ABSTRACT
In a free market with many competitors, marketing is a crucial function for companies that must differentiate their offer and serve their customers better than the competition. Islamic banks are no exception. They evolve in an environment where alternative offers exist in the form of conventional and Islamic products and services. Islamic banks are part of the general market of Islamic products and services, where environment is the starting point for the assessment of the market potential. The legal environment is focusing on the status of Islamic finance in a given country. Concepts of Islamic finance are not very well known by Muslims worldwide, the probability that people will discuss about them in family circles is rather low. Islamic banks will look at these dimensions of culture especially when they want to export a concept from one country to the other.
