Marketing Islamic banking products: Malaysian perspective

PurposeThe rapid growth of Islamic banking in Malaysia warrants banking institutions being more proactive and innovative in marketing their products. The purpose of this paper is to re‐evaluate the progress and achievements of Islamic banking in Malaysia, particularly in the area of sales and marketing of Islamic banking services.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts a comprehensive literature review from various published sources. All related references were discovered through electronic databases, journals and books in the area of the relevant literature in Islamic finance, banking and services marketing.FindingsThe driving force for the growth of Islamic banking and financing products is the corporate clients, and not the Muslim individuals. In fact, the non‐Muslim individuals also use Islamic banking if they find that the service is good and meets their expectations. This paper shows evidence that the marketing activities of Islamic banking products is relatively ineffective compared to the conventional banking products in Malaysia. This paper also discusses the reasons for the ineffectiveness of marketing Islamic banking products at the micro and macro‐level. Depending on religion alone is not the best strategy to attract customers.Practical implicationsThe products offered by the Islamic banking system have to compete with those of the conventional banking system. Hence, a continuous review of marketing strategies for Islamic banking products is crucial in every Islamic financial institution.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils a need to study whether the common methods in marketing conventional banking products would be effective in the context of marketing Islamic banking products.