Choosing Montréal Banking Services

By Julie Phaneuf

Image source: Flickr

In Canada, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the Toronto-Dominion Canada Trust (TD), the Scotia bank, the bank of Montreal (BMO) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) dominate the region. The banks compete against each other to obtain the greatest volume of managed funds in order to gain the first position in the top five banks, using every marketing strategy available. RBC and TD are two ferocious competitors currently ranking first (RBC) and second (TD) in the top five. However, because their focus is on the quality of their products and offers, the Royal bank will certainly remain in the first position.

The Royal bank and the TD have very different strategies in position to achieve the rank of Canada's number one bank. The Royal bank's marketing strategy relies on the quality of their products and their rebates; besides having a wide number of products, they are offering many interesting rebates to their customers. RBC's strategy is that their customers with a minimum of three eligible products are either reimbursed part of their fees on the checking accounts or the totally of their fees. This strategy is brilliant because it keeps the customers tied to their bank, and it assures RBC that their customers won't go looking anywhere else for their other products. While TD also has a wide range of products, their offers are far from being as good as the Royal bank's offers. The TD's view on checking account rebates is not as interesting for the customers; TD offers rebates to customers who can keep a minimum of two thousand dollars in their accounts through the month. The problem with requiring a minimum balance to reverse the fees is that it is impossible for most people to achieve that through the whole month. Thus, it makes this offer unfair for the people with a lower income, and it prevents them from the benefit of this rebate.

While RBC's strategy relies on their offers to their customers, TD relies on their customer service to gain the first rank. TD's goal is to prolong their hours to gain more customers; it could be a good strategy. They are offering the longest opening hours on the market; they are opening at eight in the morning every day and they are closing at six or eight at night. Their branches are also opening on Saturdays and coming this February, over three hundred of their branches will be opening on Sundays also. In comparison, the Royal bank's hours are shorter; opening at nine in the morning and closing at five every weekday, with very few branches opening on Saturdays. This comparison between the Montreal branches of both banks is clearly showing the strategy of the TD bank. By opening their branches on Sundays, TD's goal is certainly to take RBC's place as the first bank in Canada.

Besides their differences when comparing their products and their opening hours, the RBC and the TD are somewhat similar. They both are offering automatic banking machines, telephone banking services, websites and mobile applications, making it easier for their customers to do their banking the way they prefer to do it. Both banks are offering special services for children, students and for people over sixty; therefore it is important that they find something to differentiate themselves from one another; otherwise none of them would achieve their goal. When comparing the rates of interest of the products of the two banks, we can see that they are not able to differentiate themselves with their rates because they are too similar, if not the same. Clearly, this is not where their strategy lies. The only thing that they should worry about now that they have their strategy is to apply it correctly.

In the end, after taking some time to study the differences between the two top banks of Canada, it is clear that RBC's strategy will be keeping them successful in the future. RBC will retain their clientele by providing bundled offers. Not only will RBC keep their customers, but these will also be valuable customers because RBC's offer stipulates that customers must have a mortgage as a part of the three products. This insures them a solid clientele. In comparison, TD's strategy might gain them more customers, but the customers won't stay at a bank simply because of the business hours; today with all of the services available to do their banking, customers don't have to go to the bank except occasionally. As a result, TD's strategy might bring them a clientele, but not necessarily a valuable or loyal one. RBC's strategy pleases their customers and binds them to their bank; consequently, it is the most solid marketing strategy and this will keep providing them the title of Canada's first bank.               

Cited Works

1-      Royal Bank of Canada, Copyright 1995-2010 Royal Bank of Canada Website. Web.  February 10, 2011.  <http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/personal.html>

2-      TD Canada Trust, Copyright TD Group Financial Services Site. Web. February 10, 2011.  <http://www.tdcanadatrust.com>