Corporate digital communications july 2020 CIM ASSIGNMENTS

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Module Title: CORPORATE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
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CORPORATE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS WORD COUNT: 4,884 MEMBERSHIP NO: 40060135

MANAGING CORPORATE BRAND
& REPUTATION TO ENHANCE
CUSTOMER LOYALTY

July 2020

4
Table of Contents

TASK NO.

PAGE NO.
TASK 1: Briefing Paper
Stakeholder influence on Corporate Reputation and its role in achieving Customer Loyalty

1.a

Organisational Background of Nations Trust Bank

07
1.b Role of corporate reputation, identity and image in enhancing loyalty of mass-affluent customers 09
1.c Critical evaluation of stakeholder influence on NTB’s corporate reputation and customer loyalty 11
1.c.1 Prioritisation of stakeholders in relation to impact on corporate reputation 11
1.c.2 Analysis of forces that influence an organisation’s stakeholders and corporate reputation 14
1.c.3 Conclusion and Recommendation 14

TASK 2: Strategic Report
Evaluation of NTB’s Corporate Brand and Measuring Brand Equity

2.a

Critical evaluation of NTB’s corporate strategy, structure, systems and culture in relation to its
positioning

16
2.a.1 Gap analysis between NTB’s image and identity with strategic recommendations 18
2.b Strategy to build Brand Equity by enhancing corporate reputation and the role of employees 19
2.b.1 Recommended strategies to develop corporate reputation to build brand equity for NTB 20
2.b.2 Role of employees within the corporate branding strategy 21
2.c Evaluation of two approaches to monitor and measure Brand Equity 23
Approach 1: Milward Brown’s Loyalty and Brand dynamics pyramid 23
Approach 2: RepTrak™ Reputation Model 24
2.c.1 Conclusion and Recommendation 24

TASK 3: Strategy Paper
Trends in Stakeholder Digital Behaviour and Digital Communication Strategies

3.a

Environmental trends driving changes in stakeholders’ digital behaviour and digital
communications strategies to enhance customer loyalty

26
3.b Critical appraisal of available digital channels and advancements in digital tools to enhance
corporate reputation and customer loyalty
29
3.c Digital communications strategy to protect and strengthen NTB’s corporate reputation and
measurement technologies
31
3.c.1 Recommended Digital communications strategy 31
3.c.2 Evaluation of digital technologies to monitor and measure reputation

33

5

ANNEXURES
1 SWOT Analysis 35
2 AC2
ID Test (Balmer & Soenen, 1999) 36
3 Drivers of Corporate Reputation (Fombrun, 1996) 38
4 RepTrak Audit (Reputation Institute Model) 39
5 PESTEL Analysis for NTB 41
6 Digital Audit 43

BIBLIOGRAPHY 45-48

6

This briefing paper provides a background summary of Nations Trust Bank (NTB) and evaluates the impact of its
corporate reputation, identity and image on achieving customer loyalty. Further, it explores the key stakeholder
groups of the Bank and evaluates their influence on its overall Corporate Reputation.

Briefing Paper

Stakeholder Influence on Corporate
Reputation & its role in achieving Customer
Loyalty
_______
Prepared For: Senior Management Team
Prepared By: Marketing Consultant
Date: 25th
June 2020
Word count: 1,248

7
1.a. Organisation Background

Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB) is a licensed commercial bank operating in Sri
Lanka, and is incorporated as a public limited liability company. Owing to its
strong corporate reputation, the Nations Trust brand was valued at LKR 4.05 (Brands Lanka) and was
recognized as the country’s 30th
most valuable brand. NTB is the number one credit card issuer in Sri
Lanka and the sole acquirer for American Express Cards, whilst also pioneering the first fully-fledged
digital banking experience in Sri Lanka through FriMi.
Key stakeholders ranked in terms of their level of influence on corporate reputation

Rank order INTERNAL EXTERNAL CONNECTED
1 Frontline staff Government/Regulators Customers
2 Back-end staff Communities Shareholders
3 Management Media Suppliers/ service providers
Customer segmentation and identification of the key customer segment

Customer Profile Mass Market Mass-Affluent Premium
Geographic
Area Suburb/rural Urban Urban
Demographic
Age >18 years >25 years >35 years
Income >LKR 15,000 >30,000 >250,000
Occupation
Students, junior
executives, recent
graduates, housewives
Senior executives,
professionals, middle
managers
Senior managers, CEO,
chairman, retirees,
sportsmen, wealthy artists
Psychographic
Social class Lower middle class Upper middle class Upper class
Lifestyle Economical, survivors Semi-luxury High-end, premium, luxury
Behavioural
Benefits sought Price sensitive, offers Convenience High quality service, prestige
Brand awareness Moderate Moderate High
Brand loyalty Low Low Moderate
Assessing the size of the organisation

No. of branches 96
No. of ATMs island-wide 127
No. of Employees 3,128
Main customer base B2C
No, of B2C clients (2019) 773,679
Market Capitalisation LKR 19,59Bn
Market Share 3%
Products and Services

NTB’s main operating segments include the
following, each of which consists of an array of
products and services.

• Consumer Banking
• Corporate Banking
• SME Banking
• Property Management
• Treasury functions
• Investment Banking
• Insurance Broking
• Leasing

As highlighted above, the key customer segment of NTB is the mass affluent segment that demand
innovative solutions, customer convenience and affordable pricing. This group is also inclined to have
low level of brand loyalty, signifying the importance of effective brand and corporate building activities.

8

NTB competes with several top performing local licensed commercial banks such as COMB, HNB and
NDB and is also a close competitor of the leading international bank, HSBC, in terms of its products and
service offerings. However, as depicted in the below table, NTB is currently under performing when
compared to its main competitors in terms of the 2019 H1 profit after tax figures.

Figure 1 depicts the market share by asset base of 12 leading commercial banks in Sri Lanka and NTB
currently holds a market share of 3%.
Customer loyalty is a crucial relational asset for all
service-oriented organizations, especially in the highly
competitive banking sector.

Figure 2 depicts an increase in NTB’s volume of customer complaints year-on-year from 2017 to 2019.
Although the number of complaints as a % of total customer is
showing a negative trend, the organisation must put in greater
effort to decrease the overall number of complaints in order to
increase customer satisfaction levels, and in turn the Net
Promoter Score.

The ‘Customer Loyalty Ladder’ captures five steps of
transforming a potential customer (Prospect) to a loyal partner
(Advocate) who will recommend the business to others on its
behalf (Payne, 1994), generating higher value to the
organisation.

Thus, NTB must evaluate these key determinants to enhance its
current relationship marketing by effectively allocating its
resources towards meaningful engagement and brand building
activities to increase loyalty of its mass-affluent customers
towards the Bank (Cretu & Brodie, 2009).

