THEORY FOUNDATION ABOUT MARKETING
General about Marketing Communications
Communications is the process of conveying a message to others and require six elements: a source, a message, a channel of communication, a receiver and the processes of encoding and decoding The source may be a company or person who has information to convey The information sent by a source, such as a description of a new service, forms the message The message is conveyed by means of a channel of communication such as a sales person, advertising media, or public relations tools Clients who read, hear, or see the message are the receivers
Source: Managing Service Marketing, John E.G Baterson, K.Douglas Hoffman
Marketing communications are all the communications between the organization and all other parties, especially with customers Part of the wider academic research area of marketing, it encompasses all the traditional forms of promotion including advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, public relations, direct marketing and e-marketing But it aims to be broader than this It includes all points of contact between the organization and other parties
T he Marketing Communications Mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing a company uses to pursue its marketing objectives
Figure 1-2: The tools of the marketing communication mix
Setting Marketing Communication Strategy for Service Firms
The setting of a communications strategy follows a common pattern in irresponsive of whether the firm is producing a goods or services The first is to define a target audience and clear objectives for the complete communication mix The main elements of the communication mix include advertising, public relations, personal selling, sales promotion and direct marketing Only personal selling is normally a two-way process The remainders are one-way communication, from the marketer to the customer only With services, however, the service providers at the point of communication can also have an important two-way communication role
Figure 1-3: Marketing Communication Strategy for Service Firms
Source: Managing Service Marketing, John E.G Baterson, K.Douglas Hoffman
1.2.1 Define the Target Audience and Objectives Defining the target audience
The target audience should flow from the overall marketing plan and from a sound understanding of consumer behavior The target audience for the service needs to be decided early in the process of the whole services formula may become malformed Define the target customer for the service is thus the foundation of the service formula Unlike goods, however, the target audience has to be much more precisely targeted
Setting communication objectives for services
The objectives must to be ensuring that company‟s service is the one perceived to be the least risky alternative Communications could be used to try to influence the choice process in the following ways:
To ensure that the firm‟s service offering is in the evoked set
To alter the weights attached to different attributes by consumers to favor those on which the company is strong
To alter the score on a given attribute for the company, particularly if there is gap between performance and consumers‟ perceptions
To alter the score on a given attribute given to a competitor, again particularly if there is a gap between performance and consumers‟ perceptions
If the company is not in the evoked set, to build enough awareness of the offering to arouse inclusion
During this phase, the services consumer is a more or less active participant in the production process It is important that consumers perform that production role successfully From the firm‟s point of view, successful performance will improve the efficiency of the operation and the satisfaction of other customers From the consumers‟ point of view, successful performance will ensure a high level of perceived control and, in all probability, a high level of satisfaction in the postconsumption phase
Therefore, communication in this phase can be used to ensure successful performance by giving the consumer a clear script The nature of this script depends on the nature of the service operation
Consumer expectations come from a number of sources, some within the control of the services firm and some outside its control Expectations arise either from previous experience with the firm and/or its competitors or from some form of communication The objective for this phase is to attempt to match customers‟ expectation to the performance characteristics of the servuction system
1.2.2 Divide the Communications Objectives and Target Audiences among the Channels
Once the overall objectives and target audiences for the whole communication mix are set, it is necessary to divide the tasks among advertising, selling, public relations, and point-of-sales messages This is a process of matching the tasks to the capabilities of the different communications channels and to the ways consumers uses those channels and the different objectives
One way of assigning tasks across the array of communication channels is to consider the degree to which the message can be targeted at specific audiences
Media advertising itself varies along this dimension TV advertising can reach very board audiences but it is not very selective except in the variation in audience across channels by time of day Nation print media such as newspapers and magazines offer more selective focus, as they themselves tend to be targeted at more specific segments of consumers
Trade magazines are even more specific in their readership Direct mail offers the most focused of the impersonal media The choice among these media must be able to make based on the cost per thousand members of the target audience and the risk and cost of reaching the wrong segment
Key differences in information usage between goods and services
In order to create communications messages for a service, it‟s necessary to understand key differences in information usage between goods and services These differences are crucial to understanding how divide the communications objectives, target audiences, and budget between the different channels
