COMPETITIVE
STRATEGIES AND ORGANISATIONAL SURVIVAL IN MICRO FINANCE BANKS, PORT HACOURT
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The
micro finance banks in port hacourt and in Nigeria as a whole is growing
signifcantly with time and increasing the level of competition among them; only
those with the best strategies tends to fare better in the market. The
customers of micro finance banks in Nigeria are not much; now with the number
of micro finance banks in Port hacourt with small number of customer tends to
increase the level of competition among micro finance banks in port hacourt.
For the purpose of this research work we shall look at some strategies that
will help the micro finance banks survive in the competitive market today; some
of these strategies are promotion strategeies, good customer relationship
strategies, a good advertising medium.
On the promotional aspects, most micro finace
banks tends to reach the publics; the best way to reach out to the public are
simply through advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public
relations, and direct marketing according to (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2004).
Promotion and advertisment goes on par, as they
can not do without each other; creating awareness to the general public on the
arrival of such micro finance bank.
On the marketing aspect of it, the micro finance
bank with a good and experience marketer who are leaders in their field that
can work with less instructions, can do better than the micro finance banks
that have less experience marketers to market their products.
Another good area that needs to be addressed is
the public relationship; port hacourt is a big city, with a lot of competition
in the market today. It will be very bad to loose a customer to another bank
either because of the maner at which the sell representative or a marketer
talks or treats his or her customer.
For a micro finance bank that has the zeal to grow
beyound others, public relationship should be a watch word.
When the staff or employee of such micro finance
banks understands the importance of public relationship, them they can go along
way.
Another area that needs attention is
advertisement; it can be a radio advert, it might be through flier
distribution, it might be giving out shirts, caps pen or anything with the name
of the micro finance bank on it; this is just to create awareness; since images
sticks more than words in the menory.
1.2 STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
Most micro finance bank today tends to fold up
because they can not get good income from customers, micro finance banks
operates on a low key, since they deal with low income earner like market men
and women, whose sales a day does not exceed hundred thousand, with the level
of competition in the market today from other micro finance banks, the number
of customers tends to minimun per bank as this have adverse effect on the
growth and development of micro finance banks in port hacourt.
Another problem of these micro finance bank is
lack of capital, since this kind of organisations are known for given out loans
to their customers, imagine a micro finance bamk that does not have a strong
foundation and can not give out loan to their customers tends to lost customers
on daily bases.
1.3 RESEARCH
QUESTION
1. What are sources of capital for the micro
finance banks in Nigeria?
2. Does advertisement increase the survival
chances of micro finance banks in port hacourt?
3. What are the roles of financial institution in
the growth and development of micr finance banks in port hacourt?
4. What other government policy to aid the
effective performances of micro finance banks in Nigeria?
5. Does a good public relationship approach have
significant effect on the performance of micro finance bank in port hacourt?
1.4 RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
H0: There is no significant
relationship between the rate of advertisement and the survival strength of
micro finance banks.
H1:
There is a significant relationship between the rate of advertisement
and the survival strength of micro finance banks.
H0: Branding and advertisement does not
have significant effect on the level of performance of micro finance in the
market
H1: Branding and advertisement have
significant effect on the level of performance of micro finance in the market.
1.5 AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aims of this research work are to:
1. determine the sources of capital for the micro
finance banks in Nigeria.
2. determine the effect of advertisement on the
survival chances of micro finance banks in port hacourt.
3.
determine the roles of financial institution in the growth and
development of micr finance banks in port hacourt.
4. Reveal the government policies to aid the
effective performances of micro finance banks in Nigeria.
5. determine the effect of a good public
relationship approach on the perfomance of micro finance banks in porthacourt.
1.6
SIGNIFICANE OF STUDY
The research work will reveal a lot needed by
micro finance banks to survive in a competitve enviroment. The study is deem
useful because It will reseal both the marketing strategies through branding,
advertisement and other ways of public relation.
The study will advice micro finance bank on how to
face the competitve market today, it will advice the owners of most micro
finance bank on the importance of loan giving. The study will compare micro
finance banks with experienced marketers and those without experience
marketers.
1.7 SCOPE OF
STUDY
The study will cover the concepts of micro finance
banks. It will discuss the micro finance market and the level of competition in
it. The advantages of the financial strength of the micro finance banks shall
also be discussed. Finally the study will discuss some micro finance banks in
porthacout.
1.8 LIMITATION
OF STUDY
FINANCIAL
CONTRAINTS: The researcher was limited finance,
so this made the researcher not to be able to visit all the micro finance banks
in port hacourt, but the researcher was able to get all the information needed
for the purpose of study.
TIME
CONSTRAINTS: port hacourt is a very busy
town with limited number of road, this made it difficult for the research to
visit these micro finance banks on time; but the few visited, the researcher
was able to get good information for the research work and was able to meet
with the time given for the completion of the research work.
1.9 DEFINITION
OF RELATED TERMS:
COMPETITION: the activity or condition of striving to gain or win
something by defeating or establishing superiority over others
ADVERTISEMENT:
Is a form of creating awareness of a product, a company, or an organistion for
the whole public to see.
BRANDING: The process involved in creating a
unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind, mainly through
advertising campaigns with a consistent theme
STRATEGY:
a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.
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