Impact Of Public Relation On Marketing Of Banking Service In Enugu Metropolis

IMPACT OF PUBLIC RELATION ON MARKETING OF BANKING SERVICE IN ENUGU METROPOLIS (A CASE STUDY OF  ZENITH BANK PLC)

Image making is a function of performance and is only relevant as part of an overall strategic plan which feels excellent in corporate strategic plans are all right, than image making not only aids to achievement of the plan, but also provides many multiplier benefits  arising  from favorable perception of the target audience. This based on the fundamental principles of believe that the mention of the name of any organization revoke certain and differing relation on the average person or group of persons. This feeling is the image of that organization. Such feeling does not necessarily depend on a physical contact with or use of company’s goods and services in a corporate institution. It exist and influence what happens with and the person or organization in question.

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss as far as possible the likely impact which image making through effective public relation effort would have on an organization profitability growth and survival of such institution. A critical review of other writers view on the issue will be discussed, relevant comments made with a view to drawing conclusions.

2.2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.

2.2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND DEFINITION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS.

HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

In order to understand public relations it is of paramount importance to know something about the beginning of the art of influencing public opinion.

Public relations began from days of creation, that is to say it started from the days of Adam and Eve and their encounter with God in the Garden of Eden. Being a profession peculiar to understand, God made his subject to understand the “dos” and “don’t” in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve formed the first human public to God.

Furthermore, as soon as there was a public, someone relates to influence its opinion. It is quite possible that public relations go back to Stone Age. As it was reported, a cave man persuaded his men to you in a hunt or in a migration to another locality.

In 1809, the British treasury appointed a spokesman and in 1854 the 1st officer, in its first annual report declared the necessity of explaining its service to the public. One of the first services of public relation tactic by the British government came in 1912.

When Woyds George as the chancellor of the exchange organized a team of lecturers to explain the First Age, person scheme. At the end of the First World War the government used the public relation method to explain its health and housing schemes, between 1926 and 1933. One of the biggest public relation efforts in Britain was that of Sir Stephen talent on behalf of empire marketing board which spent one million pound by making fruit and other empire product better known to British public by means of films, posters, and exhibitions. According  to Jelfkins (2002), Sir Stephen talents become the first president of the British institute of public relation, in 1948.

ORIGIN IN NIGERIA

                Public relation in Nigeria started in 1904when the colonial administration set up a public relation with affair in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna, with the sole aim of modernizing government information services and initiating the policy of interpreting government to monitor the relation of the people towards official policies and activities and to serve as a liaison between the mass activities media and the government and carrying out a research general public relation function for the government.

The activities of Mr. Copper and his team of expatriates Nigeria were initially concerned with problem arising from the second world war such as, shortage of goods, deprivation of necessities of life and imposition of an  austere economic regime by the colonial government. Special section of the department was engaged with the publicizing and propagating the work of the marketing board, which at that time needed the support of the producer of the grassroots levels.

Similar publicity activity were at the same time taken place in large organization such as railway, which for example used to service Ernest Okoli a veteran journalist, on a retailer basis.

In furtherance of government activities to the people and interpreting the availing policies, Harold  Copper established contracts with selected leader calculated to be helpful to the overall communication efforts.

2.3   DEFINITION OF PUBLIC RELATION

Public relation is one of the most difficult concepts to define. This is because it seems too easy to understand, but yet quote difficult to describe in practical items. Also many people including public relation practitioners believe they have the best understanding of the concept and so have come up with many definition of the concept.

BLACK [2009], see public relation as the art and science of achieving harmony with the environment through mutual understanding based on truth and full information this definition fails to capture clearly all about the modern public relation.

Nwosu [2006], defines public relations as

  • A part of every manager portfolio of responsibilities .
  • A means of understanding and influences perception held of an organization.
  • An effective crisis management functions.
  • A strategic counseling function.
  • A potentially valuable and cost effective marketing support functions.

According to the institute public relation of UK, public relation is defined as deliberate and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. In this definitions there are key words that need to be explained for easy understanding.

  • Planned and sustained effort= This means that public relation are a well planned activity. It is good oriented and tangible to achieve a goal. It is also a continuous process because it is not what is tone today and set aside tomorrow.
  • Mutual understanding donates that communication effort should be two and will result in two ways understanding. In other word, an organization has to send out information and has to receive feedback from the public establishment and maintenance of mutual understanding is the very essence or purpose of public
  • Goodwill is very important for an organization as it needs the goodwill of the people to succeed.

The international public relation association (IPRA) in 1961 define public relation as the management function of accounting and planning characters through which the public and private organizations and institutions win and support those with whom they are or maybe concerned, by evaluating public opinions about themselves in order most correct, as fast as possible, policies and procedure to achieve planned and wide information, more procedure co-operations/effort and more efficient fulfillment of the common interest.

HARLOW (2005) defines public relations as distinctive management functions, which will help to establish and maintain mutual lines of communication acceptance between its public. It involve the management of problem issues, which helps the management to keep informed and responsive to public opinion defines and emphasis the responsibilities of management to serve as an early morning system to help anticipates friends, and uses research and sound ethical communication techniques took.

