ST. George implements market orientation (p26) - Essay Example

Market Orientation Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Market Orientation 3 Crisis and Market Orientation 4 Micro and Macro Environment Trends 4Environment and Market Orientation 5Conclusions 5References 6Bibliography 6IntroductionSt George is believed to be the fifth largest bank of Australia. Established as financial institution based on house, St. George was established in 1937. It was in July 1992 when the group achieved full banking status. The bank emphasises upon the factors like positive customer service ratings relative to the industry, continuous track record of superior credit quality, product management and product innovation abilities as its strengths (St George, n.d.).

Market OrientationSt George Bank has been taking numerous measures to implement the culture of market orientation since 2002 through its strategic framework. Some of the notable steps have been:Relationships with the overall customers, especially the ‘middle market’ customers. The bank also maintained relationships with the independent financial advisors and mortgage brokers. Empowerment of relationship selling.Creative differentiating of service.Team building and performance-focussed culture.

Crisis and Market OrientationThe recent credit crunch and the liquidity crisis have hit the financial institutions across the globe. Many commercial banks and investment banks were bound to close their shutters. Almost all of the major economies have suffered recession. Therefore, it is obvious that such a crisis would have effect on this leading bank of Australia. But the extent of the affect would be much less than its global peers. The reason behind such an impact is basically because of the strong regulatory norms prevalent in Australia.

Micro and Macro Environment TrendsThe micro environment of marketing includes the consumers, the suppliers and the stakeholders. The broader form i.e. the macro environment comprises of factors like political, social, environmental and technological. The bank has been undertaking various measures to ensure that the customer focus is maintained. It has developed new distribution channel and also trained the staffs such a way that can be beneficial to the customers and thereby providing for a new customer relationship management.

With such emphasis on the customers, the bank can definitely hope to create value for the stake holders.The macro environmental factors also contribute towards the customer orientation. Politically the nation is quite stable. The take over of the St George Bank by the Westpac is expected to have long lasting effect on the economy of the nation. The technology has also been utilised prudently by the bank.Environment and Market OrientationMarket orientation can be referred as the business philosophy that helps to identify the stated or the unstated need of the consumers.

The objective of the bank is to utilise the environmental factors, both internal as well as external, towards customer satisfaction of the customers. Therefore, it can be well understood that the market orientation ultimately deals with the customers. St George Bank has taken steps to ensure that the organisation recruits team members with right blend of attitude and skill so that the customer orientation gets the maximum focus.ConclusionsThe St George Bank has been doing quite well in the recent past.

The bank is regarded as the fifth largest bank in Australia. The bank has tremendous orientation towards the customers and the market. The bank maintains that the super financial returns can be achieved by the focussed team and great service to the customers. So, it appears that the bank would surely maintain the customer and market orientation.ReferencesJones, E. 2008. Why The St George Takeover Matters. Newmatilda.com [Online] Available at: http://newmatilda.com/2008/05/20/why-st-george-takeover-matters [Accessed 04 September 2009].

St George, No Date. About Us. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.stgeorge.com.au/about-us/ [Accessed 04 September 2009].BibliographyArmstrong, J. S., 2002. Don’t Expect the Market Orientation to Improve Business Performance Re: Request – “Studies on market orientation and business performance sought for meta-analysis”. University of Pennsylvania. [Pdf] Available at: http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/people/faculty/armstrong/ELMAR/DontExpectTheMarketOrientation.pdf [Accessed 04 September 2009].