Consumers of services are less likely to purchase without information than those buying goods This relates to the increased perceived risk associated with services and the need for consumer to reduce that risk by collecting information before purchasing
Consumer of services will prefer personal over impersonal sources of information
Because services are experimental, it is extremely difficult to describe or specify the “product” before purchase It might be possible to use TV advertising to convey the experience, but it is clear that consumers prefer to obtain their information from individuals who have experienced the services directly or indirectly
Even among personal services, the high level of risk inherent in the process mean that customers will give greater credibility to independent sources of information rather than those perceived to be controlled by the firm All this implies that mass advertising communication from comparable individuals is far more likely than mass advertising to be used by consumers as a source of information
However, it is possible to use advertising and other forms of promotion to leverage word-of-mouth communication Such as an approach might imply using advertising and promotional tools to persuade satisfied customers to tell other consumers
Word-of-mouth communication can be used directly in media advertising, in the form of testimonials from satisfied customers
Consumer information sources can be classified broadly into internal and external sources Both types can be used to help consumers cope with perceived risk
Internal sources are fundamentally linked to memory scan
These guidelines have developed based on the key differences in information usage between goods and services and features of services including: intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability inherent in services products
Marketing Communication Tools
Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal communication about an organization, good, service, or idea by an identified sponsor The paid aspect of this definition is important because the space for the advertising message normally must be bought
Advertising involves mass media (such as TV, radio, and magazines), which are nonpersonal and do not have an immediate feedback loop as does personal selling
There are several advantages to a firm using advertising in its communication mix
It can be attention-getting and also communicate specific product/service benefits to prospective buyers By paying for the advertising space, a company can control what it wants to say and, to some extend, to whom the message is sent Advertising also allows the company to decide when to send its message The nonpersonal aspect of advertising also has its advantages Once the message is created, the same message is sent to all receivers in a market segment If the message is properly pretested, the company can trust that that the same message will be decoded by all receives in the market segment
Advertising has some disadvantages , the costs to produce and place a message are significant, and the lack of direct feedback makes it difficult to know how well the message was received
1.3.1.2 Types of advertisements a) Product advertisements
Focus on selling a good or service, product advertisements take three forms: (1) pioneering (or informational), (2) competitive (or persuasive) and (3) reminder
Used the introductory stage of the life cycle, pioneering advertisements tell people what a product is, what it can do, and where it can be found The key objective of a pioneering ad is to inform the target market Informative ads have been found to be interesting convincing, and effective
Advertising that promotes a specific brands‟ features and benefits is competitive
The objective of this message is to persuade the target market to select the firm‟s brand rather than that of competitors An increasingly common form of competitive advertising is comparative advertising, which shows one brand‟s strengths relative to those of competitors Firms that use comparative advertising need market research and test results to provide legal support for their claims
Reminder advertising is used to reinforce previous knowledge of a product
Reminder advertising is good for products that have achieved a well-recognized position and are in the mature phase of their product life cycle Another type of reminder ad, reinforcement, is used to assure current users they made the right choice b) Institutional advertisements
The objective of institutional advertisements is to build goodwill or an image for an organization, rather than promote a specific good or service Often this form of advertising is used to support the public relations plan or counter adverse publicity
Four alternative forms of institutional advertisements are often used:
Advocacy advertisement states the position of a company on an issue
Pioneering institutional advertisements, like the pioneering ads for products discussed earlier, are used for announcement about what a company is, what it can do, or where it is located
Competitive institutional advertisements promote the advantages of one product class over another and are used in the market where different product classes compete for the same buyers
Reminder institutional advertisements, like the product form, simply bring the company‟s name to the attention of the target market again
Because media costs are high, advertising decisions must be made carefully, using a systematic approach The advertising decision process is divided into (1) developing, (2) executing, and (3) evaluating the advertising program
Development of the advertising program focuses on the four Ws:
Who is the target audience?
What are (1) the advertising objectives, (2) the amounts of money that can be budgeted for the advertising program, and (3) the kinds of copy to use?
Where the advertisements should be run?
