Customer Orientation in Banking Industry

Customer Orientation in Banking Industry

• OVERVIEW OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT

Before I proceed to marketing concept I will first of all explain what the marketing is all about. So many professionals has define marketing in different perspective which focus towards the same meaning.

According to Adirika, Ebue and Nnolum (1996:3) sees marketing as all important set of creative human activities aimed at identifying, anticipating and satisfying human needs and want through exchange as efficiently and as effectively as possible.

Kotler (2002:8) also define marketing as a societal process by which individual and groups obtain what their need and want through creating, offering and freely exchange products and services of value with others. Kotler (2004:5) went further to say that marketing is a social and managerial process whereby individuals and group obtain what they needs and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.

However, marketing concept as it was define by Adirika et al (1997:48) says that, it is market focused customer orientation, backed by integrated/co-ordinated marketing aimed at generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational goals.

Agbo (2000:41) define his own marketing concept as the philosophy of the business which stated that the consumer (customer) want satisfaction is the economic and social justification for a firms existence. Kotler (2002:19) stated that marketing concept holds that the key to achieving its organizational goals consists of the company being more effective than competitors in creating, delivering and communicating superior customers value to its chosen target markets. It crystallized in the mid – 1950s and has been expressed in many colourful ways.

1. Meeting needs profitably
2. Find want and fill them
3. Love the customer not the product
4. Have it your way (burger king)
5. You are the boss (United Airways)
6. Putting people first (British Airways)
7. Partners for profit (Milliken and Company)

Kotler (2002:18) also says that marketing concept rests on four pillars. Target market, customer needs, integrated marketing and profitability.

Chukwu (2002:29) also sees marketing concept as the emphasis on identifying the consumers need. Around 1960. This new philosophy began to emerge. The idea was that organisations should do a through analysis of the needs of and want of the target market and adopt an appropriate marketing mix to satisfying the target market most effectively and efficiently. He also said that there are basic marketing assumptions of the concept such as:

1. Foursing on consumer needs
2. Integrating all activities of the organisation including production to satisfy these needs.
3. Achieving long run profit through statistician of consumer needs. The marketing concept has been widely applied to profit and non-profit marketing organisation life police, Hospital etc.

Udeagha (2003:24) went further to say that marketing concept is a fundamental concept of marketing. It is one of the business concept or philosophies that have guided the planning, organisation, execution and control of business over the past two centuries.

Kotler (2004: 12) round it up by saying that marketing concept is a marketing management philosophy that holds the key in achieving organizational goals depends on determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivery the desired satisfactory than competitors do.

However, all these definitions from marketing a scholars and practitioners agree that marketing concept means above other things putting the customers first because they are the king and the soul purpose of the business being alive.

• MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR BANKING SERVICES

According to Ugwuanyi (1997: 327) says that marketing strategy is a plan for achieving a set of objectives. Scheme sees marketing strategy as a specific plan for the allocation of marketing resources to reach marketing objectives. There are two types of objectives which have been discussed earlier. The effective implementation of the marketing strategy of any business enterprise is a prerequisite for achieving the set objective. To be able to formulate and develop effective marketing strategies and tactics, one must know what business he is into in the first place and clearly understand what services he is offering for sale, what function they perform for the customer and to what customer group he is selling. This means that a business must be defined from the stand point of the want that the customer satisfies when he buys a services.

Adirika (2004) unpublished lecture note sees marketing strategy as a set of determinations that guides or directs the manager of an enterprises to reach their desired long – term market positions. It comprises the objectives that are sought and the strategic ideas (or strategies) that are to accomplish it. Adirika (2004) unpublish lecture note also said that marketing strategies are to a large extent dependent on each firm position in the industry. There are strategies for success for both large and small firms. Whether a firm succeeds or not depends on whether it selects the strategy that guarantees success (winning strategy) or that brings about failure (losing strategy).

Four winning strategies

1. Cost leadership
2. High product differentiation
3. Market focusing
4. Diversification

The losing strategy among is the middle of the road strategy of being “jack of all trade and master of none”. Middle of the road firms do not find it very easy and to succeed they need to make a commitment to one or more of the winning strategies.

• AN OVERVIEW OF BANKING INDUSTRY

Anyanwaokoro (1999:85) stated that banking system is the most important component of the Nigerian financial system. The same applies to other countries of the world. It is the heart of the financial system. This is because apart from being the key operators in the financial markets, monetary policies of the government are implemented through the banking system. Moreover, the banking system creates money and by doing this influences the economy of a country in no small measure. These are in addition to the traditional roles of savings mobilization and financial intermediation and provision of settlement mechanism. Banks constitute the major source of credit to the economy.

Anyanwaokoro (2001:261) went further in the overview of banking industry, he narrated that banks occupy a very important position in every economy. They render a wide variety of services which help to keep the economy of a nation moving. These services very according to the type of bank and the type of customer being served. Genially, the services rendered by the various types of banks are closely related. Bust each category of banks specializes in providing a particular group of services.

Orjih (2002: 78) also said that the concept of developing banking system in Nigeria was borne out of an internalized desire by the government to participate in promoting and stimulating capital investment, particularly in some priority sectors of the economy. Similarly, the exigencies of financial stability, economic steadfastness, specialization, cleavage closure, diversification of the economy and inadequacy of funds by the commercial and merchant banks necessitated the establishment of development banks.

However, the overview of banking industry which narrated from different perspective is saying that banks occupy6 a very important position in every economy.

2.4     PRODUCT POLICY IN BANKING        

Ugwuanyi (1997: 329) said that product policy has always been a critical factor in effective market performance. Therefore, the inclusion of product in the market functions confirms that marketing activities begin before the actual product/service is produced. It entails identifying the customer wants and how he wants it. In the marketing of services, the organisation is the product. Hence the entire organisation should be customer conscious.

