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Additional Case Study

ACTIVATING E-BANK USERS:
Exploring the potential impact of E-atmospherics and experiential marketing

Developed by Ronan de Kervenoael and D. Selcen O. Aykac

Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
January 2008

Secured bank was established as a private commercial bank in the mid 1950’s
with currently over $40 billion in assets. It is now the third largest bank in Turkey
with over 10.2 millions customers, 489 branches, and 2000 ATMs. Since 1999, a
call centre and an Internet transaction site are available using state-of-the art
technology. Secured bank is the leader in foreign trade, financing 25% of Turkey's
exports and 19% of its imports; cash management, custody and Internet banking
and manages the fastest growing credit card loyalty reward program in Turkey.
Secured bank has long been renowned for its services’ innovation. The culture of
innovation that enhances customer expectations is at the centre of both their
business and marketing strategies. It was the first to offer multi-currency cash
management, Internet and telephone banking, Shop & Miles (the first frequent
flyer program credit card), Flexi Card (the first credit card in Europe to allow
customers to create their ideal credit card, customized to their specific financial
needs) and Minibank (an innovative banking program for kids).

The rapid advance of Internet banking in the last few years has been fuelled by
two main factors. On one hand, there is the necessity to reduce costs. Branches
are expensive to operate especially regarding simple routine transactions where a
trouble-free technological solution is available (bills payment, account checking,
money wiring and saving management). Moreover, branch location and numbers
are becoming an issue as few banks own their real estate property and prefer
renting. The costs of rent in the most prestigious locations have increased to such
an extent that profitability levels need to be questioned. On the other hand, while
all customers are automatically offered an e-banking access, a combination of
factors seems to have been overlooked. Firstly, after a strong growth, on paper at
least, in Internet banking adoption by consumers, a leveling effect is currently
being felt. Secondly, while Internet access is available in 80% of Turkish
companies, private individual access remains low at around 9%. These figures
being mediated by the ongoing changes in technology from dial-up modem to
broadband. Thirdly, while the educated young professionals seem to have quickly
migrated to e-banking, a large part of the population still lags behind with little
 For use with:
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hope of skills improvement and regular access. Lastly, an increasing number of

users are accessing the services from abroad.

From now on, the key objective is not only to increase the number of e-banking
users but also to turn the current users into truly ‘active’ customers. Profitability of
the channel can only be attained by increasing the frequency of usage but above
all by cross-selling other services available. While activity-based costing exercises
have been conducted, allowing the identification of leaders and potential
opportunities for new star products, little is known about the process and
sequence of promoting such services. In addition, as a brick and click business
and taking into account the overall population abilities, any strategy needs to
accommodate the understanding that customers utilize multiple channels to bank.
Still, it has to be remembered that the local branches remain the base for profit
calculations and often the favorite point of contact. Local branches should not be
perceived in competition with the e-channel. Indeed, the e-banking facilities are a
potential source of new services and profits for all branches and complementing
the current level of service offering. Accessing services such as the central up-to-
date databases or personal web analytic allows the branches to deliver a more
efficient and tailored service. E-banking has truly enabled Secured bank to deliver
the promises of its CRM and direct marketing activities.

On the technical side, e-atmospherics have been considered important for

delivering the tangible cues of the e-banking services. Similar to branch
atmospherics, such as interior design, colors used, flow of movement, illumination
level and presence of other customers in the branch, e-atmospherics are relied
upon to reduce the level of uncertainty and associated perceived risks tied with
the intangibility of the services offered by e-bank. Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) systems have become a popular feature of advanced
websites. Avatars, (or digital graphic design characters) which include personal
shoppers / helpers, have been in use for many years. Progress has been made in
understanding the interplay and combination between text, sound and animation
where users can create substantially expressive messages (Poggi, 2000). Usual
online written language, as opposed to novels, poetry or jokes for example, lacks
sounds and prosodic features such as stress, tone, intonation and rhythm.
Prosodic features help to transmit emotions or sometimes disambiguate meaning
during reading and speaking actions. In written language, some of these features
are substituted with vocabulary and punctuation. New online forms of signs and
syntax are appearing such as “☺” and abbreviations often derived from mobile
phone SMS (short message services) experiences such as 4U (for you). Other
regular e-atmospherics involve audio text picture motions (banners, pop-up), the
design of the space ranging from grid, maze to full freedom, the location and
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Copyright © 2008 Cengage Learning

abilities of search functions, report on other consumer choices and any specific
cultural or lifestyle based cues.

On the experiential side of marketing activities, strategies have moved from

‘awareness and convenience’, to ‘parity and pricing’ followed by ‘quality and
status’ and are currently looking at ‘technology and globalization’. In the near
future, ‘human development and community building’ seem to be the emerging
themes. The latter offers-up advantages for an experiential one-to-one interaction
and the ability for customization. “Companies need to come down from their Ivory
Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships”
(Lenderman, 2006, p.51). Some consumers may not be active users because
they have lost control both from a technological and a banking / financial
perspective. Hence, they often feel more vulnerable, stressed and even victimized
by the current system. Customers will only give up their time (or invest in the bank
proposed activities) only for a meaningful experience. The five traditional steps of
experiential marketing, ‘sense, feel, thinks, act and relate’ (Schmitt, 1999), have
an important role to play. As social creatures, we humans connect with humans.
We don’t hug TV screens or radios. If a website can interact with a human being
in a live brand experience and form a connection with that person, it greatly
increases the meaning and the relevance of that brand.

Questions for discussion and assessment

Why are active users so important for e-banking?
How can the company utilize experiential marketing to enhance its strategy?
What kind of alternative e-atmospherics exist to develop e-banking user’s
experience?
What are the possible risks involved in using untested technologies claiming to
facilitate experiences?
What do you know about Turkey as an emerging country applying for EU
membership in relation to ICT?

Selected references
Constantinides, E. (2004). Influencing the online consumer’s behavior: the Web
experience, Internet Research, 14(2): 111-126.

Lenderman, M. (2007). Experience the Message: How Experiential Marketing Is

Changing the Brand World. London, McClelland & Stewart.
 For use with:
Consumer Behaviour Jim Blythe (9781844803811)
Copyright © 2008 Cengage Learning

Poggi, I. and C. Pelachaud (2000). Performative Facial Expressions in Animated

Faces. In Embodied Conversational Agents. J. Cassell, J. Sullivan, S. Prevost
and E. Churchill. Cambridge, MIT Press.

Sautter, P., M. R. Hyman, et al. (2004). "E-tail atmospherics: a critique of the

literature and model extension." Journal of Electronic Commerce Research 5(1):
14-24.

Schmitt, B.H. (1999). Experiential Marketing: How to Get Customers to Sense,

Feel, Think, Act, and Relate to Your Company and Brands. New York, The Free
Press.

http://www.garanti.com.tr

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JIwcVzUI71o

http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/open/programs/em.cfm

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html