When should the advertisements be run? a) Identifying the Target Audience
The first decision in developing the advertising program is identifying the target audience, the group of prospective buyers toward which an advertising program is directed To the extent that time and money permit, the target audience for the advertising program is the target market for the firm‟s product, which is identified from marketing research and market segmentation studies The more a firm knows about its target audience‟s profile – including their lifestyles, attitudes, and values – the easier it is to develop an advertising program b) Specific Advertising Objectives
After the target audience is identified, a decision must be reached on what that advertising should accomplish Consumers can be said to respond in terms of a hierarchy effects, which is the sequence of stages a prospective buyer goes through from initial awareness of a product to eventual action
Awareness : the consumer‟s ability to recognize and remember the product or brand name
Increase : an increase in the consumer‟s desire to learn about some of the features of the product or brand
Evaluation : the consumer‟s appraisal of the product or brand on important attributes
Trial: the consumer‟s actual first purchase and use of the product or brand
Adoption: through a favorable experience on the first trial, the consumer‟s repeated purchase and use of the product or brand
For a totally new product the sequence applies to the entire product category, but for a new brand competing in an established product category it applies to the brand itself These steps can serve as guidelines for developing advertising objectives c) Setting the Advertising Budget
After setting the advertising, a company must decide on how much to spend
Determining the ideal amount for the budget is difficult because there is no precise way to measure the exact results of advertising d) Designing the Advertisements
The central element of an advertising program is the ad itself Advertising messages consists of advertising copy and the artwork that the target audience is intended to see (as in magazines, newspaper and TV) or hear (as on radio, TV) The message usually focuses on the key benefits of the product that are important to a prospective buyer in making trial and adoption decisions
Most advertising messages are made up of both informational and persuasional elements These two elements, in fact, are so intertwined that it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart For example, basic information contained in many advertisements such as the product name, benefits, features, and price are presented in the way that tries to attract attention and encourage purchase On the other hand, even the most persuasive advertisements have to contain at least some basic information to be successful
The creative people in an advertising agency have responsibility to turn appeals and features such as quality, style, dependability, economy, and service into attention getting, believable advertisements e) Selecting the Right Media
Every advertiser must decide where to place its advertisements The alternatives are the advertising media, the means by which the message is communicated to the audience Newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV are examples of advertising media This media selection decision is related to the target audience, type of product, nature of the message, campaign objectives, available budget, and the costs of the alternative media
Television is a valuable medium because it communicates with sight, sound and motion Besides the network television is biggest network that can reach the most audience However, television‟s major disadvantage is cost
RESEARCH ON MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OF
Summary about Vietnam securities market and securities companies
Vietnam securities market official has officially operated since 2000, when Ho Chi Minh Securities Trading Center - HOSTC (now changed to Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange – HOSE) was established on July 2000 At that time, there were only few stocks traded with total capital about USD 1.7 million Through first 6 years, market capitalization only reached USD 0.5 billion In two year 2006 and 2007, Vietnam securities market has developed significantly with series of impressive records Market capitalization in Dec
2006 was estimated USD 13.8 billion, account for 22.7% GDP This number in April 2007 reached USD 24.4 billion, approximately 38% GDP, increased 1400 times comparing to the year 2000 Currently, the number of listed companies is 213 companies, increase 704% comparing to 2000.
Figure 2-1: Chart of VN Index from 2001 to 2007
Source: http://vndirect.com.vn
The above chart describes the performance of VN Index in 8 years from 2000 to
2007 If in the first session on 28 July 2000, VN Index only got 100 points, then in March 2007, it reached the peak of 1170 points It‟s obvious that the market has grew tremendously in 2006 and 2007 In 2006 only, VN Index grew 146%, while in the first three months this year, the Index made another 43% growth Currently, VN Index fluctuates around 900 point, 90 times higher from the beginning day of trading
Up to date there are 60 securities companies operating in the market There are 60 securities companies trading in Ho Chi Minh Securities Exchange (HOSE) and 55 securities companies trading in Ha Noi Securities Trading Center (HASTC) These companies operate in four main areas including (1) deposit and brokerage, (2) consultancy, (3) self-trading and (4) under writing
