Empirical Investigation of Customers' Choice of Retail Banks in Nigeria

This paper is an attempt in analyzing the factors that affect the choice of retail banks by customers residing in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The study involved a survey of 1000 bank customers using the questionnaire as the vital research instrument, augmented with personal interviews of key bank officials. The results indicate that out of 20 identified factors; nine of them were revealed to exert the greatest influence as choice criteria. They, in their order of importance, include security of environment; size and financial strength of the bank; speed of service delivery, liquidity and safety of deposits; and accuracy of and efficiency in customer accounts management. Others include convenience on the part of the customers; general public impression of the bank; proximity and ease of access; and cordiality of bank staff. The impression of the customers and their associated choice greatly and positively affect the operational performance of both the individual banks and the entire banking industry. Thus, for retail banks to achieve their corporate mission, they must reorganize their activities and strategies to be customer-oriented. The recommended action programs revolve on the tenets of the doctrine of consumer sovereignty. The retail banks must recognize the tastes and preferences of their customers as revealed in their dominant choice criteria and associated action programs. As active personnel policy would assist the banks to accomplish desired objectives along this line.