Business blogging in Bangladesh - three years on

As this blog enters three years into existence with a view to promote the use of business blogging by Bangladeshi companies, I made a few quick phone surveys to a few contacts working in various industries there to find out how they are perceiving business blogging to start the conversation with Bangladeshi consumers. Following is a summary of the present state of unofficial views from a few Bangladeshi executives.

Lack of knowledge

Many Bangladeshi companies, infact most of them, seem to be unaware about the use of business blogging as a marketing tool or social media as a matter of fact, to engage with their customers. The general impression is that since the companies have websites up and running so that should suffice as far as online brand management is concerned. Moreover, the companies are confident that the existing business functions such as customer services, market research, media etc. are good enough to 'engage' customers through various surveys, ATL and BTL activities. Moreover, since there are dedicated personnel to liaise with the press and media, they are not interested to anything which is untried and uncommon in Bangladeshi business landscape.

Difference between business journalism and business blogging

Those who are aware of corporate or business blogging are still not sure whether business journalism and business blogging are the same thing and who exactly does what. They expressed satisfaction that they are getting required hotspots in TV, radio and print media to convey their brand communications to their existing and potential clients, moreover business journalists are already 'doing a good job' by regularly publishing updates and news on various aspects of their businesses, so there is no need to confuse the situation by experimenting with business blogging.

Issues of transparency and lack of rules

The 3rd category of Bangladeshi businesses have adequate knowledge of various game-changing technologies such as blogs and social media but they are unsure about protocols, regulations in their companies about how much of business information can they divulge in public space. Most are fearful of backlashes from within the company. For example, an engineer from Robi voiced his embarassment with the new brand name, is aware of the recent conversations in online space but not sure whether or not someone from Robi should engage in the conversation in the same social networks with people or not. Moreover, according to him, the management is simply not interested to pay attention to unofficial forms of communications customers try to have with the companies. Its not a priority.

Lack of defined roles and resources

Since brands attempt to share control with customers in the social media space, Bangladeshi companies can't fully stop customers from setting up fan pages and groups for the brand, either to sing praise or do brand bashing. Groups in Facebook for Aktel (Robi), BRAC Bank, GrameenPhone etc. exist but what is not clear is whether these are official representations of the brands or not. It could be the artworks of a loyal employee who thought to make a mark on behalf of his/her employer in the social media space by setting up pages for free and attempting to start conversations with consumers. But unless there are no official roles assigned, its difficult to ascertain who the official spokesperson is. Most of the time, brands discover accidental spokespersons in social media who prove to be efficient mouthpieces for the company, Bangladeshi companies are yet to wake up to this reality. So the companies would prefer to keep blogging and social media 'to a personal level and for fun only'.

A formal media survey by market research companies would be useful to provide more concrete views on this topic. Feel free to share your views and the views of your businesses on this.

BREAKING: Brac Bank outdid Prime Bank -according to Sajjadur Rahman (who else did you expect?)

Remember how Sajjadur Rahman always has Brac Bank to promote? Check out the graph. I think Bangladesh Bank might be interested in the new "findings".

In all fairness Sajjadur Rahman has too much on his plate, -Brac Bank PR (chamcha) and a 'reporter'.

Interest of Tk 8000 for Less than 1 Taka

A Mr. Mojammel Haque has sent his opinion in the Daily Ittefaq on March 09, 2009 stating that, he obtained a credit card from BRAC bank namely “Free for Life” card. He alleged that he had been using the card for several years while paying the monthly bills regularly. He further mentions that in his card there was an unpaid balance of Tk 0.96, which is less than Tk 1.00. As the amount was very small he did not care for paying any bills further. Lately in the month of March he has found that his credit card has a bill of Tk Tk 8069.77. Shocked with this balance he called the Call Center and got a reply that he has to pay the bill and he has no other option. …

The above is the extract taken from “Letters to Editor” page of The Daily Ittefaq. I personally think, the matter which has been published as above, does not provide sufficient information to justify the facts, because the Mr. Haque did not provide when he had an unpaid balance of Tk 0.69 and when he received the bill for unpaid amount. Yet, whatever time period passed in between, I think a bill of Tk 8069.77 is an impossible bill for an amount less than One taka. If the thing is true, we the consumers should go tough against this kind of fees and charges of credit card in our country. Dear readers, if you have any relevant or similar experience with your credit card bills, please share it here. Thanks.

