of the bank in the Asian-Pacific region and propel its growth in the 2017-2021 period. 5.4 Continuous Improvement ANZ’s regional strategy needs to be adjusted according to the economic life cycle of the two countries. The population of China and the access of the people to technology presents an opportunity for ANZ to venture into niche markets as opposed to a mass market (Boyd 2016 p.2). Also, having in mind that the country is recovering from the financial crisis of 2008, financial regulations and policies may hinder the implementation of this plan from 2017-2021. Therefore, it is important that the regional strategy is aligned to the government monetary policy on interest rates. The marketers must persist in developing and implementing this marketing plan. For it to be relevant and for continuous improvement, the plan must have the capacity to adapt. Works Cited Boyd, T 2016, “ANZ's Asian super regional strategy gets remake,” Financial Review, accessed September 26, 2016, from Pandey, S 2015, “Australia's ANZ to expand in China as Asia strategy evolves,” Reuters, accessed September 26, 2016, from Richard, F & Heather, C 2013, “International Marketing: An Asia-Pacific Perspective.” (pg.674). Tan, M 2013,”Corporate Governance and Banking in China.” (pg.109). Read More