The Use of Information and Communications Technology in Marketing Financial Products: Case Study of Agricultural Finance Corporation

Abstract

Corporation (AFC) uses information technology in marketing its financial products. The research study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The target population of the study was 310 staffs of Agriculture Finance Corporation. A sample size of 80 employees was regarded adequate for this study. Primary data were gathered directly from respondents through a questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The research results revealed that AFC uses almost all the information technology tools in marketing its financial products but the website is the most effective tool for marketing its products. It further concluded that AFC uses e-mail marketing, Short Message Service (SMS) marketing, and newsletters in marketing their products. The study found out that the staff of Agriculture Finance Corporation also uses hard copy brochures in communicating about their products to their customers. In the area of product innovation majority of the staff agreed that ICT is the most effective tool in coming up with new products for the Corporation. Further research is necessary as the findings were based on a relatively small sample that may have influenced the nature of results that were obtained. There is need to expand on the sample size and carry out similar research in other financial institutions.