APPLICATION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT IN THE BANKING SERVICE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

As competition between business geared up it became imperative to turn attention to customers needs and wants which are naturally insatiable. The marketing concept arose to challenge all other previous concepts. The marketing concepts hold that the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target market and delivering the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently than competitors. The marketing concept is a frame of mind which the marketer work with. It is base on a market focus, customer orientation, co-ordinated marketing and profitability.

The marketing concept start with a well defined market. The organiation determine who its market will be, who he hopes to satisfy, even after the market has been defined, a company can still fail at customer orientation. By customers orientation, the customer need is define from the customer view point and not from that of the company. The customer orientationsecks to crown the customer as “kind” recognizing that he is the life blood of the organization and aims at satisfying the desires of the consumer. A Japanese businessman once said that ‘our aim goes beyond satisfying the customer; our aim is to delight the customer”. In facts this a higher standard and a deeper quest and may the secret of great marketers. Co-ordinated marketing answers that all the various marketing function like advertising, marketing research, sales force and so on are properly integrated and must be well co-ordinated with other departments in the company. The major goals of most profit oriented companies is to make profit. A company will make more money if it satisfies its customers needs better than competitors. Therefore in applying the market concept, companies would produce, what the customer wand and by so doing, they maximize profit.

Several author have started the need for all business entities to adopt the marketing concept in their various activities. Most companies do not really grasp or embrace the marketing concept until they are driven to it by circumstance like; sales deline, slow growth, changing of buying patterns by customers, increasing competition and increase in market expenditure.

These companies have not arrived at fill marketing maturity but think that because they have a market manager, product manager, they are implementing the market concept. From what is been seen and read today in the society, not all business organization adopt the marketing concept. For example, in the modest of security, the consumer is not the king, rather it is the seller that is the king.

As interesting and entirely logical result of the marketing concept relates to the central purpose of business which is to obtain and serve customers. Since profit is vital requirement of business it is conventional to regard it as the first central purpose. For all we know, it is possible to run a business without profit for a time. It is not possible for business to survive for one day without customers. Customers are the nerve of any business. Without a total commitment to them on the part of the company as a whole, the application of advanced marketing techniques can only have limited and brief effects.

The emergance of banking services in Nigeria can be trace back to more than 100 years ago. The activities of eh transnational corporation, the financial transaction of the colonial government, the deeline of the bater system of trade and the increasing acceptance of British silver currency all these required an institution in the form of a commercial bank for safety and transmission of fund the importation and distribution of British silver coins and provision of credit to government and trading company who need them. These banks were out to make profit fro interest got from the deposits made by customer without actually satisfying the customers, they never really thought of the customer as the life blood of the organization.

In the past, banks were operating in a seller's market which made marketing possible but the environment is dynamic, such that if banks are to continue to prosper they must adopt the change that are taking place in industry and commerce so only the bank that are efficient and effective can satisfy customers. Thus in scarce and abundant economics alike, the red problem is not production, but marketing if only we accept the truth that mass marketing is a pre-requisite for successful mass production. Marketing considerations than becomes the most critical factor in any business planning.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

Banking is in the services industry. The quality of services rendered by our banks have been attracting criticism 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 complaints range from those of inefficiency favoritism, long delay in cashing cheques or making with drawls, tardiness in granting loans and or credits, to unfriendly attitude of bank workers. Even government that own a sizeable proportion of the shares in most banks is known to have constantly accuse bank of not identifying enough with the nations aspiration.

The chief of general staff had a cause to appeal to bankers to leave arm chair banking and adopt the marketing concept in carrying out banking activities. As early as 1943, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe said that “I was fustrated because of the shoddy way and manner the manger of the marina Branch of the bank of British West Africa Limited treated me with rebuff not only did he keep me standaing in his offices for some minutes, he was curt and condescending as if I was seeking for favour. Naturally my pride was hurt and it down on me that the struggle for Nigeria freedom has many front and that political freedom was not enough economic freedom must be won also” most bank don't put their customer in the prime place as they are supposed to be. There is now keen competition and to compete means to apply the marketing concepts. Are there criticisms justified or are they just a mere rundown of the banking industry because they are making profit in an era of economic slump?

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1.3 Need For The Study

There have been criticism about the banking industry in the way they rander services to their customers. They do not see the customer as king. The researcher want to carryout research on what bank do and find out if they adopt the marketing concept in their condition of services. The resarcher also wants to have an ephirial base either to support all the soruce about the poor impression people have of the banks and to advice the bank on how to improve their services by adopting the marketing concepts.

The magic formula is the adoption of Marketing as a way of life. A business must learn to think of itself not as producing goods or services but as buying customers and doing the things which make people want to deal with it. Do bank really know their customer and are they wooing them as men woo girls they fancy and love? If my finding are not valid, I would say there are no base for the criticism, but that they arise because the bank are doing well. If their services are poor, why should they make so much profit. Are they doing this at the detriment of their customers?

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

• Whether or not banks apply the marketing services as a base for rendering services to their customer.
• If customer are satisfied with the services rander by bank
• To formulate marketing strategies and make recommendation that would be more effective in the marketing of banking services.

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1.3 Scope and Limitation of Study

The scope of this study is very wide if it has to be carried out in all commercial banks in Nigeria. The study is limited, based on the fact that there is no time and material resources to see to the whole nation. This study is limited to Owerri and the finding may not reflect the situation in the whole banks in Nigeria, but by and large, what happens in Banks in Owerri can be said to apply to other banks.

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1.4 Significance of the Study

It is the objective of the study to know if

1. The amount of time spent by customers in various banks during a normal banking transaction.
2. The reaction of customers as to the rendering of bank services.
3. How banks staff and customers relates to one another.
4. If banks staff and customers enjoy enough services and infrastructure facilities and amenities.
5. If bank apply the marketing concept by satisfying their customers in the way they rander their services.

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1.5 Definition of Terms

The following terms used in this study should be taken to mean the following.

Marketing

Marketing is a human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange process.

Banking

Banking is defined in the 1969 Act as “the business of receiving money from outside source as deposit irrespective of the payment of interest, and the granting of money loans and acceptance of credits or the purchase of bills and cheques or the purchase and sale of securities for account of other or the incurring of the obligation to acquire claims in respect of loans prior to their maturity or the assumption of quarantines and other warranties for others or the effecting of transfers and clearings and such other transaction as the commissioner may, on the recommendation of the central bank, by order published in the federal Gazette designate as banking business.

The marketing concept holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target market and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors.

Product

A product is something that is viewed as being capable of satisfying needs or wants.

Services

These are separately identifiable intangible activities which provide want satisfaction when marketed to customer and or industry users and which are not necessarily tied to the sale of a product or another services.