The seven ‘Ps' essential for marketing of bank services

Seven ‘Ps' are essential for better marketing of bank services, according to Dr K. Rajesh Nayak, Director (Training), Central Bank of Oman's College of Banking and Financial Studies, Oman.

The seven ‘Ps' are: product, price, promotion, place, people, processes and physical evidence.

He was delivering a Business Line Club lecture on ‘Marketing of bank services' at the Department of Commerce of Manipal University at Manipal. The event was sponsored by Syndicate Bank.

Explaining the seven ‘Ps', he said the ‘product' satisfies the needs and wants of customers.

The ‘price' of the product is fixed in the form of interest, service charges and other fees to cover transaction costs, overheads, risk premium and to generate a reasonable surplus for the bank.

He said ‘promotion' includes all publicity vehicles that aim at customer information, education and image building.

On the ‘place' of a branch, he said suitable location and convenience determine the choice of a bank by a customer. A bulk of the banking business for any branch should come from its immediate neighbourhood.

On the ‘people' factor in marketing a bank service, Dr Nayak said a team of motivated and dedicated staff with positive attitudes in favour of business development and offering high service quality will make the bank the most preferred one for the customers.

Highlighting the role of ‘processes' in providing banking services, he said systems and procedures are viewed as vehicles for the delivery of customer satisfaction.

“Hence, banks keep on refining or reinventing or re-engineering their systems and procedures to keep managing customers' ever increasing expectations,” he said.

The seventh ‘P' – physical evidence – will help evaluate the service before its purchase and to assess the customers' comfort zone with the service during and after consumption. The conditions like lighting, temperature, noise and colour create favourable perceptions among customers, he said.

Dr Nayak said that the experience of a customer may differ with each interaction because he/she may be using the bank's services from a different branch or location each time. In such cases, staff may also be different.

Mr Sandeep Shenoy, Head of the Department of Commerce of Manipal University, welcomed the gathering, and Mr Guru Prasad Rao of the Department of Commerce, introduced the guest to the gathering.

Mr Christopher Devaraj, Deputy General Manager of Syndicate Bank, proposed a vote of thanks.

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