Competitor PAT (LKR)
Commercial Bank (COMB) 6.8 Bn
Hatton National Bank (HNB) 4.8 Bn
HSBC 2.6 Bn
National Development Bank (NDB) 2.2 Bn
Nations Trust Bank (NTB) 1.87 Bn
SCB
1%
NTB
3% DFCC
3%
SEYB
4%
NDB
4%
HSBC
4%
SAMP
8%
NSB
9%
HNB
9%
COMB
11%
PB
15%
BOC
19%
Others
10%
Market share by Asset Base 2019
Figure 1: Source - KPMG Issue 4 (October 2019)
Chosen Theme & Rationale:
Importance of building customer loyalty for NTB

Competitor Analysis (2019 H1 Profit After Tax)
Main Competitors of NTB

Figure 2: Customer Satisfaction Analysis
(Source: NTB Annual Report)

9
1.b. Critical evaluation of the role of NTB’s corporate identity, image and reputation in
enhancing loyalty of its mass-affluent customers

Driven by intensive rivalry, the banking industry seeks new sources of competitive advantage. Corporate
image, identity and reputation are key relational assets that drive brand equity, customer loyalty and
deliver sustained customer value through differential competitive advantage that competitors cannot
easily imitate (Cretu & Brodie, 2009).

Below table evaluates NTB’s corporate image, identity and reputation and its impact on overall
customer loyalty.

Factor Critical evaluation of its role Impact on customer loyalty Influence
Corporate Identity
(Inside-out approach)

Denotes how an
organisation intends
to be seen or
understood by its
stakeholders and
differentiates itself
from competitors
(Balmer, 2001).

The current corporate identity
mix of NTB is as follows:

1. Symbolism - Visual identity of
NTB is positive. The branches
reflect a youthful, techy and
vibrant atmosphere with
young and friendly staff,
dressed in smart blue and
grey uniforms.

2. Behaviour – NTB’s desired
open culture, two-way
communication and focus on
digital strategy could be
further demonstrated through
its behaviour.

3. Communication –
Fragmented marketing and
corporate communication
lacks a coherent and
consistent set of messages.

• Lack of integrated corporate
communication creates
confusion and decreases
overall credibility.

• Appendix 2 indicates that
NTB has a strong actual
identity (corporate
personality) with a score of
4/5, whilst its
communicated identity
(corporate identity) falls
slightly short with a rating
of 3/5.

Moderate
Corporate Image
(Outside-in
approach)

The perception of an
organisation in the
minds of its external
stakeholders.

• Lack of effective external
communication around the
following:

- Sri Lanka’s 30th
‘Most
Valuable Brand’
- Magnitude of CSR initiatives
undertaken
- Unavailability of a platform
for employees to express
• Gaps in communication
with stakeholders can lead
to a situation where positive
corporate identity is not
translated to a positive
image.

• However, despite this, NTB
scores 4/5 (Appendix 2) for
its conceived identity
Strong

10
their views and share
testimonials.
among its stakeholders.
Thus, denoting a positive
corporate image.

Corporate
Reputation

Overall estimation of
an organisation held
by its constituents
(internal and
external
stakeholders) based
on past actions and
probable future
behaviour
(Fombrun, 1996).

Appendix 3 demonstrates a
detailed analysis of below
drivers of corporate reputation
(Fombrun, 1996):
• A high degree of Credibility
owing to consistent financial
performance.

• Trust amongst employees
seems satisfactory.

• High Reliability deriving from
striving to deliver superior
customer convenience.

• NTB also exhibits a great
extent of Responsibility
towards the community.
However, its efforts may not
receive due recognition
amongst stakeholders,
resulting in a rating slightly
lower than for the other 3
drivers.

• Good corporate reputation
increases trustworthiness
and credibility.

• This enables to attract and
retain mass-affluent
customers easily without
much effort.

• It also makes it easier to
secure support at times of
turbulence, enhance brand
engagement and increase
customer referrals through
positive word-of-mouth.

• The above results in
boosted financial
performance (Diasz, 2017)
while reducing the cost and
time spent on new client
acquisition.

Strong

Figure 3 combines the AC2
ID test model (Balmer & Soenen, 1999) with the sequence of corporate image
formation (Fill, 2002) to depict how corporate identity is a projection of an organisation’s personality,
which in turn translates to corporate image.

Actual Identity Communicated Identity Conceived Identity
Corporate Image Formation (Fill, 2002)
AC
2
ID Test Model (Balmer & Soenen, 1999)
Corporate
Personality
Corporate
Identity
Corporate Image
CORPORATE
REPUTATION
Competitive
Advantage
Figure 3: Facets of Corporate Reputation by Fombrun (1996) linked with Balmer’s Ac2id Test Model (1999)

11
Further, the corporate reputation chain (Davies et al, 2003) portrays how internal factors such as
employee attitude, commitment and motivation shape the experiences they create for customers. As
such, a positive corporate image directly translates to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty and sales
(Brown, 2003).

1.c. Critical evaluation of stakeholder influence on NTB’s corporate reputation and
customer loyalty

Stakeholders posses legitimate interest in business activities and have varying degrees of power to
influence the firm’s performance (Freeman, 1984). Below table utilises Mendelow’s matrix (1991) to
prioritise NTB’s stakeholders by evaluating their level of interest in the business and the likelihood of
them using their power to influence the organisation’s corporate reputation.
1.c.1 Prioritisation of stakeholders in relation to impact on corporate reputation
Stakeholder Expectations & Needs
Power
Interest
Impact on Corporate Reputation
Impact
Rating
Employees • Attractive
remuneration
• Training and
development
• Career progression
• Safe and inclusive
work environment
• Work life balance
• Rewards and benefits
• Job security
M H
Employee reviews (positive and
negative) have a direct impact on
corporate reputation.

As outlined in Task 2.a, the lack of
two-way communication and platform
to share views/testimonials could
demotivate employees and lead to
negative comments/behaviour.

This may result in poor customer
service and damage NTB’s corporate
reputation. It could also result in high
staff turnover and difficulty in
attracting good employees.

4/5
Shareholders • High return on
investment
• Corporate governance
• Risk management
practices
• Increased shareholder
equity

H

H
Maintaining a good share price is an
indicator of NTB’s financial stability.

This leads to an increase in corporate
reputation and enables the bank to
attract new investors.

However, adverse actions taken by
4/5

12
• Strong financial
performance
• Transparent
communication
• Well-defined strategic
plan
shareholders using their voting power
could damage NTB’s corporate image
and reputation.
Customers • High quality and
innovative products
and services
• Exceptional customer
service delivery
• Convenience and
flexibility
• Transparency
• Fast turnaround and
response time
H H
Customer experience and feedback
are key contributors towards
corporate reputation and the
company’s ability to attract new
customers.

As highlighted in the company
background, there is an increasing
trend in client complaint volumes.

Negative customer experience arising
from the inability to meet promised
product and service delivery leads to
dissatisfaction, bad word-of-mouth,
decreased customer loyalty and high
customer attrition.

This result in increased acquisition
cost, revenue loss and damaged

4/5
Suppliers &
Service
Providers
• Ease of transacting
• Long-term relationship
• Responsible practices
and business ethics
• Business growth
• Transparency
L M
Maintaining good external
relationships is key to positively
influencing corporate reputation.

