Paradigm Shift in Consumer Behavior Due to Technological Advancements
With the rise of sales in smartphones, advancements in speed of internet and even an increasing number of social media users have resulted in a major shift in consumer behavior in Pakistan. The world has witnessed how rapidly Pakistan has adapted to digitalization of booking air-tickets, ride sharing, ordering food and groceries, even medicines online as well as paying bills online.
One consequence of this shift is that customers in Pakistan now expect convenience in everything. Since digital banking has been introduced there is a rise in the number of accounts and transactions with 70% of the customer base looking for a bank with consistent online banking services. Customers don’t tend to remember their passwords and pin-codes anymore as now all applications on our mobile devices can be accessed through one pass (be it biometric authentication or a single pass code).
The inception of digitalization in the banking sector brings in various opportunities for financial institutions. Tapping the current customer base and bringing potential customers can be tagged through the advanced technological adoption. From the perspective of customer needs, convenience and serviceability, there is a paramount need to offer value addition to the customers. Banks are continuously working on this innovation and coming up with exciting and user-friendly services for its current and potential customers. BankIslami, under its leadership, had already caught this wave and was already facilitating its customers through BankIslami One Touch Banking.
Industry Outlook
State Bank of Pakistan has been working with a clear focus to digitize Pakistan’s economy. In recent years, the payment and settlement systems have greatly evolved due to these efforts. Numerous policies and regulations related to these digital modes of transactions have been published in the recent past. Due to these efforts, the banking sector in specific and the economy in general has been inclined towards the digital channels of banking; significant progress has been seen during the last few years. For example, the Internet Banking and Mobile App transactions have grown 31% and 86% respectively in the past 5 years. Following is some statistical data that provides a magnitude of the digital industry compared to the conventional industry in Pakistan.
Table 1: Payment system transaction summary
Reference site; www.sbp.org.pk
What is BankIslami One Touch Banking?
With a rapid change in the consumer behavior, BankIslami’s management proactively thought of making it more convenient for its customers to perform online transactions. With over 14,000 ATMs all across Pakistan already, BankIslami was the first one to introduce BankIslami One Touch Banking - a unique service that requires biometric authentication for performing the banking activities.
BankIslami One Touch Banking is a signature service of BankIslami. It is an ATM and Cheque-less transaction service which allows the customers to withdraw or transfer funds to other account holders irrespective of the bank. It additionally eases the process of paying utility bills and other services such as, Mobile Top-Up, Stop Payment, Internet Banking Activation, Mobile Application Activation and Card Activation, without using an ATM, Debit Card, or a Cheque.
It is also a part of Digital Banking where customers have the freedom to operate their bank account through biometric impression rather than using conventional means i.e. ATM and Cheque. The customers just need to visit the branch, verify their Biometric Impression, and execute any transaction(s) merely with the use of thumb impression. BankIslami, through this innovation, served its users with a greater outcome of a convenient and hassle-free banking service as well as processing solutions. BankIslami One Touch Banking is a state-of-the-art that has a nominal rate of error, strengthening the overall brand offering and BankIslami’s image in the banking sector.
Service Offerings:
In modern times, customers’ ease and convenience has become the foremost concern for every sector, in parallel to their safety. With BankIslami One Touch Banking, BankIslami ensures that the customers do not need to carry their ATM/Debit Card or their Cheque Book along with them at all times for the sole purpose of making or processing any transaction(s). Keeping its customers safe from the rapidly increasing financial frauds, BankIslami One Touch Banking ensures the elimination of forged cheques, card skimming, counterfeit credit cards, and other financial scams.
Apart from biometric authentication, BankIslami One Touch Banking adds a lot of value into its services that includes:
Cash withdrawal without having to carry an ATM card.
Transfer of funds from or to the customer’s own account.
Transfer of funds to the third party.
Inter Bank Fund Transfer (IBFT) irrespective of the bank.
