0900157

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2.0 The importance of Marketing Strategy in Business.............................................................4
3.0 Islamic Debit Card...................................................................................................................5
4.0 Targeted groups and Characteristics.....................................................................................6
5.0 The Rationale behind the Chosen Targeted Group..............................................................8
6.0 Other Data needed for the Campaign..................................................................................10
7.0 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................12
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................13

1|Page
 0900157

1.0 Introduction

Introducing a new commercial product into the prevailing market space, amidst tight
competitions, demands a thorough study of other existing similar products and targeted group.
Gaining the lion share makes good bucks to the industry. Therefore, market intelligence is very
paramount for a successful product delivery to the intended group and it precedes the product
introduction. This paper is about the introduction of a new debit card into the market space. Foss
& Stone (2002) argued that according to the changing nature of the business model and products,
a more suitable data capturing is necessarily required. The authors, further, implied that
introducing a new product will ultimately require an efficient data capturing of the existing or
new customer who is the ultimate end user of the product.

The first step before a campaign can be put together; the objectives have to be established first.
Promotions may be designed to sell the product, but it is just as likely to be designed to produce
enquiries, requests for information, and something that will receive a personal sales follow-
up[ CITATION For00 \l 1033 ].

Therefore, one method of doing this is by stepping through the stages of data mining
process[ CITATION Gro00 \l 1033 ]. According to Groth (2000), data mining is the process of
finding trends and patterns in data. The objective of this process is to sort through large
quantities of data and discover new information. Furthermore, Groth (2000) added that the
benefit of data mining is to turn new found knowledge into actionable results, such as increasing
a customer’s likelihood to buy, or decreasing the number of fraudulent claims. In business, data
mining helps to answer questions in order to understand patterns better which can affect the
company’s competitive ability and thus, best suited analysis of customer information as data
becomes increasingly complex[ CITATION Gro00 \l 1033 ].

Collectively, the data mining process and the capturing of customer’s internal and external
information should be strategic plan for the introduction of the Islamic Debit card. Hence, the
successful likelihood of the Islamic debit card being marketable will be achieved. In addition, we
shall consider the three categories of customer turnoffs in this campaign strategy. As stated by
Timm (2005), the three fundamental customer turnoffs are value turnoffs, system turnoffs and

2|Page
 0900157

people turnoffs. By addressing the previous issues mentioned above, the campaign is more
workable and people oriented.

The strategy of the targeted group is very relevant in the marketing process and in an
introduction of a product because the organization can efficiently use it resources in the most
value creation way to achieve its objectives and value creation to its investors [ CITATION Pep04 \l
1033 ].

2.0 The importance of Marketing Strategy in Business

Dibb & Simkin (2001) defined in their opinion that marketing planning is a systematic process
involving assessing marketing opportunities and resources, determining marketing objectives and
developing a plan for implementation and control.

The customer’s orientation demands that a business or a corporation should serve a clear
customer’s need [ CITATION Dic94 \l 1033 ]. In addition, the marketing concept, is the corporation’s
mission is to generate profit for the firm, its employees and its stockholders by producing goods
or services that satisfy customer needs which is the natural outgrowth of a customer
orientation[ CITATION Dic94 \l 1033 ]. Furthermore, the marketing concept is said to put companies
and managers on notice that neither production, nor sales, nor customers exist in the vacuum. As
production, sales, and customers exist in a competitive marketplace, it is this competitiveness
that really drives the marketing concept [ CITATION Dic94 \l 1033 ].

In fact, particularly after the World War II, the different functions of marketing, such as product
differentiation, marketing plans, budgeting, coordinating, coordinating marketing activities and
developing marketing executives became so popular that every manufacturer began to think of
production schedules, price schedules, designing and inventories[ CITATION Sar00 \l 1033 ].

As proved by Kotler (1984), the underlying concept of marketing is that human needs, human
wants, human demands, product, exchange, transactions, markets are all put together. Similarly,
he argued that every company operates in a complex and changing marketing environment.
Therefore, if the company is to survive, it must produce and offer something of value to some
group in its environment [ CITATION Kot84 \t \l 1033 ].

