The marketing communications mix of Bank of China in UK

1. Academic l iterature r eview 1.1 Introduction

This part covers broad reviews in relation to the corporate strategy, corporate

planning, marketing strategy, and marketing communications mix and

business performance. These topics are directly related to the business

management in this case study. The purpose of the academic literature

review, according to Saunders et al (2007), is to establish a theoretical

framework for a research topic. In addition, researches can define key topic,

terminology and definition. Because this case study is focusing on bank of

China, it is necessary to understand the business knowledge background

from strategy to planning, to marketing and to business performance. The

author of this research report have read through relevant academic books,

publications, journals and so on, and summarize all the readings by

presenting the key findings in this chapter.

1.1 Corporate strategy and planning

There is no agreed definition of strategy in theory, but it is a holistic approach

to answering these questions: where are we now? Where do we want to go?

How do we get there? It is a process of thinking, deciding and implementing

change or solving problems. Strategists should acknowledge the

disagreements and encourage thinking about the value of each of the different

schools of thought about strategy (De Wit & Meyer (2004); Whittington

(2000)).

“Strategy is a course of action for achieving an organization purpose.” (De Wit

and Meyer, 2004, p. 105). Thompson et al (2007) definition for strategy is

“management’s action plan for running the business and conducting

operations”. They relate strategy to “a managerial commitment to pursue a

particular set of actions in growing the business, attracting and pleasing

customers [...] and improving the company’s financial and market

performance”.

Corporate strategy is defined as “a pattern of minor objectives, purposes or

goals and essential policies, plans for achieving objectives, and a statement

which defines what business we are in or wish to be in, or what kind of

company we are or wish to be.”(Andrews (1971) (cited by Lynch, 2003:8).

Farmer (1975a) defined planning as for the majority “… intuitive sporadic and

unsystematic… and a basic part of management.” In looking at the specifics

of Corporate Planning and strategy Farmer (1975b) refers to Drucker’s

definition of corporate planning. “Corporate long range planning is a

continuous process of making entrepreneurial decisions systematically and

with the best possible knowledge of futurity, organizing systematically the

effort needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the results against

expectations through organized systematic feedback.”

From the research and study of strategy and corporate planning, it is rather

clear that strategy and corporate planning have different definitions. The

understanding helps the author of this research report to collect data and

conduct effective analysis in the case of the Bank of China.

Strategy emphasizes on thinking and answering big questions regarding

future, and it mainly focuses on the future objectives of an organization that

the organization would like to reach. Strategy does not emphasize on step-by-

step planning and detail data/information comparison and analysis. On the

contrary, corporate planning emphasizes on systematically planning and

decision-making. It also emphasizes on the details of how to systematically

organize various resources to reach targets. Moreover, corporate planning

needs to use detail data/information to draw up the workable plans for the

functional departments within the organization to follow. It should utilize more

detail information than strategy should in the whole process.

Besides the difference between strategy and corporate planning, they have

some overlapped areas with regard to the characteristics of planning and

process. Both corporate planning and strategy are related to specific process

when an organization wants to implement them in its business. Strategy has

its process to carry out the strategic plans, and the same applies to corporate

planning. And they are correlated within an organization. Without strategy,

corporate planning has no guidance. Without corporate planning, strategy

cannot become realities in the future. They both exist for the same purposes

of an organization.

2.2 Core competencies and capabilities

According to Thompson et al (15thedn.), competence is defined as “an activity

that a company has learned to perform well”. These authors consider core

competencies as “proficiently performed internal activity that is central to a

company’s strategy and competitiveness”. In addition, competence is a firm’s

fitness to perform in a particular field. The firm’s fitness to perform is

determined by its knowledge, which includes insight, intelligence and

experience, attitude which includes mindset, culture and paradigm, and

capability which includes potential and quality (Durand, 1996).

Competences i.e. knowledge, capabilities, attitude are the roots of

competitiveness and therefore the sources of superior performance (Prahalad

& Hamel, 1990; Rumelt, 1996). And tests of core competence cover the

following activities. Firstly, it provides potential access to a wide variety of

markets. Secondly, it makes a significant contribution to the perceived

customer benefits. Thirdly, it is difficult for competitors to imitate. Finally, it is

source of dynamic synergy.

