Introduction
1.1 Background Of Study
Marketing in relation to commercial bank’s services in Nigeria has not been able to play its part or role in the banking sector for the reason that it is being regarded as mere advertisement or ordinary public relation.
And so marketing was linked to manufacturing firms, with service inductance such as banks, insurance etc being left to roast.
In present time, marketing activities have acquired increased importance. This is due to the fact that competition in banks has increased.
Apart from the increase in the number of banks, other types of financial institutions exist coupled with the fact that the federal military government in 1992 introduced community banking in Nigeria under the community bank’s decree (1992) promulgated by ibralim babangida, then head of s Tate. These institutions offer services similar and comparable to those offered by commercial banks. In this way competition arises as a good concidtion for marketing to exist in the banking industry or sector. Some of the example, of these other financial institutions are finace house, investment club, credit co- operative societies, and loan association etc. they have also expanded their services in order to compete favorably for demand and time deposits etc for their customers banks for the simple reason that they operate in environment near and know to their clients.
Although the bank customer has and is becoming more and more sophisticated in his needs of the non basic services of commercial banks, still the greater percentage of the Nigeria population is yet to know and avail themselves the opportunity. For instance, in some local communities even with the introduction of community banking, about 90 percent of their inhabitant, if not more are yet to know and avail themselves of these services. Again most of these commercial banks are situated in urban area, thereby marketing the services to the urban dealers who are already aware of such services. At least a proportion if not in totality. And this is the reason customers cluster at banks offices with the bankers paying little or no attention to their customers.
To overcome all these, the banks must adapt to the changing environment and requirements of their customers. Since operation orientation had dominated the banking activities while marketing has not played and significant role.
The provision of financial services to customers is the stock in trade of commercial banks in Nigeria. Some of the services of include: collection and payments of cheques, granting of credit facilities, acting as trustees and executors, buying and selling of stock and shares, issuing of bankers draft etc.
All the above make up their stock in trade and the way and manner in which these services are carried out constitute their marketing strategies.
Therefore, it is obvious that these marketing strategies in this sense is, the attitude of their staffs, quicks attendance to customers, creation of good public image i.e communication, opening of more branches (distribution)etc.
All these, being said but not actually done, since the way banks services near the required standard. Banks treat their customers the way they like, infect most banks in Nigeria believe that it is their right to delay customer.
These has resulted to long queues in banks with customer sitting and even some standing waiting for their turns.
In view of all these it is obvious that banks should start or increase their marketing activities since some have not started at all.
The era or period of the sellers market has come and gone. And so banks should cultivate the habit of marketing their services in a way to improve and promote image and also increase their patronage.
1.2 Statement Of Problem:
The aim of marketing activities is to assist the banks to achieve its objective of customers satisfaction and better value for their money at a profit.
It is concerned with how modern day banking services can be made available to customers in the proper way. In doing this banks encounter some problems such as competition. This a situation where those competing with these banks have penetrated into the towns, and communities with our people percolating more in their organization and they are older still. They include: the isusu clubs, investment club, co-operative societies lending houses etc.
On the other hand, however, today in Nigeria in general the commercial banks still largely operate the oil system of banking whereby bankers sit and wait for customers to bring business for them. Even those that manage to come wait endless hours trying to get same and similar services of these banks.
It is clear that some people don’t event ask for other services rendered by commercial banks as a result of, poor attitude of bankers, inefficiency of bankers and lack of proper information dissemination.
Some times the banks on the other hand, decide on the number of these services to render, since their ultimate aim is to equate the economic balance between service cost and number of customers and their satisfaction. This is because providing too much service involves too much cost while not providing enough leads to not satisfying customers.
Finally, the major problems identified in this study is that services provided by commercial banks in Nigeria are not that sufficient, banks face much competition and that enough banking habit have not been formed.
1.3 Objective Of Study
The main objectives of this study are to find how commercial banks in Nigeria employ marketing strategies in the sales of their services, and how it has affected the inhabitants banking habits. Other are:
- To ascertain the number of services rendered by commercial banks in Enugu.
- To assess the efficiency of banks in rendering these services.
- To make recommendations for improvements the required areas.
1.4 Significance Of Study
This particular topic of study is useful and beneficial because of the points below:
Banking habit needs to be encouraged through efficient marketing strategies in order to generate money for economic development that is so that funds will flow from saving the time investment in the real to sector of the economy. I begin to imagine that, this is what prompted. Ajayi to say in paper presented at a workshop on marketing of financial services at the University of Ibadan that “money plays a very important role in any economy even through money is not the panacea to economic development, we agree that money matters in economic development”. Since the management of scarce resources is best done by the appropriate financial institutions, banks therefore have a great role to play in the Nigeria economy.
It is also definite that competition with other credit organization will reduce with banks efficiently providing these modern banking services in the way they ought to be provided. That is the provision of efficient and diversified services in which these other credit houses cannot measure with them.
This study will make valuable contributions to banks in marketing their services by discovering their competitors of old standing and at the same time get new customers.
1.6 Definition Of Terms
i. Apex Bank
The refers to the central bank of Nigeria as the “bankers bank” it controls the activities of the other banks.
ii. Inflation
This is a persistent rise in the general price level which causes the purchasing power of nominal money to fall. It rate is measured by consumer price index.
iii. Consumer Price Index
A simple number showing how, no the average the price of a selected number of selected goods stands relative to some base year price.
iv. Monetary Policy
This refers to the credit control measures adopted by the central bank of a country. It is used to consume the supply of money as an instrument for achieving the objective of general economic policy.
v. Balance Of Payments
This term defines the trading standing of a particular country with that of another country with which it engages in trade.
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