TASK ONE

Nations Trust bank PLC

Segment of
Customer
Personal Banking

Product Range

Description

Private banking, inner circle, current

accounts, savings & investments, loans,
leasing, NRFC, RFC, SFIDA & SIA, mobile
banking, SMS banking, online banking

Identifying changing customer aspects and fulfill

that with a wide range of products which delight
them with the service getting.
Helping business to grow and take a head start
with a bank which supports them.
Coming up with lots of trade related products for
the corporate segments.
Sole relationship point of the American express
brand in sri lanka.
Being an agent between countries.

SME Banking

Leasing & Hire Purchase, factoring,

Business banking
Corporate banking
Wholesale, institutional & corporate
Banking, treasury & investment banking
American Express
Co-branded platinum, Centurion
platinum, Gold, Greenish Blue
Remittances
RIA, Money gram, Xpress money
** References Manager product Development

Nations Trust Bank PLC incorporated in January 1999 is a profit

oriented local financial institute providing multiple banking products
and services maintaining Business to Customer relationship. The bank
is well reputed for superlative customer service and employees a total
staff strength of more than 2800 employees. The bank strives with an
island wide network of more than 90 branches and 100 ATMs and
many more service points and Foreign Currency Booths. Annual
turnover has hit LKR 12655 millions In the year 2014, as per the
annual report 2014. And Nations trust bank awarded as best growing
Table 1.0 Range of Products and
services provided

Type of
Organization
Profit oriented
local financial
institute.
Number of
employees
more than 2800
Annual
turnover - LKR
12655 millions

Cross functional relationship between

As per Annexure Fig 1.0 the key sector of the bank is Retail.

Table 1.1 Expectations

firms
There is of
cross
functional relationships maintained by retail
Stakeholder
Interested
area
stakeholders
with each and every department attached and also between
Customer
Service
/nations
Value
/Quality
such
departments
order
carry out
the
banking
activities
Fig 1.0
Competitors
As competitors
for
shown
inin(Fig
1.0)toNations
trust
have
so many
N
Shareholders
Dividends
/
Capital
Security
with
convenience
and
efficiency.
trust Fbank
private sector banks with the service quality and government
i
aEmployment
t and
ir i /Environment
Community
n
a
sector
banks
financial companies are also trying to be a
G
o MainPTypes
of
Cross
(As per annexure
n
c
Managers little obit
Power
vn / Prestige
a
t
competitions
withFunctional
the higherRelationships
rates on investment.
But
e
rFig 1.1)
i a vl
e
Employees nations
Satisfaction
/Security
sJobtrust
bank has managed to keep his position by being
n
m
B
a
Government
TTaxes
r n / Employment
a bench
mark
of convenience
and high service levels in the
k
s <> Treasury
1)
Trade
e
n
banking
sector.
uMost
s of the products where the bank earns huge profit

t
tmargins are taken place through these departments.
B 1.2ashows the major
Annexure Fig
relationship between these departments are
BTherefore
a
n of Nations
k
stakeholders
Trust Bank.
Most such profit gaps and margins
important
to
enhance
n
k
s decisions are directly based
of the banks
2) Cardand
centre <> Retail Banking
on such stakeholder capabilities
Cards
are onetrust
of the core products of the bank. Therefore
areas of interest. Since
the Nations
cross
selling,
marketing
and Distribution of cards takes place
bank is in banking and financial sector as
through Retail Sector.
a service oriented organization, the
Communication
methods
banksInternal
decisions mainly
depend
on two
3) Internal
Audit <> Compliance
stakeholders, which are
Customers department
and
Compliance
gains constant updates about
Method

Description

Objectives of motioned method

Employee
Engageme
nt

Cost

Corporate
Intranet

All the internal details about bank

and required details and
documentations.