NTB is associated with highly reputed
third party vendors and service
providers. This increases its credibility
resulting in enhanced corporate
reputation.

3/5
Community • Open communication
and transparency
• Job creation
• Sustainable business

M

M
NTB drives meaningful change
through several environmental
preservation and community
development CSR projects.
3/5

13
practices
• Environmental
preservation
• Community
empowerment and
development
However, poor publicity has resulted
in NTB not leveraging on such efforts
to enhance its image and corporate
reputation.

Government
& Regulators
• Compliance to laws and
regulations
• Timely regulatory
reporting
• Open communication
and transparency
• Job creation
• Sustainable practices
M H
NTB practices a strong compliance
culture and is key to be seen as a
responsible organisation.

Non-adherence leads to fines,
penalties and operational losses, thus,
negatively impacting financial
performance, reliability and corporate
reputation.

3/5

As per Figure 4, customers, employees and shareholders are classified Key Players as they exhibit high
interest and possess power to influence NTB’s corporate reputation to a great extent.
Community and suppliers represent the Keep Informed stakeholder group whilst Government and
Regulators (considered strategic stakeholders) belong to the Keep Satisfied quadrant.
When associated with a negative event or linked with adverse media, good corporate reputation acts as
a form of insurance to avoid suspicion and negative framing by these powerful stakeholders (Diasz,
2017).

Low Medium High
High
Medium
Power

Interest
Figure 4: Mendelow’s Power & Interest Matrix
KEY PLAYERS
KEEP INFORMED
MINIMAL EFFORT
KEEP SATISFIED

Employees
Shareholders
Customers
Suppliers & Service providers
Community
Government & Regulators

14
1.c.2 Analysis of forces that influence an organisation’s stakeholders and corporate reputation
According to Roper and Fill (2012), these forces are classified as internal, external and relational forces.

Force Types of influences Influence on corporate reputation
Internal • Strategic intent (vision, mission &
values), corporate resources and
competencies, organisation structure
and culture.

• The behavior, communication and
symbolism (Corporate Identity Mix) of
an organisation.
As outlined under strengths (Appendix 1)
and Perceived Identity (Appendix 2), NTB’s
internal forces positively influence its
internal stakeholders and thereby,
External The operating environment and industry -
political, economical, socio-cultural,
technological, ethical, environmental and
legal factors that impact expectations and
perceptions of internal and external
stakeholders.

PESTEL analysis (Appendix 5) as well as
opportunities and threats under the
SWOT analysis (Appendix 1) illustrate a
mixed view of the influence of external
factors on NTB’s stakeholders and
reputation.
Relational Strategic alliances (mergers & acquisitions)
and partnerships with service providers,
merchants and other third parties.
Several meaningful partnerships drive
digital and sustainability agendas for the
bank. However, impact on CR is neutral, as
NTB is not sufficiently highlighted through
such affiliations.

1.c.3 Conclusion and Recommendation
According to Nelson & Kanso (2008), corporate reputation is influenced by an organisation’s authentic
self-expression (corporate identity – internal forces), combined with how various stakeholders perceive
it (corporate image) based on external environment influences and other competitive/relational forces.
Therefore, NTB must invest more time and effort to look at its entire ecosystem, whilst focusing its
engagement and communication activities to meet its key stakeholders needs.
This could be by facilitating two-way communication with clients and improving its engagement with
employees, as there is an apparent lack of an internal platform for employees to share their views,
suggestions and testimonials.

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Strategic Report

This report evaluates the compatibility of NTB’s corporate strategy, structure, systems and culture in relation to its
strategic positioning and corporate reputation. It discloses prevalent gaps between NTB’s corporate image and
identity and provides suitable recommendations to address them to achieve customer loyalty.
Evaluation of NTB’s Corporate Brand &
Measuring Brand Equity
_______

Date: 25th
June 2020
Word count: 2,112

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2.a Critical evaluation of NTB’s corporate strategy, structure, systems and culture in relation
to its positioning and reputation

Positioning refers to the place an organisation or corporate brand occupies in the minds of customers or
the important attributes that distinguish it from competitors (Kotler & Armstrong, 2000).
As depicted below, NTB is positioned as a youthful bank that is a pioneer in offering ultimate
convenience to its key customers (mass-affluent segment) through fully-fledged digital banking services
and several first to market cutting edge technologies (Annual Report, 2019).

Below strategic audit evaluates NTB’s current strategy, structure, systems and culture in relation to the
impact on its positioning, corporate reputation and customer loyalty.
Dimension Critical evaluation of aspect
Impact on positioning, reputation &
customer loyalty
Rating
Strategy • Strategic Intent - NTB’s corporate
vision, mission and values strongly
emphasise customer-centricity and
aspiration towards leading the
industry in digital banking services.

• NTB adopts an emergent approach
to strategy formulation (Mintzberg,
1998) and follows an execution
excellence strategy (Diasz, 2017),
which facilitates greater agility to
adapt to the rapidly changing
• Vision, mission and values are key
constituents of building a strong
reputational platform (Johnson,
Scholes & Whittington, 2005).
NTB’s clearly communicated
strategic intent supports its
aspired positioning as a young,
high-tech and agile bank among
customers, leading to greater
customer loyalty.

• Its core values justify its strategy
4/5
Young & Techy
Old-fashioned
& out-dated
Youthfulness
Value to
Customer
Price-led Convenience & quality
Figure 6: Corporate brand/image positioning map

17
external environment. of being a pioneer in digital
transformation with several first
to market banking technologies
and operational excellence.
Structure • Divisional structure where each
banking stream operates as a
separate business unit (Mintzberg,
1980). However, NTB’s Head Office
(strategic apex) holds centralised
control over the overall strategy and
performance of business streams.

• Tall structure in terms of chain of
command due to large
organisational size (3,128
headcount).

• Too many divisions may lead to
complexities of co-operation,
restricting easy integration and
decentralised decision making.
This could negatively impact NTB’s
intended agile strategy and
communicated strategic intent of
delivering superior customer
value.

• Long chain of communication and
lengthy decision-making process
within tall structures may create
service delays.

• The above will have a negative
impact on overall customer
experience and loyalty.
3/5
Systems • NTB has built a wide range of
powerful, cohesive business control
systems across all functions such as:
- Cloud based HRMS
- Customer experience feedback
survey devices
- Robotic process automation
- Key Risk Indicators (KRI)
- Management Information Systems
- Integrated IT Systems
- Risk Measurement and Reporting
Systems

• The sophisticated operational
backend enables NTB to meet
raised customer expectations and
deliver superior customer value
than competitors.

• This enhances its corporate
reputation and customer loyalty.

4/5
Culture • NTB’s mantra is “simple, smart and
inclusive”.

• Consists of a relatively young
workforce (83% below 30 years).
• Current culture of NTB may not
foster employee loyalty and a
sense of belonging.