IBFT Through Cheque
Mobile Top-up
Easy payment process for Utility Bills, Internet Bills and Post Pay Bills
Pay Order Issuance
Dormant Account Activation
Card Activation
Stop Payment
Internet Banking and Mobile Application Activation
Pioneers of BankIslami One Touch Banking in Pakistan:
BankIslami takes the digitalization of the banking sector to a next level and becomes the pioneer of BankIslami One Touch Banking. It is the only bank to have introduced this technology in Pakistan and so far, it is a success. The inspiration was the pain points of the regular banking users, carrying their ATM card/cheque book for every transaction; instead they now just need their thumb to perform the transaction.
However, there are many competitors to BankIslami in terms of providing the same services through Conservative Banking Medium and other delivery channels for example, branch counters, ATM’s, mobile banking, internet banking, branchless banking, etc. Additionally, other financial institutions with their digital delivery channels for example, Easypaisa, UBL Omni, JazzCash, Upaisa, etc. are all indirect competitors to the bank itself, offering similar services on a smaller scale.
In addition to the benefits BankIslami One Touch Banking has to offer to its customers, BankIslami recognizes its corporate social responsibility to protect the environment we live in. With this technologically advanced service, BankIslami hopes to reduce its carbon footprint by going paperless card-less as well as instrument-less. Also, the hassle-free services to customers for BankIslami One Touch Banking and dedicated counters are designed in all BankIslami branches where the expert staff is available with the best knowledge related to customers’ requirements and solutions related to all business needs. Un-Matched unique service in Pakistan’s Banking industry for customers’ convenience by virtue of One Touch, BankIslami customers can enjoy multiple benefits. Moreover, customers can use any facility of ATM and/or can perform any transaction through branch counter Thumb Impression like Cash Withdrawal, Fund Transfer, Pay Order Issuance, Online Transfer to other Banks and many more.
The Marketing Framework - “Your Thumb Is Your Bank.”
Positioning
One-Touch was positioned as a ‘Convenient and Hassle-Free Banking Experience’ with the tagline: “Your Thumb Is Your Bank.” as BankIslami’s team centered their focus on providing its customers the luxury to roam around card-less and cheque-less without any need to worry.
Communication Strategy
The bank focused on a 360° communication strategy by opting for a traditional yet digital platform, enabling the newly launched service to penetrate and reach a larger customer base. Print media, radio, and television commercials were the means chosen by BankIslami to communicate the launch of BankIslami One Touch Banking to the masses. The traditional communication channels were instrumental to establish the brand image, recognition, and most importantly healthier brand recall. With regard to the digital expansion, BankIslami established rigorous social media platforms by targeting customers through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. For effective brand visibility, staff cars were branded with One-Touch branding and the entire staff’s IVR was changed to BankIslami One Touch’s promotional message.
Deployment of Brand Ambassador
One of the most effective ways to catch a customer’s attention is the presence of a brand ambassador. An ambassador to the brand adds value to the service/product in question thus, a well-recognized and a celebrated face is what the brands look for. BankIslami is not an exception. To ignite a sense of connection and interest among the audience, BankIslami brought forward Moin Khan, a former wicketkeeper-batsman and Pakistani Cricket coach, as the brand ambassador of BankIslami One Touch Banking.
In one of the TVCs, Moin Khan says “Zaroorat tou na waqt dekh ker aati hai aur jagah tou bilkul bhi nahi” which in its literal essence means that sudden needs are not planned. Divided into several bits, the TVC highlights how at any given time BankIslami One Touch Banking services help the characters perform transactions just with thumb impression.
Branch Branding
BankIslami saw an opportunity and used its wide-spread network to create a sound presence of the bank in the market. However, at an early stage, branch branding of the bank was deployed in some of the selected branches with a sole objective of establishing brand image, brand recognition and brand recall. Now, with more than 340 branches in 116+ cities of Pakistan, BankIslami has successfully created its image countrywide through standees, buntings, wall hangings, etc.
