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COLLEGE
Assignment of
Service Marketing
IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
( MBA )3rd SEMESTER
2013 -2015
SUBMITTED BY
SUBMITTED TO
PRIYA TALWAR
KAPOOR
Mrs. ASHIMA
1.
Hospitality
standard accepted you would find the guests assuming that everything
else on offer may be on line with the same quality of service.
Service on offer should be offered with all the trimmings as present day
customers have much to choose from. Service offered should be provided
with the staff being prepared to go that extra mile. Making customers
happy is the motto of the Hospitality service. It is a service that requires to
be done with a smile. People of all walks of life, will at some stage or the
other be able to enjoy being served by someone or the other.
Whether greeting a customer at the Reception or serving a drink at the
bar, the service has to be provided in a way that the customer is felt
special as the slightest dissatisfaction from any quarter may warrant a
complaint and may have consequences for the hotel and the staff
concerned. This may lead to the customer not wanting to visit again.
Service personnel should be those who are willing to serve without
expecting reward. Reward may come in different ways but if the
expectations of the staff is appreciation then they are bound to be
disappointed. It is better to be prepared for this. If the customer is happy,
then the he or she becomes the best advertisement to the organization.
Hospitality service is to serve others to make them feel special.
Marketing
According to the definition provided by the American Marketing
Association (2008), marketing refers to an organizational function and a
set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to
customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit
the organization and its stakeholders. In essence, marketing is a
consumer-oriented philosophy or way of doing business; companies
that are consumer-oriented will put consumers needs and wants on their
top priority.
From this perspective, the ultimate goal of marketing is therefore to create
and retain profitable customers by satisfying their demands. It is worth
noting that the goal of retaining profitable customers is particularly
challenging in Asia including Hong Kong. This is because people in this
region tend to be more group-oriented and the word-of-mouth effects are
especially strong.
Concluding example:
Udaipur, in the heart of Rajasthan, is a city of majestic palaces and
beautiful lakes. Here, adorning the banks of Lake Pichola and standing
witness to the historic City Palace, The Oberoi Udaivilas captures the
romance and splendour of a royal era.Conceived as a traditional Indian
palace, The Oberoi Udaivilas showcases the rich heritage of the Mewar
dishes based on our specific requests of vegetarian diet plan. Kids corner
and play area is very creative spot to keep kids engrossed. Hotel staff was
very helpful and prompt in resolving health situation of our child in middle
of night. Surely the amazing holiday experience ever! Udaivilas undoubtly
offers the highest hospitality comforts in India!!
Customer Expectation: The quality of the service is very high standard
despite a bit impersonal and cold approach to the guests.
So the customers expect more polite and kind treatment by the staff.
2.
Airlines
quality and marketing of the airline industry also changed rapidly. In the early
days, airlines placed a heavy emphasis on service quality because it was a
luxurious leisure pursuit. Then, it became a secondary focus when it entered the
oligopoly stage. During this stage, price and price wars were the primary concern
of the travelers and the airline companies. This tide shifted again during
the1990s, as some airlines started to reemphasize and improve their service to
attract travellers (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). However, the focus of existing
studies is on the industry rather than the traveler.
Reservation :
Check in :
The check-in and flight handling system has also been
computerized. Kingfisher airline has offered tele-check-in facilities
to the passengers can call their special tele-check-in numbers at
the airport upto 45 minutes before the departure and confirm their
ticket. Their boarding card will await them at the airport. In order to
relax after their check-in special lounges are provided.
Baggage facilities :
About 30kgs of check-in baggage is allowed. Passenger, carrying
international tickets are given further allowance of around an added
30kgs priority baggage delivery is offered to the members.
Transport facilities :
Free transport service is provided to passengers in order to help
them reach their destination faster. Apart from these tangibal
elements the seating arrangement in the aircraft should be
spacious and comfortable. The in-flight foods provide physical
evidence to the airline service.
Pricing in airlines is a fairly complex issues, since there are price variations
because variations in the level of demand, particularly due to seasonality, when
every Airlines gives price discounts & competition is tough. Airlines will always
faced by high levels of fixed costs, leading to variants of cost-plus pricing or ROI
as key determinants of pricing levels. It is important to included pricing tactics
which exploit price sensitivities fully. It differentiates service levels & offer higher
price value added services, as in business class air travel.
We have different authorities to manage and control domestic as well as
international air transport business. The ministry of civil aviation, the Indian airline
corporation, the national airport authority, the international airport authority of
India and the air India corporation are the bodies directly or indirectly influencing
the process of pricing decision.
The concept of fair price is very important, pricing can be classified in 3 ways.