• A deep-dive analysis might reflect
3/5

18

• Innovative and digitally focused with
a strong compliance culture.

• However, lack of multi-directional
flow of information, long chain of
command and poor internal
communication may stifle flexibility
and adaptability.

• Despite NTB’s efforts to portray its
culture as open, agile and extremely
collaborative, Hall’s (1976) cultural
iceberg theory suggests that a
significant part or deep-culture
which lies below the surface may
reflect a contradictory reality.

poor employee satisfaction due to
the lack of an open/two-way
communication climate.

• Further, inflexibility due to lengthy
communication flows may make
NTB more bureaucratic than agile.
Thus, not supporting its desired
positioning.

• The above in turn leads to poor
customer service and negatively
impact NTB’s corporate image,
reputation and customer loyalty.

2.a.1 Gap analysis between NTB’s image and identity with strategic recommendations
Appendix 2 consists of an in-depth analysis of current gaps between NTB’s corporate identity and image
using the AC2
ID Test model (Balmer and Greyser, 2003). Below table evaluates some key gaps and their
impact on corporate reputation (CR).
Gap Existing issue Recommendation to close gap
Impact on
CR
Current
organisation
structure not
supporting the
desired strategy.
Added bureaucracy and slow
decision-making of the current
divisional structure does not
support NTB’s desired strategy
(Chandler, 1962) of flexibility
and speedy response to
customers.

Adopt a matrix organisational
structure (Mintzberg, 1980) with a
shift towards a task culture to
bring together right resources,
skills and expertise to complete
projects (Stacey, 2003) more
flexibly.
High
Corporate
communication
not supporting
NTB’s desired
positioning.
NTB spearheads the financial
industry towards environmental
sustainability through
partnerships with 12 leading
environmental organisations
and island-wide CSR initiatives.
However, these are not
Strengthen external corporate
communication across all digital
touch points to create greater
awareness of its CSR efforts and
national awards of recognition
won amongst stakeholders. This
will enhance corporate
Moderate

19

2.b Strategy to build Brand Equity by enhancing corporate reputation and the role of
employees

Corporate brands are reputational assets that create value to stakeholders through the promise it
communicates (Berens, 2007). Brand equity (BE) is a measure of the strength of a brand, commercial
value or goodwill that derives from the perception of consumers about the brand name (corporate
image), adding a tangible value through resulting higher sales and profit (Wood, 2001).
Positive brand equity enables organisations to recruit talented employees, attract more customers,
enhance brand loyalty and charge higher prices to claim greater market share (Clow and Baack, 2005).

highlighted through NTB’s
corporate communications.
reputation and loyalty amongst
its mass-affluent customers.

Poor internal
communication
climate resulting
in unfavorable
employee
behaviour.
Although corporate
communication indicates high
engagement levels and
employee satisfaction,
appraising the behaviour of
employees reveal some degree
of demotivation due to the lack
of a platform to share
testimonials and speak about
their work life.

Conduct staff attitude surveys to
obtain first-hand information
about how employees really feel,
how they are treated and to gain
insights on their interactions with
external stakeholders (Balmer,
2003).
High
Mismatch
between desired
values and
actual.
Achieving gender equality and
increased female
representation is a key focus of
NTB. However, current female
representation stands at 43%
with only 3 out of 13 females at
board level (Annual Report,
2019).

Highlight the significance of
gender diversity in its employer
value proposition to attract
suitable female talent and offer
training and development to
groom top performing female
employees for senior roles.

Moderate

20
2.b.1 Recommended strategies to develop corporate reputation (CR) to build brand equity (BE) to
achieve customer loyalty
Recommendation Description Impact on CR and BE
Implement a
robust brand
strategy by using
corporate
storytelling

• Corporate story telling is a technique used
to communicate the “true essence” of an
organisation, its history, core strengths,
beliefs and values to its stakeholders (van
Riel & Fombrun, 2000).

• The process of developing a sustainable
corporate story is as follows:

• Stage 4 is the most important stage
where the PPT framework (Promise,
Proof of points & Tone) can be used to
design an impactful corporate story
that positions NTB as the forerunner in
digital banking and industry-wide
benchmark for customer convenience
through a youthful tone of voice.

• Using an appealing story to
establish a personal connection
with stakeholders while
conveying inimitable elements of
the company that resonates with
their needs (Guber, 2007).

• As empathy is a leading driver of
any successful business, it
deepens engagement,
strengthens the bond of
employees and customers with
the company and distinguishes it
from rivals to build corporate
reputation and brand equity.
2. Link the
Corporate
Identity
3. Link the
Corporate
Reputation
6. Monitor the story’s
effectiveness
5. Implement the Story
4. Plot the Corporate
Story
1. Position the
Company

21
Leverage on the
extensive CSR
strategy via all
stakeholder
touch-points to
support the
corporate
branding process.
• Whilst some argue that CSR is a public
relations fad or an unnecessary financial
burden on an organisation (Friedman,
1970), there is a wide consensus that
CSR brings many benefits to
organisations.

• Frameworks such as Triple Bottom Line
and Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR (1991)
suggest the importance of building CSR
infrastructure on top of an economically
stable and sustainable business to fulfill
societal expectations.

• NTB carries out a wide-range of CSR
activities. As identified in the gap
analysis, although NTB undertakes
sustainability reporting, most initiatives
do not receive due awareness and
recognition among the wider
stakeholder community, reflecting a
flaw in external communication.

• Stakeholder perception of CSR
activities is an important driver
of Brand Equity (Fatma et al,
2015).

• Figure 7 illustrates how CSR
initiatives help build both
customer and employee trust
(Yadav et al, 2018) in the
corporate brand.

• This trust in turn mediates the
influence CSR activities have on
enhancing corporate image,
reputation, customer loyalty and
brand equity.

2.b.2 Role of employees within the corporate branding strategy
Employees represent the ‘key link’ to corporate reputation management (Cravens & Oliver, 2006). Their
actions guide both their formal and social behaviour as well as how they communicate with customers,
future customers, competitors, suppliers and potential applicants to the organisation.
The ‘loyalty-based cycle of growth’ by Reichheld (2001) indicates there are clear linkages between
customer value, customer loyalty and resulting profits arising from an organisation’s relationship with
three core stakeholder groups – employees, customers and investors. Thus, enhancing corporate
reputation and overall brand equity.

CSR Trust
Corporate
Reputation
Brand
Equity
Figure 7: Impact of CSR on Corporate
Reputation and Brand Equity

22
Recommendations to create strong
corporate identity amongst employees
Impact and justification
Practice high commitment human
resource management (HRM)
• Cultivates brand building behaviour by empowering
employees at all levels to “call the shots”
• Improves job satisfaction by fulfilling the motivator
factors (Herzberg, 1959)
• Fosters a culture of commitment and trust.
• The above will enable NTB to create a positive
employer brand within the labour market.
Integrated central marketing
communication by NTB’s strategic apex
(Mintzberg, 1980)
• Clear internal communication reinforces corporate
branding initiative efforts.
• Encourages commitment, enthusiasm and drives
consistent staff behaviour to “live the brand values”.

