1.0 Introduction
Marketing will continue to play a significant role in services industries. Its contributions in today’s competitive banking environment are impeccable (painless). This has been due to an increasing adopting of marketing skills (techniques) by banks rejected by intense competes from other financial institution.
Obviously, due to the nature of banking, marketing cannot be treated in the same way as for example in manufacturing firm, although the practice is the same but the application is different. This difference lies in fact that while manufacturing firms are product oriented, banks are services oriented.
The preceding four years in Nigeria has witness rapid growth and structural change in the financial sectors. This growth and structural changes were sustained with the entry of large of now banking and own-banking financial intermediaries into the industry.
These financial institutions includes community banks, mortgage finance institutions and the bureau de-change. Stock brokerage firm also reduced a noticeable growth. Community banking was established by federal government in January 1990 to Guineas economic development in both rural and urban communities. Its necessity stems from a desired need to fill the group created originally by the inadequate services of conventional and more established banks due to their failure to make their business to the grassroots. This created a problem as many generated from the primary sources by mostly trackers and subsistence farmers were load idle without re-investment, as such business enterprise were lacking.
The coming of community banks now seen to provide the impetus or give the order for conscious business ventures and enlarged volume of business transaction which have led to the use of skills involving modern business entrepreneurship.
Among other things, this study will focus on the growth of community banking in Nigeria, assess the role of marketing in community banks and how this influences the achievement of set objectives.
This study will also aim to find out the extent to which marketing practices have been integrated (combine) into the banking operations of community banks (with particular reference of those community banks with the scope of the study) and to further suggest ways of enhancing customers satisfaction. Any business or organization that has the interest of its customers at heart is bound to receive great reward terms of increased profitability and improved corporate image. This is the basis of marketing concept.
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