The total trading account have increased from 50,100 accounts in 2005 to 106,393 in 2006 and up to Sep 2007 is about 320,000 account, increase 300% against 2006, in which there are more 140,000 new account were open in first 6 months of 2007
The chart below describes the percentage of accounts that were opened at different securities companies The leader currently is Sai Gon Securities Incorporation (SSI) with 21.20%, the second is Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS), the third position belongs to Bao Viet Securities Company The other big players are Securities Company of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACBS), Securities Company of BIDV (BSC), and Securities Company of Agribank (AGRISECO) and Incombank (IBS) The others securities companies only account for 20.90% of the total accounts These statistics show that the brand names of experienced and big securities companies help them attract a lot of customers It‟s rather difficult for new-born securities companies to compete with the existing players if they don‟t have marketing policies that suit their status and affect the awareness of investors
Figure 2-1: Percentage of Accounts Opened at Securities Companies
Percentage of Accounts opened at Securities Companies
VCBS BVSC ACBS BSC AGRISECO IBS
Source: Statistics of State Securities Committee in Sep 2007
Base on company size, market share, time of establishment and fame, securities companies in Vietnam can be divided into three groups
Group 1 includes big and well-known securities companies which keep the big market share, at least 5% of total market share Besides, these companies have been established and operated in the market for a long time, at least two years Several companies in this group are:
Sai Gon Securities Incorporation (SSI) Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) ACB Securities Company
BIDV Securities Company (BSC) Agribank Scurities Companies pany (Agriseco)
Group 2 consists of medium companies These companies are established after the first group for about 6 -12 months and have a relatively well-known market position One common feature of companies in this group is that they are normally a member or closely related to big financial institutions, big banks, big corporation
Therefore, they are supported in terms of capital, human resource and customer relationship Some companies in Group 2 are:
Thang Long Securities Company Sai Gon Thuong tin Bank Securities Company
An Binh Bank Securities Company VnDirect Securities Company Trang An Securities Companies
Group 3 is companies opened recently, smaller size and less accounts They are joint stock companies that established by rich individuals who take advantage the development of securities market
Dai Viet Securities Company Bien Viet Securities Company Tan Viet Securities Company Viet Tin Securities Company Viet Dragon Securities Company
Research on communication tools used by securities companies
The research was conducted by using depth interview with marketing managers of
6 securities companies, combining with desk research of the author Securities companies have different market positions, different sizes and uses different ways to communicate with customers
In general, securities companies in Vietnam have used some of 6 tools: advertising, PR, personal sales, sales promotion, direct marketing and e- marketing to communication with customers
Among 6 tools PR is favored most and is used frequently The second tool which securities companies focus in is using e-marketing with websites to attract customers Securities companies also pay attention to build the sales force with strong brokerage department and consultancy department to approach more to customers Recently, more sales promotion was launched with attractive policies Direct marketing and advertising are rarely used and only appear in simple ways
With the first group, communication between companies and customers happen more frequently and wide spread The main tools are PR and personal sales SSI is company uses the most PR activity to communicate with customers
The second group mainly uses combination of PR, advertising and promotions However, the frequency of communication is still less than the frequency of the first group
The last group recently has effected by the downward adjustment of the market, therefore it‟s rather hard for them to attract customers The main communication tool they use is sales promotion to get the attention of new and potential investors They also use PR and advertising but the frequency is low
The next parts will present detailed about each communication tools that are using by different securities companies
PR is the tool which is used most frequently and seemingly most affect the view of customers Securities companies do PR via three main ways: (1) PR through newspapers, magazines, websites, (2) PR through TV shows and (3) PR by holding conferences, training courses In which the first way is used most
2.1.1.1 PR through newspapers, magazines, websites
Almost companies have one article to say about company or public the relateds news to companies “Dau tu chung khoan” or “Investment Review”, “Dien dan doanh nghiep” or “Business Forum” are the most wanted magazines that used to post the article Besides, updated information about the development of securities companies also quickly appear in well-known websites such as: VietnamNet, Vnexpress Here below are some article write about securities companies
