POST-COVID PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL TOOLS AND SAVINGS MOBILIZATION DRIVE OF SELECTED MICROFINANCE BANKS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Almost two years on and the economic shock of COVID-19 continues to take a high toll on the Nigerian economy. The magnitude and speed of the crisis undermined global financial stability and brought economic life to a standstill, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the informal economy dominates. Promotional material tools have over time proven to be an avenue through which business performance can be enhanced. Unfortunately, there have been several studies on the activities of Microfinance Banks but little efforts have been done in the area of promotional communications and savings mobilization of microfinance banks in developing economies like Nigeria. More so, many studies on financial institutions have been focusing on deposit money banks (commercial banks) with very little or no effort on microfinance banks particularly in Nigeria. It is against this background that we attempt to investigate the influence of marketing communication tools on the savings mobilization drive of microfinance banks with particular reference to microfinance banks in Anambra State. The main objective of this study has to examine the effect of post-covid promotional material tools on the savings mobilization drive of selected microfinance banks. The study concludes that effective and efficient promotional material tools in this post-covid era influences savings mobilization drive of firms in the financial sector. And for sustainable customer patronage, they should always improve on their promotional mix and also have sound knowledge of their current and potential customers as this will guide them to determine the best promotional mix element to use for a given market segment.