The Brac Bank Chamcha (Sajjadur Rahman) at The Daily Star

Sometimes companies get too close for comfort with the media. Some are painfully obvious to normal readers while the ones participating in the act do so without any recollection or humility.

It has been a constant observation that one writer, X of The Daily Star usually has one goal to promote and talk about: Brac Bank. So close is the relationship between this "reporter" that whenever his Brac Bank publicity article is published, the newspaper also carries a Brac Bank ad. A quick search of The Daily Star archive will find that Brac Bank and X are indeed married.

Moreover X enjoys unhindered access to the top management of Brac Bank. Why is this odd? Because most executives stay away from the media to avoid the "cut and paste" of statements to suit a motive. But Brac Bank is strikingly different, giving X access to the entire staff, Chairman and MD. The financial link between these two entities is painfully obvious after articles after articles always center around Brac Bank.

Even the most unrelated bank news always has a Brac Bank tie in, even though it is not relevant. Bangladesh Bank letting banks open branches? Oh, Brac Bank is opening 15 branches this year (others don't matter). The entire article follows like a Brac Bank ad.

Nevertheless it does not mean that Brac Bank itself is not newsworthy. Believe me they are. The bank is still continuously refusing to reimburse victims of the 1970s style locker heist that took place last year. Where is X's puff piece on that? You won't see anything regarding this news or any updates either by X or The Daily Star.

Secondly I don't know if anyone has noticed their stock has tanked for no good reason for awhile now. This is long before GSP Finance came into the picture or went out. What no discussion why a stock trading at Tk 1200 is now at Tk 550 even without any dividend announcement? But I will disclose that I own Brac Bank stock (and if I was X I would also disclose the financial arrangements between us).

Other than the American banks, I don't believe any Bangladeshi Bank's stock has tanked so badly. This is even after paying for articles and stretching the truth in so many X articles.

Although the financial arrangement is obvious there are lessons to be learnt. Like the noted MasterCard ad, somethings in life are priceless. Maintaining proper security over bank lockers is one of them, because 40 puff pieces and paying off a reporter is not going to fix it. Neither is it going to cover up for a flawed business model. But even more important is a writer's reputation. Everything that X will ever write has been paid for.

How may I help you? vs. Ki bepare ashchen?

It might not be Customer Service month, but i had an interesting experience recently at a bank and thought i would share it with other fellow bloggers. Appreciate your feedback and comments.
Best Regards,
Jeeshan

The other day I was headed to one of the Foreign Banks in Bangladesh where I maintain an account. Given my tight work schedule and the banks operating hours, it becomes quite a challenge for me to do any banking. The only time I manage to drop in is usually at about 9:00 AM in the morning. One particular morning I managed to get to the bank at about 8:45 AM. At the entrance I was greeted by a ill-mannered security guard who exclaimed "You cant enter the bank before 9:00 AM". I stood out for the next twenty minutes watching the banks employees arrive one after another. The security guard eventually opened the gate at about 9:05. I took a seat at the front desk where I waited unattended. A few minutes later, a lady arrived at the scene with this "I am having a bad day frown" and asked "Ki Bapare Ashchen?" I was astonished!

In an identical scenario a few months back at around the same time in a bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka, something different happened. A bank teller who spotted me waiting outside summoned the security guard to open the door, after which he welcomed me in. There were warm smiles from all corners of the room. I was delighted at this red carpet treatment. What followed was even more remarkable. Shortly, the same teller accompanied me to come to the counter where he processed my request, and this was done at 8:50 AM when the bank was still not open. I walked out with a smile. What a way to start the day. The bank had exceeded my expectations not once but twice.

"Ki Bapare Ashchen" seems to be a very common phrase wherever you go in Bangladesh be it private, public or even a foreign owned enterprise. We Bangladeshis claim to be such friendly, warm people. In fact even if there is one thing that foreign tourists are full of praise about us is our hospitability. However in the instances such as the scenario I described above we seem to tend to forget about who we really are.

Customer Service is a widely misunderstood and misused concept in Bangladesh. Service level is not just delivered at the transaction stage and after sales stage of a product or service- rather across all customer touch points. In today's era of commoditization and emergence of me-too culture, service quality can be a key differentiator. It's unfortunate that very few companies in Bangladesh see such potential in service. Theodore Levitt once said "There is no such thing as service industries. There are only industries whose service components are greater or less than those of other industries. Everybody is in Service."

