Marketing Mix Analysis: Challenges and Solutions for Lloyds Bank

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing mix of Lloyds Bank, a major British retail and commercial bank. It examines key aspects like product, price, place, and promotion, highlighting the bank's services and market positioning. The report identifies a significant challenge in the promotional aspect, particularly concerning the competition and the complexity of banking products, leading to customer confusion. It analyzes the problem and recommends strategies to enhance promotional efforts, including the use of road shows, TV advertisements, and a focus on customer-centric wealth management plans. Furthermore, the report delves into performance measurement within the bank, critically evaluating the balance between quantitative and qualitative approaches in assessing employee effectiveness. It suggests the need for a more holistic approach that emphasizes customer needs assessment and relationship building, rather than solely focusing on sales targets. The report concludes with recommendations for improving the marketing mix and performance measurement to better serve customers and maintain a competitive edge in the financial services market.

MARKETING PROJECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background of the organisation...................................................................................................3
Marketing mix of Lloyds Bank....................................................................................................4
Problem in marketing mix...........................................................................................................5
Recommendations........................................................................................................................7
Performance measurement...........................................................................................................7
Recommendations........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The study is about marketing mix in an organisation. The marketing mix includes multiple areas
as a part of comprehensive plan in marketing. This includes all the factors which can influence in
decision-making. The organisation being taken for study is Lloyds Bank. The Bank is a British
multi-national bank relating to investment and financial services. The company was founded in
1765 and headquartered in London, UK. It operates through Corporate and Institutional banking,
Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and Private Banking segment. The Bank has traditionally
been considered one of the ‘Big Four’ clearing banks and is the largest retail bank in Britain. The
study provides an insight into marketing mix of the bank. It then identifies and analyses a
problem occurring in marketing mix and solution for the same. The study further takes on
performance measurement and analysis of the problem faced due to it and changes to be made in
the approach.
Background of the organisation
Lloyds Bank is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales.
Being a significant position holder as clearing bank, it has an extensive network of branches and
ATMs in England and Wales. The origin of the bank date back to 1765 when John Taylor and
Sampson Lloyd set up their private banking business in Birmingham. The company has
expanded during nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of small banking
companies.
The bank offers a full range of banking and financial services and operates through a
network of 1300 branches in England and Wales. The Bank is authorised by the Prudential
Regulation authority and is being regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as well as the
Prudential Regulation Authority. The Bank is also a member of the Financial Ombudsman
Service.

Marketing mix of Lloyds Bank
Product
Lloyds bank provides the following services:
Personal Banking: Personal banking products comprise savings and current accounts, loans,
mortgages, credit cards, Insurance, RTGS and NEFT facility for transfer of funds.
Private Banking: This is basically related to services like net banking, online funds transfer,
helping in investment in foreign exchange.
Business Banking: Bank deals in transaction banking, financial markets, corporate finance,
Renminbi service, banking related to SME etc.
These services form the marketing mix product strategy of the bank (Thabit and Raewf, 2018).
Price
The pricing strategy used here is based on value-based pricing and the bank practices the same. It
provides diversified pricing range by providing both high and low rates depending on both type
of products and services. The bank makes the pricing on what benefits the customer receives
rather than accounting the cost of the product.
Place
Lloyd bank supports its customers in UK as well as internationally. Being a global bank, it offers
products and services to its international customers. Lloyd Bank offers its services in Europe,
Asia, US etc. In Asia , it mainly offers services in the form of commercial banking (Lahtinen,
Dietrich and Rundle-Thiele, 2020).
Promotion
Lloyd uses several marketing plans to remain in limelight. It maintains publicity by doing
advertisements of its products and services. In last decade, there have been several brand
awareness programs done by the brand. In 2011, the bank launched a campaign to new free
online money tracking service Money Manager through Money Manager campaign. Lloyds had
became part of a multi-brand campaign to express support to Lloyds Banking group in 2014. The

bank has launched campaigns like ‘New Dawn’. The bank’s mascot ‘black horse’ has been a
major part in the campaigns. The bank has been part of events as sponsors and partners.
People
The bank relies on its work force for its success. The work force in total is around 45,856
employees. The bank has highly trained employees which are working across different sectors.
These employees form special teams having expertise across the sectors. The bank has divided
its resources as per qualifications as senior team, product specialists, economic specialists etc.
Process
Bank provides online services for customers to avail the services and products. Bank has
provided its own mobile and tablet app as well as net banking which is easily accessible by the
customers. These apps help customers understand what the bank provides for its customers.
Bank has its customer support team to help provide customers solution through grievances. The
customers also get text alerts which company is sending on regular basis (Thabit and Raewf,
2018).
Physical Evidence
The customer can avail the services either through online or offline mode. The offline mode sees
that sector experts help the customer with their needs being fulfilled and once service is bought,
all the documentation is provided to the customer. Llyod Bank also provides its customers online
services through Apps in which customers can see the details of the products and services
(Lahtinen, Dietrich and Rundle-Thiele, 2020).
Problem in marketing mix
The problem faced in promotional aspect of the bank is that there are many competitors who
have launched plans for insurance policies, are giving higher interest rates on savings accounts.
Competitors have launched schemes where customer can open a three-in-one account of demat,
trading and savings account. Luring options are being given by them to attract investments in
their schemes. As the number of schemes is quite high, there are several plans like retirement,