Figure 2-2: One article about SSI when it first listed on HASTC
Source: http://www.vnn.vn
Figure 2-3: SSI with the event of being listed on HOSE
Source: http://www.ktdt.com.vn
Figure 2-4: Announcement about the establishment of STB Securities
Source: http://www.hochiminhcity.gov.vn
Figure 2-5: VNDirect launches new service
Source: http://www.vnexpress.vn
Figure 2-6: Bien Viet Securities with CBV-Index
Source: http://www.vcci.com.vn
Moreover, by newspapers, magazines and websites, securities companies also do
PR for their representatives such as CEO, Director or Vice-Director, even Manager of important departments like brokerage or research
Figure 2-7: SSI and its CEO Tran Duy Hung
Source: http://www.dddn.com.vn
Figure 2-8: CEO of Vndirect – Mrs Pham Minh Huong
Source: http://www.vietbao.vn
Through television shows like “Ban tin chung khoan”, “Ban tin chung khoan Info” and other television interview, representatives of securities companies appear, answer or explain about stock market, and also PR for their companies
Figure 2-9: ‘Chung khoan cuoi tuan” on VTV1
Source: http://www.mof.gov.vn
Source: http://www.infotv.vn 2.1.1.3 PR by holding conference, training courses for investors
Sometimes, companies hold events, conferences to introduce news about stock market, for example: introduce new continuous marching-order system and invite the customers and media to join They also carry out free training courses for customers, by this way be closer to customers
Figure 2-11: Viet Dragon Securities Corp holds training course for customers
Source: http://www.vdsc.com.vn
Up to date, there are no securities company launch big TV commercials to advertise for theirs companies They just stop at posting some box that includes the logo and slogan of companies on newspapers, websites Some companies use newspaper to advertise for the promotion campaigns
Figure 2-12: Advertising of Ocean Securities on InfoTV
Source: http://www.infotv.vn
Figure 2-13: Advertising of Thang Long Securities on Investment Review
Source: http://www.tinnhanhchungkhoan.com.vn
In general, these advertisement are very simple and do not impress audiences The advisement of securities companies have low frequency and mainly come from big companies or new-born companies to inform the promotions
Personal selling in securities companies can be understood mainly as brokerage activities Broker does not only get orders from customers and implement them, but also develop the customer network, consult and maintain the good relationship with customers Currently, SSI has approximately 40 brokers This number of VCBS is nearly 30 people Average number of broker in securities companies is 8 – 15 people
Beside broker, customers also communicate with other staffs from different departments such as deposits, accounting, and consultancy The way these staffs sever customers partially affect the attitude of customers toward the company If the customers feel convenient and easy, they will use more service, invite other friend or relatives to open accounts and this will helps brokers expand the network
The way staffs of securities companies communicate customers will affect the loyalty of customers and play a big role in transferring the message of companies to customers
Source: http://www.vietbao.vn
When the stock market goes up significantly, especially from December 2006 to March 2007, securities companies seem to full of customers Every trading place is crowned and investors rushed to securities companies to sell and buy However, when the market comes down dramatically in the last four months, the volume as well as value of transaction reduce a lot, investors appeal to do nothing, the number of account opening also decrease Many new-born securities companies have to launch sales promotions program to attract customers Big and well-known securities companies also pay more attention to customer services and give more attractive preference
Up to date, there are about 10 companies reducing transaction fee for promotions
New-born companies have the most attractive sales promotion by reduce the transaction fee For instance, Ha Thanh Securities Company reduces 0.1% for all transactions Cho Lon only charge 0.1% Phuong Dong Securities Company gets 0.2% The biggest promotion comes from Viet Tin Securities Company which offers customers free VND 5 million transaction fee
Figure 2-15: Promotion of Viet Tin Securities Company
Source: http://www.viet-tin.com.vn
Not only new-born companies launch promotion campaign, big companies offer new special service to support sales For example, VIB Securities Company provides necessary information on the electric board before trading time Trang An and An Binh securities, VNDirect send SMS messages to inform the matching- order results SSI expands the repo service and reduces the fee
Direct Marketing includes two mains forms, direct mail, SMS and telemarketing
Several securities companies such as VCBS, ACBS, Vndirect in Vietnam has send mails to customers to inform account balance or introduce a new products, promotions of companies Besides, SMS was used rather often to inform trading results at the end of the day and inform news related to fee or special services
Survey on efficiency of marketing communication from securities companies
The survey was conducted to aim at the following purposes:
To evaluate the effective of marketing communication of securities companies with customers It must answer the question “whether the customers get the communication message from securities companies?”