In one of his books, Philip Kotler explained the importance of three F's of service marketing: fast, flexible and friendly. He states any company can use these three F's as a base to develop appropriate service levels. Meeting your customers expectations is good, exceeding it is will take you one step closer to greatness. It's a small world out there, satisfied customers can give your business an unexpected leverage, while you are busy spending heaps on other marcom channels. Still convinced about your customer service? Try giving a call to your customer service helpline asking about an unusual problem? Better get a tough friend to do some mystery shopping. You will be surprised. So the next time you meet a customer or a prospect, smile and say "How may I help you?" Remember Peter Drucker's famous line, your business is all about other people's money. Be nice!

By

Jeeshan Mirza

Male ego and bank ego...divided we walk

Again Sajjad Bhaiya writes on DS and about BRAC Bank here

Plans to set up a joint network of ATMs have stalled, as the country's banks are unwilling to share facilities with each other.Shared ATMs would allow customers from any of the banks in the scheme to use the cash point facilities of all member banks. This would massively expand customer networks and cut costs for banks. However each bank sees ATMs as a competitive tool and are worried that this advantage will be lost if the machines are opened to other banks' customers. They also fear the shared scheme will be in the control of BRAC Bank who launched the idea.BRAC Bank Limited, one of the fastest growing private banks in the country, launched Omnibus; a common network for ATMs and Point of Sales (POS) terminals in November last year investing Tk 6 crore in the project. So far IT Consultants Limited, operator of the ATM network Q-Cash is the only other member.Omnibus has integrated the ATM and POS networks of BRAC Bank and Q-Cash, enabling cardholders of the bank and Q-Cash member banks to access their accounts from any of the ATMs and POS terminals.But a senior official of IT Consultants Limited said the scheme had struggled to find other members. “Individual banks have shown little interest to join the common network,” he said.“Even our member banks do not want to use the Omnibus network run by the BRAC Bank,” the ITCL official said. “It is unfortunate that BRAC Bank had not set up Omnibus as a separate entity,” the official remarked.Currently Q-Cash has over 100 ATMs and BRAC Bank 55."Banks do not want to be a member of the Omnibus ATM and POS network because of the 'ego problem'," a senior official of AB Bank Limited said.Yesterday a top BRAC Bank official said Omnibus should be a separate entity.“We will make it a separate organisation from the BRAC Bank once seven members join the network,” Abedur Rahman Sikder, head of marketing and corporate affairs of the bank told The Daily Star.BRAC Bank takes Tk 10 lakh as joining fees to the network and Tk 1 lakh as monthly service charge.In most of the cases banks do not want to pay the fees, he added.The number of ATMs in Bangladesh has grown rapidly in the past few years and there are now more than 500 in operation, mainly in Dhaka and Chittagong. The largest operator is Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited that has invested heavily in the machines and now has around 230.Cash Link Bangladesh, a new company formed by a consortium of banks and their technology operations management partner, Euronet Worldwide have also planned to set up 505 ATMs across the country over the next three years.

It happens only in Bangladesh. Like all other spheres in life, especially in politics, banks have also decided to put the end consumers last in the priority. Why bother providing the customers shares access when life is going fine for them and for us anyways. Also, lets gang up and let not any one of us grow or prove innovative. Well, that excludes me, if I grow...its not my problem right? So lets join our hands together and stop any advancement by BRAC Bank. One side of the story.

The other side of the story, I have no idea. I would have believed the Daily Star article more had it been produced by someone else, there are claims in the air that some certain persons sometimes work as loyal mouthpieces of corporate houses to push forward their agenda. So I would request anyone knowing the other side of the story to please share it with us here.

There he goes...goes the job too

Some say he was a great man, he loved to eat, he was always smiling and above all, he was one of the greatest bankers the country has ever produced. Keeping everyone under a state of shock and dismay, Mr. Imran, the CEO and MD of BRAC Bank, passed away nearly a month ago. There was a procession of mourners who gathered who sadly recalled his service, his personality, his friendship and not to mention…his favors. Being a lion-heart leader in a Bangladeshi corporate comes with its share of ‘social’ and ‘familial’ responsibility to create employment opportunities for ‘omuker bhai’, ‘tomuker meye’, ‘shomuker bhaista’ etc. Mr. Imran was perhaps no exception to this leadership birombona. He, during his living time, actively tried to create jobs for many a struggling youth, if not always under the umbrella of BRAC Bank, but under the safeguard of other corporate entities. It is also claimed by his admirers that he gave jobs to those who seeked it, based on their qualification too. So there should be no room left for smelling something fishy there.

