The current paper is devoted to the analysis of appropriate marketing mix for Chase Bank. As well, the paper undertakes to illustrate how each one of the four elements of the marketing mix affects, i.e. product, pricing, promotion, and place, affect the development of the organization’s marketing strategy and tactics. Besides, the paper is concerned with the description of how each element is implemented in the organization.
When conducting this analysis, a conclusive illustration on the company’s marketing mix is undertaken so that an inclusive decision is made as to why each of the four elements of marketing mix affects development of Chase Bank. After conducting inclusive research on the pricing strategies, promotion strategies, distribution strategies and product strategies, the paper ends with appropriate conclusions with regard to appropriate marketing mix strategies to Chase Bank for it to improve its performance in the banking and financial services industry.
Chase Bank is one of the world’s leading financial service providers with an asset base of $2 trillion. It operates in more than sixty countries of the world. It is recognized as being the leader in investment banking, commercial and small business banking, private equity as well as consumers’ financial service provider. Marketing mix is a very vital modern marketing concept. It is a tool that companies use to pursue marketing objectives in the targeted markets. It is effectively undertaken by making decisions both for the final consumer and the distribution channels. To serve its clientele effectively, Chase Bank has continuously adopted effective marketing mix strategies to enhance the development of its marketing strategies and tactics. Each of the four elements of its marketing mix affects the development of its marketing strategy and tactics as highlighted below.
A product is defined as anything offered to the market for acquisition, attention, consumption or use with and whose intent is to satisfy an identified need or want (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). That being the case, Chase Bank effectively offers financial services as its core product to the consumers. Core products include savings, auto loans, home equity, mortgages, investments, insurance, online and mobile banking and retirement investments.
Chase Bank has constantly developed its product by offering the right product that satisfies the needs and wants of its targeted customers. Its product personality form part of its marketing strategy and tactic, i.e. associated features, brand name and logo has made it outplay its industry competitors
The organization’s product attributes are qualitative. It has in place well diverse product categories that constitute personal banking, personal lending, as well as retirement and benefits. These have made it offer better options to its targeted customers. Besides, the company constantly undertakes product improvement to enhance the quality of the product offered to the customers. This strategy simply helps retain its customers and attract more potential consumers (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). In fact, the company offers an effective product bundle to the customers. Its product bundle basically addresses the needs and wants of its customers.
The company has constantly undertaken financial services (product) elimination and growth strategies which directly influence the marketing strategies and tactics. The company’s intensive integration and diversification its product bundle has differentiated it from its industry competitors (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). In essence, its online mobile banking and financial service provision has made it stand out as different from its competitors in the banking industry. The company organizes its product such that it meets all the needs of its targeted customers. Offering a whole range of financial service has made its marketing strategies and tactic successful as it is able to command a larger market share.
In essence, the company’s product adaptation or modification affects its marketing tactics. Its core component, i.e. provision of both tangible and intangible products makes it design varied marketing strategies, for instance, use of viral marketing strategies. Also, its product packaging component, for instance, insurance, mortgage and investments guarantee high demand that call for extensive marketing strategies and tactics.
Lastly, Chase bank has well defined product labeling. Product labeling easily enable its customers and potential clients to easily identify with the company’s varied product bundles and thus making marketing cheaper. Also, its promotion of its products through attractive graphics as well full product description significantly influences the marketing strategies and tactics it undertakes.
Place
Chase bank operates in over 60 countries with over 5500 branches. In most of operations and services, the bank is in direct contact with the customers. This has enabled it detect the market changes, easily adapt to the changes, and gives it complete control over its products and services. The bank pursues intensive distribution for its market coverage. It has widespread placements in various places, both in United States and internationally.
As the bank operates in the buyer's market, it strives at meeting the present and future needs of the customers by offering its goods and services at affordable and competitive costs across the market. The bank classifies its potential clientele in any branch or region into different homogeneous segments so that it can easily conquer the market. Every region has customers with similar needs.
The personal banking services can be accessed at anytime (24 hours a day) by phone, online, or at over 17000 Chase ATM locations. The bank's products and services offered directly to the customers include student loans, credit cards, checking, Mortgage, Home equity, Auto loan, Insurance, Investment, Savings, and Online and Mobile banking. Besides, the bank directly provides other services like financial consultations to its customers. The bank's customer service directly serves the customers on a 24-hour basis via e-mail, online inquiry, or telephone service.
The bank directly provides numerous financial solutions to its customers. These services are available at all the branches. Chase Home Loan has competitive rates and is available to any customer.
