Marketing is a process of planning and executing strategies related to, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individuals and organizational objectives.
The financial sector has traditionally been made up of brick and mortar banks, credit unions and micro finance institutions. In the recent past we have seen an emergence of financial institutions that operate as fintechs and digital banks and this has introduced new dynamics in the financial sector.
Faced with intense competition in the market, traditional financial institutions have engaged in aggressive marketing. In recent years commercial banks marketing functions have been advanced with clearly laid out strategies, systems and structures.
On the other hand the SACCO sector is now beginning to catch up and strengthen its marketing functions albeit at a slower pace than the changing market. Most of the SACCO’S have been slow to develop proper marketing plans and the marketing departments have often not been staffed optimally.
In many SACCO’S, board education committees are the main proponents of marketing conversations. The trend in SACCO’S has been characterized by larger components of the marketing budget being allocated to member’s education, AGM expenses and sourcing and distribution of branded items.
Very often the SACCO’S marketing budget allocation as a percentage of overall budget is lower than financial sector’s standard.
Our work in PKL has seen us provide consulting support to SACCO marketing functions. Right from involvement in recruitment of their marketing teams, developing marketing strategies and marketing budgets, running branch feasibility studies and training the SACCO boards and top management on the role of transformative marketing and how to leverage digital marketing.
PKL provides training and consulting support to the credit union on matters related to distribution channel which includes brick and mortar branches, agents, Automated teller machines, mobile channels and online banking services.
We conduct Feasibility studies for branch and agency set up and also support credit unions in selection and implementation of mobile banking systems and ATM.
PKL also supports Credit Unions/ SACCO’S in gathering insights from the market and getting perceptions and views of its members by way of conducting market research on their behalf.
Using the research finding, we assist the SACCO in developing product realignment and in new product development. A huge portion of our SACCO marketing consulting is driven by the principal of customer eccentricity and delivering exceptional customer experience at all touch points