However, the mourning of the mourners in BRAC Bank seems to be prolonged even after the sad and untimely demise of the savior in banking armor even after a month. The departure of the godly figure is followed by massive ‘rightsizing’ across BRAC Bank. Now there is no Mr. Imran to create jobs, empower people he knew or who knew him. So the falling tears of the unfortunate employees are made to make a river of misery as they are not only left in the sun without the presence of the messiah, but also left with grim uncertainties in a difficult job market in Bangladesh. Very simple step taken by the management no doubt, ‘to face stiff competition from the market, to realign corporate strategy’ they can always lay some people off. But those who are facing the heat know exactly why they are made redundant. RIP Imran Mama, we hope the people you helped one day are able to find jobs based on their talent again, as many don’t seem to get the right job only because they don’t know anybody like you in person.

BRAC Bank goes virtual, virtual job loss or creation?

Sajjadur Rahman writes in Daily Star.

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It may sound quite alien to many in the country that a bank branch can be operated without any staff. But it's going to be true today. BRAC Bank, a growing private commercial bank, will open a branch without staff. The bank calls it a virtual bank, offering normal financial services as provided by a regular bank branch.“Virtual banking will deliver faster and real-time services to the customers and will reduce operational costs,” said Abedur Rahman Sikder, head of marketing and corporate affairs of BRAC Bank.Virtual banking provides convenient and secured banking services 24 hours a day. Initially, the bank's virtual services will include deposit and cash withdrawal, inquiries about balance, transfer of funds from one account to another, statement of account, and provision of new checkbooks. Telephone and online banking will also be available at that branch.The virtual banking will offer videoconferences within a couple of months so that clients can talk to bank officials in the event of any necessity, Sikder said.There will be four ATMs, three cash deposit machines, and three telephone lines at the virtual branch on 98 Gulshan Avenue. Many banks have gone for virtual banking with the growing commercialisation of the internet since 1990s. The system has replaced the traditional time-consuming banking in many countries in the last two decades.The world's first fully functional virtual bank was the Security First Network Bank (SFNB), which began operations on October 18, 1995 at Atlanta, Georgia in US.Some banks in India have already started virtual banking.“We are the first to start on virtual banking by opening a branch,” Sikder said. “Our objective is to push the customers to go for the new system, which is cost-effective,” he said. “We will be able to provide convenient banking for our clients,” said Sikder. (END)

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Well so much so for BRAC Bank, their constant innovation seems to be paying them off pretty well. However just a paradox that pops up sometimes in my head is, how much automation is actually relevant in Bangladesh's context? I mean any sort of automation certainly implies some lay offs, some jobs dissolved...or does it not? I wonder if Bangladesh is the only country where ATMs are guarded by human agents, I don't know much about ATMs in other countries whether they have enough manpower to guard every single ATM to prevent security threats. ATMs of Bangladeshi banks have certainly created some employment opportunities for those who help us with the door while entering and coming out of an ATM booth. Now if banks start opening virtual banks such as this, does it also imply that we let go the opportunity to create a few jobs for some human beings in the process who could have otherwise been on the other side of the counters? Does automation come with a cost? Are we ready and willing to compromise it to provide superior quality to customers? May be BRAC Bank thinks 'yes'. What do you think?

This shouldn’t have happened

I was overwhelmed knowing Brac Bank was looted. I could not believe how people, in these days, would take this account in minds? Those who have lost their valuables, have lost almost everything. Question is those who haven’t lost a thing, will they still prefer going with BRAC? Even if I stop talking about Brac Bank, what about the other institutions in this industry? Won’t their future be shaping in unusual ways after this episode? Will their business of renting lockers sustain as it always was?

The heist is not a new occurrence in the financial institutions, for which when they make a contract with a customer they agrees upon a common phrase, as per the terms and conditions signed between the clients and the bank, the bank is not liable for stolen goods. But when there is a question of a great many families, how the top-management of the bank treats the situation is a matter to be taken into serious considerations. As of now, the bank has issued a special notice, it has been discovered that some unknown persons unlawfully entered the safe deposit locker facilities of the Dhanmondi branch of BRAC Bank Ltd and stole the contents of a number of lockers during the weekend holidays … … … BRAC Bank will continue to make every endeavor to keep the concerned locker holders informed on all developments in this regard.