Capability refers to the potential to carry out value adding activities; and the

quality of combining and coordinating skills i.e. abilities in order to gain

competitive advantage (De Wit & Meyer, 2004, p.243). In addition, Day (cited

by De Wit & Meyer, 2004) argues that capabilities are “complex bundles of

skills and collective learning, exercised through organizational process, that

ensure superior coordination of functional activities”.

2.3Marketing strategy

Kotler and Keller (2006) state that marketing is an organizational function and

a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to

customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the

organization and its stake holders” (p. 6) The online business dictionary

defines marketing strategy as “a written plan (usually a part of the overall

corporate plan) which combines product development, promotion, distribution,

and pricing approach, identifies the firm's marketing goals, and explains how

they will be achieved within a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy

determines the choice of target market segment, positioning, marketing mix,

and allocation of resources.”

(http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing-strategy.html)

From the above, it is obvious that marketing and marketing strategy focus on

the process and the value to customers. Each business organization should

have its own marketing strategy that allows it to effectively utilize its resources

to create value for customers, to increase sales and to achieve competitive

advantages. (Fill, 1999) It is critical for business organizations to have a

marketing strategy with a goal of fulfilling the customer satisfaction, which in

turn, reflects the purpose of a marketing strategy.

According to Fifield (2007), a marketing strategy covers broad meanings,

including new product development, product pricing, promotion, distribution

and other key elements ensuring that a company can utilize to achieve its

marketing goals. The role of marketing strategy is so critical that all

businesses have continuously developed effective marketing strategy to

enhance their competitive advantages in the market. The case study in this

research also demonstrates the important role of the marketing strategy of

Bank of China in developing its business in the UK market.

One of the important role of marketing strategy is that a company should have

an effective marketing strategy in order to properly choose its target market

segments, market positioning, marketing communications mix and resource

allocation. (Kotler, 2000) Most importantly, if a company can effectively

integrate all components of its overall corporate strategy and marketing

strategy so that it can successfully sustain its competitive position in the

market, this is a company that has a winning strategy system. As Kotler

(2000) argues that a firm’s marketing strategy should be in line with its

corporate strategy and mission statement.

Based on a marketing strategy, a company’s marketing plan can be

developed. A marketing plan should serve the goal of the marketing strategy.

Different from a marketing strategy, a marketing plan consists of detailed and

specific actions that are required in order to effectively implement a marketing

strategy. (Hollensen, 2003) From this, it is very clear that a marketing strategy

is the basis of a marketing plan.

2.4Marketing communications mix

In the field of marketing, there are numerous books, publications and journal

that have discussed and explained about the meaning and the role of

marketing communications mix, which is critical for all business organizations

in terms of how to effectively communicate with customers.

McCarthy (1960) has developed the traditional marketing that is based on the

4P’s. The business world at the time is different from what we are living in

now. The traditional marketing is more product-oriented. (Fill, 1999) Because

of this, the communications mix with the traditional way of marketing does not

really focus on understanding or interacting with customers. In addition, the

traditional way does not have precisely defined target markets, and its key

focus is on the products. (Lindgreen et al. 2004, pp. 679-680) In the old days,

there was no marketing communications mix; instead it was called promotion

mix. (Fill, 1999, p.599)

In our modern business world, the way has changed and there are more

meanings in the marketing communications. Although the name “promotion

mix” is still existed, the most common name marketing professionals use now

is “marketing communications mix” or “integrated marketing communications”.

(Crosier, 200 pp. 719-720)

Fill (1999) argued that the marketing communications mix should include

“advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations and personal

selling”. (p, 221) Business firms use these five tools to exchange information

with the target market segments and customers through vary kinds of ways.

According to Fill (1999), the marketing communications mix is a way to re-

assure customers by promoting a company’s products and/or services.

It is true that marketing communications mix is a system with a structure

covering various communications tools. Other than Fill’s theory (1999), Kotler

(2000) also states the importance of marketing communications mix in the

integrated marketing strategy. Kotler defines it as “consists of a specific blend

of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations tools that

the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.”

Although Smith and Taylor (2004) further presented their study of marketing

communications mix by adding more elements, such as sponsorship, the

author of this research report feels that Fills (1999) and Kotler (2000) have

more concise understanding and systematic structures on the

communications mix. Thus, the author will use the five major types of

promotions defined by Fill (1999) and Kotler (2000) in this research report.