To find the media tools that help securities companies to communicate effectively with customers
2.3.2 Scope of survey and some limitations
This survey was conducted via internet Questionnaires are sent to customers via email The respondents were individuals mainly in Hanoi
Six representative securities companies are chosen to survey Two companies in group 1 are SSI and VCBS Two medium companies are Thanglong Securities Company and Vndirect Two small and new companies include Bien Viet Securities Company and Viet Dragon Securities Company Questionnaires were sent to 50-60 customers of each securities company
Due to limitation of time so the survey is conducted with only 6 companies
Survey respondents are individual customers, not include corporate ones
The area of survey mainly in Hanoi (only Viet Dragon Securities Company in Sai Gon)
2.2.3.1 Findings on the effectiveness of securities companies’ communication with customers
(1) In general, the effectiveness of communication of securities companies is not high This comment can be explained by the following evidences:
The percentage of customers who can identify exactly the logo or slogan of securities companies is not high, only 47% Although these percentages of big and well-known securities companies (group 1) like SSI and VCBS is higher, 62% and 58% respectively; however, with securities companies in the group 2 and group 3 the average percentage is low, 45% and 33% respectively
The effectiveness of advertising is low
The evaluation of customers for service of staffs is just normal
The loyalty of customers is not high, especially with new-born companies
In average, there is 31% respondents find a reason to change from current securities company to another one
(2) Although the overall result is not high, however among the 4 tools, PR can is the most effective one PR article on internet and investment newspaper can help securities companies communicate more with customers Newly used Pr activities such as conference, training course also attract the attention of investors
(3) Advertising is not used frequently; mainly appear on website and newspapers, and the effectiveness of this tool is low
(4) The evaluation for the service of staffs in securities companies is normal This somewhat shows that communication of staffs still needs much improvement
(5) The sales promotion is applied with few of securities companies and it takes more time to evaluate
(6) Direct marketing tools including website, email, SMS messages may be potential tool clients find them beneficial to them; Using effectively these tools can create maintain close relationship between securities companies and their clients
Question 1: Identify the exact logo/slogan of securities companies
Conclusion: The percentage of clients who can identify exact logo/slogan of securities companies is low Logo and slogan is the two company‟s symbols that appear most to clients Therefore, this low result can partially reflect the low effectiveness of the communication effort
- Have you ever seen/read/watched/heard the advertisement of your securities company?
Have you ever seen/read/watched/heard the advertisment about your securities company?
- What kind of advertisement did you often see/read/watch/hear?
Answers Newspapers Web TV Radio
Advertisement on websites and newspapers that have news about stock market appears most to clients
- Do you feel impressed with the advertisement of your securities company?
Do you feel impressed with the advertisement?
Conclusion: The effectiveness of advertisement is low
- Have you ever read an article which tells about the good points, success of your securities company; or mentions the future plan of company; or relates to other information of company?
Have you read the article?
- Do you remember the content of the article?
Do you remember the content of the article?
- You mainly read such kind of article on…?
Conclusion: PR through articles on internet and newspaper is relatively effective
75% respondents agree that they have read such kind of article and 58% of them remember the content Besides, they mainly read them on internet, rather than on paper newspapers
- Have you ever taken part in conference/meeting or training course held by your securities companies?
You mainly read such kind of artle on…?
- Do you find this (these) conference/meeting or training course beneficial?
Do you find this (these) conference/meeting/trainging course beneficial?
Conclusion: Only small number of people has taken part in conference/meeting/training course held by securities companies It maybe due to such kind of PR activity has just conducted recently However, when the clients join in, most of people find them beneficial Therefore, this type of PR can be a potential effective tool for company to communicate with its clients
- How do you feel about the service of staff in your securities companies?
Answers Very bad Bad Normal Good Very good
Conclusion: Almost clients evaluate the service from the staffs just normal Staffs in securities companies need pay more attention to customers care and communicate more with them to understand and service them better
- Have your ever received the sales promotion of your securities companies?
People who received sales promotion are mainly from new-established securities companies
- What do you think about the website of your securities company?
Answers Not useful A little useful Useful Very Useful
The data show that website is useful, even very useful for investors This can be a very effective communication tool for securities companies
- Have you ever receive email/SMS message from your securities company?
- Do you find these emails/messages beneficial to you?
Conclusion: Besides websites, email and SMS message can be effective direct marketing tools for securities companies
At the moment, is there any reason for you to change from this securities company to another one?
Have you receive email/SMS message from your securities company?
Do you find these emails/messages beneficial to you?
2.2.3.2 Findings on how clients find information about stock market
By which source do you often use to find the information about the stock market?
Answers Newspapers Websites TV Radio Others
Newspapers Websites Television Radio Others
Conclusion: The main source that used to find the information about stock market is websites and newspapers Besides, investors use other sources and mainly from friends and relatives
Beside the website of your securities company, list out the 3 websites you use most frequently to get information for stock trading
Website Number of respondent http://www.vir.com.vn 89 http://forum.vietstock.com.vn 72 http://www.chungkhoan24h.com.vn 56
List out the 3 paper newspapers you use most frequently to get information for stock trading
Paper Newspaper Number of respondent
Information documents from HOSE and HASTC 62
List out the 3 TV shows do you often watch?
