Question: You have just been hired as the marketing officer for the new First National Bank of Vincent, a suburban banking institution that will soon be serving a local community of 120,000 people. The town is adjacent to a major metropolitan area with a total population of well over 1 million. Opening day for the newly chartered bank is just two months away, and the president and the board of directors are concerned that the new bank may not be able to attract enough depositors and good-quality loan customers to meet its growth and profit projections. (There are 18 other financial-service competitors in town, including two credit unions, three finance companies, (our insurance agencies, and two security broker offices.) Your task is to recommend the various services the bank should offer initially to build an adequate customer base. You are asked to do the following:
a. Make a list of the services the new bank could offer, according to current regulations.
b. List the types of information you will need about the local community to help you decide which of many possible services are likely to have sufficient demand to make them profitable.
c. Divide the possible services into two groups: those you chink are essential to customers (which should be offered opening day) and those you believe can be offered later as the bank grows.
d. Briefly describe the kind of advertising campaign you would like to run to help the public see how your bank is different from all the other financial-service providers in the local area. Which services offered by nonbank service providers would be of most concern to the new bank's management?