And these five promotions are:

- Advertising: any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of

ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.(Kotler, 2000, p.540)

- Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force to make

sales and build customer relationships.(ibid)

- Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale

of a product or service. (ibid)

- Public relations: building good relations with the company’s publics by

obtaining favourable publicity, building up a good “corporate image”, and

handling or heading off unfavourable rumours, stories, and events. (ibid)

- Direct marketing: direct communications with carefully targeted individual

consumers to obtain an immediate response – the use of mail, telephone,

fax, emails, and other non-personal tools to communicate directly with

specific consumers or to solicit a direct response. (ibid)

Each type of promotion has its own tools, according to Kotler (2000).

“Advertising includes print, broadcast, outdoor, and other forms. Personal

selling includes sales presentations, trade shows, and incentive programs.

Sales promotion includes point-of-purchase displays, premiums, discounts,

coupons, specialty advertising, and demonstrations. Direct marketing includes

catalogues, telemarketing, fax transmissions, and the Internet.” Furthermore,

“communication goes beyond the above specific promotion tools. The

product’s design, its price, the shape and colour of its package, and the stores

that sell it – all communicate something to buyers.” (p.540) Therefore, it is

easier to understand that in order to achieve the greatest communication

effect, the promotion should coordinate with other 3P’s, i.e. product, price and

place.

2.5 The promotional plan

In real business world, all companies have their uniqueness. This is also true

when it applies to the marketing communications mix. They have their own

marketing communication strategies and promotional objectives based upon

their companies’ resources and marketing structures. Thus, there is no such

model that can fit all different companies. The most effective way to develop a

promotional plan is to conduct in-depth analysis of the internal and external

environment of a company. And then it is possible to come up with a plan that

fits into the company’s marketing communications strategy. (Gurau, 2008, p.

172)

Fill (1999, p. 618) actually proposed a model that can be used to conduct

analysis of a company and then to develop effective promotional plan. There

are seven steps in Fill’s model.

Firstly, it is to identify the target audience. By doing so, the company can

define it and further understand the audience needs and its characteristics. In

addition, the company can understand how the audience thinks about the

company, the products and services, and how they react to all of these.

Based upon the identification results, the company can then design and select

appropriate channels to send out its marketing messages. (Fill 1999, p. 618-

622)

Secondly, it is to define the objectives of marketing communications. By doing

so, the company should be able to evaluate the possible outcomes of the

marketing communications strategy with regard to the awareness of products

or services and to the desire for brand recognition or potential buying. (Fill

1999, p. 618-622)

Thirdly, it is to define the communications messages. From the objectives of

marketing communications, the company can then develop marketing

communications messages for the targeted audience so that the strategy can

be ensured. The defined communications messages should pay attention to

the content and the format, i.e. what needs to be said and how to say

properly. The communications messages should send out the feeling of

benefits that the targeted audience can receive and is interested in. (Fill 1999,

p. 618-622)

Fourthly, it is to choose effective communications channels. By doing so, the

company can make sure the consistency of communications messages and

channels. According to Fill, the channels can be categorized into two, one is

the personal channels and the other is non-personal channels. Obviously, the

personal channels can allow company staff to interact with targeted staff. And

the non-personal channels include various media that helps communications

messages to reach targeted audience. For instance, TV, newspaper and radio

are all non-personal channels. (Fill 1999, p. 618-622)

Fifthly, it is to prepare the budget. It is an important step because no any

company has unlimited resources. By properly budgeting on the promotional

plan, a company can effectively allocate its resources so that the pre-set

goals and objectives can be achieved effectively. (Fill 1999, p. 618-622)

Sixthly, it is to design the promotional mix. This step is based on the

completion of previous steps. When deciding on how many elements of the

mix should be chosen, the company should combine all previous information,

such as audience expectations, available budget and the communications

messages, and then develop an appropriate mix. Based on these, the

company can allocate its resources to select the specific mix, which includes

sales promotion, personal selling, advertising, public relations and so on. (Fill

1999, p. 618-622)

Finally, it is to measure the results. This is also very critical for a company to

ensure that the promotional plan has effectively implemented and desired

results have been generated. One of the ways to measure the results is to

continuously monitor the sales performance and analyze it accordingly. (Fill

1999, p. 618-622)

From this model developed by Fill (1999), a company can follow the seven

steps and effectively develop its own unique promotional plan. Each step in

this model is critical and necessary so that all elements are critically analyzed

and evaluated to maximize the outcomes of the promotional plan.