GRUNTING (2004) Public relations is the                                          management of communication between an organization and its public.

OKEREKE (2003) define public relation in the following words “public relation is a top management function for cooperate planning, for positioning of an organization, monitoring of environment trends and predicting their consequences. Its is a tool for internal and external communication for the management of good media relations, shareholders and community relations for good governance.

AJULA (2003) started  that  public  relation  is  the  totality of an organization or individual performance earning public good will .she concluded that  the public relation practitioners is to devotedly protect earned goodwill . As a management  function public relation encompass the following  function are expected.

 

  • Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion for, attitude and issues which might  have impact for good or will on the operations and plans of
  • Counseling  management at all levels in the organization  with  regard  to policy decisions, course of action and communication, taking into  account  their public  ramifications and the organizations social or  citizenship responsibilities.
  • Planning and implementing the organization efforts to influence or change public policy.
  • Setting objective, planning, budgeting, recurring and training staff, objective, developing facilities and resources needed to manage the above functions.

According to kilter, (2000) public relation (PR) involve a variety of programs designed to promote and protect a company’s image or its individual product. He further said that public relation has often been treated as a marketing “stepchild” on after thought to one serious promotion planning. But the wise company takes concrete steps to manage successful relation with its publics. Public relation department monitors the attitudes of the organizations public and distribute information and communication to build goodwill. The best public relation department, spend time counseling top management to adopt positive programs and eliminate questionable practices so that negative publicity does not arise in the first place.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A MARKETING TOOL FOR BANKING SERVICES.

Public relation as a marketing tool cannot be over emphasized. Public relation as  a marketing function is a natural  extension of the marketing concept, which say essentially what every decision in the organization should be  made on the basis of a planned effort to shape and effect the attitude and behavior of the public. The most important  public from the marketing point of view are customers. Public relation helps to make an organization marketing conscious and facilitate the adoption of sound marketing attitudes and practices, it also helps to create the right climate of opinion under which industries and commercial activities are streamlined with the national marketing requirement in general and export in particular. Marketing oriented public relation (MPR) service have many functions both direct and indirect. These includes:

  • It paves way for sales call to dealer by creating awareness, public relation reduces the buyer resistance to the  visit with the sales person.
  • It obtains new lead .Trade publications of the companies which are the primary sources of the product information can be source of help in this case .
  • Public relation and publicity provide wide exposure for sensitive new product or service were advertising might be in appropriate  or inadequate.

FACTOR THAT INFLUNCE THE FUNCTION  OF PUBLIC RELATION  DEPARTMENT IN BANKING OPERATION.

According to the international association of business communication (IABC) 1877, the following factor  influence  the function of public relation department directly or indirectly,

  • Size of the bank /organization.
  • Number of the bank/organization.
  • Importance of the relevant public involve .
  • Attitude of the public towards the organization.
  • The size of financial resources of the institution.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC RELATION DEPARTMENT IN BANK OPERATION.

Gruning and Dozier (2002) stated that the following are the responsibility of public relation department-

  • Producing public relation activities.
  • Producing communication to the media and public.
  • Providing specialized skills essential in production of communication massage.
  • Co-ordinate public relation functions of other department.
  • Aiding and advising management in helping lower management in handling their public relation problems.

THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RELATION IN                                      ZENITH BANK.

Despite the increasing competition in the banking industry, coupled with the economy. Zenith bank plc has sustained its position as one of the readers in the sectors from profitability to income asset base, capitalization, shareholders fond and return on the investment to the shareholders, zenith bank has continued indicate its peace for others to follow (Executive Director In Charge Of The Public Sector, Abuja Adaora Umeoji), She went further to say that Zenith bank profit grows after tax from #793 million, In 2002 to #1.038 billion in 2003, on increase of 30 percent. Beside, the bank which over as at now remained one of the most capitalized bank in the system. It has concluded plans to increase its capitalization to #250 billion. The bank is poised to make its present felt in all the federals as it concludes plan to open its branches and cash  centers this year or years to come.

2.4 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW.

The success of an organization can be derived from the efficiency and effectiveness of its resource used. Some organization can do well with minimum resources, but there are others which do not do well with abundant resources human, financial and material resources. The difference between them is the  method of allocation of resources and the use to which they are put. As a result, the important of resources management in  achieving organizational success cannot be under estimated. And so the need for planning arises.

Planning is the part of management process that attempt to to define the organization future.

LVANCEVICH ET AL (2004) Simply put, planning as the process of determining  organizational objective and identifying the ways and means of realizing them. Since good public relations can be catalyst to profit making, the public relations unit of an organization an engine room of corporate reputation of the organization are saddled the responsibility of not only creating sales, but also by making customers and softening them. In a hostile environment, companies will face a lot trouble  because of negative attitude by their host communities, Consequently the public relations unit has the responsibility of ensuring that its organization is a good corporate citizen. The central argument here is that companies which are widely accepted by the host communities is likely to translate the collective patronage of the host communities assistance as well as their knowledge that some business organization  which pays lip service to their host communities has left in their trial adverse, social and potential consequences which in effect snow-balled into negative publicity of unimaginable dimension. In some cases, these organization have been made to retreat rather than forward.

 

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