Adopting a grounded theory perspective, this research investigates the roles and interactions between marketing, customer services and human resources (HR) in driving success in UK financial services brands. CEOs/MDs, Directors of Marketing, HR and Customer Services, their line reports, front line staff and their agencies from 2 successful and 4 less successful financial services corporations participated in depth interviews for this project. Marketing strategically defining the brand, HR aligning policies behind the brand and customer services staff being brand exemplars enhances brand success. Organizations should abhor power struggles as no one department is critical — rather working together is key. The brand fulcrum model helps managers and researchers appreciate the harmonious activities of brand guardians (marketing), brand enablers (HR) and promise delivers (customer services). Favoring one department shifts the brand center of gravity resulting in an unstable state, which more equitable responsibility allocation resolves.
Theories and techniques for effective services marketing differ from product marketing (e.g. Vargo and Lusch, 2004 and Booms and Bitner, 1981). Product marketing emphasizes the importance of the Production and Marketing departments (Kotler and Keller, 2006). The Marketing department is important for both services and product brands; however, due to the importance of staff, the HR and Customer Service departments may be more critical for services (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003).
For a service, staff embody the brand to consumers, and appropriate employee behavior is vital in service interactions (e.g. McDonald et al., 2001, Gabbott and Hogg, 1994 and Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003). O'Cass and Grace (2004) find that consumers perceive employees as one of the most important attributes when choosing between services brands. Similarly, Berry (2000, 135) writes “Service performers are a powerful medium for building brand meaning and equity. Their actions with customers transform brand vision to brand reality”. The HR department therefore shapes service brands as activities such as recruitment, training and reward management influence service interactions (e.g. Schneider and Bowen, 1993, Zerbe et al., 1998 and Free, 1999). Thus for services brands, Customer Services, HR and Marketing are likely to impact brand success, representing the “service management trinity” of Lovelock, Vandermerwe and Lewis (1999).
This paper explores the roles of marketing, customer services and HR in the success of UK financial services brands and the efforts organizations make to ensure the departments work together. Firstly, the methodology section clarifies the research perspective behind the work, that of grounded theory. Inherent in this methodology is a commitment to discovery through direct contact with a phenomenon, rather than a priori theorization. Findings highlight the importance of all departments working together behind the brand. Issues which facilitate and impede departmental cooperations emerge from the findings. In common with much qualitative research, a holistic perspective emerges after the complete data analysis. Finally, this paper details the conclusions and implications of the findings. In the conclusions, a model expresses the relationship between the emergent themes.