Video / Slide
Presentations

Recorded videos and presentation to

give common massage for all staff
members in different allocated time
frames

Details about Interest rates

(Commercial /Staff)
Branch network / Staff Mobile
numbers / Attendance and Over Time
Delivering a massage without time
restrictions /clear transforming
method of information / can repeat
without change in massage

High

Low

Low

Mediu
m

As per the Annexure Fig 1.3 Nations Trust Bank uses multiple internal communication methods out of which
Corporate Intranet enhances employee engagement up to a greater percentage. Corporate Intranet is a
combination of information which covers each and every aspect of the bank starting from the Vision and
the mission statement of the bank, it covers up to the regulations laid by the central bank. The
effectiveness of this method is very high and also it incurs a very low cost.
Video/Slide presentation incurs a medium cost and time in preparation while the effectiveness is very low.
In practical context employees find it difficult to spend time for watching videos due to busy working
schedules. Therefore effectiveness in very low while the time consumption is very high and also it does a
lesser contribution towards employee engagement.

Justification in allocation of internal resources

Annexure Fig 1.4 shows the Organizational resources
used by Nations Trust Bank and the results achieved
through the utilization of such resources. As per the
Low
customer satisfaction theory adapted from piercy,2000)
allocation of physical resources are adequately done with
the aim of increasing
Customer
High the hostages to the bank. 90% of
the
human
resources
have been allocated to Sales and
Satisfaction
Customer support as the bank intends to attract
hostages and dealers. Majority of the financial resources
have been allocated to the Sales and marketing sector
Low
with the aim of attracting new
customers and satisfying
Fig
1.1
Customer
satisfaction
the existing ones. Intangible resources are applied to all
(adapted
Justifications on
Futurefrom
BudgetPiercy,2000)

Requirements

Customer Loyalty
High
Satisfied
Stayers

Happy
Wanderers

Hostages

Dealers

Annexure Fig 1.4 shows Past and future budget

allocation of Nations Trust Bank. As per the
SOV/SOM matrix adopted
Highby Schroer,1990 to
achieve higher Share of voice and share of market,
Competitors the bank should Increase spending to defend their
brand. The Budget allocation of the bank has
Share of
increased consecutively year by year. This has
Voice
Maintain
occurred with the increase of spending towards
spending
digital media as more people are towards digital
slightly above
Low channels. The bank is currently attempting to
equilibrium
increase their SOV and SOM by spending more to
level
defend
Nations Trust Bank.
Low the branch earned by
High
With the current situation of the present day
Youre Share Ofmarket,
Marketthe bank will have to make more and more
of their budget allocations for digital channels of
Fig 1.2 The SOV/SOM matrix (Adopted
marketing. As per the annexure Fig 1.4 the bank
from Schroer,1990)
concentrates more on rewarding systems which has
been found to be more effective in order to
increase SOV and SOM. In order to increase SOM
and SOV, NTB should go by objective and task
method. (Reference As per the CIM module guide
2014)
Decrease
spending to
the amount
needed to
defend your
niche
Attack :
Spend more
so that your
SOV is
greater than
your current
SOM

Increase
spending to
defend your
brand

TASK TWO

Effective Communication method which reinforce the Chose

Organizations value Proposition

A creative brief could be developed so as to reinforce the companys value proposition focusing
on executing effective communications.
What Customers Need

What Market Place Offering

(Competitors Offerings)

Easy access to Banking services

Normal Hours Banking (9.00 AM To

3.00 PM)

Prioritized Services

No Prioritized Services

Experience new Banking Methods

Still implementing such a services

Everyday banking

Weekdays ( Monday Friday )

What You offers ( Value

Proposition of Nations Trust
Bank)
Extended Banking Hours ( 9.00 To
8.00 PM
Prioritized Services And segmented
Customer services
Eg Private Banking Segments /
Read Carpet Banking / Gold
customers
Nations trust being a leader of new
innovations has invented Mobile
Banking / Internet banking / E mailfax indemnity)
365 days banking

How Nations Trust Bank practice value proposition?

