Market Analysis Of Metro Bank UK: Importance Of Situation Analysis For An Organization

Needs Analysis for Metro Bank UK Customers

The concepts of marketing as well as communication form important aspects of the various business organizations. Therefore, it is seen that the primary focus of the various business organizations in the present times is on the concept of marketing and they often take the help of effective marketing strategies to bring about the overall growth as well as the development of their concerned business organizations. The concept of effective communication is another factor which plays a significant role in the operations of the various business organizations. This report will focus on the business environment as well as the market analysis of the Metro Bank UK.

The “Metro Bank UK” founded in the year 2010 by Vernon Hill is one of the largest retail banks operational in the United Kingdom. It is significant to note that the bank is listed on the “London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index”. The bank was granted its banking license by the “Financial Services Authority” and it is interesting to note that it is the first “high street bank” which was granted “such a licence for over 150 years”. According to the Forbes Magazine (2018), “the company saw pre-tax profits rise to $2.6 million (£2m), a 33% increase compared with the previous quarter, and a drastically improved performance compared to the $12.4 million (£9.6m) loss recorded in the corresponding period last year”. The organization is planning to open “200 and 250 Stores in Greater London within 10 years of starting up”. The organization not only offers banking services to the customers but also specializes in the genre of financial aids as well. In addition to this, the organization caters to the “needs and the requirements” of the individuals customers as well as the business organizations. It is significant to note that the banking operations of the organizations are authorized by “Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority”. The organization provides traditional as well as non-traditional banking services to the customers along with the internet banking options.

A need can be defined as a particular requirement of an individual which is essential for the normal life functioning of the organism. In the context of the business world the concept of need can be defined as the requirement of an individual from a particular product or a service offered by a business organisation. Therefore, the various business organisations often conduct a thorough market research to find out the needs of the customers to design their products or services as per the needs of the customers. The concept of want, on the other hand, can be defined as the desire to have a particular thing. Therefore, the various market researches provide them with an idea about the desires as well as wants of the customers from a particular product. The concept of demand, on the other hand, can be defined as the “quantities of a commodity or a service that people are willing and able to buy at various prices, over a given period of time”. Therefore, the various business organisations often design and manufacture their products or services as per the demands of the customers.

Importance of Situation Analysis for an Organization

The primary need of the customers of the “Metro Bank UK” is that they should get the facilities of the modern day internet banking which are on par with the facilities provided by the retail banks of the nation in the same sector. It is significant to note that with the advancement in the technological field and the recent innovations most of the customers insist on having the facilities of the internet banking which will provide them with the facility of not going to the physical locations of the bank. Furthermore, another need of the customers is that the money which are investing in the bank should remain safe as well as secure and when are in need of the money deposited by them in the bank they should be able to easily withdraw it.

The concept of “situational analysis” refers to a ranging of strategic frameworks by means of which the various business organisations often analyze the “internal as well as the external environment of their business organisation in a bid to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of the concerned business organisation”. The various situational analysis tools often give the diverse business organisation an idea about the competencies of the business organisation concerned. Therefore, it can be said that the concept of situational analysis forms an important part of the strategic management of the various business organisations.

The economic recession which the world is facing at the moment is likely to adversely affect the prospects of the concerned organisation in an adverse manner. It is significant to note that the current economic recession of the world has made the customers to invest in the various other sectors like real estates, gold and others and therefore this particular trend is likely to affect the prospects of the concerned organisation in an adverse manner.

The “recent advancements in the field of technology” is also likely to affect the business of the concerned organisation in a significant manner. This particular factor actually acts as an opportunity to the concerned organisation. The concerned organisation can take the help of the “recent innovations as well as the developments in the field of technology” to cater to the “needs and the requirements of the customers” in the best possible manner. The concerned organisation taking the help of the advancements in the field of technology can provide the various customers internet banking facilities to serve them in the best possible manner.

Competitive Analysis of Major Competitors

Competition analysis is the method which the various business organisations often take the help of in a bid to find out the level of business competition faced by them in the business market. These competitive analysis tools not only provide an overview to the various business organisations about the level of business competition faced and also to devise effective strategies for their mitigation. These tools also help the various business organisations to find out the strategies used by their rival business organisations and this helps the concerned business organisations to develop similar strategies for their business operations.

The three primary competitors of the “Metro Bank UK” in the United Kingdom are “TSB, Virgin Money and Clydesdale”.

