Marketing for Managers

This report discusses marketing strategies for managers in the banking industry with Maybank as a case study. It covers organizational overview, product and market orientation, value proposition and differentiation, customers' needs, segmentation and targeting, and positioning strategy. The report emphasizes the importance of fulfilling customers' needs and preferences and maintaining relationships with them.

Running head: MARKETING FOR MANAGERS
Marketing for managers
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
2.0 Organizational overview............................................................................................................3
3.0 Product and market orientation..................................................................................................4
3.1 Product range offered.............................................................................................................4
3.2 Company orientation..............................................................................................................5
4.0 Company’s value proposition and differentiation.....................................................................5
5.0 Customers’ needs, demands and wants.....................................................................................7
6.0 Segmentation and targeting.......................................................................................................8
7.0 Positioning strategy.................................................................................................................10
8.0 Factors influencing consumer behavior...................................................................................11
9.0 Nature and level of competition..............................................................................................12
10.0 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................14

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Assessment Task 1: Marketing for Managers (Maybank)
1.0 Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the various important aspects of marketing for the
managers and how it has managed to segment the market, target the customers and managed
value proposition to meet the demands and references of the clients effectively. The company
has been selected because of its huge contribution to the banking industry and as such there are
various scopes and opportunities that can be obtained by researching on the company and
analyze the various factors associated with the influencing of consumer buying decisions too
(Maybank2u.com.my, 2018). The report will consist of the SWT analysis, analysis of the
product and market orientation along with the organization’s value proposition and
differentiation and approaches undertaken to meet the demands and preferences of the clients
with ease and effectiveness.
2.0 Organizational overview
Malayan Banking Berhad, also known as the Maybank universal bank operates in the
major markets of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Based on the various finance reports, it can
be seen that Maybank currently is one of the most valuable bank brand in Asean and has been
ranked the 83rd in the whole world. It has its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the
subsidiaries of the bank are MORE, Maybank Islamic Berhad, Bank Maybank Indonesia. It has
a net income of RM6.84 billion and revenue of over RM21.24 billion along with more than
45000 employees all over (Rawwas, Arjoon & Sidani, 2013). The parent company is Permodalan
Nasional Berhad.

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Khoo Teck Puat, a well known business person introduced Maybank and was led by
President and CEO Amirsham Abdul Aziz from 2002 till the year 2008. Datuk Abdul Farid has
been the Deputy President and Head of Global Banking for Maybank and finally had been
appointed as he CEO and President of the Maybank Group in Malaysia. Maybank has been one
of the largest banks in Malaysia and its vision is to become the leading provider of financial
services in Malaysia that has been driven by committed and innovative people responsible for the
creation of value and fulfilling the needs of communities properly (Lantos, 2015).
The mission is to manage the financial services and deliver those properly to people
along with convenient access to financing. The mission objectives also include fair terms and
conditions of pricing along with providing the customers with advice regarding their needs and
preferences, furthermore contributing to the community at large (Lusch & Vargo, 2014). The
core values of the organization include integrity, teamwork, growth, development and
relationship building.
3.0 Product and market orientation
3.1 Product range offered
The products’ range includes flexible options for the traders and interest free financing
along with management of services for non margin and cash account. This allows for share
investing opportunities that creates ease in buying the shares with the utilization of own funds
possessed. The digital products of the company are Maybank App that allows customers to
manage banking transactions with much ease and within quick time along with checking bank
balance any time by entering the pin with the use of Maybank2u application available for smart

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phones (Marta et al., 2013). Samsung Pay app is another banking app introduced by Maybank for
enriching the experience of future of payment while the Visa checkout app by the bank has
facilitated the online payment and transactions and created faster checkout and management of
banking transactions too. Maybank PayBand is another contactless service provided by Maybank
for personalizing any security images and viewing the accounts with the use of Maybank2u.
Maybank offers ATM and debit card and also credit card that are useful for clients to access the
balance of the savings accounts with much convenience (Hennig-Thurau, Hofacker & Bloching,
2013). The product introduced in the market fall under the category of personal product, which is
YippieCare2. It is a great child endowment educational plan and PremierCash Protection Plan in
another adult endowment plan that enables great amount of cash refund as soon as it reaches
maturity. The PremierCash Protection Plan is a good insurance product and service that enables
commitment to manage proposition of value and facilities the savings and protection of
individuals and their family members (Andrews & Shimp, 2017).
3.2 Company orientation
Based on the offerings of products and services, it can be understood that Maybank has
focused on the growing Asean market, which shows that the company is more market oriented
than being product oriented. Though the new product is introduced by the company, still
Maybank, Malaysia has successfully managed to create unique services delivered to the clients
for fulfilling the needs and requirements and kept them satisfied as a whole (Blut et al., 2015).
4.0 Company’s value proposition and differentiation
The new product offers great values and benefits to the customers, which is not only
responsible for creating a positive image of the brand among the clients, but also can be

