Citation:
Stan Maklan, Simon Knox, Stefan Michel, The Guaranty Trust Bank of Nigeria: From
niche positioning to mass-market branding. Thunderbird International Business
Review, Volume 51, Number 4, 2009, Pages 385-401
Abstract:
This case describes a strategic marketing dilemma facing Tayo Aderinokun, the
cofounder and managing director (CEO) of the highly successful Guaranty Trust
Bank (GTBank) of Nigeria. In its initial 15 years, GTBank has grown dramatically
to become the most respected corporate bank in Nigeria, renowned for both its
professionalism and high ethical standards. However, the environment is changing
dramatically, and the bank needs to grow quickly in order to survive: perhaps
doubling or tripling its size in the next five years. Aderinokun has ruled out
merger or acquisition in the immediate future, so organic growth is the only way
forward. There is insufficient room for growth in its current commercial niche,
so GTBank has decided that the emerging Nigerian retail banking sector is its
growth pathway. However, there are big challenges: GTBank's brand, marketing
mix, people, and operating methods are finely tuned for corporate banking, and
it is not immediately obvious how it will leverage its assets to compete in the
emerging retail banking market. In addition, competitors are attacking GTBank in
its core corporate segment. The case explores a classic strategic marketing
dilemma: when is a highly successful niche brand forced to abandon its unique
selling point and go for growth in the mainstream market? How does it leverage
that which makes it special so that it offers some compelling advantage for its
new customers? Can the niche brand execute well on a large scale? How does it
embed its values and behaviors in a new context? Does it have the money, people,
culture, and ambition to take share from established competitors in the new
market segments? Will its expansion plans make its core business more vulnerable
to competitors? The case explores the strategic context using the established
marketing planning tools of political/legal, economic, sociocultural,
technological, and environmental (PESTE) and strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses, and features advertising themes the
bank has developed for mass-market communication purposes to illustrate the far-
reaching implications of the expansion of its retail business.