Upon successful implementation of the above, NTB can engage its staff as brand ambassadors or
champions in their corporate branding strategy (i.e.: in corporate story telling, employee testimonials
about life at work etc) to gain competitive advantage.

23
2.c Evaluation of two approaches to monitor and measure Brand Equity

NTB’s strategic corporate reputation management function must entail the use of tools to continuously
gauge and monitor its key relationships with different stakeholders to ascertain a corresponding score.
(Tkalac & Vercic, 2007). Whilst stock price, return on investment and shareholder value are universally
known indicators of brand equity, two other approaches are evaluated below.
Approach 1: Milward Brown’s Loyalty and Brand dynamics pyramid

About the model Effectiveness in monitoring and measuring Brand Equity
• This model measures the
relationship strength between
NTB’s corporate brand and its
customers as they move up the
pyramid across 5 key stages
(Figure 8) from ‘Presence’ –
brand awareness, all the way
to ‘Bonding’ – brand loyalty.

• ‘Nations Trust’ is currently a
widely accepted brand in the
banking industry for its
efficient services, products and
customer convenience.
Pros:
• Majority of consumers are found at lower levels of the
Brand dynamics pyramid. NTB’s goal must be to drive as
many mass-affluent customers to higher levels of the
pyramid, where they develop a stronger association with
the brand and be willing to spend more money (Vasileva,
2016).

• Assists brand managers to plan suitable activities and design
communication strategies to help build customer loyalty
and move them up the pyramid.

Cons:
• This model relies on emotionally driven assessment (expert
view vs. consumer behaviour). Hence, classification of
customers at each level may not reflect a 100% accurate
picture of NTB’s Brand Equity.
Figure 8: Millward Brown’s Loyalty and Dynamics Pyramid

24
Approach 2: RepTrak™ Reputation Model

2.c.1 Conclusion and Recommendation
NTB has a clear strategic intent. However, it must realign its current divisional structure or adopt a
matrix organizational structure to support its intended strategy of great agility and operational
excellence. Further, the company must leverage on its strong operational backend to deliver superior
value to its mass-affluent customer segment. Employees must also be empowered, educated and
motivated through the creation of a unique learning and highly collaborative work culture to enable NTB
to synchronize its overall operating model to exceed customer expectations. This will enhance corporate
reputation, customer loyalty and brand equity.
About the model Effectiveness in monitoring and measuring Brand Equity
The first standardized framework
that uses a 0-100 scale to track
multi-stakeholder perceptions to
measure and benchmark
companies’ corporate reputation
globally.

• Appendix 4 evaluates the current standing of NTB in
relation to 7 drivers of reputation, together with a rating
(on a scale of 1-5, 1 being lowest & 5 being highest) to
indicate their impact on corporate reputation.

• Workplace, Citizenship and Governance are amongst the
weaker factors, suggesting more effort needed in these
areas to stimulate supportive behaviour and emotional
connection of stakeholders with the organisation.

• This in turn leads to the creation of greater value for
customers, thus enhancing customer loyalty and brand
equity

Pros:
• The 7-dimension multivariate structure of the RepTrak
scorecard validates the stability of using it as a robust
measurement tool of corporate reputation and resulting
brand equity.

Cons:
• Generalised, subjective perceptions can lead to the model
being considered a short-term measure of corporate
reputation (Corporate Reputation Review, 2015).

25

Strategy Paper

This strategy paper intends to evaluate key macro-environmental trends that influence stakeholders’ digital
behaviour, appraise current digital channels in the industry and to propose a suitable digital communications
strategy to enhance NTB’s customer loyalty and overall corporate reputation.
Trends in Stakeholder Digital Behaviour &
Digital Communication Strategies
_____
Date: 25th
June 2020
Word count: 1,524

26
3.a Environmental trends driving changes in stakeholders’ digital behaviour and digital
communications strategies to enhance customer loyalty

Owing to the rapidly advancing technological landscape, the modern stakeholder expects to be
informed, engaged and entertained via digital channels (Rutter, 2017). They increasingly expect
convenient access to customised, easy-to-understand information right at their fingertips. Hence,
organisations must take a digital-first approach by leveraging on right digital tools to communicate their
business purpose, build respect towards the brand and ensure real-time engagement with
stakeholders.

Below table explores changes in digital behaviour of NTB’s two key stakeholders – Customers and
Employees and recommends strategies to achieve customer loyalty.
Stakeholder
Critical evaluation of
trends that impact digital
behaviour
Opportunity/Threat
Recommended digital
communication strategies to
enhance customer loyalty
CUSTOMERS Advancing technological
innovation and adoption
Increased internet usage
and embracing of direct
banking channels via
smart devices such as
mobile, tablet and social
media (Deloitte, 2017).

Opportunity: Significantly
reduce cost of servicing
walk-in clients to physical
branches and increase
accessibility to up-to-date
content and novel
services.

Threat: Moving to digital
platforms may result in
the negligence of older,
conservative clients.
Open Banking API:
This will enable NTB to
integrate with third parties
for easy collaboration to
offer customers unique and
personalised financial
solutions.
Justification: Customers will
enjoy a seamless banking
experience across various
platforms and digital touch-
points (Olanrewaju, 2014),
leading to higher customer
loyalty.

Personalised service
Driven by intense rivalry
within the banking
industry, customers seek
highly customised
financial solutions and
assistance.
Opportunity: Create
exclusive customer-
oriented financial
products and services
based on personal
information, history and
requirement.

AI powered chatbots and
robo-advisors:
To display targeted ads and
algorithm-generated content
based on customers past
behaviour and engagement
levels.
Justification: 65% of
millennials desire to use
chatbots when engaging
with brands (Conlin, 2019).

27
Leveraging on these
emotionally intelligent
platforms will enable NTB to
offer optimized digital
advertising, personalised
solutions to queries and
recommend appropriate
need-based products
(Deloitte, 2020).
Emergence of Gen Y and
Millennial consumers
Increased digital media
consumption habits with
the need for instant
gratification, latest
information and two-way
communication across
multiple platforms.

Opportunity: Create
easily digestible content
and offer convenient
online financial services
to serve the new
generation of ‘self
directed’ banking clients
(Olanrewaju, 2014).

Threat: Out-dated or
inappropriate online
information could lead to
mistrust and customer
dissatisfaction.
Initiate a blog or open
discussion forum via social
media networks (Deloitte,
2020).
Justification: Facilitates open
dialogue/two-way
communication with young
clients who want to share
feedback on products and
services, as well as feed their
ideas to new product/service
development. Thus,
enhancing customer
experience and fostering
loyalty (Hobe, 2015).
EMPLOYEES Increasing proportion of
tech-savvy Millennial and
Gen Z’s in the workforce
who has greater online
presence.
Opportunity: Supports
NTB’s desired move
towards embracing
greater digital
enablement.

