Islamic banking emerged rapidly to fulfil the financial needs of Muslim consumers, by using different viable modes of Islamic financing. These tools of financing were designed to avoid risk-free return, unjustified increase of money on money (ribii.) and uncertainty (gharar). To offer Islamic finance products and services, the number of full-fledged Islamic bank branches has increased since 1985. The industry then further expanded with the entrance of local and international conventional banks, which advertised their Islamic banking products heavily. At the present time of heightened competition, it has become more difficult for Islamic banks to differentiate themselves in terms of providing products and services. By understanding customers' attitudes, it might be possible to differentiate their banking products and services. Therefore this research investigated the level of satisfaction and overall attitudes of respondents, both Islamic and conventional bank users, of different nationalities and aged between 30-40, living in Pakistan, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Through an online survey regarding Islamic banking objectives, products, services, staff, Shari 'ah board and marketing, 385 responses were collected and analysed using the techniques of means and percentages. SPSS and Excel were used to produce bar charts and tables. Another distinctive aspect of this research was that it analysed product advertisements of Islamic banks (full-fledged and local/international banks) on websites based in Pakistan, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, in order to understand the differences and similarities with regard to website structures, content information, colour, marketed web products and targeted audiences. By investigating these factors, this research provided practical suggestions to design effective webpages or promotional messages to educate and inform customers of the distinction between the Islamic banking products and services that have emerged as a result of increasing competition in this market. Based on both quantitative and qualitative methods, the result of this research suggested Islamic banks should focus on the components of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to achieve strategic competitive advantages. The research findings-suggested that Islamic banks should gather sufficient customer related information from all banking channels and utilise it accurately to reconnect with customers by offering innovative products, re- establish lost connections with existing customers, build relationships with new customers, reconstruct a trustworthy image and revise marketing approaches. Most importantly, these banks should refocus on incorporating the Islamic elements of gharar- (uncertainty) and r ib d- (usury) free operational processes. This research strongly asserted that verbal authenticity by Islamic banks and a reliance on highly-camouflaged conventional banking products alone cannot build customer trust. To regain trust, and to acquire a greater market share in the competitive financial sector, Islamic banks' staff and Shari 'ah scholars need to imply sincere motivation, truthful intention, and dynamic, personalised and practical CRM approaches to uplift the Islamic financial brand and to fulfil its promises.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:553809 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Khan, Tahreem Noor |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=179557 |
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