An Appraisal Of The Marketing Concept In The Banking Industry

AN APPRAISAL OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

          As competition between businesses geared up, if becomes imperative to turn, attention to customers needs and wants which are naturally insatiable. The marketing concept arose to challenge all other previous concept. Orjih (1998) in his book “Seminar in Banking and finance.” Concluded that marketing concept holds the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction more / effectively and efficiently than its competitions. The marketing concept is of frame of mind which the market focus, customer orientation coordinated marketing and profitability.

          The marketing concepts starts with a well defined market, and the organization that determines who its markets will be, who he hopes to satisfy as concluded by Melver and Geoffrey (1980) in book “Marketing financial services.

          By customer orientation, it implies that the customer’s need is defined from customer’s view point and not from the aspect of the company. The customers orientation seeks to crown the customers as “king” recognizing the fact that the customers is the life blood of an organization. A business man once said that “Our aim goes beyond satisfying the customers”. Coordinating marketing entails that all the various marketing function like, advertising, marketing research, sales forces and so on due properly integrated and must be well coordinated with other departments in the company. The companies are to make profit. A company will make more profit, if it satisfies its customer’s needs better than competitors. Therefore, in applying the marketing concept, companies would produce what the customers want, and by so doing, they maximize more profit.

          Several authors have stated the need to adopt the marketing concept by the business entities. Kotler (1997) in his book “marketing management analysis, planning and control”.

          Said that most companies do not really grasp or embrace the marketing concept until they are driven to it by circumstance like, sales dechine, slow growth, changing of buying patterns by the customers, increasing competition and increase in marketing expenditure. The emergence of  banking industries and its services in Nigeria can be traced back to 100years ago. The activities of transactional corperation, the financial transactions of the colonial government the decline of the better system of trade and the increasing acceptance of British silver currency, all these required an institution in the form of a commercial banks for softy and transmission of funds, the importation and distribution of British silver coins and provision of credit to the government and trading companies who need the services of the banking industries. Banks were out to make profit interest gotten from the credits granted to these customers, without actually satisfying the customers. They never really thought of the customers as the life blood of the banking industries.

          In the past, banks were operating in a seller’s market which made demarketing possible, but the environment is dynamic, such that if bank are taking place in industry and commerce, only banks that are efficient and effective can satisfy customer. This in scarce and abundant economics alike the problem is not production but marketing, if only we accept the truth that mass marketing is a pre-requisite for a successful mass production. Therefore, marketing consideration can only be the most critical factor in any business planning.

1.2      STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

          In banking industries, the quality of services rendered by the banks have been attracting critisms from people in all works of life. The government functionaries, businessmen, the media and the general public are all very critical of banking services. The complaint ranges from those of efficiency, favouritism, long delays in casting cheques or making withdrawals, tardiness in granting loans or credits, unfriendly attitude of bank workers. Even the government that own a sizeable proportion of shares in most banks is known to constant aceusation of banks for not identifying enough with nation’s aspiration. That is the reason why one time the general staff had a cause to appeal to banks to leave arm chair banking and adopt the marketing concept in carrying out banking activities. Most banks do not put their customers in the prime place as there are supposed to be. There is now keen competition and accurate competition means applying the marketing concepts. Now, are these critisms about banks justified, or are they just a mere rundown of banking industry because they are making profit in an era of economic slump?

1.3     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

          From all that have been written above, it is the aim of this study to take a segment of the banking industry and study the approach of the banks to their customer.

-         To evaluate the application of the marketing concept by banks as a base for rendering services to their customers.

-         To determine the various ways of marketing of banking services by the banks to their customers.

-         To determine the effectiveness of marketing mix in the marketing of financial services.

-         To identify the problems of marketing of banking services

-         To proffer solutions to the problem of marketing of financial services.

To appraise marketing strategies and make recommendations that would be more effective in the