Abstract:
The study is to investigate the factors consumers consider in choosing a bank. To plan an appropriate marketing strategy for attracting new consumers and retaining existing ones, banks need to identify the way and manner in which consumers select their banks so as to gain market share and hence gain competitive advantages.
Primary and Secondary data were used in gathering information for the study. Questionnaires were sent to 300 respondents who were selected from the sample area of Kumasi metropolis. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to represent data in the form of tables and charts.
The result revealed five most important factors consumers consider when they are selecting a bank. They include; availability of ATM machine, effective and efficient customer service ease of obtaining loan, number of branches and the rates of interest on saving. The study further revealed that friends and/or family members were very important to consumers in that they are the first source of information when it comes to the selection of banks.
On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that banks should invest in marketing research to identify the needs and wants of their consumers so as to be able to provide them with the product and service that will satisfy the identified needs in a more efficient and profitable way to both the consumer and the bank. Banks should provide consumers with what they want but not what they think they want.
Description:
Banking is an important contributor to economic growth around the world. It provides financial services necessary for enterprises and consumers to undertake their business: among other things, it provides a means to hold and exchange financial assets, it intermediate savings to productive investment through the supply of credit to businesses and consumers, and it enable risk-sharing. Efficient functioning of these activities contributes to economic growth (King and Levine 1993; Levine 1997). The banking sector was traditionally considered to have operated in a relatively stable environment for decades until recently. During the past decades, the banking industry has undergone drastic changes, resulting in a market place which is characterized by intense competition. The result of the aggressive competition has made most banks lost substantial proportion of their customers to competitors. There is no doubt that competition will continue to be significant since new banks keep cropping up in the country. Finding a place under this intense competition has become crucial for the long term profitability and survival of banks.