Premium pricing :
In this method the prices are set above the market price either to
reflect the image of quality or the unique status of the product
premium pricing succeeds if the company enjoys a strong
reputation that the brand image alone is sufficient or the product
features are not shared by its competitors.
Place :
The air transport organisation has to make sure that the prospects dont face any
difficulty while buying the tickets and make necessary arrangements for the
confirmation of the booking. It is also confirmed that the users booking their
luggages do not face any inconveniences.
Another dimension of place is related to the location and management of offices
of airways, travel agent, tour operators, transport operators etc.
Easy
accessibility should be the main criteria in selecting the place. The place should
be safe, well connected with all weather proof roads where all the required
infrastructure facilities are available.
The water and sanitation facilities for the users and comfortable seating
arrangements must be made available. Lighting and ventilation facilities should
also be taken care of. The interior decoration furnishing, plantation needs
aesthetic sense so that the user forms a positive opinion regarding the airway
services.
People Mix :
Many services require personal interactions between customers and the firm's
employees and these interactions strongly influence the customer's perception of
service quality. For example, a person's stay at a hotel can be greatly affected by
the friendliness, knowledge ability and helpfulness of the hotel staff - in most
cases the lowest paid people in the organization. One's impression of the hotel
and willingness to return are determined to a large extent by the brief encounters
with the front-desk staffs, bellhops, housekeeping staff, restaurant wait staff and
so on, many of which take place outside the direct control of the hotel
management. In fact, the average hotel patron has very little contact with the
hotel supervisors and managers.
Therefore, management faces a tremendous challenge in selecting and training
all of these people to do their jobs well, and, perhaps even more important, in
motivating them to care about doing their jobs well, and, perhaps even more
important, in motivating them to care about doing their jobs and to make an extra
effort to serve their customers. After all, these employees must believe in what
they are doing and enjoy their work before they can, in turn, provide good service
to customers.
For this reason, human resources management policies and practices are
considered to be of particular strategic importance for in delivering high-quality
services. Establishing a customer-oriented culture throughout the firm and
empowering employees to provide quality service cannot be established merely
by putting up inspiring posters. Management leadership, job redesign and
systems to reward and recognize outstanding achievement are among the issues
that a successful service manager must address. The term "internal marketing"
has been coined to characterize the sets of activities a firm must undertake to
win over the hearts and minds of its employees to achieve service excellence.
The "people" component of the service marketing mix also includes the
management of the firm's customer mix. Because services are often experienced
at the provider's facilities, other customers who are being served there can also
influence ones satisfaction with a service. Ill mannered restaurants customers at
the next table, crying children in a nearby seat on an airplane and commercial
bank customers whose lengthy transactions take up the teller's are all examples
of unpleasant service conditions caused by a firm's other patrons.
On the other hand, the right mix of customers can greatly increase the enjoyment
of experience - for example, at entertainment services, such as nightclubs or
sporting events. Determining the desirable customer mix for a service,
segmenting the market into compatible groups and managing customer arrivals
to avoid conflict and enhance the service experience are essential components
of service management.
The importance of the process is true even for less 'sensual" experiences. A
customer who applies for a loan at a bank evaluates the purchase not only by the
amount of the loan received and the interest rate paid. The speed and sensitivity
of the approval process, the interaction with the bank officers, the accuracy of
bank statements and the ease of getting redress if mistakes are found all affect
the person's attitudes about doing further business with the bank and his or her
willingness to recommend it to others. Therefore, when designing service
production processes, particular attention must be paid to customer perceptions
of that process. For this reason, marketing and operations are closely related in
service management.
Example
NEW DELHI, India India's IndiGo Airlines may be the world's hottest low-cost
carrier. But the company's lightning fast sprint to the top of the food chain offers
something else for market watchers: a new spin on the so-called "bottom of the
pyramid."
This month, close on the heels of the record-setting, $15.6 billion purchase of
180 passenger jets from Airbus, IndiGo topped state-owned Air India to become
the country's second-largest carrier matching liquor baron Vijay Mallya's fullservice Kingfisher Airlines with an 18.6 percent share of the market. It also
announced it would start international service with flights to Singapore, Bangkok,
Dubai and Muscat this summer.
Since 2008, when the company booked its first profit even as high fuel prices and
the economic downturn ravaged its competitors, IndiGo's net income has grown
more than five times from a shade under $20 million to more than $120
million. And the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation reckons its one of the hottest
airlines to watch in 2011, saying, "Airports in the Indian subcontinent, Gulf and
Southeast Asia take note: IndiGo is coming.
