Abstract
The literal meaning of the word strategy is ‘the general’s art’, deriving from the ancient Greek word for general — stratégos. In fact use of the word dates back to at least 400 BC, but it did not appear in writings until the late eighteenth century. Prior to Napoleon’s time the word had a military connotation, implying the art and science of directing military forces to defeat an enemy or to mitigate the results of defeat. Although deriving from an ancient heritage, the term strategy has found its way into financial services management literature in the past decade or so. To banking people, for example, the term strategy has come to mean the type of decision made by top executives and members of the board of directors concerning the relationship between the organisation as a whole and its environment. In other words, strategy describes those critical boundary-spanning decisions that define the framework and direction for overall financial services marketing organisation, providing answers to questions such as:
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In what specific business should the financial services firm be, in terms of mix of services/products offered and customers served?
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What course of action should the organisation pursue, in terms of emphasis, timing, priorities?
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How should resources be acquired and how should these resources be deployed for more efficient marketing operations?
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What major market opportunities are most compatible with the top management’s definition of marketing goals, objectives, missions and so on?
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References
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© 1996 Arthur Meidan
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Meidan, A. (1996). Marketing Strategies for Financial Services. In: Marketing Financial Services. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24475-1_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24475-1_12
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