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beneficial for target9ng the right market segments both locally as well as globally to improve the
customers’ buying experience. Value proposition ensures introducing the right product in the
market for delivering value and benefits to customers and keep them satisfied, furthermore
influence the consumers’ buying behaviors too (Griffith & Hoppner, 2013). The company has
prioritized on introducing the PremierCash Protection Plan to offer exceptional value to the
clients and at the same time, grow in the Asian market based on the management of proper assets
and adapting to changing business conditions.
The selected product’s value proposition is based on how much benefits can the
customers obtain by purchasing the product and how their needs and preferences are to be
fulfilled. The PremierCash Protection Plan is an adult endowment plan that has enabled getting
100 percent cash refund after reaching the maturity stage. It is an effective online insurance
application that enables the Maybank2u application to provide entire coverage while the
insurance product has been aimed at extending the financial services provided by the company to
improve the lives of clients and providing protection to them for a good long term future (Le
Meunier-FitzHugh & Lane, 2013). PremierCash Refund Protection Plan has been effective
because of its secured savings plan that facilitates the savings plan and has protected the
individual as well as his or her’s family members, thereby providing the policyholder with a 100
percent cash refund on the total premium amount without any interest. The premium insurance
plan covers protection up to the age of 70 years for the people aged between 16 to 60 years with
a minimum monthly premium of RM35 that must be paid (Magnusson et al., 2013). The monthly
premium is quite low and after maturity, a very good lump sum amount can be obtained, which
offers great value for such a minimal amount of premium paid by them on a monthly basis.

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5.0 Customers’ needs, demands and wants
According to Kotler & Armstrong (2012), the marketing is an effective way of value
creation managed by the companies through effective distribution of products and services in the
marketplace and enhancing the relationships between the customers and business. It is believed
that the customers are the most important stakeholders who needs and preferences are prioritized
the most by any companies (Huang & Sarigöllü, 2014). For a financial institution like Maybank,
it is equally of importance to fulfill the demands and expectations and thus he marketers with
proper support by the managers of the company should understand their needs properly. Kotler
& Armstrong (2012) also stated about the needs, wants and demands referring to the social,
physical and mental needs of the human beings (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013).
Figure: Customers’ needs, demands and wants (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013)
The demands include physical needs that are related to the food, safety, clothing and
shelter while he social needs include belonging and affection and individual needs too. The
needs and wants of the customers are actually those things that are formed with the influence of

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surrounding environment along with their lifestyle choices and behaviors (Tanner & Raymond,
2015). The difference between the wants and needs is that needs are things that one needs to
survive while the wants are the various things that people desire. The company’s unique
PremierCash Protection Plan, which is an adult empowerment plan, offers exceptional value to
its customers and other benefits, which can make them fulfill their needs and at the same time,
make sure to fulfill their wants and needs both in the long run. This would be influenced by the
consumer buying behaviors, which could formulate the demands, furthermore ensure meeting the
clients’ expectations appropriately. With the products and services delivered to them that can
fulfill their demands, the demands for the Maybank products and services would increase as
well, thus create more scopes and opportunities to sustaining in the competitive business
environment (Canhoto, Clark & Fennemore, 2013). The insurance policies cover a whole lot,
which creates ease in protecting families and the person own self, protect cars and travels against
unexpected situations experienced all throughout the life. The capital is remains preserved
properly and the wealth has been transferred along with great savings options during the
considered within the retirement plan (Andrews & Shimp, 2017). The insurance policies could
also benefit the educational facilities provided to children through insurance protection;
furthermore provide coverage entirely for any loss or damage experienced at home.
6.0 Segmentation and targeting
The market segmentation is done because of the differences in buying behaviors and
processes associated with the customers. To manage proper segmentation and targeting, it is
important for Maybank to follow certain stages including the need recognition, gathering
relevant information, evaluating the pre-purchase alternatives, enabling continuous purchase,

