The strategic application of internal marketing ‐ an investigation of UK banking

Abstract

It is the purpose of this article to explore the relevance of the concept of internal marketing to the financial service arena and the extent to which it may be possible to utilise internal marketing as a means of reducing the service gaps postulated by Parasuraman et al. The study is based on an analysis of 33 depth interviews with managers from two major UK clearing banks. In general, the research found no evidence that internal marketing as a concept is as yet fully understood by management, either at the junior, or more senior levels, within each organisation. There is at present little understanding of the needs of employees, and internal market research is noticeably absent. The results reveal a clear need for both institutions to adopt a more strategic perspective on their internal marketing activity. It will be argued that a failure to do so is likely to result in a widening of the service gaps and failure to compete effectively in a market increasingly driven by the quality of the service demanded.

Citation

Sargeant, A. and Asif, S. (1998), "The strategic application of internal marketing ‐ an investigation of UK banking", International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 66-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652329810206716