Threat: Increased cyber
risk and customer
confidential data leakage.
Initiate a bottom-up
strategy featuring blogs
written by employees
(Roper and Fill, 2012) and
effective hashtag campaigns
(for example: #weareNTB)
via bank’s social media
platforms.

Justification: Creates a
passionate work culture that
empowers employees to
become advocates for the
company. This increased
employee satisfaction
translates to better
customer service and loyalty
(Deloitte, 2017).

28

Greater acceptance of
technology and
knowledge across
multiple digital platforms.
Opportunity: Enables
NTB to portray itself as a
highly digital organisation
through its staff.
Introduce digital dashboards
with user-friendly interfaces
to ease access and retrieval
of relevant information.

Justification: Facilitates
autonomy, creative working
and greater entrepreneurial
thinking enabling employees
to deliver superior customer
service, build customer trust
and loyalty (Deloitte, 2017).

29
3.b Critical appraisal of available digital channels and advancements in digital tools to
enhance corporate reputation and customer loyalty

Corporate websites form an organisation’s primary digital real estate and first port of call for both
existing and new stakeholders (Deloitte, 2017). However, other types of paid, owned and earned media
(Appendix 6) have earned prominence in creating awareness, informing important information and
brand building (Chaffey and Smith, 2017) by facilitating stakeholder interaction and engagement.
Below is a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of selected digital channels in the market together with
digital tool advancements, which enable organisations to prioritise customer touch-points that generate
maximum returns with limited resources.
Digital Channel Rating Purpose
Stakeholder/
Audience
Critical evaluation of
effectiveness

WEBSITE
(One-to-many)

3/5
• Disclose important
company related
information

• Provide regular
updates on
product/service
features, rates,
campaigns

• Public reporting,
disclosures, press
releases and sharing
other company
related news

• Clients
• Employees
• Competitors
• Investors
• Community
• Regulatory
bodies

• Service
providers
NTB has a modern website
design with great usability,
speed and easy navigation.

Website traffic (similarweb.com):
- 200k daily visitors
- 39% Direct traffic
- 37% from Search
- 0.51% from social media

However, it lacks
engagement, up-to-date
content as well as a customer
feedback mechanism.
Advancements
in Digital tools
to enhance
Corporate
Reputation
• Incorporate customer feedback website survey tools such as OpinionLab to
obtain continuous client feedback, suggestions for improvement and ratings on
products and services (Chaffey, 2018).

• Use an emotionally engaging corporate video that tells an inspiring story (Roper
& Fill, 2012) to increase stickiness or average time spent on the website.

• Facilitate two-way communication and greater engagement through content
hubs such as forums/blogs on the website (Cooper, 2020).

• Considering over 60% of internet traffic is generated via mobile, Google’s Mobile
Website Speed Testing tool can be used to ensure responsive and adaptive
website optimisation across mobile devices (Patel, 2019) to enhance customer
experience and loyalty.

30
SOCIAL MEDIA
(Interactive)

" Facebook
" YouTube
" LinkedIn
" Instagram

3/5
• Reinforce brand
image

• Create awareness
about the
company, products
and services.

• Reach a wider
digital audience in
a cost effective
manner.

• Facilitate two-way
communication,
sharing of
feedback.
• Clients
• Employees
• Competitors
• Community
• Service
providers
NTB’s reach and social
following;

" Facebook: 165K Total likes
and 167K Total follows

" YouTube: 655 subscribers

" LinkedIn: 28, 250 followers

" Instagram: 4,844 followers

NTB has frequent updates
across above platforms.
However, audience
engagement levels and
negative feedback monitoring
could be improved further.
NTB must also use its social
media platforms to drive
visitors back to its corporate
website since only 0.51%
website traffic is currently
generated through social
media.

Advancements
in Digital tools
to enhance
Corporate
Reputation
• Use SocialMention to effectively monitor NTB’s real-time social media
performance by gauging the overall reach, sentiment of mentions and
strength (Influencer Marketing, 2019).

• Social listening tools like Radian6 can be used for sentiment tracking on third
party sites to facilitate immediate response to negative brand mentions
(Chaffey and Smith, 2017) to mitigate damage to brand reputation.

• Facebook: Alter Facebook algorithm signals - who users interact with, media
type and popularity of the post, to rank and display only suitable posts to
each user, allowing greater interaction (Cooper, 2020).

• YouTube: Post insightful, high-quality videos with catchy titles no longer than
3 minutes, to grab and retain viewer attention within the first 60 seconds
(Hunt, 2017) and facilitate cross sharing on other platforms.

• LinkedIn: Promote thought-leadership by publishing creative and original
content to position itself as the ultimate digital bank in Sri Lanka.

• Instagram: Meaningful Hashtag campaigns centred on employees’ life and CSR
activities can enhance brand image and corporate reputation.

31
3.c Digital communications strategy to protect and strengthen NTB’s corporate reputation
and measurement technologies

As per Smart Insights, NTB is currently at the Defined Stage (average digital capability) in terms of their
digital marketing. While this reflects a planned lifecycle marketing approach, NTB still needs to re-
strategize to reach the Optimized or Best-in-class digital marketing stage through a well-integrated
lifecycle marketing plan. This will enable to move stakeholders up the Ladder of Engagement by
strengthening corporate reputation and brand loyalty (Smith and Zook, 2011).

3.c.1 Recommended Digital communications strategy for NTB

Set a digital roadmap
Develop a unique, well-defined online value proposition

A good vision statement for
digital marketing activities
Incorporate clear objectives and
purpose of corporate communication
Analyse internal digital
capability
Using the ‘5Ds of Digital’ model:
• Devices: 60% of clients interact with NTB via mobile devices –
smartphones, tablets, wearables and gaming devices.

• Platforms: Focus more on optimising social media apps such as
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn on mobile devices.

• Media: Leverage on the right mix of owned (website), paid
(brand ambassadors) and earned (social media) channels for a
comprehensive marketing strategy.

• Data: Use insights of customers’ interaction with the business
across above platforms as input for client simulations and
targeted communication.

• Technology: Use experiential technologies such as Augmented
reality, Virtual reality and AI Chatbots on the website to
stimulate engagement of growing Millennial audience.
Design a robust
content management
strategy
• Foster optimised online reputation management through
integrated communications that are customer centric, data-
driven and involve effective branding (Argenti and Barnes,
2009) that reflects core brand values.

• Use digital data and analytics to gain in-depth understanding of
the target audience and stakeholder personas.

• Utilise RFM (Recency, Frequency and Monetary) metrics for
behaviour based customer segmentation to plan effective
content management (Smart Insights).

32

Define Measurement
Framework
• Adopt an internal communication strategy with clear structure,
two-way flow, effective content and positive climate to gain
employee buy-in to the overall corporate strategy, enhance
organisational identity and reputation (van Riel and Bruggen,
2002).

