IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MARKETING EXPANSION OF BANKING SERVICES IN ENUGU METROPOLIS
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IMPACT OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS IN MARKETING EXPANSION OF BANKING SERVICES IN ENUGU METROPOLIS
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
An organisation’s success can be measured by the efficiency and effectiveness with which its resources are used. Some organisations can thrive with few resources, while others struggle even with plenty of human, financial, and material resources.
The distinction is determined by the technique used to allocate resources and the purpose for which they are used. As a result, resource management is critical to organisational success.
As a result, it becomes necessary to plan. Planning is a management process that attempts to define the organization’s future (Dalton, 1986). It is the process by which managers examine their internal and external environments, ask fundamental questions about their organization’s purpose, and establish a mission, goals, and objectives (Ivancevich et al., 1994).
Simply described, planning is the process of setting organisational goals and identifying the methods and means to achieve them. Organisations are required to define objectives in order to attain corporate goals in the long run, as objectives are generated from plans.
In terms of accomplishing company goals and objectives, public relations serves as a bridge between transforming corporate objectives and corporate goals.
This is why public relations professionals are constantly on the watch for time bombs and landmines. As a result, the primary responsibility of the corporate affairs people/department in any business is to have a thorough understanding of the organization’s objectives.
Having done so, it believes they will deploy applicable public relations methods and tactics to create a profit-driven company culture.
Organisations, whether commercial or public, seek to maximise profits. This is because profit maximisation is at the heart of any firm; this assertion is supported by the reality that most companies that have been unable to break even,
let alone profit, have failed. To this regard, profit maximisation is a difficult measure of efficiency, as it protects the company’s long-term viability.
Because strong public relations may be a catalyst for profit, an organization’s public relations section, as the engine room of its corporate reputation, is responsible for not just creating sales, but also acquiring and retaining consumers.
As a result, public relations experts are compelled to engage in market research, branding, advertising, and other promotional initiatives. As a result, public relations professionals are constantly on the lookout for ways to better service clients,
as the Chinese proverb says, “a man without a smiling face must not open a shop”. In a nutshell, customer care is all that is required to keep a firm thriving, regardless of its size.
Companies in hostile surroundings confront numerous challenges as a result of negative opinions held by their host community. There are numerous instances where firms have been forced to lose a significant portion of their host towns.
As a result, the public relations unit is responsible for ensuring that its organisation is a good corporate citizen and socially accountable to the society in which it operates.
The basic assumption here is that enterprises that are well-accepted by their host communities are more likely to convert the collective patronage of the host community as well as that of other customers, into income.
It is well known that some commercial groups that provided service to their host communities left a trail of negative, social, and political consequences, which snowballed into negative publicity of unthinkable magnitude. In some circumstances, these organisations have been forced to withdraw rather than move forward.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of excellent public relations on the marketing expansion of banking services in the Enugu metropolitan. In the banking sector, banks rely on their customers to stay in business and assure the sustainability of their patronage.
The bank image must be maintained by encouraging exceptional customer service and developing effective public relations. In this view, public relations has become the fundamental foundation for organisations, notably banks, in this age of global competition, which seek for profit maximisation and marketing development of banking services.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Communication as a profession is multidimensional. It contributes to the development and promotion of goodwill and mutual understanding (rapport) between an organisation and its many stakeholders.
This explains why most organisations in the country have followed the policies, including All States Trust Bank.
Although All States Trust Bank has a public/corporate affairs department tasked with performing public relations functions, the management is dissatisfied because there have been numerous complaints from bank customers about poor service (bad image), despite efforts to promote mutual understanding and corporate image among its various publics.
The following problems emerge:
i) Most policy decisions of firms operating in Nigeria, including All States Trust Bank, are made without regard for the consequences they will have on the lives of the people in the area in which they operate, as long as such policy maximises the company’s profits.
ii) The majority of firms operating in Nigeria do not view social duties as a managerial function, and thus regard them as a responsibility rather than a right of the society or community in which they operate.
iii) Several elements contribute to their efficacy in meeting corporate social responsibility in Nigeria.
iv) Failure to fulfil or discharge social responsibilities produces volatility in these organisations’ operational environments, which has a significant negative impact on turnover, profitability, growth, and survival.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The study’s purpose is based on the identified problem and includes:
1) To determine whether All States Trust Bank Management views the public relations effects of its policies on its customers as strategic.
2) Determine whether All States Trust Bank Communities successfully communicates major policy problems to its public.
3) Determine whether corporate donations contribute to successful image management for the organisation.
4) Identify the elements that influence the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility performance in Nigeria and contribute to a negative image.
5) Determine and discuss whether the bank’s public relations activities have a substantial impact on its existence, profitability, and survival.
6) Provide recommendations based on the findings.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This research study is significant since it was conducted at a time when most organisations, including the All States Trust Bank, are dealing with image issues. The significance encompasses:
i) The findings of this study will help All States Trust Bank determine the level of harm caused by its poor public relations methods and, as a result, improve on its commitment to offer effective, efficient, and dependable services to its customers.
ii) The company’s management will utilise it to make decisions about how to strengthen its customer relations and public relations procedures.
iii) Similar organisations will use it as a tool to reposition their business practices and prevent a poor image.
iv) It will assist future scholars understand how public relations may be used to build customer relationships and continue in business.
1.5 Hypothesis.
Ho1: The administration of All States Trust Bank doesn’t consider the
It considers the strategic public relations effects of its policies on its customers.
Ho2: All States Trust Bank fails to convey its policies adequately.
To its customers.
Ho3: The company’s public affairs and public relations departments are
Not properly supported.
Ho4: Banks’ public relations practices are ineffective.
Ho5: The bank’s social responsibility profits have no significant effect on them.
Performance and image management.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is confined to achieving the study’s objectives, specifically the impact of excellent public relations in marketing the expansion of banking services in Enugu metropolitan – a case study of All States Trust Bank Enugu.
In other words, the study will concentrate on All States Trust Bank and its customers, who are located along Okpara Avenue in Enugu and serve as a representative of the banking industry. As a result, the research would be conducted in the Enugu metropolitan area.
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