3|Page
 0900157

Furthermore, all companies must look ahead and develop long-term strategies to meet the
changing conditions in their industries and ensure long-term survival. Therefore, the hard task of
selecting an overall company strategy for long-run survival and growth is called strategic
planning (Kotler et al., 2005). Cook (2000) defined strategy as a long-range plan such as
customer focused processes, human resources, innovations and so on to meet customers demand.
In addition, in order to succeed organizations must do a better job than competitors of satisfying
target consumers. Thus marketing strategy must be geared to the needs of consumers but also to
the strategies of competitors (Kotler et al., 2005).

3.0 Islamic Debit Card

In this case study, the latest Islamic debit MasterCard was due to be launched in one month’s
time by MasterCard Worldwide and EonCap Islamic Bank whom is a member of Malaysia's Eon
Bank Group.

MasterCard Worldwide and EonCap Islamic Bank (a member of Malaysia's Eon Bank Group)
have jointly launched what they are billing as the world's first Islamic debit MasterCard—the
EonCap Islamic Debit Master[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ].

The EonCap Islamic Debit MasterCard is basically a debit card with ATM functions as well. It
also works on PayPass systems, which enables a person to swipe it on a terminal without the card
leaving the cardholder's hand. It is referred to as blending traditional purchasing power with
modern technology and is Shari'ah compliant[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ].

In addition, it is designed to appeal to both Muslim and non-Muslim individuals who prefer
better financial control as the card ensures that purchases are automatically deducted from the
cardholder's account and approved only if enough funds exist within the account[ CITATION
Rah08 \t \l 1033 ]. It helps track spending, comes with worldwide acceptance at more than 26
million locations and can be used at an ATM for e-banking[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ].

Furthermore, the EonCap Islamic Debit MasterCard card is designed for individuals who prefer
to spend what they have in their accounts, yet seek the same functionality and assurances of a
credit card[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ]. Linked to an Islamic savings or current account, the

4|Page
 0900157

EONCAP Islamic Debit MasterCard card allows cardholders to conduct transactions using their
own funds rather than making purchase on credit[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ]. After each
card transaction, the fund amount will be automatically deducted from the cardholder's account
and reflected in their bank statement with generally no interest charged unless an overdraft line
of credit is activated[ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ]. This thereby gives cardholders the added
benefit of always knowing how much money they have in their account without the risk of
interest [ CITATION Rah08 \t \l 1033 ].

4.0 Targeted groups and Characteristics

Kotler et al., (2005) pointed out that the market consists of a sea of various individuals with
plethora of needs. Since this is the phenomena and reality, an organization would have to device
a suitable way or strategy in order to achieve its goals through the most favorable segments of
the different people. Hence, based on a number of factors, groups can be categorized on
geographic, demographic, psychological and behavioral factors (Kotler et al.,2005). Again, by
categorizing them in groups, one would be specific to their needs in the most efficient manner,
target group often have similar characteristics such as the way they respond to a given marketing
strategy.

Kotler et al. (2005) stressed that there is no single way to segment a market and that a marketer
has to try different segmentation variables, alone or in combination in order to find the best way
to view the market structure. Major segmentation variables for consumer markets can best be
broken down to Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic as well as Behavioral variables
(Kotler et al., 2005).

Geographic segmentation calls for dividing the market into different geographical units such as
nations, regions, states, countries, cities, or neighborhoods. This means that a company may
decide to operate in one or a few geographical areas, or to operate in all areas but pay attention to
geographical differences in needs and wants (Kotler et al., 2005). As for demographic
segmentation, it requires the market to be divided into groups based on variables such as age,
gender, family size, family life cycle, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation,
and nationality. This is the most favorable bases for segmenting as consumer needs, wants and
usage rates often vary closely with demographic variables.

5|Page
 0900157

On the other hand, psychographic segmentation divides buyers into different groups based on
lifestyle characteristics. People in the same demographic group can have very different
psychographic makeups comprising their activities, interests, and opinions (Kotler et al., 2005).
Lastly, behavioral segmentation divides buyers into groups based on their knowledge, attitudes,
uses or responses to a product. Many marketers believe that behavior variables are the best
starting point for building market segments (Kotler et al., 2005).