In modern context the customer expects the bank to be available for their transactions at any
given time. Almost all the other banks are opened only during the week days but Nations Trust
Bank offers 365 days banking which adds up to its value proposition. Further, as a customer
service oriented bank, Nations Trust bank gives a preferential personalized service to the
customers while providing a wide range of products and services. Being the innovator in
new channels of banking, NTB has pioneered many innovations such as Mobile banking
service.
Investopedia(2015)
Importance and Steps of developing a creative brief
As per the annexure figure 2.1 , such a creative brief will be prepared and submitted to the client
company. The company will fill it up and hand over the same to the advertising company. When
preparing the creative brief, the company should mainly focus on the below mentioned points.
Target audience The target audience is the segment of customers that the organization wish to
cater. Nations Trust bank has a target au dience of potential customers. Through identifying such
customers, the bank can send the right message to the right person. This will create effectively
communicate the banks value proposition.
Unique Selling point (USP) USP is a fact that separates a product from its competitors. Nations
Trust Bank holds USP of 365 days banking an extended banking hours. From these things the
bank has become more pointed towards communicating its unique value proposition to the
customers.
Market and the competitor Proper analysis of the market and the competitor is very
important to identify the current market position and to reveal competitor advantage. Through
identification of such aspects, the bank can effectively develop their value proposition
accordingly.
Through identification of the above three factors along with the facts mentioned in the annexure
fig 2.1, i.e by identifying the target market and their upcoming preferences, Unique selling point
which will separate the bank from the rest of the competitors and also by identifying the market

and competitor through proper analysis, the bank can develop a unique value proposition so as
to suit the customer preferences.

Challenges faced when working with external marketing agency

The organizations would achieve the below
benefit when working with an external marketing
E x
agency
n a
Financial External agency would do marketing in
C P
r e
F i
a better way effectively which will benefit
e a
n a financially.
e c
S p
Specialists- They carry an extra ability, skill and
t ie
v
n c experience in reaching the target market
e c i
it y
i a l Professionalism-Marketing agencies do carry
a li
much more professionalism than the internal non
marketers.
s ts
Creativity- Wearing different hats to manage a variety of client campaigns
External Perspectives-An agency can of cause bring a welcome external view to an existing
challenge
welcome external view to an existing challenge.
Fig 2.1
Benefits of Using External
Marketing Agency

O r
te r g a
l
n i
r s p z a
tP i rvo ft i o
e s s in
o n a l
is m

Challenges Faced By the Organization when working with external marketing

agencies
Non availability of
resources required to
carry out the marketing
activities which are
requested by the client

Lack of subject matter

expertise. Does the
marketing agency has
the key understanding
of your business? Are
their values and
These are the issues that an organization
approaches aligned
would face when dealing with the external
with yours?
marketing agencies. The same can be
minimized by practicing the below mentioned
solutions

Lack of proper
research conducted
about the industry by
the external marketing
agency to see where

your content will

work best for your
audience?

Solutions to overcome the problems which occur when dealing with external
marketing agencies
Brands/Companys should always look for familiarity with their industry when selecting an
external marketing agency. A Company should always seek a partner who not only
understand your industry or market, but has also established relationships with
gatekeepers and key thought leaders with which you could expand more.
Ask to see examples of top notch strategies the marketing agency has created for its
clients. This will reflect a clear idea about the creativity and professionalism of the
marketing agency.

Look for agencies that are using content marketing to build and differentiate their brands.
Differentiation is a main element which can be used attract the customers in the modern
day market. Therefore marketing with differentiation will always be effective in terms of
brand recognition and consumption.
Make sure they ask you the right questions. Do they emphasize on your goals, target
audience etc? The company will have to make sure that the marketing agency do
understand and constantly emphasizes on the goals and objectives and creates a path in
achieving the same.
Attend local advertising and marketing association functions and ask your peers for their
recommendations. Such comments given by industrial experts will definitely help you
making the right choice and dealing with them successfully

