In these days of globalization, it is an understatement to say that competition is intense in every business. Local, national and international units of the same business vie with each other to create a niche for themselves, so that market share is at least maintained, if not improved. Despite having formal and well-planned marketing strategies and systems in place, every company struggles to retain its position. Therefore, non-conventional thinking is required to retain and expand one's market. This article primarily dwells upon marketing related to the banking sector, and the term `marketing' has been used to mean `efforts at nurturing and increasing one's market and market share.' It draws on the vast experience of the author in the field of marketing of banking services.

Since 1994, when the new gen- eration private sector banks entered into business, fierce competition, sometimes even cutthroat, among all players has been the order of the day. Technology enabled these banks to come out, not only with new and innovative products and services, but also new delivery channels and points of sale. The failure of corporate loans worldwide made them think deeper on the risk management aspect. The result was the development of new products that enabled them to disperse risk. Since the margins were much higher in these products, many banks, including the Public Sector Banks (PSBs), followed suit. The main drawback in such banking services was the huge number of accounts and transactions, which has, however, been overcome to a significant extent with the help of technological advancements.

Every bank changed its marketing mix to capture and retain its share in the market. Many were successful, including some PSBs, but some fell by the wayside and some lost their identity during the last decade or so, unable to face competition, or more specifically, after burning their fingers. Nonetheless, most banks managed to survive. The latest news in these days of economic downturn is that PSBs have done better than private banks, when it comes to achieving healthier net profits or return on assets.

There have been many instances of non-conventional techniques being applied by bankers at different levels at various times across geographical areas. Here, an attempt is made to present such examples to the readers. Some of the methods have been very simple and commonsensical, and did not involve any spending worth mentioning.

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