The company that we have chosen for this assignment is Allied Bank Limited.

With over 700

branches that are located in more than 300 cities and towns, it is safe to say that this bank is one
of the largest in Pakistan (Report, 2009). The bank also conducts operations in the UK. Due to the
bank’s capability of achieving awards like “Best Corporate & Institutional Bank- Domestic 2016”
and “Best Loan House- Pakistan, 2016” (Awards and Recognitions, 2016), we thought the bank
must be doing something right when it comes to understanding and listening to its customers,
which resulted in us choosing this particular company.

We were required to produce a series of questions which relate to the general segmentation process
and their basis of gaining and understanding consumer insights. You can find the respective
questionnaire attached. Our questions ranged from how they segment their market to how they act
on the complaints that they receive from their consumers.

Mr. Haseeb Talib, ….., and Mr. ….., were kind enough to provide us with the information that
we required. Starting with how they segment their market, we found out that their segmentation is
mainly based on geographic and demographic variables. The geographic segments are divided into
4 groups; North, South, Central Zone 1, and Central Zone 2. All of the branches in these areas are
linked with each other online. When it comes to the demographic variables, they target citizens
who are older than 18 years of age. Both genders and all social classes are targeted. However,
when it comes to social classes, their main target is the segment that consists of corporate
individuals. They segment their consumers by grouping them on the basis of their statement
account and their ownership deed. If the ownership deed of an individual shows that they operate
and own businesses, a Business Account is established for them. And for students like ourselves,
they open an Easy Account.

Based on the segments mentioned above, they have produced a service that caters to the needs of
each and every one of them. For instance, they have created a service specifically for women who
are in the roles of entrepreneur, doctor, teacher, engineer or housewife, that goes by the name
‘Khanum Asaan Account’. This account was made keeping in mind that it is difficult for women
to gain access to financial services, and so, this account provides the complete solution for banking
and lifestyle needs of the female segment (Khanum Asaan Account , n.d.). A service that caters to
the needs of those who are underprivileged and uneducated is the ‘Allied Asaan Account’ (Allied
Asaan Account, n.d.). Allied Bank also has an account for those of ages below 18, wherein they
can save their pocket money and earn a profit doing so. This particular account goes by the name
of ‘Allied Rising Star’ (Allied Rising Star, n.d.). Accounts that offer no interest rate and accounts
that are specifically made for international transactions are also available amongst a wide array of
other services. If one was to group the services offered by ABL, they would fall into 4 distinct
categories; 1. Account Deposits, 2. Credit Cards, 3. Car Leasing, and 4. Advances.

When asked what their opinion was on the alignment between the population’s demands and their
services, they said that ABL has done quite well in addressing the needs of every segment there
is. A general idea of how good their coverage of the general population is can be gained from the
different services that they offer. ABL has an Islamic Banking sector as well, which serves those
who wish to invest in Islamic banking rather than conventional banking.

They study their consumers via three channels; physical, social media, and website. The consumers
are asked to take two minutes out of their time in order to answer a short series of questions. These
answers contribute to the bank’s understanding of those it serves. The comments that are made on
their social media page and their website also serve as contributions. When asked what changes
they made to ABL as a result of feedback from customers, we found that ABL had to completely
reposition itself due to bad reviews from the general public. The customers who were with ABL
were forced to switch due to bad customer service from the employees working at the branches.
They did not just reposition themselves, but they also reduced their transaction charges upon the
requests of its users. A huge majority of them complained that HBL offered them lower charges.
Additionally, when a team from ABL asked the shop owners nearby to open accounts in their bank,
they refused, saying that HBL offered them lower transaction charges. These reviews forced ABL
to reduce their charges, and offered a new service that went by the name ‘Allied Asaan Account’,
which in turn did not just satisfy the current users, but also attracted new ones. The bank also
started offering a service recently that goes by the name ‘Prepaid Debit Card’, which came into
existence because of the feedback that they received from the population. What’s so special about
this service is that the user of this ‘debit card’ need not have an account at the bank. Rather, anyone
can deposit money at the bank, and in return the bank will issue a ‘debit card’ to be used by the
depositor.

