Executive Summary:
Nowadays, the service industry, especially banks, faces increasing competition. In such environment, differentiation is necessary. The general purpose of this thesis is to understand how a bank can achieve differentiation based on a marketing approach. Two research questions will respectively examine the three additional P’s of the marketing mix (People, Presentation or Physical Evidence and Process) and the Customer Relationship Management as possible differentiators. To fulfill the purpose, we introduce an extended model of the CRM concept, including the three additional P’s. After an analysis, it is concluded that the extended model of the CRM concept is actually used as a differentiator. However, as the major Indian bank have a similar strategy; it then appears really difficult to differentiate to a large extent.
Background
The importance of financial services is self-evident for the well being of economies as well as societies. Major providers of such services are banks, next to mortgage credit companies and insurance companies. Banks, in this context, are commercial retail banks, offering a wide range of financial services and even insurance. Main functions of banks are, according to Encyclopedia Britannica (2006), the provision of loans and the acceptance of deposits. Corporate customers use banks for issuing finance instruments and derivatives. The provision of, among others, instruments for saving, financing, payment mediation and risk controlling are offered in markets characterized by federal regulation and stiff competition. Due to the resulting pressure, financial service providers are forced to evaluate current strategies and to find new ways of approaching the market. The service nature of bank offers represen ...