Promotion
A key element of marketing mix is promotion. Basically, promotion involves one or two way communication taking place with the products’ consumer (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). To effectively reach its customers and retailers, the company adopts both pull promotional strategy and push promotional strategy.
Chase Bank undertakes pull promotional strategy. It carries out higher spending on advertising as well as consumer promotion which ultimately result in consumer build up for its products. Advertising, for instance, help emphasize the desirable qualities that definitely arouse the financial service users to patronize or buy its wide range of products. A pull promotional strategy basically entails those activities that motivate the customer to seek the products’ brand in more or less active process. In essence, it is a promotion strategy that makes the customer to go for your product. The pull promotion strategies that Chase Bank uses for its product combination include word of mouth, advertising, customer management and relationships, discounting and sales promotions.
Chase Bank uses a push promotional strategy that as well influences its marketing strategies. To ascertain that its customers are aware of their products’ brand at the purchase point, the company uses push promotional strategies. In essence, this promotional strategy has made the company employ its sales as well as trade promotional activities like point of sale displays, direct selling and trade shows so that the consumer’s demand for the product is created.
Chase Bank uses the various promotional mixes. Advertising is specifically undertaken to enable its image and brand go public besides increasing sales revenue. The company as well uses media mix where both electronic and print media are used to promote the company’s image and financial service product. This has made it concurrently use newspapers, post adverts in business journals, run television adverts, radio as well as market itself on the internet. Also, posters and billboards and trade fare and exhibition have constantly form part of its media mix to effectively carry out its marketing strategies and tactics for revenue generation.
As part of its electronic marketing promotional strategy, Chase Bank’s Web site provides useful information to interested consumers and clients. Also, password-protected areas allow users to more intimately interact with the company. Advertisements allow broad promotion of their product. Chase bank as well employs sales promotion via undertaking price deal, loyal reward programs, coupons, discounted prices and checkout dispensers. Its usage of personal selling helps the company effectively carry out marketing of its product since it helps in prospecting, communicating, selling and servicing the business product to its target customers. This helps it build firm customer relationships (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011).
As part of its promotional marketing strategies, the company has cultured superb public relations that simply aim at creating favourable image to both potential and existing customers. To win the favourable image, Chase Bank constantly involves itself in the community and provides open days. It as well creates through press releases new stories which form part of its publicity strategies.
Pricing
Pricing is simply a practice of determining what the business receives in exchange for the products it sells. Common factors of pricing are market place, market condition, competition, costs of manufacturing, and product quality. There are different pricing strategies that companies employ, i.e. skimming pricing strategy, penetration strategy, cost plus strategy, demand based pricing strategy, premium pricing strategy and e.t.c. (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011).
Chase Bank uses demand based pricing strategy. Its product pricing is dependent on the consumers’ demand of their products (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). Therefore, it makes use of consumer demand as central element in determining the price to tag to its product. This pricing method is dependent on perceived value of the product to the customer. Chase Bank thus uses skimming pricing, penetration pricing strategy, bundle pricing, and psychological pricing as may be dictated by the demand of its product in the market.
The bank uses this strategy since its product and service provision is highly dependent on the prevailing market conditions, level of competition, and the products’ quality that basically influence consumer’s demand. For instance, on its insurance and investment financial services, the company constantly uses price skimming strategy simply by charging higher prices at the stage of product launching in the market and slowly lowering the price. As the product becomes mature, its demand increases and hence occupies larger market share. This pricing strategy booosts the demand of the company’s product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). As well, the company does implement bundle pricing and psychological pricing ones the demand of its financial services has risen. This has enabled it recoup maximum profits over a shorter duration.
Lastly, as part of its demand based pricing strategy, the company uses penetration pricing on auto loans, home equity and mortgages. The development of this pricing strategy has seen the company take lead in the global financial service provision. Chase Bank undertakes penetration pricing strategy by deliberately pricing its products lower than that of its industry competitors to achieve higher sales return.
In conclusion, the company’s good marketing mix, i.e. offering right product at the right price, at the right place and promoted in the right way has made the company be one of the leading global financial service providers. This is because the company has made its marketing mix elements work in-tandem.
Ehmke, C., Fulton, J. and Lusk, J.( n.d). Marketing’s Four P’s: First Steps for New Entrepreneurs. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2012 from http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/ec/ec-730.pdf
Chase Bank Corporation. Retrieved 22 Mar. 2012 from https://www.chase.com/online/services/banking-service.htm
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2011). Principles of marketing. 14th edition. Prentice Hall.