TV Shows Number of respondent
"Ban tin Tai chinh" on VTV1 34
"Ban tin Tai chinh" on InfoTV 27
“Khoanh khac vang” on VTC1 15
2.2.3.3 Findings on how customer want to communicate and feedback to securities companies
How do you want to get the information from your securities company?
Send email Direct calls Send SMS messages Letters via post Client meetings
How do you want to get information related to you from your securities company?
By which way do you want to contact with your securities company?
By which way do you want to contact with securities company?
RECOMMENDATIONS
Define the target audience and objectives of communication
3.1.1 Define the target audience of communication strategy
The most important with each communication activities is to identify the message sender and the audience who will receive the message of communication In this case, the senders are securities companies and the receivers mainly are theirs customers Securities companies will communicate with group of customers that they want to target to The more clearly target are customers defined, the more efficient the communication is With securities companies, they can describe their target customers by using following criteria:
Personal criteria Criteria related to investment
Place of living and working
Time spending for investment follow-up
For example securities companies can draw a table with criteria and describe theirs customers Here are recommendations for 3 groups of securities companies
Gender Both but more focus on male
Both but more focus on male
Both but more focus on male Place Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and other big cities, provinces nationwide
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and nearby cities
Job Those are working in areas that relates to enterprise business, especially kinds of investment and have high position in companies
Those are working in areas that relates to enterprise business, especially kinds of investment
Everybody in different working fields,
Education High education Medium and high education
Every level of education Foreign
Foreign and domestic Domestic Domestic
Characteristic Very active, high risk tolerance
Active, medium and low risk tolerance
Income Rich, high income High and medium income
Knowledge Have much knowledge related to investment
Experience Much experience Not much experience Not much experience
Time A little time More time Much time
However, depending on the objectives of each communication campaign, the group of audience can be a small part of target group of companies And more detailed, the target audience of each communication tool may differ
Communication objectives should be set up following 3 phases of service consumption
The communication objectives of securities companies can be set up base on the consumption phase as following:
Pre-consumption To introduce about company and services
To inform the customer about preference they can have if they use service of securities companies
To emphasize on the strength of company, such as very good at OTC brokerage or strong analysis team, ext
To build up a image of company in the mind of customer, that can help company position itself in the market
Consumption To increase the volume of consumption, for example, increase trading value, frequency of using value-added service
Post-consumption To show the customer that the company is doing to enhance customers satisfaction
To tell customer what they can get from keeping using the services (to strengthen the loyalty of customers)
Divide the target audience and objectives of communication among the
After define the target audience and objectives for the whole communication strategy, it‟s necessary to divide the target audience and objectives in smaller group relatively with different channels including: advertising, P.R, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and e-marketing Securities companies do this task by filling the table below
Define communication messages
In the theory foundation, the guideline to define communication messages is presented Securities companies can apply these guideline to design their communication messages:
Guidelines Applications for securities companies
In securities market, the creditability, reliability is very important If a broker promises a profit that can not be archived, then the customers can avoid providing him money next time The same to a securities company, it can not communicate with customer what is out of its ability
Therefore, the messages of securities companies must present its creditability and audience can trust these messages
The intangible assets of a securities company can be listed are its good service quality, profession in analyzing, wide relationships that can bring investment opportunity to customers, ext Securities company need to tangibilize these intangible things while communicating with customers by many non-verbal messages such as:
Good customers care: quick order- matching, frequently send information about the market and favoured stocks
Holding events, conference to demonstrate analysis ability
Suggest investment opportunities in both listed and OTC market
Feature the working relationship between customer and provider
The messages which are sent out should show that the relationship between securities companies and customers is featured by main characters like high creditability, mutual benefit
Reduce consumer fears about variations in performance
The message must show the long-term and sustainable development of securities companies Customers will not deposit money in a securities company which is regularly fined by State Securities Committee or frequently have errors with the transaction
Determine and focus on relevant service quality dimensions
The message should emphasize on the factors that can increase the service quality such as: procedures to open account, trading process, consultancy for customers, provide beneficial information, special preference for vip and loyalty customers, ext
After design messages for the whole communication strategy, it‟s necessary to detail these messages in each communications tool, linking the messages consistently with overall messages The basic factors such as logo, slogan, image, particular colours and presentation forms must be consistent in all communication activities.