Taken together and understanding these variables will enable efficient of resource organization
and strategic implementation of companies goals. Furthermore, the company will achieve much
needed values for its stakeholders and would harness its energy in a more direct and specific
implementation.

Malaysia will be the case study group. With the peculiar nature of Malaysian make up, it will be
reasonable to take into cognizance the need of the people either along the religious line or ethical
underpinning. Based on the demographic of Malaysian population, the Islamic debit card will
appeal to all. Special care is taken on ethics and religious inclination. Another reason is the
purchasing power of professional is valuable asset because of their purchasing power and their
movement from continents to continents. Their purchasing power is high and their recurrent or
repeated sales are high in value.

Below is the Islamic debit card features and targeted group:

Features:

MasterCard capabilities, Paypass Contactless Payment, Shariah-Compliant, OneSmart

Mastercard Paypass, Financial Control Features, Worldwide acceptance, Global convenience of
Fast and Secure Payment, and Just one tap and go

Targeted Group:

Consumers with Ethical Business Solutions, Muslims and non-Muslim and Mobile Professionals
(Businessman) and Retired Consumers

6|Page
 0900157

5.0 The Rationale behind the Chosen Targeted Group

The chosen targeted group mentioned in the previous section, was based on demographic and
behavioral segmentation. It is said to be from demographic and behavioral segment as religion
and occupation fall under the demographic segmentation. Furthermore, as for the third target
group, which is consumer with ethical business solutions, they fall under Psychological segment.
In this segmentation, the customer is recognized under his or her attitude toward the product as
well as his or her readiness stage to obtain the product (Kotle et al., 2005).

For the most part, ethical consumerism is a growing phenomenon that underpins ethical trade
activities. There are many motivations for ethical business practice, for instance, the values of
the people involved, the belief that ethical business practices, particularly environmental
responsibility, will produce more effective and efficient results, but the apparent demand from
‘ethical consumers’ is key[ CITATION Tal01 \l 1033 ]. That said, many businesses adopt ethical
practices because of what they believe as what their consumer wants. Indeed there is growing
evidence that consumers are becoming more discerning as a result of changing tastes and
expectations. In addition, there appears to be a positive trend towards attempts to purchase goods
with positive ethical attributes[ CITATION Tal01 \l 1033 ].

The Islamic debit card aims primarily towards Muslims and Non-Muslims as the product does
not consider religion as a buffer towards users to have a good product. It would be even better if
non-Muslims are also targeted since this would account to actually the whole population of
Malaysian. In addition, throughout the world, Muslims are becoming increasingly active as
investors and manufacturers or bankers and traders or competitors and suppliers. Additionally,
they are simply becoming real partners in global economic system[ CITATION Kea10 \l 1033 ].
Muslim comprises one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world and, hence,
represents a major growth opportunity for businesses in the world[ CITATION Kea10 \l 1033 ]. In
addition, we know that in particular that the shariah principles affect companies or organizations
in the food and beverage, banking, fashion, cosmetics, apparel and even body care [ CITATION
Kea10 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, introducing the Islamic Debit Card would definitely be a success as it
fits the Muslim Market Criterion.

7|Page
 0900157

Finally, as for the last target market, which is the mobile professionals and retired consumers,.
These are individuals either employees or employers. Certainly, they have there is a purchasing
power in them. In addition, it is understood that this Islamic debit card would act like some sort
of a credit card, mobile and easily to travel with. It fits the requirement of a businessman or
Mobile Professionals as they are always on the go.

Research shows that people who were born between 1946 and 1964 will be 50 or older this
year[ CITATION Bus05 \l 1033 ] . That would be the age at which marketers traditionally lose
interest in consumers, believing that their choices on products have long since hardened and that
their biggest earning and spending years are behind them[ CITATION Bus05 \l 1033 ].

Elsewhere, though, attitudes are changing fast. United States at a glance, with average life
expectancy at an all-time high of 77.4 years, more and more Americans over 50 consider middle
age a new start on life. Fewer than 20% say they see themselves stopping work altogether as they
age, according to a recent Merrill Lynch & Co. survey of boomers[ CITATION Bus05 \l 1033 ]. Of
those who plan to keep working at least part-time, 67% said they'll do so to stay mentally active,
and 57% said to stay physically active. People now in their 50s may well work longer than any
previous generation, with more than 60% of men age 60 to 64 expected to be in the workforce in
2012, up from about 54% in 1992, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics [ CITATION Bus05 \l
1033 ]. Therefore, professionals are a unique group that can generate substantial income to the
bank.