2.6 Business performance and the marketing communication mix

It is sure that many professionals and managers are aware of the importance

of the marketing communications mix in the business operations. But the

question of how important it is may puzzle these professionals and managers

in the real business world. Managers many know how to develop a

promotional plan and how to implement it, but they often forget about the

measurement of the effectiveness of the marketing communications mix.

(Snoj et al, 2001) As a matter of fact, the effectiveness and efficiency of the

marketing communications mix and the measurement of its effect should be

as important as the communications mix per se.

Over the years, there have been some articles discussing the relationship

between the business performance and the marketing communications mix.

Some drew a conclusion that there was no specific relationship of any kind

between the two elements, while some found that there was some

correlations between the business performance and specific communications

activities, such as advertising, sales promotions and personal selling.

For example, Kapil and Shoemaker (2004) proposed that the marketing

communications activities led to positive sales effects. From the perspectives

of customer satisfaction, there are also many researchers who have analyzed

the relationship between the marketing communications mix and the customer

satisfaction. Lewis (2004) is one of them. In addition, some other researchers

have analyzed the relationship between a specific marketing activity and the

marketing communications mix, such as Xueming and Naveen (2001)

In the field of sales promotion, there have been some researchers with regard

to the promotional pricing strategies. For example, Varian (1997) has

conducted an analysis of information products, such as software, and he

found that there was a relationship between the changing versions of the

information products and the product prices and perceived quality level.

In addition, Fishman and Rob (2002) conducted another analysis in the field

of durable goods, such as cars and refrigerators, and these authors found that

there was relationship between the sales results and the changing models,

which implies that certain communications activities have driven customers to

purchase the products. And there are other researches with similar situations

have also proven this relationship, such as servers, computer mainframes and

so on.

When it comes to the advertising, there are also many theories and articles

discussing the effects of advertising on the business performance, such as

sales increase. In fact, the major aim of advertising is to stimulate the

demand and to encourage new purchase for the customers, which in turn can

lead to the increase in total consumption. (Friedman 1976)

Among all reviewed articles and papers, the author of this report has found

that the analysis conducted by Snoj et al (2007) has more meanings and

more accurate in terms of the relationship between the marketing

communications and business performance. These authors have used

different statistical tools and techniques to evaluate almost every element of

business performance and the marketing communications mix. Thus the

results are resourceful. The followings are some key findings and results from

their work.

These authors found out that between the number of marketing

communications activities and overall business performance, there was no

direct correlation. But when they broke down the overall business

performance to many different elements, such as net sales, return on

investment, market shares, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, they

found there were some correlations shown. One is that net sales have a

correlation with the number of marketing communications activities. The other

one is that customer loyalty has a correlation with the number of the

marketing communications activities. From these findings, it can be said that

in general, a company cannot increase its overall business performance by

simply increasing the number of its marketing communications activities.

However, a company can increase the net sales by increasing the number of

the marketing communications activities. This helps us to understand why

many companies have implemented various marketing communication

activities to promote their products and services, which in general, can lead to

the increase in net sales. (Snoj et al, 2007)

Unlike the positive correlation between the net sales and the number of

marketing communication activities, the correlation between the customer

loyalty and the number of the marketing communication activities is negative.

This result implies that the more loyal customers a company have, the less

marketing communication activities it uses in its business operations, and the

opposite is also true. Therefore, it is concluded that it may not be effective for

many companies to use more marketing communication activities to increase

the customer loyalty.

In addition, these authors also studied the relationship between the frequency

of implementing certain marketing communication activities and the overall

business performance. And they found out that there is very strong negative

correlation between the frequency of implementing promotional pricing-

reductions and the overall business performance. On the contrary, there is a

strong positive correlation between the frequency of advertising on

newspapers and the overall business performance.

Moreover, the authors also study the relationship between the frequency of

implementing certain marketing communication activities and certain specific

business performance indicator. And they found out that again, the frequency

of advertising on newspaper has positive correlations with several specific

business performance indicators. This implies that if a company use

advertising on newspapers frequently, the net sales will increase more than if

the company does not use.

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