When BankIslami One Touch Banking was launched, it was launched as a free banking service. It was meant to be free-for-all only for the customer base of BankIslami across Pakistan. This free-for-all service was merely a pricing strategy to achieve a significant advantage over all other competitive banks in the banking sector.
Key challenges
The launch of any product brings in various challenges to penetrate and develop a strong position. Strategic thinking and visionary leadership identify the challenges and come up with a solution to address such obstacles. BankIslami did face a number of post-launch challenges.
Marketing Budget Constraints
Marketing plays a vital role in building a positive brand image in the consumers' minds. When the competition is intense and if the product is second to none, then an effective communication strategy is deemed necessary. In the case of BankIslami, a minimal marketing budget in the first phase of ‘Bio Banking’ was assigned to tap diversified communication channels. Though the bank did touch the key communication mix but the rigor was missing due to a lack of marketing budget. This hampered brand recognition and consumer awareness. Moreover, the lack of integrated marketing communication strategy impacted on the product launch and better brand visibility.
However, in the second phase, when Bio Banking was re-launched as ‘BankIslami One Touch Banking, an extensive budget was allocated for Marketing Activities. From BTL to ATL, no segment was left untapped. BankIslami took a 360-degree approach and went for a well-integrated marketing mix to promote the brand at a grand level. This in return uplifted the brand perception and image of BankIslami One Touch Banking and created a stronger brand recall.
Knowledge Transfer
Departmental coordination plays an important role when it comes to technology-based products or services. Close coordination is required to deal with highly sophisticated products. At the initial stage, the product was launched by the name of Bio Banking and was driven and executed by the IT department. The inception of BankIslami One Touch Banking required a smooth and complete transfer of ownership and information to its custodians. However, the key information failed to be transferred to its stakeholders (branch staff). The knowledge gap and transfer of ownership disturbed the operations and led to numerous technical and operational glitches.
Training
Training is deemed necessary when the bank is launching a product or service for the masses. Without adequate training, it becomes difficult to attain the customer’s confidence and trust. Proper staff training is required to handle the customer queries, enabling them to opt for any new service being offered by the bank. In this case, the operational staff was not well trained, though the SOPs (The standard operating procedures) were made; however, the enforcement of such policy documents was not evident. In such scenarios when the product is new to the staff, a series of trainings are required to bridge the gap between banking operation and its customers.
However, after the re-launch of Bio Banking with the name of “BankIslami One Touch Banking” and extensive marketing system stability, performance and uptime was the major challenge. Since transactional load was not observed in Bio Banking, the IT Department immediately took major steps to enhance the system performance. Staff training was one of them.
Operational Constraints
Banking operations are quite vital, especially when the product is new to the bank and its customers. The transition from Biobanking to BankIslami One-Touch banking required attention to detail with complete operational understanding. The system stability, performance, and running time were never measured and maintained in the previous system and thus imposed challenges in the systems at the time of Bio Banking.
In order to capture a larger customer base and to achieve the desired objectives, BankIslami needed to work closely on the challenges addressed. These problems were efficiently and effectively catered in the re-launch of the brand as ‘BankIslami One-Touch Banking. To maintain the bank's reputation and trust in customers, what did the bank do? Did it revisit the training manual? Did it redefine the operational flow, staff training, or build confidence within the internal stakeholders? These are the questions that needed immediate attention and were well-handled by the Bank and it achieved the desired market share, customer confidence and ability to establish a positive image in the customers’ mind, all by revamping its entire marketing strategy.
Questions to stimulate conversation on the case
- What strategic directions were taken by the BankIslami One-Touch team to overcome the stated challenges?
- Did the marketing channels meet the communication objectives and aligned with the target audience and the brand profile? Suggest a comprehensive communication plan for effective brand visibility, recognition, and reach.
- What other product innovations can be added keeping in view the current product proposition?
Links and media
Website: https://bankislami.com.pk/