The boomers' collective wallet will only get fatter as they continue working. As a group, people
age 50 to 60 are flush, with more than $1 trillion of spending power a year, about double the
spending power of today's 60-to-70-year-olds [ CITATION Bus05 \l 1033 ] . They're likely to be
vigorous consumers as they empty the nest, take on new jobs, relocate, support children they had
in their 40s, go back to school, start a second or third career, remarry, inherit money from their
savings-minded parents, pursue new hobbies, and tackle the health issues of aging[ CITATION
Bus05 \l 1033 ]. Based on this, marketers are slowly waking up and realized that if they were to
expand their business, they will have to market to the aging boomer [ CITATION Bus05 \l 1033 ] .
After this argument, there seems to be the need for obtaining other data to mount efficient
campaign.

8|Page
 0900157

6.0 Other Data needed for the Campaign

In general, the proposed campaign for the Islamic debit card will need to obtain information from
the customers. Notably, there were five fields which already made available for the customers
by the new company-wide CRM platform are Name of the Customer, Customer Number,
Mailing Address, Contact Number, and Date of Birth. Much more is needed to be more accurate
in mounting the campaign.

However, in ensuring the campaign to be successful, these abovementioned five data fields are
not sufficient. Therefore, the ten other customers’ data that is critically needed and its reasons,
which will support the proposed campaigns, are as mentioned below. They are as follows:

(a) Identification Card Number

Since identification cards are integrated with e-cash, ATM, Touch and Go, and a Digital
certificate, it enabled banks to check the background of their potential
customers[ CITATION Wik091 \l 1033 ] . In addition, banks can also check whether the
potential customers had been blacklisted in any other banks because of their bad payment
record.

(b) Income per month

It is important to have an idea of the share of a customer's food dollar so that
organizations can track it over time and evaluate its competitive position [ CITATION
Fig93 \l 1033 ]. In addition, regional forecasts of how household income will change to
adjust organizations advertising strategy or otherwise assist organizations in arriving at
decisions concerning firm expansion[ CITATION Fig93 \l 1033 ]. In essence, perhaps by
combining average household income with the number of households that represent the
customer base will equally yield an approximate dollar figure representing potential
demand for the organization’s products and services[ CITATION Fig93 \l 1033 ].

(c) Years of working

This is crucial for organizations to brainstorm whether the potential customers might
have some reserves as backup of their financial transactions in case of any unwanted

9|Page
 0900157

event were to occur. With their reserve, the customer can make frequent purchases. This
purchases increase the value of the company.

(d) Job sector/ Industry

This is for organizations to learn about which industry yields the most usage of the debit
card and might enabled organizations to come up with more profitable ideas in future.

(e) Citizenship, Status of Marriage and Religion

This information is crucial in order to learn about which demographic segment that holds
the biggest percentage of users. Citizenship is also crucial as it is important to know that
only Malaysians are applying. Religion information might be useful as organization could
learn about whether the Islamic debit card is acceptable by other religion apart from
Muslims.

(f) Experience in taking a debit card before

This would be the case where the organization might want to know whether the customer
is well verse with the product or is still new with it. Usual users normally know how to
make full use of the product benefits and for those who don’t might need a further
explanation from the organization.

(g) The needed credit

Some potential customers has uncontrollable spending habits, therefore, they might want
to set the needed credit for their Islamic debit card. However, the bank itself might set the
needed credit level for every user depending on their income rate.

(h) Interest
This would be the case where the organizations or banks can learn about their customers
spending habits. For instance, some potential customers might spend thousands in car
collectibles.

10 | P a g e
 0900157

7.0 Conclusion

All along this paper discusses the prospect of introducing a debit card into the market, whilst
compliant. In a CRM implementation, determining customer lifetime value is essential to the
company. With companies discovering automated customer service and with customer
acquisition and retention a contemporary mantra, having a means to benchmark the value of a
customer or customers is a tremendous tool in determining what level of priority to give a
customer[ CITATION Gre02 \l 1033 ].

