Investigating factors affecting customers' preference in choosing a bank

Dissertation for receiving the master's degree "M.A. »

The trend of "domestic commerce"

Dissertation abstract (including summary, objectives, implementation methods and results obtained):

This research aims to identify and explain the factors influencing customers' preference in choosing Bank Mehr and in order to determine the importance of each of the factors influencing customers' preference in choosing a bank based on the model introduced by P's 7, by Boom and Biter, the effect of mixed marketing factors on customer preference. The foundation of the banking system is based on the fact that each customer is equal to an asset, and the foundation of banking marketing is customer attraction and retention, which is very heavy and expensive in the competitive environment of banks, the role of banks in the development of the country has been evaluated as very important. Therefore, any effort that leads to better bank marketing and customer acquisition is valuable.     

The customers of Bank Mehr Eqetaz branches in Tehran are the statistical population of the research. These people are some of the customers of Mehr Eqetaz Bank, the sample of this research is 384 people who were selected by cluster method. And the findings of the research based on the binomial test show that each of the components of service, location, price, advertising, staff, physical evidence and process have an effect on the preference of customers in choosing a bank. Finally, the researcher used the Friedman test to rank the components of the marketing mix, and the results show that the variables of process, price, service (product), location, staff, advertising, and physical evidence were selected as the most important dimensions.

The foundation of the banking system is the customer. A customer in the bank is equal to at least one asset. Today, banking is obliged to see itself in the mirror of the customer's existence and try to understand the demands and desires of its customers in a competitive environment so that the customer is fully satisfied with the organization. In today's marketing, the cost of losing a customer is equal to the loss of benefits related to the services that the customer needs throughout his life. When a customer faces an obstacle in a branch, he tries to satisfy his needs in another bank, and due to the intense competition in the banking field, a bank that can satisfy the customer will be more successful.

Finally, banks should direct the systems to satisfy the people. The bank's strategy in relation to the issue of customer-centricity should be based on a primary and basic principle, that everything starts with the customer and ends with the customer. In addition, marketing has a wide scope and starts with the bank's CEO and finally ends with the guard and employee. (Venus and Safaiyan, 2013, 38)

Today's institutions will not be able to survive without communicating with customers and knowing their opinion and perception of their performance. These institutions must acquire the necessary knowledge about determining and dividing a market and producing products and services that meet the needs of the parts of the market that have been selected as targets. These institutions must know pricing methods well in order to make the selling price as attractive as possible. They will also try to make their products available to customers by choosing the right distribution channels. Advertising and promotion of goods, in such a way that customers get the necessary information about these goods and demand these goods, are other areas that these units should be aware of. (Cutler, Armstrong[1], 1377, 26)

1-1-Statement of the main problem

The main problem of Bank Mehr Ekhedat is one of the following that necessitates conducting the present research:

What measures Bank Mehr should use to be successful in this competitive market

Which factors affect the preference of customers in choosing Bank Mehr

Which factors are more important

Identifying and ranking the factors on the basis of which customers and users of banking services and facilities prefer Bank Mehr over other banks.

Any kind of effort that leads to better banking marketing and provides means to attract customers is valuable.

The research approach is based on banking marketing.

Various definitions for marketing have been stated. Experts define marketing as the process of satisfying human needs and desires.According to Philip Kotler, the most prominent expert in the field of marketing, marketing is: "human activity to satisfy needs and desires through the exchange process" (Rusta, Venus, Ebrahimi, 1383, 196)

The goal of marketing is to provide and fulfill the needs and desires of the intended customers. Nowadays, accurate knowledge of customers and consumers can help organizations, companies and industries in identifying the target market of products (services) and In market segmentation, targeting and positioning of products (services) should play an effective role. (Nematizadeh, Saraji, 2019)

Since the principles and concepts of business have become scientific and codified, different definitions of marketing have been presented and this concept has been proposed as a business activity, an intellectual format, a business goal, an economic process, exchange process, supply and demand adjustment process, etc. Although each of the mentioned definitions approves a certain aspect of marketing operations, a more comprehensive definition can be provided in this field. According to the theory of Joel Evans and Barry Bergman, the tasks of marketing are: identifying customer needs, buying supplies or equipment, selling products or services, planning products or services, pricing, distribution, marketing research, analyzing opportunities and social responsibility.

Actually, the main issue of this research is what factors make banking service customers prefer Bank Mehr to other banks. Therefore, the present research is conducted to answer the following questions: 1-Factors affecting customers' preference in choosing Mehr Bank? 2-Which of these factors has the greatest impact on customers' preference? 1-3- Necessity of conducting research.Bank marketing in the world is a relatively new activity, and its history in America, England, and Japan dates back to the 1960s. The spread of this concept in banking has been particularly slow. is Because traditional bankers thought that the needs and financial services demanded by customers, like buying bread, do not need marketing. And of course, banks are the main economic artery of every country, banks should play an important role to attract and encourage people to save, collect small funds and use them in production and service fields. One of the goals of management is to increase the bank's resources, which can be considered one of the responsibilities of the bank's marketing management. The first and most important principle of marketing is to pay attention to the customer's needs. People expect faster and more services from banks. Maintaining existing customers and attracting new customers requires efficient and effective management in all aspects of the bank with an emphasis on marketing management. It seems that advertising in the media and awarding awards do not create the necessary motivation in the customer. Therefore, it is necessary to take refuge in creative and innovative plans. The importance of a correct understanding of the consumer in defining marketing as a human activity is aimed at satisfying needs and desires through exchange processes. From this definition and the key activity related to marketing can be found:

Firstly, the seller tries to satisfy the needs and demands of the market, secondly, marketing is involved in studying the process through which the parties transfer resources to each other. (Ardestani, 1381, 1989)

1-4- Research objectives

Main objective:

1-Identifying and explaining the factors affecting customers' preference in choosing Mehr Bank

Sub-objective:

2-Determining the importance of each of the factors affecting customers' preference in choosing Mehr Bank

Ideal objective:

3-Providing suggestions and Solutions to improve Bank Mehr's marketing methods

1-5- The theoretical framework of the research

Based on the theory of Joel Owens and Barry Bergman, marketing tasks include: identifying customer needs, purchasing necessities, selling products or services, analyzing opportunities and social responsibility. (Venus, 2083, 208)

Marketing banking services requires a commitment in the management department to adopt a Customer-oriented approach is the work philosophy of the organization.