Product life cycle tool to maximize product profitability

As mentioned in the organization
summary, Nations Trust bank was
launched in 1999 and being a very young
bank compared to the other giant
competitor banks in the market which are
over 30-40 years old in operations. Table
Positio
1.0 of the organization summary lists
n of
down the variety of products the bank
NTB
offer. Such products were offered from the
product
initial days which the bank was launched
and currently is in the growth stage of the
Product life cycle. Annexure figure 1.6
shows the entire product mix and its
distribution among the banks entire
customer base. (Product Development Manager, Nations Trust Bank)
Product life cycle
PLC describes the stages a product goes through from it was first thought until it is finally
removed from the market. Not all the products would reach the final stages. Some may continue
to grow while the others may go down before reaching the final stage. As mentioned the
products of Nations Trust bank lies in the Growth stage which is on to Increasing sales by
reducing the costs. The bank is making profits from all the product varieties as well. The bank
seeks to build brand preference and increase market share.[ Life Cycle Management In
Supply Chain By Toru Higuchi & Marvin Troutt]
Profitability improvement option
Competitors are attracted in the market with very similar offering. Therefore at the growth stage,
the bank needs to build brand preference and increase its market share through uniqueness.
Profitability
improvement options

Reason For act upon the same

Better Services

Product quality is maintained

and additional features and
support services may be added
As the bank goes on increasing
demand and competition, it
should maintain correct pricing.

Correct Pricing

Products which are

applicable for the given
options
Savings accounts

Stage of Product life cycle

Trade Transactions
Foreign Currency accounts

Growth

Maturity

Good Distribution
Channels

As the demand increases and

Current accounts
Growth
the customer accepts the
Corporate accounts
product, distribution channels
has to be increased
Effective promotions
This has to be done aiming a
Fixed Deposit
Growth
broader audience in order to
Remittances
capture a wider market share.
*Details taken through the Manager Trade Department and the Manager Product Development

Savings accounts are currently at the maturity stage. Therefore by rendering better services
and adding more support services, the bank maintain the position of such products while
improving the profitability.
Trade Transactions and foreign currency accounts involves high charges and Exchange rate
benefits. Still the bank is at the growth stage in respect of such products. For further
development correct pricing should be maintained.
Good distribution channels are required for the current and corporate accounts as it involves
multiple transactions.
Effective promotions would help in capturing new deposits and growing the liability portfolio of
the bank as it is still in the growth stage and also is a high profit improvement aspect of the
bank.

What is branding and four key benefits of

branding
The process involved in creating a unique name and
image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly
through advertising campaigns with a consistent
theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and
differentiated presence in the market that attracts
and retains loyal customers.
[Business Directory 2015]
John Stuart CEO of Quaker oats between 1922
and 1953 was well aware of the value of brands
almost a centuary ago he said, if this business were
to be split up, I would take the brands, trademark
and good will. You could have all the bricks and
mortar. And I know I would far better than you

B
r
S e t
a
E x p
eP cr ot v i n
d Pi r o v i
ad t ei os
ne sc o n n d e s
o m i c gS t a b l
v a lu e e
a s s e
t

Key Benefits of branding

Description

Competitive Advantage

Branding will helps to sharpen an organizations

strategic plan and helps promoted organizations
strategic areas and initiatives which will help
them to win competitive advantage
Products might fall, companies might be bought
over or sold, but the strong brand will always
remain the same as a very valuable stable asset.
Business Week has concluded that brand account
for more than one third of shareholder value. This
shows that the value of most businesses comes
from intangible assets, out of which brand is the
most prominent.
Branding is a promise that an organization makes
to its audience. When brand promises are kept,
audience would respond with loyalty and

Provides Stable assets

Provides Economic Value

Set Expectations

C
p
v
A
n
e

o m
e t it i
e
d v a
ta g

Approaches of NTB to differentiate

from competition
365 days banking
Extended banking hours
Being Innovative
Unique product
implementation
Professional work force
High customer service
Using the above mentioned points,
the nations trust bank has developed
their own unique brand and has been
capable to maintain the same
keeping the loyalty of the customers.

affection.

