module specification

The module develops knowledge and understanding of strategies, research, segmentation, mix and issues relating to marketing in the financial services sector.

This module aims

1.  to promote an understanding of issues relating to the marketing of financial services
2.  to promote an understanding of the application of marketing principles to the financial services industry
3.  to develop an awareness of ethical issues in relation to marketing of financial services
4.  to develop employability

The financial services marketing environment
The distinctive aspects of services marketing; micro and macro environmental forces; new developments and trends
Marketing strategy
Planning, organising and implementing marketing operations; marketing as a management function
Market research
Establishing a marketing information system; the marketing research process
Market segmentation
Target marketing; market segmentation, targeting and positioning the financial services organisation in the marketplace
The marketing mix:
Product strategy; new product development; product life cycle
Pricing considerations and strategies
Distribution channels; the impact of technology; on-line marketing; multiple channel strategies
Promotion strategies; advertising, sales promotion, public relations; sponsorship; the internet as a promotion tool
People in the marketing mix; personal selling and sales force management; the selling process
Physical evidence and processes
Customer care
The dimensions of customer care; service quality and service recovery; global marketing
Ethical issues in the marketing of financial services 
Ethics in relation to the individual and society as a whole, unethical behaviour in financial services marketing: fraud, misrepresentation, misselling, misleading information, discrimination
 

The broad teaching strategy adopted in this module is focused on providing a supportive learning environment for students to develop a range of academic and employability skills embedded into the core discipline related learning.

Delivery will be based on a mixture of lectures and seminar activities. The lectures will deliver the core academic and theoretical content of the syllabus and have an interactive aspect where students have the opportunity to discuss in small groups and participate in plenary discussion.  There will be a two-hour lecture in each teaching week supported by directed reading.

The lectures will be supported by the seminars which will explore the academic content using academic research, group work and presentations. The Activities Week in the first semester will also support both the academic content and the skills development. There will be a one-hour seminar in each week and  students will to prepare material in advance.

A variety of teaching tools will be used including presentations, web material, videos, group discussion, quizzes and online discussion.

Students will be introduced to the University’s virtual learning platform which will be used to provide supporting class materials, weblinks and discussion forums.

Personal Development Planning (PDP) and reflection skills will be practiced through periodic reflective exercises in this module.

On successful completion of the module students will be able to:

1.  critically evaluate theories and practices related to marketing
2.  apply marketing theories and principles to the financial services industry
3.  discuss new developments and trends in financial services marketing
4.  critically examine ethical issues that may arise in the marketing of financial services                 

Diagnostic and formative assessment will take place on a weekly basis in seminars to develop theoretical, analytical and oral and written communication skills.

Summative and formative assessment will take place with the submission in week 22 of coursework in the form of an essay applying theoretical principles to a practical situation in the marketing of financial services.  The length of the essay should be 2000 words. The assessment will test students’ knowledge and understanding of the academic content of the module as well as generic skills such as research, critical and analytical thinking and written communication.
 
Summative assessment will take place between weeks 29-30 with a 2-hour unseen written examination. This assessment will primarily focus on knowledge and understanding of the academic content of the module and the students’ written communication skills.

Books
Ennew, C. T. and Waite, N. (2007) ‘Financial Services Marketing: An International Guide to Principles and Practice, Elsevier
Farquhar, J. D. and Meidan, A. (2010) ‘Marketing Financial Services’, Second Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke
Harrison, T. (2000) 'Financial Services Marketing', Pearson Education
Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2010) 'Principles of Marketing', Pearson Prentice-Hall 13th 

Academic Journal Articles - accessible electronically via electronic databases such as Science Direct)
Ashton, J. K. and Hudson, R. S. (2008) 'Interest rate clustering in UK financial services markets', Journal of Banking & Finance, 32, 1393-1403.
Cameron F., Cornish C. & Nelson W. (2006) ‘FSS2: A new methodology for segmenting consumers for financial Services’ Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 10 3 260-271
Johnson, D and Grayson, K (2005) ‘Cognitive and affective trust in service relationships’, Journal of Business Research, 58, 4 500-507
Lee, K-W, Tsai, M-T and Lanting, M. C. L. (2011) ‘From marketplace to marketspace: Investigating the consumer switch to online banking’ Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Volume 10, Issue 1, January-February 2011, Pages 115-125
Lin, H-F, (2011) ‘An empirical investigation of mobile banking adoption: The effect of innovation attributes and knowledge-based trust’ International Journal of Information Management, 31, 3, June 2011, 252-260
Yoon. C. (2010) ‘Antecedents of customer satisfaction with online banking in China: The effects of experience’ Computers in Human Behavior’, Volume 26, Issue 6, November 2010, Pages 1296-1304

Professional Journal Articles
Hargreaves, D. (2011) ‘Friendly banks – on a TV near you’, Financial World  June 2011 Pages 21
Lascelles, D. (2011) ‘We don’t give a damn’, Financial World September 2011 Page 8