Ugwuanyi (1997:329) also stated that in banking, promotion involves creating awareness among the customers of bank services, what they intend to benefit and why they should go for it instead of a substitute.

The promotional tools include advertising personnal selling, sales promotion, public relations and publicity. The objective of promotion among others is creating good image for the company which in effect spills over to the product/services offerings of the organisation.

Admittedly, competition is now a key factor in Nigerian banking system. Banks that are likely to survive in the new competitive environment will have to adjust their focus through the realization that sound banking strategy should have a marketing perspective.

2.5     AN OVERVIEW OF MARKETING OF SERVICE

          According to Adirika et al (1996: 241) noted that services range from these that support product to those that exist on their own as object of exchange. They explain service based on primary service as opposed to customer services and their marketing.

These services range from those related to physical product eg computing services with computer, services with product attached eg hotel accommodation in hotel rooms and pure services eg surgical operation or consultancies an important way of maintaining standards in service industries is through trade association and professional bodies, licensing and apprenticeships. The service industry is highly significant in our economy relative to our level of development, mainly because of limited avenues of employment and the small capital require to get into the service business.

Olakunori and Ejionveme (1997:92) sees service as a products which cannot be seen or touched. They are non-physical in nature. Example, medicare, laundry and dry cleaning, manicure and pedicure, transportation and roofing. Goods and services can be classified into two broad groups.

• Consumer services
• Industrial services

CONSUMER SERVICE: These is a services which are rendered to ultimate users. It include rental goods, owned goods and non goods and services.

INDUSTRIAL SERVICE: It is a services that are rendered to individuals, firms and government institution which are engaged in the provision of goods and services.

Iwuozor (2001: 261) narrated services as a help rendered by an individual or another business organisation. It most appears that service is inseparable from product. But one significant difference is that product is always identifiable while service lacks tangibility and is not always identifiable. When one cannot perform a task for himself, he may lack for another who will do it for him/her and this is called services.

He further explain service by highlighting it features:

1. Inseparability: The problem that associate with service is that it cannot always be separable from the person rendering the service.
2. Intangibility: Service lacks tangible features of smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch which required it to be considered independently,
3. Perishability: Service cannot be stored which may not warrant its production en-masses. The requirement are not for a long time. Example railway authority, traveling agencies cannot recover loss for unoccupied seats nor can the NEPA recover the bill of unused current.
4. Fluctuation of demand: Service fluctuate a lot, it is seasonal in nature.
5. Un-similar pattern of operation: There is no fix pattern of operation in service sector. The marketing of banking services is quite different from marketing of transport service.

Chukwu (2002: 259) also sees marketing of service as those inseparable, identifiable activities, which provide want satisfaction and which are not necessary tied to the sale of a product or another services. To produce a service may or may not require the use of tangible goods. However, when such use is required, thee is no transfer of the title (permanent ownership) to those tangible goods. Service is the object of marketing, that the company is offering. Chukwu went further saying that even through we defined service as identifiable and essentially intangible activity that provide the user with some degree of performance satisfaction but does not involve ownership. In most cases it can be stored or transported. Note that the definition says a service is intangible. It can be made more tangible if it can provide a customer a feeling of being able to touch something.

The bank credit card is example of creating a more tangible representation of a service. Customers receive the service when a plastic encoded card is used to make purchase. The services provided by an insurance companies are example. Thus intangible activity provides performance satisfaction.

Edoga (2004: 1) unpublish lecture note went further on marketing of service. She said that marketing developed initially for selling physical products such as cars, machines, books, increasing recognition is being given to another area of marketing that is marketing of services as distinct from the marketing of pure goods. Services sector can be grouped into the governmental sector (court, hospital, military services etc) the private non-profit sector, services (churches, charities, foundation); business sector services (air-lines, banks, hotels, insurance companies services etc).

Edoga also said that a service is any activity, benefit or satisfaction that is offered for sale. It is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. It is production may not be tied to a physical product.

• QUALITY OF SERVICES IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

Edoga (2004: 18) unpublished lecture note define quality of services in different approaches which identifies by Garirin.

1. The transcendent view of quality is synonymous with innate excellence, a mark of uncompromising standards and high achievement. However, suggesting that managers of customers will know quality when they see it offers little practical guidance.
2. The product based approach sees quality of service as a precise and measurable variable since this view is totally objective, it fails to account for differences in individual tastes, needs and preference.
3. User – base start with the premises that quality lies in the eyes of the beholder, they equate quality with maximum satisfaction. The demand – oriented perspective recognizes that different customers have different want and needs.

Edoga on that her lecture note went further on the quality of service based on manufacturing approach, in contrast, is supply – oriented and is primary concerned with engineering and manufacturing practices. It focused on conformance to internally developed specification, which are often driven by productivity and cost containment goals. Based on value approach quality in time of value and price. By considering the trade off between performance and price, quality comes to be define as affordable.

However the control selling point of Ohha community bank Nigeria Ltd is according to the customer, who is the king of banking business patronage. Quality has to do with the satisfaction a customer derives from transactions, that is to say that the quality of delivery has to improve considerably and where there is a set standard then, it must be met. She said that the only way positive contribution of financial services in Nigeria is to ensure that the quality of service must be that of excellence, delivered with speed and creativity.

This article was extracted from a Project Research Work Topic

“CUSTOMER ORIENTATION IN BANKING INDUSTRY

(A CASE STUDY OF OHHA COMMUNITY BANK, OGUI ROAD ENUGU) ”