CHAPTER ONE
1.1    BACKGROUND IS THE STUDY
    Marketing as a concept is viewed in narrow way by most people, it is often referred to as strategy applicable to only the manufacturing and distributive trade. However, broader concept has recognized the relevance of marketing to service rendering establishment, such as Banking, Insurance sector, Educational and Medical institutions etc.
    In recent times, where need and business circumstances are changing rapidly, it is important that the practicing bankers should thoroughly appreciate the importance of marketing and its relevance to the baking industries based on the theory that banks rely heavily on marketing its survival and profitability. It is therefore a thing of no doubt that banks should develop the resilience a adapting to changes in needs, the environment and requirement of its customers which are becoming more sophisticated as an industry is aimed at rendering services to people.
    The role of marketing in commercial banks in this research project is limited to the marketing mix adopted by commercial banks in order to meet up with their set goals and objectives which is to render service to the people at the best minimal price profitably.
The marketing mix is referred to as the 4ps in marketing which are the product, price, promotion and place (distribution) used by the bank for efficient and effective rendering of their services to both the present and the potential buyer of their product which is the services they render.
Product of commercial banks are the services they offer to the public. These services are in form of savings account, current account, fixed deposit, financing of trade etc.
Price is simply the value expressed in term of money. It depends on the amount of money the customers are willing to pay for the services rendered to them. The pricing policy used by commercial banks should be flexible and it should consider the market segmentation and the product life cycle.
Place: this simply means the location of the bank. The bank should be located in a place which is nearer to the customers, commercial banks are either situated at commercial centers or some where nearer to the targeted market e.g. situating banks in Kwara State Polytechnic to satisfy and ease the needs of students in terms of bank draft etc.
Promotion: this is a tool used in attracting the attention and acceptance of customers for the produce. These promotional tools strategies includes sales Promotion, advertising, personal selling, publicity etc which is used by commercial bank in order to meet their set goals and objectives which in turn satisfy their customers profitably.
1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
    The research intends to identify the role marketing plays in the course of Diamond Bank rendering it services to its customers and to know the extent at which marketing is practiced in the Bank because any organization whether profit or no-profit oriented should have its customers as their focal point i.e. the organization should be customer oriented.
    The researcher intends t know examine the bank is coping with in the competitive environment in the banking industries, the recent increase in the number of licenced banks and the wave of deregulations currently blowing in the banking sector has made competition high in the banking industry than it was years back.
    The researchers also intend to examine the various way by which the bank market its services and the impact the service rendered make on the different categories of their customers.