• Aim to achieve both intellectual and emotional engagement
with stakeholders through all forms of communication (Chaffey,
2007) such as social media posts, website content, videos,
images, forums, customer FAQs and even emails.
Use RACE model to engage customers at all stages of the
lifecycle/journey and measure effectiveness based on rate of
Involvement, Interaction, Intimacy and Influence (Chaffey & Smith,
2017).

• Reach: Build brand awareness and use mobile and Internet
channels to create Zero Moment Of Truth (ZMOT).
KPIs: Unique visitors, actions on page, reach

• Act: Engage new/existing customers via corporate website and
social media channels.
KPIs: Pages per visit, bounce rate, dwell time on website, post
clicks, page views, page likes

• Convert: Track conversion based on set marketing goals.
KPIs: Lead conversion rates, revenue from campaigns, number
of new leads generated.

• Engage: Incorporate engagement activities to enhance brand
loyalty to build solid customer relationships over time and
transform mere website visitors/viewers to repeat
visitors/customers.

This is closely linked with the Customer Loyalty Ladder, which
moves an individual from a prospect to an advocate.

33
3.c.2 Evaluation of digital technologies to monitor and measure reputation

Tool Evaluation Justification Limitations
HOOTSUITE
A complete social media
management platform.

Core features:
• Scheduling of posts to
keep social media
presence active.

• Promote best
performing content.

• Content curation to
manage and share
most compelling
images and content.

• Monitoring of
important topics to
ensure speedy
response.

• Ability to integrate and manage
NTB’s entire social footprint across
Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and
Instagram on one central dashboard
(Hemann and Burbary, 2013).

• Hootsuite Analytics: Facilitates easy
tracking of social media campaign
performance, lead generation and
conversion through easy-to-create
reports.

• Hootsuite Insights: A social listening
tool that analyses social mentions
across multiple social networks,
forums, news sites and blogs and
measures overall sentiment of the
‘NTB’ brand amongst stakeholders
(Hootsuite.com).

• Unavailability
of geo-
targeting and
advanced
analytics
options.

• Only allows a
limited
number of
users.

GOOGLE
WEBMASTER
TOOLS

• A free service that
helps evaluate and
maintain a website's
performance in search
results.

• Offers valuable insights to key SEO
statistics to help manage website
traffic and enhance stakeholders’
overall website experience (eg:
keywords used by users to land on
the website, click-through rate, links
to site etc).

• Helps to identify issues with the site
or if it has been infected with any
malware and fix immediately.

• Includes algorithms to make the
website mobile responsive by
labeling pages ‘mobile friendly’. This
will create a seamless onmichannel
experience (Chaffey and Smith,
2017)
• Technically
complex to
test and
implement
across high-
resolution
displays.

• Higher costs
due to heavy
use of style
sheets, which
could harm
page load
times.

34

ANNEXURES

35
APPENDIX 1: SWOT ANALYSIS
Factor Current Situation
STRENGTHS
• One of Sri Lanka’s most respected entities – climbed up 6 positions in 2018
(LMD)
• Brand value of LKR 4.05 billion (Brands Lanka), making it Sri Lanka’s 30th
most
valuable brand
• Overall customer satisfaction rate of 84%
• Recognition under ‘Governance’ pillar at the Best Corporate Citizen
Sustainability Awards 2017 – board representation, best practices and
governance structure
• Advanced cyber security measures ensuring safety of digital platforms
• Pioneer of 365 day banking in Sri Lanka
• Adoption of lean processes and increased automation that boost operational
efficiency
• Client centric value positions targeted to selected segments
• Strong secure systems, certified and audited by 3rd
party
• Great agility enabling fast response to customer sentiments
WEAKNESSES
• Over 50% of total retail transactions come via digital channels –over reliance on
digital banking
• Increased impairment and bad debts due to bad debts
• High labour-turnover due and difficulty to retain young talent
OPPORTUNITIES
• Fastest growing licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka
• Heavy investments on going digital
• Ability to attract the younger generation and millennial clients who are tech
savvy
• Investment in environmental conservation initiatives and community
development
• Using Omni channel platforms to create a unique human-digital experience
• Link systems with high-level of security to offer seamless connectivity
THREATS
• Increased risk of cyber attacks, hacking and system failures due to heavy use of
digital platforms
• Cash flow crunch due to external/macroeconomic challenges – tight market
conditions, negative economic cycles
• Non-payment of debts and delayed payments increasing risk of impairment
• Higher complexity and increased costs due to stronger regulations
• Increased competition to attract young talent leading to employee attraction
and retention

36
APPENDIX 2: AC2
ID Test (Balmer & Soenen, 1999)
Ac2
id Test framework by Balmer and Soenen (1999) is used to evaluate the corporate identity of NTB to
identify areas of improvement.
Identity Factor Description Rating
Actual Identity
Tech savviness
• Leading digital bank in Sri Lanka
• Digital enablement across all product offerings
• Array of digital banking products – mobile/online
banking, FriMi, ATM’s & CRM’s
• Creating seamless omnichannel experience
4/5
Structure
• Tall, divisional structure
• Legendary agility allowing great responsiveness to
client requests
• Heavy reliance on machine learning and automation
of manual processes
• Innovation centre
Range of
products &
services
• A wide range of financial products and services
covering needs of the individual, SME, Corporate &
Institutional clients
• Advanced, yet user-friendly digital enablement
across all products
Culture
• Mantra – “simple, smart and inclusive”
• Banking as a “facilitating” business – removing
friction between transacting and platforms
• Relatively young workforce – 83% below 30 years
• Meaningful CSR initiatives island-wide with local
communities
• Partnerships with 12 leading environmental
organisations
Communicated
Identity
Corporate
Communications
• Launch of a new brand identity and image in 2017
• Youngest full service commercial bank
• Innovative, young, energetic reputation
• Brands Lanka recognition – 30th
most valuable
brand
3/5
Visual Identity
• FriMi ranked among the top 30 digital banks in
APAC
• Network of 94 branches, ATM’s and CRM’s

37
Employee
reviews and
testimonials
• Dynamic work environment
• Work-life balance events
• Lack of a platform for employees to express the life
at NTB (eg: #campaigns)
Conceived
Identity
Stakeholder
views
• Catering to the increasingly tech savvy customer
• Customer education programmes
• Marketing communications to educate all product
related information in all 3 languages
4/5
Ideal Identity
Core
competencies
and resources
• Trailblazer and pioneer digital bank in Sri Lanka
through FriMi
• First bank to use Open API Banking
4/5
Corporate
positioning
• Most innovative and responsive bank in Sri Lanka
• Industry-wide benchmark of customer convenience
Desired Identity
CEO speech on
company future
and direction
• Increasing share of existing customer wallets
• Branch digitalisation and increased customer
migration to digital channels
• Spearhead the financial industry towards
environmental sustainability
• Increase female representation amongst the
workforce (currently at 43%). However, only 3 out
of 13 are female at board level.
3/5

