M RahmanMarketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays)
This article offers a detailed examination of the marketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays). It explores how Barclays makes use of seven marketing tools to develop an effective marketing strategy to reach out to its existing and potential customers and to ensure that they are aware of its offerings, pricing, and how it stands out from its competitors.
Products/services offered by Barclays
Barclays is a British bank. It supports both consumers and small businesses through its retail and corporate banking services (Barclays, 2022). Current accounts, savings account, ISA, business accounts are four of its popular services. It also offers personal loans, business loans, mortgages, credit card, home insurance, life insurance, travel insurance, and other services.
Barclays also offers wealth management services for some clients. This wide variety of services shows that it caters to the needs of consumers from all walks of life. However, it should be mentioned that The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined it £26 million for poorly and unfairly treating some retail and small business customers when they fell into arrears (FCA, 2020).
Price strategies of Barclays
The next element in this marketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays) is price. This refers to the cost of the services that Barclays offers. It is a crucial element in marketing strategy because most customers will buy a product/service only if it is within their budget.
Barclays has kept its prices at a standard level. The price of its services has also remained constant as it does not increase it frequently. This strategy is useful to retain customers for a long time. However, it is worth mentioning that Barclays’ fees and charges are higher than some of its competitors (Uswitch, 2022).
Place/Distribution strategies of Barclays
Place refers to the way a business makes its services available to the customers. Barclays offers its services directly to the customers. It has a large number of branches across the UK. However, it will have closed over 100 branches by the end of 2023 (Barker, 2022).
Barclays’ online services are very popular. Customers can use its mobile banking app to make payments, move money between accounts, and view balances and transactions from their phone (Barclays, 2022). They can also have access to its services without the app via its website.
Promotional strategies of Barclays
The next element in this marketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays) is promotion. This refers to the actions a company takes to create awareness about its products or services and make customers interested in buying it. As every business has to deal with stiff competition, it is necessary to promote their products/services regularly.
Promotion can be done in many ways such as through advertisements, sales promotion, public relations, and digital marketing. Barclays has been running a lot of advertisements on different media channels to build awareness about its services. Besides this, it has also been involved in a lot of charity work which has helped it in creating a positive image for itself.
Barclays also promotes itself via third-party channels. For example, potential customers can find and sign for some of its services via price comparison sites. It also works with selected retailers to offer discounts, vouchers, freebies, days out and more to customers who have a current account with it. However, it should be mentioned that Barclays has been criticised by The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for several mistakes it made when supplying information to price comparison websites (Graham, 2022).
People strategies of Barclays
To ensure that customers receive the best experience, companies should hire the right people for their businesses. Besides this, they can also develop an effective training program for the employees so that they are well-equipped to handle different situations.
For Barclays, it has a dedicated team of customer service representatives who are responsible for handling customer queries and helping them with their services. Besides this, they have a team of financial advisors who help the customers with investment-related queries. However, it is worth mentioning that Barclays was accused of spying on employees in the past (Kelly, 2020).
Process strategies of Barclays
Barclays has streamlined the process of its services, right from employee training to service delivery. This has helped it save time and money. An example of process will be paying off a bank loan. Barclays customers can pay their loans by monthly instalments. They can also pay off the whole amount with one payment usually without any financial penalty.
Physical environment of Barclays
The last component of this marketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays) is the physical environment. This refers to the way a business is designed and how it looks. For Barclays, it has a good physical environment. Its offices are well-designed, and the logo is easily identifiable.
Summary of the marketing mix of Barclays (7Ps of Barclays)
Finally, the marketing mix is an important part of any marketing strategy. It helps marketers understand their target customers better and what kind of messaging will resonate with them. For Barclays, it has developed and implemented a very good marketing strategy, though there are some areas that need to be reviewed.
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Last update: 31 August 2022
References:
Barclays (2022) Who we are, available at: https://home.barclays/who-we-are/ (accessed 30 August 2022)
Barker, S. (2022) Barclays shuts 27 more branches as UK loses 330 banks in a year, available at: https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/barclays-shuts-27-more-branches-27098262 (accessed 31 August 2022)
FCA (2022) FCA fines Barclays £26 million over treatment of customers in financial difficulty, available at: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-fines-barclays-treatment-customers-financial-difficulty (accessed 31 August 2022)
Graham, A. (2022) Barclays criticised over wrong information to price comparison sites, available at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/barclays-criticised-over-wrong-information-130127462.html (accessed 28 August 2022)
Kelly, J. (2020) Big British bank Barclays accused of spying on employees, available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/08/13/big-british-bank-barclays-accused-of-spying-on-employees-this-may-be-the-new-trend/?sh=6caee71a43a0 (accessed 31 August 2022)
Uswitch (2022) Compare current account, available at: https://www.uswitch.com/current-accounts/ (accessed 28 August 2022)
Author: M Rahman
M Rahman writes extensively online and offline with an emphasis on business management, marketing, and tourism. He is a lecturer in Management and Marketing. He holds an MSc in Tourism & Hospitality from the University of Sunderland. Also, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Business & Management Studies and completed a DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life-Long Learning Sector) from London South Bank University.
