Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Case Study

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation - Case Study Example Through its ardent thrust in being "The World's Local Bank," HSBC highlights its devotion in building mutually beneficial partnerships with customers worldwide regardless of their nationality, race, belief, and culture (HSBC 2007). Supporting the international bank's new positioning strategy is its quest in understanding and delivering customer needs. In order to know this, HSBC asserts: "To truly understand a country and a culture, you have to be a part of it" (HSBC Website 2007). Having numerous branches scattered globally, HSBC opts to personalize the services being offered by opening up local banks all over the world, which are manned by local people. In doing this, the company establishes a lasting relationship with the customer as the international bank provides its clients with bank personnel who shares the same culture, value, and situation with them making it relatively easy for them to understand and relate to each other. It should be noted that conflicts in values and clashes in culture can hamper the emergence of a good relationship with a bank and its clients. HSBC puts a strong emphasis in local knowledge and uses it as a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining customers. Being a local bank doesn't mean that a branch is isolated from the HSBC system. Each of the company's local bank shares the innovation and ideas in the network. All of these advancements are geared in providing customer satisfaction all over the world (HSBC Website 2007). 2) HSBC manages to attract and retain their customers very well on a global level. How do they manage to do this Link your answer to the way they advertise (to attract) and to Relationship Marketing, specifically the topic customer retention. Attracting and retaining customers has been in the core of HSBC's operation which is highlighted in the company's high retention of customers in the global market. HSBC's effort in attracting and retaining their customers is in part because of their effort in localizing the products and services that they offer. The international bank manages retain customer because of its customized services which are tailored specifically to each of its client's needs. Retaining customers has also been possible because of the company's investment in a customer relationship management database which can be accessed by bank personnel when dealing with a client. The use of customer relationship management allows the bank to record the profile of a customer together with his or her potential banking needs. With this, the international bank retains customer through the identification and provision of his financial needs. HSBC has been able to employ a more targeted marketing approach because of its knowledge of its customer. The company also allows customers to access their account through different means by maintaining an extensive ATM facility, website, and telephone (HSBC Website 2007). Customer retention is also made possible by the employment of personnel which are very much attuned to customers' satisfaction. HSBC's recognizes that its products have an intangible component which is the quality of service that its staff offers.