At the heart of CRM system are databases and tools for monitoring and evaluating the status of
working relationship with individual customer accounts[ CITATION And04 \l 1033 ]. In order to
improve decision-making capabilities, business market managers in every organization must also
incorporate financial data on each account [ CITATION And04 \l 1033 ]. With a broader view of
relationship performance, managers will be in a better position to reassign accounts and direct
limited resources to efforts with the greatest payout[ CITATION And04 \l 1033 ].

Perhaps, more importantly, CRM help managers to better allocate scarce marketing resources,
synchronize operations, and update the value of relationship-specific market offerings [ CITATION
And04 \l 1033 ]. Therefore, suppliers such as bank who provides the services or products must
keep relationship vibrant by using business networks[ CITATION And04 \l 1033 ].

The survival of the fittest takes place within the context of a changing environment that is
constantly altering the rules of the game ever so subtly [ CITATION Nau95 \l 1033 ] . The fittest
organizations are those that develop the ability to change and evolve at least as fast as the
environment changes. Those that lack the ability to keep pace with the changing environment
drift toward extinction, their existence marked only by their archaeological record [ CITATION
Nau95 \l 1033 ]. In addition, as stated by Naumann (1995), the key survival characteristics will
more likely to be flexibility, creativity, innovativeness, and continuous learning. This sets a
premium on the organizational process for implementing gradual adaptation and improvement
rather than on crash programs [ CITATION Nau95 \l 1033 ].

11 | P a g e
 0900157

Bibliography

Anderson, J. C., & Narus, J. A. (2004). Business Market Management: Understanding, Creating and
Delivering Value. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

ATKearney. (2007, February). www.imaratconsultants.com. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from

http://www.imaratconsultants.com/Imarat_Consultants/Downloads_files/AddressingMuslimMarket_S.p
df

BusinessWeek. (2005, October 24). Love those Boomers: Their new attitudes and lifestyles are a
marketer's dream. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from www.businessweek.com:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_43/b3956201.htm

Cook, S. (2000). Customer Care:How to create an Effective Customer Focus. London: Kogan Page .

Dibb, S., & Simkin, L. (2001). The Marketing Casebook: Cases and Concepts. London: Thomson Learning.

Dickson, P. R. (1994). Marketing Management. Florida: The Dryden Press.

Figueroa, E. E. (1993, October). Know Your Customer's Income. Department of Agricultural Economics ,
1-2.

Forsyth, P. (2000). Marketing on a tight budget : An action guide to low-cost business growth. London:
Kogan Page.

Foss, B., & Stone, M. (2002). CRM in Financial Services: A practical guide to making customer
relationship management work. London: Kogan Page.

Greenberg, P. (2002). CRM at the Speed of Light. California: McGraw-Hill.

Groth, D. (2000). Data Mining: Building Competitive Advantage. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Kotler, P. (1984). Marketing Essentials. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Ang, S. H., Leong, S. M., Tan, C. T., & Tse, D. K. (2005). Principles of Marketing:
An Asian Perspective. Singapore: Prentice Hall.

Naumann, E. (1995). Creating Customer Value: The path to sustainable competitive advantage.
Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press.

12 | P a g e
 0900157

Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (2004). Managing Customer Relationships : A Strategic Framework. New
Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Rahman, M. A. (2008, June 5). EON BANK GROUP LAUNCHES WORLD'S FIRST ISLAMIC DEBIT
MASTERCARD WITH PAYPASS. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sarkar, M. K. (2000). Marketing Management. New Delhi: Crest Publishing House.

Tallontire, A., Rentsendorj, E., & Blowfield, M. (2001). ETHICAL CONSUMERS AND ETHICAL TRADE: A
REVIEW OF CURRENT LITERATURE. Social and Economic Development Department, NRI , 40.

Timm, P. R. (2005). Customer Service: Career Success through Customer Satisfaction. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.

Wikipedia. (2009, December 30). Wikipedia. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from www.wikipedia.com:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyKad

13 | P a g e