Put communication mix together
Base on the theory foundation and the survey result, general recommendations for securities companies in implementing communication mix include:
Different marketing communication tools must be associated to each other in a planed and consistent way All tools must show the message designed in marketing communication strategy
Depending on the conditions of each company, the manager decides the priority for each tool For instance, with new-born companies, it‟s better to pay more effort on sales promotion and advertising For medium companies, they can narrow down the gap with big companies by pushing e-marketing, using blogs, forums to communicate with investors
Three forms of communication including advertising, direct marketing and e-marketing should be applied more frequently and more creatively
It‟s necessary to set up a system to evaluate the effectiveness of each tools and of the mix, so that company can have experience for future application
Programs related to communication should be announced widely in the whole organization All managers as well as staffs must be good communicators and help company send right messages to right audience
3.4.2 Recommendations for particular communication tool
Base on particular conditions, securities companies can choose its advertising objective among five following objectives:
(1) Awareness: To let customers recognize and remember about company, brand name and products Therefore, crucial information related to companies such as name, logo and slogan, address and telephone of head office and branches must be presented More important, advertisement with such objective is create something special that can attract the attention of customers immediately and customers can remember the image or saying in the advertisement Newborn securities companies should consider this objective is the most important
(2) Increase: Advertisements of securities can be to increase the number of trading account or to make customers use service such as: brokerage, OTC brokerage, portfolio management, and investment delegation Therefore the content of such kind of advertisement must show clearly the benefit customers can get from opening account or using service Companies in group 2 and 3 can target their advertising toward this objective
(3) Evaluation: Advertisement for evaluation must present the outstanding features of securities companies against theirs competitors For example, one company is established for long time and have wide relationship, thus its OTC service is really productive, then company should emphasize in this point to advertise and create a good evaluation of customers about the service Companies in Group 1 might consider this objective in advertisement campaign to compete with other big companies
(4) Trial: This advisement must create a interest to test the service of securities companies The content can be announcement of sales promotion Group 3 need to implement such kind of activity
(5) Adoption: the advertisement for adoption is normally focused on the close relation between companies and customers, therefore customers will continue to use the service Company in group 1 and 2 is recommended to follow this objective
After define the objectives, securities companies must set up the budget of advertisement Company can base on the ration of marketing, advertising per total revenue or base on the budget of competitors as a standard and adjust
Company should try advertising with more complicated forms TV commercials can be very impressed at this time because no securities companies to launch such kind of advertisement For adverting in newspaper and websites, the content now only simple and basic element but instead, companies should more efficient images and effects, such as to use celebrities in investment field to represent for companies
About advertising on newspapers, as the survey results, securities companies can choose three following papers
Information documents of HOSE and HASTC
To advert on news websites, best options are:
http://www.vir.com.vn
http://forum.vietstock.com.vn
http://www.chungkhoan24h.com.vn Three T.V shows that can be used to post advertisement are:
“Ban tin tai chinh” on VTV1
“Ban tin tai chinh” on InfoTV
“Khoanh khac vang” on VTC1
Continue to use PR as main tool and diversify in various forms: newspapers, news in websites, taking part in interview, events, conference, training course In which conference and training course can be organized more to attract the attention of customers because almost customers find these activities is beneficial to them
Besides, company can establish “Investment clubs” for customers and investors create chances for them to expand relationship and share information Another activity is to do charity after gaining a big profit from investment, such kind of PR activity can create good image about company
Sales promotion can be very effective for new established companies to attract customers To support sales promotion, related advertising should be done to make sure that a lot of investors know about the sales and come to receive the promotions
The forms of sales promotion should be diversified Besides using coupons and deals by reducing transactions fee, securities companies can use the form of contest, samples For example, with contest form, company offers a special, high- value gift for the 1000 th customers With sample form, customers are recommended to try value added service such as portfolio management, “special broker” who provide investment advice whenever customers need
Company must organize human resource to attract customers and service them with highest satisfaction Not only brokers, but staffs in other departments must be trained how to behave and serve customers
Brokerage team is recommended to two groups, in which one group specializes to take care vip customers Each broker must be assigned target by number of account, transaction value and customer satisfaction level
Besides, managers should develop policy to control the negative behaviour of brokers such as: ask for money of customers, get big commissions, only provide advice to some people who brokers has close relationship and ignore the others It‟s certain that brokers will invest for themselves, but manager need limit this action in a reasonable time, if not brokers will only focus on his personal things
Direct mail and SMS should be used more frequently and updated hot informative
