THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) IN MARKETING OF BANKING SERVICES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

The internet was originally created because of war; it has its origin in the cold war between Russia and America during the 1960‟s. Its concern was about sustaining in banking sectors among US Air force during the war, hence it‟s been considered as information super-highway. It therefore need to be accepted among professionals and institutions that internet serves as a telein banking sectors that connects the globe, Ezigbo (2007:186). By this, a world wide networks that uses common in banking sectorss protocol, TCP/IP 11 (Transmission control proto) is installed. The fact that internet is made up of millions of computers linked together around the world makes it possible that information are sent and received across computers in the whole hours of the day. Following from this, businesses and exchange are transferred from owner (s) to buyer (s) in a more reliable, fast and accurate forms. Aside from that internet provides the following services; electronic mail, file transfer protocol, user-net news world wide web, Ugwu (2009:16) opinion is that internet marketing is the hallmarks of benefits derivable from internet. To him, internet marketing other wise known as online marketing, internet advertising, E-marketing has been tremendous in closing gaps existing between needs, wants and satisfaction in goods and services in organizations. In other words, internet marketing has brought many unique benefits specifically to trade as in low costs in distribution information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of internet marketing, both in terms of instant response and in eliciting responses is unique qualities of the medium. This is the reason for Kleindi (2003) assertion that internet in effective marketing is all about connection together creative and technical aspects of internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.

The 19th century saw astonishing developments in in banking sectors technology originating in Europe. In 20th century information technology developed rapidly due to the scientific gains directly tied to military research and development, as they did in part due to World War II (Musiime and Biyaki, 2010).

Today’s business environment is very dynamic and undergoes rapid changes as a result of technological innovation, increased awareness and demand from customers. Organisations are confronted with rapidly changing market conditions, indicated by high merger rates and strong competitors. Under these conditions, traditional management approaches that focus on financial figures and on centralised, analytical planning methods are considered to be insufficient for effectively steering the organisation in a dynamical environment (Hoffmann, 2002). Recent management support approaches like intellectual capital or particularly the balanced scorecard aim at providing a broader view of organisational performance. They combine both financial and non-financial aspects and comprise activities not only to monitor but also to plan and influence organisational performance (Hoffmann, 2002). Their success demonstrates the strong demand for this so-called comprehensive performance management.

The role of technology in the “Information Age” is well recognized by business, industry, and government and is completely woven into their organisational structures and strategic planning processes. Glover (1993) emphasized technology’s role when he said “that the quality of strategic planning is limited by the quality of information available to decision makers…” and that executive information systems were critical in furnishing the necessary data which produced information.  Business organisations, especially the banking industry of the 21st century operate in a complex and competitive environment characterized by these changing conditions and highly unpredictable economic climate. ICT directly affects how managers decide, how they plan and what products and services are offered in the banking industry. It has continued to change the way banks and their corporate relationships are organized worldwide and the variety of innovative devices available to enhance the speed and quality of service delivery.  Laudon and Laudon (1991) contend that managers of both public and private sector organisations cannot ignore Information Systems because they play a critical role in contemporary organisation. They point out that the entire cash flow of most fortune 500 companies in the world is linked to Information System.

Internet marketing methods and strategies emphasis a wide range of services such as search engine marketing (SEM) which can be broken down into search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC), display advertising, text based advertising, behavioural marketing, software based ads, e-mail marketing, news letter marketing customer relationship management marketing, affiliate marketing, web press releases, interactive advertising, online reputation management (ORM) online market research such as blog marketing multivariate testing or optimization and viral marketing. Internet marketing can therefore be taken to mean the process of promoting an organization using online medium typically with the goals of increasing sales and boosting profits. Internet marketing does not simply mean building or promoting a website nor does it mean simply putting a banner ad up on another website. Effective internet marketing requires a comprehensive strategy that synergizes a given company‟s business model and sales goes with their website function & appearance, focusing on their target market through proper choice of advertising type, media and design.