When asked to provide us an example of a problem that they faced and overcame in the past, they
mentioned an incident which occurred rather recently, wherein a user lost PKR 25,000 without
withdrawing or using the money at all. After hearing the user’s side of the story, the branch
manager emailed the head office with the complaint, and the user was compensated for fairly
quickly. Another huge example of ABL overcoming an obstacle would be their decision to
reposition themselves entirely.

The bank doesn’t underestimate or oversee the importance of its users. They understand that it is
the consumers who bring in the money, and therefore decided to reward them for it, in order to
generate loyalty. Apart from providing the users ease of use through the likes of online banking,
they also provide rewards to their users through discount vouchers and cash back guarantees. How
a cash back guarantee works is that if an ABL user makes a purchase using their credit/debit card
at a particular food branch, their meal will be free and the cost of the meal will not be deducted
from their accounts. ABL keeps this offer relevant by partnering with not just local food companies
that are growing in popularity, but also the international ones, such as Burger King and KFC.
Schemes such as these do their job in generating loyalty and also attract new customers. They have
also learned from their past mistakes and now emphasize on great customer service, which they
achieve through trained staff and employees. The employees are also specified the importance of
keeping a happy face in front of the customers.

They believe that ABL has now realized the importance of customer insights. They used to operate
with an ‘inside-out’ approach, wherein the managers thought they knew what was best for the
customers. However, after gaining a bad reputation among the general population, they switched
to an ‘outside-in’ approach, which entails the manager understanding the customers and producing
products/services accordingly. ABL’s product portfolio has resulted from their understanding of
the needs of the population.

The gentlemen that we interviewed believe that it is ABL’s services that differ it from the rest of
its competitors. ABL has brought about two new services that were not seen in the market of
Pakistan up until now – Khanum Asaan Account and Prepaid Debit Card. While this competitive
advantage is not too long lasting, it has bought them enough time to gain and sustain more
competitive advantages. A few of their sources of sustainable competitive advantages are their
advanced system of flow of information and their understanding and importance of great customer
service. ABL’s services target every niche in a manner that no other bank currently does. This
automatically gives way for an increase in the number of users. Their SCAs are what set them
apart from their competitors too. Advertisements showing their services are enough to attract and
convert users to ABL.

ABL does not have a distinct Marketing Research Department. Instead, the jobs of the marketing
research department are undertaken by the HR department. When asked what improvements they
believe could be brought about to facilitate their customers better, their answers were those that
would be of any loyal employee – “everything is perfect, we are the best at what we do and the
best need no improvements”.

However, one aspect that they could improve in is developing a marketing research department.
The importance of MRD should never be overlooked. Not just Pakistan, but the entire world is
seeing a growth in the trend of banking, which has resulted in an increasing number of users of
financial services. It is necessary to keep track of the feedback of your firm’s users, and basic
customer services don’t just cut it anymore. With the increasing intensity of competition, it is
mandatory for the firm to stay on top of its game, and it cannot do so without gathering information
from those that essentially bring in the money – the consumers. If ABL does not wish to delve into
the complications of establishing a separate marketing research department, they could look into
outsourcing these services to the popular MRD firms of Pakistan. These firms could be asked to
conduct FGDs (focus group discussions) of regular intervals of the current users, in order to
understand the needs and feedback of the consumers. These FGDs could also be conducted with
non-users, in order to understand why they do not choose ABL, and what it would take for them
to switch to ABL. These insights will help ABL develop a better position and will help it fend off
competitors better.
References
Allied Asaan Account. (n.d.). Retrieved from Allied Bank Limited: https://www.abl.com/personal-
banking/everyday-accounts/allied-asaan-account/

Allied Rising Star. (n.d.). Retrieved from Allied Bank Limited: https://www.abl.com/personal-
banking/everyday-accounts/allied-rising-star/

Awards and Recognitions. (2016). Retrieved from Allied Bank: https://www.abl.com/the-bank/awards-

and-recognitions/

Khanum Asaan Account . (n.d.). Retrieved from Allied Bank Limited : https://www.abl.com/personal-
banking/everyday-accounts/khanum-asaan-account/

Report, R. (2009, May 29th ). Allied Bank Limited - Analysis of Financial Statements . Retrieved from
Business Recorder: http://fp.brecorder.com/2009/05/200905292601/