Application of Mobile Marketing in Commercial Banks in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

One of the major challenges in the banking industry is the dynamic competitive environment in which banks operate. This has compelled commercial banks to adopt marketing methods that are consistent with the evolving customer behavior. Although commercial banks use various mobile enabled applications such as mobile banking the extent of application of mobile marketing is not known. The objective of this research was to determine the application of mobile marketing in commercial banks in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study was modeled on a descriptive cross - sectional design. The population of the study consisted of thirty four commercial banks in Mombasa County. No sampling was done, as a census of all the commercial banks operating in Mombasa County, Kenya was considered. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were personally administered by the researcher to the commercial banks’ marketing managers or equivalent. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that majority of the commercial banks do apply mobile marketing in all their marketing activities. It also concluded that customer attitudes towards mobile marketing and the characteristics inherent in the mobile phone are important factors that affect the application of mobile marketing. The study recommends that the banks should invest in techniques of optimizing the use of the mobile marketing so as to reap maximum benefits from the huge potential of mobile marketing.