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consumption and finally making a post purchase decision through evaluation of needs and
requirements that are fulfilled. The demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral
segmentation are customer specific, which allows for targeting the right market segments based
on the preferences and needs of clients in those segments quite easily (Gao & Bai, 2014).
Maybank has segmented the market consisting of the targeted audiences according to
their locations within the specific country or region. The geographic segmentation has allowed
Maybank to make the products and services available for the clients in different locations, all
over Malaysia or even outside, in the foreign countries. The company has presented the
advertisements and conducted promotional activities to attract people within Malaysia and at the
same time, manage contacts with them by evaluating their address from the website and from the
credit cards that were used by them during transactions (Peek et al., 2014).
The demographic segmentation means the market is segmented in various ways and
Maybank has chosen a particular location to market the products and services for a specific
demography consisting of people with average and middle level income. The demographic
segmentation enables identifying various characteristics of the targeted audiences through not
restricted to race, religion, ethnicity, color, income, education, etc. Multiple segments of market
are targeted and mainly the insurance policies are aimed at the people aged between 16 to 30 so
that they can get life time coverage.
The psychographic segmentation enables targeting the market segments that are less
tangible and the audiences are targeted according to their values, lifestyle behaviors and social
class. Maybank has tried to evaluate the buyers’ lifestyle choices, which is a daunting task and
thus the products and services are targeted at the people who are conscious about budget (Tuškej,

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Golob & Podnar, 2013). The targeted ads are managed to attract the clients with intrinsic budget
savvy personality or behavior.
The behavioral segmentation could be managed by targeting people with different traits
and behaviors including their awareness about the company services, knowledge about the
services and its benefits, etc. The customers who are loyal are targeted by Maybank and
trustworthy relationships are formed, thereby increasing the chances for influencing consumers’
buying behaviors more.
7.0 Positioning strategy
The positioning strategy allows a company to focus on few areas that are needed to be
improved for remaining competitive in the marketplace and at the same time, use the
organizational strengths and weaknesses for staying ahead of its rivalries in competitive
marketplace. The company’s positioning strategy has been to humanize the financials services
across Asia to achieve higher growth in terms of skills, competencies and scale. Maybank has
focused on maintaining its dominant position in strategic segments by generating good returns
from the regional footprint, enabled formation of a good culture to improve the processes and
leveraged the structure to strengthen the skills, furthermore improve the business line control
(Rawwas, Arjoon & Sidani, 2013). Maybank understood the essence of banking system, which is
a relationship driven business and thus shifted its positioning strategy from just selling the
products and services to maintenance of relationships with the customers. The company focused
on cost positioning strategy too for preventing any unnecessary costs incurred and rather delivers
the savings to the customers while the flexible positioning strategy helped in responding to the
customers’ needs quickly and introduced new financial services such as child and adult

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empowerment policies. The entire cost structure has been transformed, which would result in
efficient business operations and higher productivity too.
Figure: Positioning map (Rawwas, Arjoon & Sidani, 2013)
8.0 Factors influencing consumer behavior
The attractive offers and cost effective services and products delivered by Maybank are
often considered as one of the influential factors contributing to the consumer buying behaviors.
Perception is another factor, which enables sensory beings, i.e., sensing the right thing by
watching, hearing and understanding whether the specific product will be able to fulfill their
needs and requirements or not perfectly. The recent trends like most of the people nowadays
availing the services of insurance and empowerment plans and policies made others believe that
they can be safe and secure by doing a health insurance that can provide life time coverage. The

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price and service quality are other factors that have made customers understand whether availing
the service at the concerned price would be effective for fulfilling their needs and requirements
or not (Andrews & Shimp, 2017). The security guaranteed by the financial service provided by
Maybank could also influence the buying behaviors of consumers and the sales revenue would
increase for the company too.
9.0 Nature and level of competition
The major competitors of Maybnk in Malaysia are Aba Bank. Monopolistic competition
means a proper market structure consisting of multiple small organizations that possess the
freedom to make an entry or exit while the oligopolistic competition enables larger organizations
within the market structure creating barriers while entry into the market by other firms. The
market structure must be designed properly t ensure that the markets are organized properly and
are provided with scopes and opportunities to survive in the competitive marketplace with much
ease and effectiveness (Maybank2u.com.my, 2018). The banking industry in the oligopolistic
market structure because Maybank, being one of the largest banks in Malaysia, has successfully
managed to create a sustainable opposition, due to which, other small financial institutions might
find it difficult to gain a good place in the marketplace.
10.0 Conclusion
The report was prepared to discussing about the various ways of marketing managed by
the managers considering the business organization named Maybank in Malaysia. The
organizational overview showed that the company had a good position within the banking
industry and marketplace and the product that was selected here for marketing had been the

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PremierCash Protection Plan for the adults. It has been aimed at different target markets, which
had been managed through segmentation based on demographic conditions, psychographic and
behaviors of clients. The cost and quality positioning strategy further helped in mitigating the
risks associated with the cost structure and ensured creation of value all throughout.

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