education, insurance, home insurance, property insurance, mutual fund policy etc. All banks
have their own way of explaining these products and thus it can confuse customer as to which
product to go for. These products come with a different starting amount to invest, different
interest rates and different terms and clauses. Customers generally are not aware of banking
terminologies and also do not have much idea of how to go about managing and investing their
finances (Wu and Li, 2018).
Analysis
Here comes the need for an apt promotion of a wealth management plan which can be put across
in simpler terms and also which makes customer at ease by focusing on what the customer
requirements are. The Lloyds Bank can promote such a plan through print and electronic media
which can catch attention of customers who are eager to invest. The advertisements have to focus
on the part that customers will be able to understand the process; thus comes the need for an
advertising The promotion has to be made in simpler terms which appeal to the common man.
Which can come up with a catchy slogan that directly brings attention of customers to start
thinking about their investment. Offers can be given like if customer takes enrolment for a
scheme, then the customer can get the bank membership card of privilege account for free. After
the promotion has been successful, this element can now be related to people mix or the
employees of the organization. The employees who are wealth managers have to first assess as
and when the customer approaches them about the risk-taking behavior, income group, and the
personal financial needs of the customer. After taking in account these details, if the wealth
manager finds customer is of high worth and is shying to go for a bigger investment, then the
customer will have to be made understand the scheme applicable for them (Lim,2020). The
customer will have to be taken in confidence by the wealth manager by eliminating the ignorance
of market knowledge and thus propose a plan which with risk comfortable to the customer can
give him the financial support the customer is looking for in the future. Customer may be
looking for an educational plan for the children, therefore customer can be proposed a plan
where investment can be done annually and the maturity amount could be got after a definite
period as prescribed in the policy with applicable rate of interest payable to the customer. Thus
when the child grows up for higher education, the customer has the money to provide for the
same. This way people mix will help realize customers the financial goals and making the
customers align with the organization. There can be a retirement plan customer is looking for at

the age of 60. The customer has to be shown calculation of premium to be paid for a definite
period of time to get the lumpsum amount with benefits when retirement approaches. Colorful
pamphlets with an easy understandable flow chart is the best way to propose these plans and
pitch them to the customers.
Recommendations
The recommendations to address the problem is that a product promotional strategy has to be
devised which can be very beneficial if done in the form of a road show where bank executives
of sales can directly chat with people to know what problems do they face in investment and
what confuses them with a lot of banking and insurance policies going around. People will voice
their opinions and give feedback about the same which can then be incorporated in print
advertisements and also when customers arrive at the bank for advisory. People’s phone numbers
can be noted down while doing the show and later followed up. This can give leads to the sales
staff of interested customers (Wu and Li, 2018).
It can be kept in mind that product promotion with a difference will hold a key to address
the issue of competitors and the customers getting confused. The bank can go for a TV
advertisement which can show a common man speak for the experience at the Lloyds Bank and
tell about his experience of investment planning gone easy for him. Public will be able to relate
with the same.
Performance measurement
As the name suggests, it reflects on the assessment of work done by the employee during a set
interval of time. It is generally measured by performance according to KPIs. All organizations
have different approach for performance measurement (Lim, 2020.).
Speaking of banking, the performance is generally measured by the quantity of sales done
by the individual. Sales of different products like opening of saving and current accounts,
disbursing of loans, selling insurance policies, opening mutual fund policies, converting sales to
investment plans like education, retirement, sale of credit cards etc. are considered for
performance measurement as to the product employee has been allotted for making sales. This
measure however is quantitative in nature and does not focus on the way customers have been
pitched and convinced about the products.

Analysis
The approach does not focus on how employee has used the skills to assess customer needs,
inform about the suitable plan and convinced customer about the plan. These traits are qualitative
in nature and are more useful actually in building customer relation with the bank. Here an
employee does not put pressure on the customer but informs duly about the plan and convinces
customer about the best plan. In organizations, it may happen that due to targets set, employee
may feel the need to put more assertion in sales behavior; they run short of time to achieve
targets and thus an analysis of customer is not done properly as to what product will suit him for
a longer term (Dost and et.al.,2019). Products being pitched for sake do not guarantee good
returns for any organization as the customer after a period of time, would like to opt out of the
service or the product thus again creating a vacuum. Thus, comes the need for adopting a balance
of quality and quantity which would be good for the organization as well as its customers. If the
bank goes for quality approach, then it would find that the quantitative aspect has already been
taken care of. Firstly, there has to be a dialogue between the manager and the sales executives
that the customers would be pitched products after assessment of their needs. This will make
customer comfortable and would be motivated to make investment if given a tailored approach
towards investment. Customer would gladly enter in a long-term relation with the bank and thus
invest in other products he may like; also recommendations will come from the customer of his
family, friends and relatives. This factor will help achieve the purpose as well increase sales.
Recommendations
It can be recommended that Lloyds bank can go for a tailored approach which helps customers
get at ease with the product. Firstly, there can be a check list made by the bank officials in which
executives can tick-mark specifications while interviewing the customers. The calculation
analysis of the premium should be shown to the customer as it will give a sense of belief to the
customer and will create a transparency between the organisation and the customer (Pomering,
2017).
Special trainings can be started for executives how to go about pitching the product and
how to convince customers without pressurising to buy the product. Product training has to
highlight that customers with a high net worth should be pitched products which give them
privilege membership and gets them to join the various financial services as per their occupation

or business. Work on referrals through the customers will enhance the scope further for Lloyds
bank. These trainings should be a 360 degree approach one which puts confidence in customers
that their needs are being correctly evaluated.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that any organization has to look at its marketing mix critically. This
approach will help identify the problems in the strategy or something new which needs to be
incorporated in the strategy which can provide a difference. A critical analysis will help
company build on its inner strengths as well as address market factors to stay in the competition.
The changing scenario influences the need to evaluate the strategies more so to overcome the
hurdles which can come in the way in future and give an edge to the company in competition.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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