Whatever the bank’s top-management does, will never sooth the abruptly beating hearts of the people who have lost their precious items. Even if they pay a handsome sum to them, it won’t lessen their anguish. I strongly believe, a mere contract for not being liable for the theft should never be taken into deliberation. Government must play a vital role here. If not, the economics of the affected families are likely to see no future.

Citibank In Bangladesh Launches Mobile Based Remittance Service From Malaysia

Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent

Citibank and DIGI Telecommunications Sdn Bhd have teamed up to provide a new service - DiGiREMIT - to facilitate the transfer of money from Malaysia to Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.The new service is designed to simplify the transfer of money by using mobile phones. DIGI acts as a remittance agent of Citibank to its prepaid and postpaid cell phone customers, who can register at any of the 47 DiGi centers throughout Malaysia. The service offers issuance of drafts in Bangladesh payable at over 800 locations, which are delivered between 24 to 72 hours. The registration creates a virtual wallet for the customer to load up to Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 5,000 at any one time. The customer can then remit via SMS anytime or over the counter at designated DiGi outlets, subject to a limit of RM 5000 per transaction. The fee for the service starts from RM 8. Customers will also automatically receive free personal accident coverage along with that. Commenting on this product, Rashed Maqsood, Director and Head of Global Transaction Services of Citi Bangladesh, said: "We are the first bank in Bangladesh to pioneer mobile based cross-border remittance to Bangladesh market. Earlier, Citibank launched web-based remittances from US to Bangladesh through remit2home.com. Our culture in the transaction banking business is that of innovation, leadership & partnership."

What I didn't get here is how Citibank is paying out the money sent from Malaysia to the mentioned 800 locations in Bangladesh. To whom these outlets belong to? Also, when someone from Malaysia is sending the SMS, to which number, to whom they are sending the SMS? Is it a Citibank 'hot number', Grameen Phone number, Banglalink number? They also talk about 'issuance of drafts', who generates it, how it is collected and where are those 800 locations? May be its my limited understanding that I cannot grasp the whole picture, anybody reading this post is welcome to enlighten us. Nevertheless, what I understand, its a huge leap forward in the right direction. Human resource is our largest natural source of comparative advantage and remittance injects life into our forex reserve. I wonder what Grameen Phone is thinking in this regard. With their flexiload retail outlets scattered over almost every corner of the country, could they tie up with say BRAC/BRAC Bank to offer some sort of remittance services to rural recipients? BRAC Bank has already strengthened its competitive position through it SME banking division which has an outlet 'almost in every last mile' of Bangladeshi villages, thanks to BRAC's already established MFI network. Now I can only envisage a tie up between GP and BRAC Bank, to facilitate smooth and fraud-free remittance to throw up a challenge in this lucrative market against Citibank, who are doing very well also in other banking markets.

Commercial Bank of Ceylon launches SME loan

Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) launched its SME (small and medium enterprise) loan product under the brand name of 'Probriddhi' in the city Tuesday. 'Probriddhi' is a medium term loan, applicable to the SME customers to meet their capital need for starting or expansion of their business, in line with the criteria set for the facility.The loan is offered with many attractive features, with an assurance of fast and easy processing so that the customers can get maximum benefit from the capital provided.

SMEs are at the core of our economic development and many FIs and NBFIs are coming up with SME specific products. BRAC bank is very visible on the SME front, so is Eastern Bank I guess. Now CBC joins the party. However, there is a need to compare and contrast what the banks are offering. We need to know who they are terming as SMEs. Also, we need to be clear about the issue of collaterals. Many SMEs complain that even though there is an array of so called SME products available in the market, but they are too costly, or the legal procedures are too cumbersome and confusing. Do the banks have any answer to address these concerns?

Banks target students as cash calves

Eastern Bank Ltd. has inaugurated its first student service centre at Dhanmondi branch premises in the city recently, says FE. Students can open their student file here, which is mandatory if anyone wants to go abroad for higher study.Students can get information to open their bank account named campus account. They can also get information to take debit and prepaid cards here. BRAC bank is the other one which is directly competing with EBL in this student market. Both the banks have been generous in giving away credit/debit cards to students in easy terms. They realize that this is a market where number of students is huge and these students are in the pipleline to become regular user of the banks when they graduate and become executives/businesspersons. Very well laid plan to allure the 'dJuice Generation'. Lets keep an eye on how EBL and BRAC keeps the students happy. No wonder these student 'cash calves' might just become the 'cash cows' for the banks when they grow in near future.