Bank Selection Criteria in the Iranian Retail Banking Industry

Iranian retail banks need to identify criteria which bank customers consider when they select a bank in order toplan their marketing strategies and survive in an intense competition that exist in this industry. This studydesigned to examine the bank selection criteria being employed by bank customers in Iran. A total of 798customers (55.7 percent male and 44.3 percent female) served as a sample for the study. 38 selection factorsextracted from relevant literature and interviews with five bank officials. Factors analysis is used to extractimportant selection criteria and Friedman analysis ranks the factors according to their importance. Findings showthat the important factors determining customers' selection are: quality of services and new banking methods,innovation and responsiveness of bank, friendliness of staff and confidence in manager, price and cost, staffattitudes and convenience of bank location and services.