THE IMPACT OF APPLICATION OF MARKETING CONCEPT IN THE NIGERIA BANKING INDUSTRY (A CASE STUDY OF ZENITH BANK)

ABSTRACT
Marketing activities play a vital role in the survival and growth of any organization. In recent time, marketing activities in the service industry have been posing serious problems to the service operators. This is because of the competitive nature and the increase in the number of services industries. The objective of this paper is to examine the application of marketing concept in the banking industry, the study is based on information gathered and collected from both primary and secondary sources. Finding of the study revealed that applying a dominant role in the banking industry. This study also revealed the important and the benefit of applying the application of marketing concept in the Nigeria banking industries. Therefore, the continued existence of any service industry will depend on its ability to design and map out appropriate marketing strategy. Date analysis for the study was done simply and chi-square (X2) statistic was employed to test further the result of the analysis to confirm that the impact of application of marketing concept in the Nigeria banking industry.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Marketing concept, the satisfying need and want of the target is better than the competitors at a profit, need not to be over emphasized. Marketing can also be in action or business of promoting and selling product or services. Though it was rarely practice in the past by services industry. The laggard posture of services marketers in applying this marketing philosophy could also be trace to inseparability nature of services.

Apparently, owing to the very nature of banking service, it ought not to be treated in exactly the same way as other manufacturing firs,
Banking marketing must essentially perform two different functions.
(i) it must attract deposit on one hand
(ii) it must attract borrowers and users of services on the other hand.
The dualistic of banking business entails marking problem that is more complicated than those confronting after business concern.
However, in recent times, there have been driven from the market due to their inability to meet up with the N25 billion capital base.
The banking industry now being the survival of the fittest has posed a lot of competitive problems on the survivors bank, both the old and new generation bank which have forced the marketing concept and its application in order to fight competition favourably and make more profit.

1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CASE STUDY
Zenith International Bank Limited was established on 30 May 1990 and headquarters in Lagos Nigeria as a private Limited Liability Company, the Bank was Licensed to carry on the business of banking in June 1990. the bank name was changed to Zenith bank Plc on 20 May 2004 to reflect its status as a public Limited Liability Company the bank’s shares was listed on the Nigeria stock exchange (NSE) on 21 October 2004 following a highly successful initial public offering (IPO) Nigeria institution and individuals numbering over a million currently own the shares of the bank. The bank’s main services delivery channels in Nigeria are its business offices which as at 2011 had risen to about 330 branches and over 218 cash offices. These are located in prime business and commercial centre in all states of the federation and the federal capital territory (FTC) Abuja. Within the first decade of operations, the bank made its mark in profitability and all other performance indices, and has maintained this prime position till date.