An edge over the others in today’s cut throat competition scenario can be achieved by

only those firms that satisfy their customers with high quality service and products.
Due to the ever increasing degree of competition in the area of economic services,
quality is certainly the supreme topic of concern for one and all. One of the biggest
issues faced by banks today is how to handle and manage service quality. Keeping
this essential issue in mind, relationship marketing is serving as an effective tool to
attend to value concepts and to explore the possibilities of adding more value to fulfil
each and every requirement of the customer (Roig et al., 2006).

Molina et al. (2007) asserted that incorporating the customer’s view while evaluating
relationships is of much significance. There is no primary relation of the consumers
with the larger service structure. However, they are certainly connected to the
individuals in the service firm (Aldlaigan and Buttle, 2005). Success factor of retail
banks relies on the manner in which their staff members take care of the consumers’
demands and requirements. Kaynak and Harcar (2005) also put stress on the
significant role played by the bank staff due to a simple fact that the customers judge
the bank on the basis of their interaction with the employees. Therefore, in this
context, characteristics such as affability, capability, knowledge, cordiality,
compassion build a positive opinion regarding the staff member’s approach towards
the consumers (Baumann et al., 2007).

Because of this factor it is deemed vital to create plans and stratagem pertaining to
relationship management that appropriately fulfils the expectations of the customers.
Companies must be well aware of the expectations and needs of its customer and
should strive towards providing value to their selected group of clients. However, it is
a million dollar question as to what is the way to ensure maximum value deliverance
to the customer? After all, value is the consequence of personal verdicts and
predicaments of the consumers related to the bank and to its products and services
(Huber et al., 2001). Complete and clear understanding of the customers’ values is the
foundation of the outstanding and inimitable service that a retail bank can provide. In
the field of service industry, identifying customer values is a challenging task
considering that these values are non-physical, complicated and multi faceted in
nature (Levesque and McDougall, 1996). Added to this, consumers any way consider
financial services a buy that is in the zone that is certainly not hazard proof (Babakus
et al., 2004).

The customers’ tension regarding their own money generates a high demand for
financial safety. Therefore, keeping this factor in mind, the objective of the research is
to recognise the essential value and goals of consumers related to various retail banks
by discussing their perspectives about managing money with responsibility. Then on
the basis of their opinions, interactions, views and expectations, the key significant
basic values and goals regarding money would be pointed out.

The basic aim of management and marketing strategy is to create an edge over others
in the competition (Devlin and Ennew, 1997). An edge over the rest of the competitors
facilitates supreme value to the consumers especially in comparison with all that the
rivals have to offer. As per Porter (1980), there are 2 general manners in which
competitive gain can be achieved. These 2 ways are by either arranging for a cost-
efficient supplier or by distinguishing the offer in an inimitable and worthy manner.
Each and every organisation requires a lot of thinking regarding the fashion in which
it would want to step into the market space and further on gain girth and position
higher than its rivals. Banks have come to understand that there can be no bank that
provides all types and variety of products and due to that be the number one bank in
the eyes of the consumers. Therefore, they have been driven to explore a better and a
novel idea on which they can gain competitive advantage and enhance their products
and service quality as well (prodserv) (Zineldin, 1996).

Over many years, conventionally banking has prevailed through a considerable

unwavering milieu. Nonetheless, currently, the baking arena is going through
amazingly cut throat competition in a completely unpredictable set up. The final
outcome of the latest competition and legislation seems to be that old and
conventional banks have missed out on a considerable amount of their intra-country
dealings because of the entry of non-bank entities that are very aggressively
competing with them. There is no doubt about the fact that the element of competition
would always be the key vital component. To find a position and more so over
surviving in this competitive space has become the most important factor for all banks
because they have realised that keeping a position can only ensure a long span of
profitability and life of the bank. However, those banks that are not bothered with the
newly transformed environment are most likely to fall prey to the aggressive
competition and vanish out very soon.

Assessing the relationship on the basis of factors such as quality, productivity and
positioning has a prerequisite of analysing the components of quality pertaining to the
operations scheme (Zineldin, 2005). It is not evitable that bettering the indefinable
characteristics of service quality can only be attained by expending high amounts of
assets. It is quite possible that the service quality would still be seen negatively due to
the non-physical attributes of the service scheme have not been clearly defined. A lot
of banks have been in a fix with their consumers because of this very reason.

It is important to understand that quality never gets better until one can actually gauge
it (Asser et al., 1990). Client relations and quality are the two factors that are very
important but pose the maximum amount of trouble when it comes to measuring them
at the economic level as well as at the business level. One solution in order to take
care of this problem of measurement could be to create a more palpable connection
amongst competitive positioning, customer relationship, and quality. Positioning
comprises of accounts of characteristics and the various dimensions of the consumers’
expectations and demands along with the array and quality of the products and
services provided in the cut throat market arena.