Improving marketing process using Six Sigma techniques (case of Saman Bank)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of improvement of marketing process using Six Sigma methodology, in the context of a banking environment. Design/methodology/approach – Based on Six Sigma's DMAIC model, the paper uses Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control phases to study marketing process improvement in Saman Bank. Findings – Research states the way concepts of marketing performance management relates to the improvement of a bank marketing process using Six Sigma. Low quality was observed in the process and then regarding customer relations as one of the main priorities, improvement actions were planned. A major marketing failure for the bank was decline of online banking usage, which justifies the importance of loyal online banking customers in marketing plans. Practical implications – This paper helps marketing departments in financial institutions to analyze their current performance and execute improvement actions to optimize their process. One fact in designing marketing improvement actions for banks is effectively using related information systems to organize the high amount of marketing data and to respond quickly to customer needs. Originality/value – Marketing performance measurement is done in a new way as the research describes how a general marketing process can adopt Six Sigma tools to have stronger customer relations, reduced marketing costs and how to prioritize improvement actions systematically.