Customer Satisfaction As a Strategic Intervention- a Comparative Marketing Study of Public and Private Sector Banks

Abstract

The banking industry of India is now running in a dynamic challenge concerning both customer base and performance. Service quality, customer satisfaction, customer retention, customer loyalty and delight are now the major challenges faced by the banking sector. Customer satisfaction plays an intermediary role between the two extremities of service continuum, namely service quality and performance. Most of the literature reviews referred in the paper reveals that as compared to public sector; private sector bank customers' level of satisfaction is comparatively more in India. Human element acts an important role in perceived service quality as well as satisfaction. Public sector banks need to redefine the customer service parameter to compete with the nationalized private sector banks both in profitability and corporate image. This study is just a small step in understanding the multi-dimensional construct of customer satisfaction and its implications in competitive environment. This paper suggests a suitable strategy for creating, maintaining and increasing the level of customer satisfaction in both public and private sector banks.