Methods of Brand Building [ Reference http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/marketing/a/brandbuildingsg.htm]

Identify Customer Touch points The ultimate goal of an organization being attracting customers
and maximizing profits, the brand building has to be done by clearly recognizing the customer
touch points as such How do you generate customer demand? How are products sold? How do
your customers use your products? How do you provide after-sales support?
Identify your reasons to believe Customer will stick to an organization because of the loyalty
developed. Therefore the organization should clearly understand why the customers believe
them and build their brand accordingly.
Design the optimal experience - Identify which activities don't align with your envisioned
customer experience. Determine how to address them so that these components can be brought
into alignment. Accordingly perform each task in a way which creates a favorable customer
experience.
Vision A snapshot of the future. Nations Trust bank has
achieved
the
set
Positioning
Vision in 2012 by achieving 2 billion profit and now has set a
its new vision
Personality
In being the Sri Lankas best bank in 2016
Values Way of working and communicating. The bank
implemented a
brand new system for the network and also
came
up
with
innovative
communication methods such
Visio
Values
as
mobile
banking
in
Sri
Lanka
n
Personality Consumer perception. Using the most brand
delivering
channels to the customers
Positioning A summary of the brand in relation to
competition in the
The brand onion adapted from
consumers mind. The bank caters upon the
customer segment which the
Interbrand 2002
bank is trying to reach

TASK THREE

Key Marketing Communication Methods

Marketing communications techniques are what most people think of as marketing. However, it's
only a part of marketing. Below shows major Marketing communications widely used. [ReferencesCIM module guide 2014]

Television and Radio

Sales Promotion
Events and Experiences
Public relations and publicity
Direct Marketing
Word of mouth marketing

Personal selling
Sponsorships
Social media
Communication
Rewards
E-mail marketing

New Marketing
Methods

Introduction to chosen organization from a different industry

Dialog is a leading telecommunication service provider which currently caters Sri Lankan
market providing variety of Telecommunication services such as pre-paid and post-paid
and also data package services. The company caters customers of all levels with
specialized packages such as specialized kids packages with limited number of contact
numbers, data packages, specialized economic packages for senior citizens etc.

Why we chose Dialog?

Since Dialog Company and Nations Trust Bank have the below mentioned features in
common.

Service Sector Organization

Island-wide service centers
Caters different levels of customers
Categorized Service

Comparison between Communication methods used by Dialog and

Nations Trust Bank

Communication
Method

Television and Radio

Sales Promotions

Events and
experiences

Public relations and

publicity

Word of mouth
marketing

Personal Selling

Nations Trust bank

Dialog

Traditional Marketing Communication Methods

The usage of TV and radio in
Dialog uses TV and radio
marketing activities by the
frequently and advertisements
bank is very less. Only few
are often being played for the
such advertisements are
variety of products offered.
being played less
frequently.
The bank is carrying out sales
Dialog follows the same
promotions according to the
strategy as Nations Trust Bank
market situation.
in this aspect.
The bank does not cover this
Dialog carry out certain events
communication tool.
to add different experiences to
the customers.
Eg: Dialog Rugby 7s
CSR activities are conducted
Dialog too conducts CSR
occasionally and frequently.
activities very frequently Eg:
Eg: Projects on world
Donations for the victims from
environmental day.
natural disasters such as
Floods
As a service sector
Dialog which is involved in the
organization, the bank tends
service sector also provides a
to benchmark convenience
customized service in order to
and improve the levels of
spread a good word of mouth.
service in order to spread
favorable word of mouth.
Modern Marketing Communication Methods
The bank has specialized
Dialog currently does not use
asset teams and liability
the strategy of personal selling
teams which visits the
where they do not visit the

Sponsorships

Social Media

Rewards

Direct Marketing

customers personally in order

to canvas the banking
products and services.
Sponsorships are not being
done by the bank.

clients personally in order to

close the businesses.