	Metro Bank UK	TSB	Virgin Money	Clydesdale
Number of Stores	55	550	75	205
Annual Revenue	£293.8 million	£900.2 million	£662.7 million	£ 1.004 billion
Self service machines	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Internet banking	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Government or private bank	Private	Private	Private	Private

The above table clearly indicates that the concerned organisation clearly lags behind its major competitors in the market of the United Kingdom not only in terms of the number of the stores which are operational but also in terms of the annual profit gained by them. Therefore, it can be said that there is a room for improvement for the “Metro Bank UK” in these aspects which will help it to become the largest retail bank of the nation. According to the analysis of the above table the organisation under consideration needs to start more outlets which will provide effective services to the customers and this in turn will help the concerned organisation to increase the yearly profit gained by it.

The marketing mix can be defined as one of the primary “foundations of marketing” and “set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target”. It is significant to note that by the year 1980, the various entities of the “4P’s of Marketing” were expanded t incorporate four other entities and it came to know as the “7P’s of Marketing”. The seven entities of this framework are “product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence”. The products offered by the concerned organisation are the various bank accounts, loans and other financial aids to the customers. The company actually does not charge any price from the customers on the other hand the organisation provides attractive interest rates to the customers for depositing their money in their organisation. The place of operation of the concerned organisation is the nation of England. It is significant to note that the organisation currently has around 55 stores in the various parts of the nation.  The organisation takes the help of various forms of promotional means to promote the services offered by them. In addition to that, the organisation also takes the help of various platforms offered by the social media for the process of promotion. The organisation also takes the help of various campaigns as well as events to promote the services offered by them in the most effective manner. The organisation caters to the “needs of the people” of the United Kingdom. The organisation presently is thinking about expanding in the other nations of the world and serves the citizens of those nations. The business process of the organisation mainly involves the financial and its related processes. The physical evidences used by the organisation are the various passbooks and other forms of written documents provided by the organisation to the customers.

Conclusion

To conclude, the business world in the present times has become much more competitive than it was a few decades ago. Therefore, it is seen that the various business organisations “in the present times take the help of various strategic frameworks to analyze the business environment” in which they operate and also “to analyze the level of market competition faced by them”. The results of these analyses not only provide them relevant information about the “level of competition faced by them but also help them to devise effective strategies for the mitigation of the competition faced by them”. Thus, the various organisations often take the help of these strategic frameworks to analyze the competition faced by them.

References

“Clydesdale Bank | Personal, Business, and Private Banking | Clydesdale Bank”. in , , 2018, <https://secure.cbonline.co.uk/> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Forbes Welcome”. in , , 2018, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/soorajshah/2017/07/09/metro-bank-is-going-digital-and-using-devops-to-compete-against-traditional-banks/#480e084aa755> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Framework for Marketing Management”. in , , 2018, <https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6Lcl9x0njSEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA16&dq=situation+analysis> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“International Marketing”. in , , 2018, <https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0Z2-2_Q2kuAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=situatio> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Marketing Mix of 4P’S for Competitive Advantage”. in , , 2018, <https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/28251386/G0364045.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1523993744&Signature=W1GC%2F2XsokN7Upr7tBPn9AwOAt0%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DIOSR-JBM_www.iosrjournals.org.pdf> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Marketing Strategy and Management”. in , , 2018, <https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=w69hBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=marketing+mix+strategy&ots=dfLhRWLGfp&sig=4z-EjgB6jO9RpelCWO_fCnuD9Ds#v=onepage&q=marketing%20mix%20strategy&f=false> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Strategic Marketing”. in , , 2018, <https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VgbtAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=competition+analysis+marketing&ots=iu5D8LgUVG&sig=6XWUgBsHtjvHhUAol0kYSa4zOws#v=onepage&q=competition%20analysis%20marketing&f=false> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Virgin Money UK“. in , , 2018, <https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Welcome to TSB | Local Banking For Britain | Personal Banking”. in , , 2018, <https://www.tsb.co.uk/personal/> [accessed 17 April 2018].

“Export Strategy: Markets and Competition (RLE Marketing)”. in , , 2018, <https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0DiDBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=competition+analysis+marketing&ots=TXc-VFEB0j&sig=j2czanZbbCRQalSEGVQc4gS5VBM#v=onepage&q=competition%20analysis%20marketing&f=false> [accessed 17 April 2018].

Personal | Metro Bank”. in , , 2018, <https://www.metrobankonline.co.uk/> [accessed 17 April 2018].

Quinn, J, “We don’t need challenger banks – there’s enough competition already.”. in The Telegraph, , 2018, <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/20/we-dont-need-challenger-banks—theres-enough-competition-alread/> [accessed 17 April 2018].