38
APPENDIX 3: Drivers of Corporate Reputation (Fombrun, 1996)

Factor Attribute Rating
Credibility
Performance
• 3% market share
• Profit of LKR 3.7Bn
• Total assets of LKR 325Bn (growth of 21%)

Leadership Team
• High profile individuals with positive track record and good conduct
• All board level staff having minimum of a Masters level education
qualification and relevant expertise

Recognition & Accolades
• NTB ranked 14th
in “Business Today Top 30”
• Sri Lanka’s 30th
most valuable brand (Brands Lanka)
(Source: https://www.nationstrust.com/about/our-story/awards)
4/5
Trustworthiness
Employee Focus
• Over 100,000 hours of employee training
• 83.4% retention rate
• Inclusive, innovative and collaborative work environment
• ‘Work-life balance’ events for employees

Customer Engagement
• Customer education and capacity building programmes
• Customer feedback/sentiments considered for product enhancement
4/5
Reliability
Customer Experience and Convenience
• 84% customer satisfaction score
• Net promoter score 60
• 60% of transactions in 2019 originated via digital platforms
4/5
Responsibility
• Commitment to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
• LKR 23.3Mn investment in CSR activities
• ‘Empowering the next generation’ – soft skills and digital literacy
programmes
• Environment management framework to reduce emissions and the
paper use
3/5

39
APPENDIX 4: RepTrak Audit (Reputation Institute Model)
The table below identifies the current status of NTB with regards to the 7 dimensions of the RepTrak
model. Each attribute is rated using a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest).
Dimension Attribute Description
Impact
on CR
Rating
Leadership
Highly skilled country
management team
Considerable expertise and skills to
add value and support the growth of
the bank.
+ 4/5
Clear vision for the future
Visionary leadership – focusing on
creativity, outstanding products,
unmatched services, good governance
and digital transformation.
Effective resource
allocation
More resources allocated to building
relationships with existing customers
that received more traction
Performance
High returns to
shareholders
Dividend of LKR 2.10 per share . Share
price appreciation by 14.4% (Voting)
+ 4/5
Lean processes & robotic
process automation
Significant impact on managing
efficiencies of the bank and reducing
costs whilst delivering faster, accurate
results.
Products &
Services
Quality of products &
services
Customer-centric products and
solutions aimed to help achieve
personal goals
+/- 4/5
Greater digital
enablement
Majority of products enhanced with
digital enablement allowing greater
convenience
Innovation
First to Market products
and features
NTB is a pioneer in digital
transformation – first to adopt Open
Banking API and FriMi
+

4/5
Responsiveness to
change
Greater agility resulting from
accelerated IT capabilities allowing
NTB to deliver innovative and faster
solutions to internal and external
stakeholders.
Workplace
Fair pay and performance
rewards

Performance driven culture that
rewards all employees fairly based on
their rating determined through the
contribution/ achievement of
objectives/individual KPIs.
+/-

3/5

Dedicated Internal
communications
department for greater
employee engagement
Top down and down up approach is
practiced where input and feedback
from frontline is used to
rethink/redesign products &
processes.

40
Governance
Values
Agile, Proactive, Excellence, Winning
together, Trust are the key values that
shape behaviours and how business is
done at NTB.
+ 4/5
Strong compliance
culture and structures
Governance structures to nurture
intellectual capital, safeguard
reputation and guide employee
conduct. Stronger data governance
frameworks and data leakage
prevention solutions needed with
rapid digital transformation.
+/- 3/5
Citizenship
Social citizen
1% of Profit after Tax allocated
towards accessible education for
children and a clean world.
+

3/5
Green lending and
sustainable financing
Increased lending towards green
products such as renewable energy,
agriculture and other green initiatives

41
APPENDIX 5: PESTEL Analysis
Factor Implication Description Impact Rank
POLITICAL
Political instability Political instability and unrest in Sri Lanka
has a negative impact on business

High

Government
intervention
Budget proposals of the ruling
Government, tax rates and new taxes or
incentives implemented on the banking
industry.

Regulatory changes Central Bank regulations on interest
rates, capital adequacies and liquidity
ratios pose great impact on operations

Pricing regulations

Any regulatory caps on deposit/lending
rates and other mechanisms enforced for
Financials.

ECONOMIC
GDP Growth &
Inflation rate
Increase in Non Performing Loans and fall
in value of investments due to poor
economic performance or an inflationary
situation

High

Level of consumer
spending
Interest and savings rate impacts the
level of spending and thus the cash
circulation in the country

Unemployment rate Impacts the level of public savings and
ability to settle debts, causing increased
delinquency and bad debts.

SOCIO-CULTURAL
Social conventions
and shifting gender
roles
Major shift towards increase of women in
leadership positions, bridging gaps in pay
from male to female etc.

High
Diversity and social
inclusion
Currently a key consideration of most
businesses. Leads to extending an
inclusive culture to staff, customers,
partners etc…

High
Rise of the urban
middle class and
emerging affluent
segment

Key customer target for NTB. As they are
consumption-led, drives rapid growth in
demand for wealth and financing
solutions.

High

42

Changes in lifestyle
and attitude towards
education and
career.
Modern youth place greater importance
on higher education & professional
qualifications, delay marriage decisions
are inclined to travel and indulge in
unique experiences.

High
TECHNOLOGICAL
Rate of technological
diffusion
Block chain, APIs, AR, VR, AI and other
sophisticated advancements are on the
rise. Faster the adoption, the easier to
survive amidst tough competition and
win over customers.

High
Innovative digital
products and service
offerings
Transforming from a traditional to a
digital service delivery to create a greater
impact on the value chain.

High
Cyber security Increased concern due to rapid
advancement in digital platforms and
data leakage risks.

High
ENVIRONMENTAL
Attitude towards
sustainable finance
Consumers and businesses moving
towards green financial products.

Medium
Emphasis on
reducing carbon
footprint and all
types of pollution
Increased public commitment of
businesses to fund and facilitate
investments in green initiatives.
Medium
Consumer protection
and e-commerce
Various laws in place to minimise
corruption or malpractices in the e-
commerce space.

High
LEGAL
Data protection laws Laws enforced to ensure privacy and
protection of confidential consumer data. High
Employment laws Impacts workforce planning, wages,
health and safety and all other aspects of
managing the workforce.

High
Anti-trust laws Major policies that guide practices to
prevent monopoly or cartel behaviour in
the industry.

High

43
APPENDIX 6: Digital Audit

Website Performance Metrics
(https://www.similarweb.com/website/nationstrust.com#overview)

• Corporate Website
• Nations Trust Mobile App
• FriMi digital banking App
• Social Media Channels –
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube &
LinkedIn
• Post shares, reposts, reviews on
Social Media
• Brand mentions on third party
sites for various affiliations
• Partner organisations posting
about NTB’s CSR involvements
• Sponsored/targeted ads (offers,
new product/service
introductions) on social media
• NTB web banners on other sites
• Affiliate marketing with brand
ambassadors

44

Website traffic from Social Platforms
(https://www.similarweb.com/website/nationstrust.com#overview)

45
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