A Study on the Improvement of Marketing Strategies for Wealth Management Services at HF Branch of ZS Bank

Abstract

Commercial banks, as pivotal asset management entities in China, have served as critical intermediaries in financing and investment over the past decade. However, with the rapid expansion of the wealth management market in recent years, issues such as implicit guarantees and maturity mismatches have become increasingly pronounced. This study focuses on the personal wealth manage-ment business of the HF Branch of ZS Bank, examining its operational context to diagnose challenges in the sale of wealth management products during the tran-sition and post-implementation phases of the Asset Management Regulatory Guidelines. The aim is to formulate effective marketing strategies that offer both theoretical insights and practical guidance for peer institutions. The research proceeds along four dimensions: (1) contextualizing the study within domestic and international developments, clarifying its background, significance, re-search framework, and methodology, while reviewing relevant literature on wealth management and marketing strategies to identify current advancements and areas requiring improvement; (2) delineating the institutional profile, his-torical evolution of wealth management marketing, product portfolio, and oper-ational performance of the HF Branch of ZS Bank, alongside an analysis of the macro-marketing environment and competitive dynamics within the industry; (3) conducting a questionnaire-based survey to gain in-depth insights into the branch’s wealth management clientele and to identify key obstacles in market-ing execution; and (4) performing an STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Position-ing) analysis to propose targeted improvements across seven strategic do-mains—product, pricing, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evi-dence—based on empirical findings. As a representative case among Chinese commercial banks, the HF Branch of ZS Bank exemplifies industry-wide chal-lenges and trends in wealth management. This underscores the imperative for commercial banks to carefully assess both internal capabilities and external regulatory and market conditions under the new asset management regime, and to develop forward-looking marketing plans and strategies to ensure long-term, sustainable growth.