The bank is using social

media as a strong
communications tool Eg:
Facebook, Tweeter, bank
website, Blogs etc.
Bank offers reward points,
gifts of appreciation and
raffle draws

The bank practices Direct

marketing by sending
personalized mails, emails to
the target and potential
customers. Also the bank
practices telemarketing in
order to inform its new offers
and discounts.

Dialog sponsors many

corporate and sports events in
order to gain recognitions and
publicity.
Dialog even uses social media
up to a very large extent. Eg:
Facebook, Tweeter, Websites
and blogs
Dialog offers special schemes
for loyal customers and
multiple facilities free of
charge for the long term users
Currently Dialog does not use
direct marketing technique.

Out of the given techniques, both Dialog and Nations Trust bank uses Social media and
word of mouth marketing as a strong marketing tool in attracting customers and giving
more publicity. Further, the bank practices more of personal selling for the extremely
potential customer by visiting them and carrying out demonstrations to special crowds of
interest specially to build trust and loyalty. But Dialog does not practice personal selling
technique. On the other hand Sponsorships are given more priority by the Dialog Company
as they seek more publicity than loyalty. Due to this reason the bank does not
concentrates on doing sponsorships. Direct Marketing is also a strong tool used by Nations
Trust Bank in creating a personalized service whereas Dialog does not use the same.

What are marketing communication objectives of Nations Trust Bank?

McKay (1972) says three basic marketing communication objectives which are currently
practiced by the Nations Trust bank to build up the corporate reputation.

Enlarge the market

Increase the share of existing market
Improve profitability with existing market share

Why is it important to study Stakeholders when communication

Stakeholders do have various interests about the organization which they are expected to
be communicated regarding such areas of interest.

External Stakeholders of Nations Trust Bank

External
Stakeholder

Communication need

Customers

Competitor

Government/
Regulators

Creditors

Society

To be aware about the products and

services offered, the quality aspect of such
offers, financial solutions, reputation and
trust since its a financial organization.
To be aware about the new ventures
launched, upcoming new introductions and
pioneering moves, rate fluctuations and
special promotions carried out by the bank
To ensure proper practicing of the set
regulations and put forward any restrictions
or new circulars if required with the
prevailing conditions
To be aware about the current performance
of the bank in order to have the comfort of
providing them finances for the
requirements.
To be aware about the Corporate social
responsibility exercised by the bank and
whether the bank provides right products to
the customers and whether they could rely
on the bank.

Recommended Marketing Communication Objectives for the Nations Trust

Bank

Increase the digital presence of the bank by 20%

Digital channels promotes convenient and anytime banking to the customer.

Increasing the digital presence by 20% will definitely make the bank to promote
digital channels to existing base as well as the new acquisitions. The bank gains a
unique reputation in being the innovator in bringing up new digital channels.

Since all the bank products are in growth stage, the bank can raise awareness
programs among the customers

This is about creating awareness about the banking products and services among
the target market and creating the sole impression about the customers that
Nations Trust Bank provides flexible services which are borne to cater the variety of
customer needs. This lays a strong foundation towards building up a corporate
reputation based on the unique products and the services offered by the bank.

Carrying out CSR activities

The bank must shine among the similar players in the market. Not only through
figures and numbers, products and services, but also through practicing corporate
social responsibility. Carrying out CSR Activities Island wide will definitely raise

Existing
Communication
objectives with
regard to
stakeholders
Increasing customer
retention

Perform better than

the competitors as it
will facilitate more
customer acquisitions.
Carrying out
operations as per the
guidelines

Bring down nonperforming loan ratios

Carrying out corporate

social responsibility.

awareness about the existence of the bank since the bank is still in the growth
stage. Also this develops a positive impression among the customers as well.

Create awareness about banks Unique Value Proposition

The bank uses few key elements in attracting customers over the competitors
which are being calls as unique value propositions. Through communicating such
key tools, the publicity earned by the bank increases which attracts more new
customers towards the bank.

Make availability of the products and communicate the same.

Through communicating the availability of the products, customer awareness

towards such products will be raised. This will increase the publicity and creates a
rep