Effectively Integrating Channel Resources and Innovating Customer Marketing Modes
As one of the first commercial joint-stock banks in China, the Industrial Bank (IB) has 480 outlets operating under 41 branches in major cities nationwide, offering services to a large number of retail clients. In the aim of identifying and meeting increasing demands for financial services among retail customers and to create more value for customers, the Customer Service Center of the E-banking Department at the Industrial Bank has recently launched event marketing for clients in certain areas on a trial basis. Specifically, by looking at the consumption habits of clients, the bank analyses and forecasts customer demands and then recommends personalized financing products on this basis.
Based on the bank's business orientation and strategy, IB has identified 5 major events for its event marketing trial, namely: maturing of fixed deposits, large-sum repayment of housing loans, significant deposit addition, withdrawal of large-sums of cash from current deposits, freshman of society (20-30 years old), and the opening of salary accounts. In terms of the mode of execution, IB has integrated the call-center channel of the Customer Service Center of the E-banking Department under HQ with the customer manager channels available at branch banks. Through the integration of the Customer Service Center of the E-banking Department and the customer manager channel in branches, IB carries out service recommendations by means of cross-channel linkage. This project began in branches on a trial basis on August 15, 2009. After one month, the total amount of new deposits by targeted customers totaled at about RMB 140 million, and new loans totaled at about RMB 220 million.
As the first trial of event marketing in China's financial sector, this is a project that has gone against traditional concepts of marketing. On the basis of customer demands, the service provides customers with customized marketing promotions, which is realized through the integration of different channels and information flow in the Bank. Moreover, through objective evaluation of the marketing effects, a sustainable and quantitative customer marketing mode has been developed, which is playing an important role in promoting the database marketing strategy of the Customer Service Center of the Industrial Bank.
The Industrial Bank has made major efforts to develop e-banking over recent years. It has independently developed a compressive e-banking financial service platform that consists of three major service brands: “Online IB” internet banking, “Hotline IB” telephone banking and “Wireless IB” mobile phone banking. Transactions made though e-banking services already account for 35% of the bank's business. IB is actively expanding the scope of its e-banking services, widely establishing strategic alliances and promoting comprehensive operation. By continually enhancing the added value of services, it is turning e-banking into a driving force behind the growth of the bank and a new source of profit. The e-banking services aim to provide exactly what clients desire and need for the life.