With Boeing forecasting that Indian air traffic will grow 15 percent a year over the
next five years and that India will require more than 1,000 commercial jets over
the next 20, according to the Wall Street Journal, that may just well make IndiGo
the fastest growing airline in the world's fastest growing aviation market. And
questions about how it will pay Airbus for all those shiny new planes which will
be rolling in until 2025 has already boosted excitement about a possible IPO.
But it's the secret behind the five-year-old, low-cost airline's meteoric rise that's
most intriguing.
Like Tata Motors did with the much hyped, sub $2,500 Nano, IndiGo used the
promise of India's huge, untapped market to lure partner organizations into
offering bargain-basement prices which was key to the low-cost airline's initial
purchase of 100 A-320 jets from Airbus in 2005.
But where Tata has stumbled at the bottom of the pyramid the late business
professor C.K. Prahalad's term for the largest, but poorest segment of consumers
IndiGo redefined the low-cost model to compete for business with full-service
carriers by offering more than cheap tickets.
"IndiGo's investment in the training of its staff and its [aircraft] fleet killed
whatever difference might have existed between an LCC and a full-service
carrier," said Kapil Kaul, South Asia head of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
"The service is the same, the planes are all new, the buses are brand new."
Customer Perception:
All aircraft are in economy only configuration
Snacks, light meals and beverages available for purchase on board; some
foods can be taken on board; water provided complimentary
No in flight entertainment
Seat pitch of 30 inch with slight recline
No blankets or pillows
Baggage allowance included in fare of 15kgs for domestic flights and 20kgs
for international; additional cost per extra kg.
Customer Expectation:
Indigo may have got the rights to fly overseas, after performing reasonably well in
the Indian domestic market. Their truly no frills services with Unique Selling
Propositions(USP) like small turn around time, on board merchandise at
compelling prices, warm and hospitable, agile and young on flight and ground
crews have made a mark in the mind of yours truly and thats precisely the
reason for him to opt for Indigo since the last four years while traveling within
India. The customer without any freebies was not only proposing the airlines
name to his peers, relatives and other acquaintances, but was also scribbling
about the nice experience of the airline
At its foundation IATA had 57 members from 31 nations, mostly in Europe and
North America. Today it has over 230 members from more than 130 nations in
every part of the globe.
3.
Tourism Services
Marketing plays a significant role in any industry and particularly in a service industry
such as travel and tourism. Modern organisations cannot operate without the use of
promotion or market research as a key method of communicating with customers.
Many organisations allocate large budgets to marketing in order to maintain a
competitive edge and meet the needs of their customers. Tourism is one of the most
exciting and progressive industries in Australia. Part of the visitor economy, tourism
is also big business and it impacts on almost every other industry. Total tourism
consumption was worth more than $92 billion in 200809 and tourism directly
contributed $32.8 billion to Australias GDP in that period.Tourism is now one of the
largest industries in Australia, accounting for 486,200 jobs. The countrys tourism
industry has a larger output than:
agriculture, forestry and fishing;
communication services;
and electricity, gas and water supply
Travel agents
The role of travel agents is to give advice and information and sell and administer
bookings for a number of tour operators. They also sell flights,ferry bookings, car
hire, insurance and accommodation as separate products. Thus, they are
distributors of products. Many have a bureaude change. Increasingly, travel agents
also do a little tour operating, for example putting together a holiday for a group.
This is known as tailor making holidays. Some industry professionals believe that
the role of the travel agent is in decline as many people are booking their own
holidays and travel on the Internet or by telephone directly to tour operators.
Components of Tourism
Tourism has many components comprising
1. Travel experience
2. Accommodations
3. Food
4. Beverage services
5. Shops
6. Entertainment
7. Aesthetics and
8. Special events
8 Ps
1. Product
Product in Tourism is basically the experience and hospitality provided by the service
provided.
In general the experience has to be expressed in such a way that the tourists see a
value in them.
2. Process
The process in Tourism include, (a) trip planning and anticipation, (b) travel to the
site/area, (c) recollection, (d) trip planning packages. The trip planning packages
include, maps, attractions en route and on site, information regarding lodging, food,
quality souvenirs and mementoes
3. Place and Time Location and Accessibility
The place and time in tourism is providing directions and maps, providing estimates
of travel time and distances from different market areas, recommending direct and
scenic travel routes, identifying attractions and support facilities along different travel
routes, and informing potential customers of alternative travel methods to the area
such as airlines and railroads.
4. Productivity and Quality
This is similar to other service industries. The quality is assessed by time taken for a
service, the promptness of the service, reliability and so on.
5. Promotion and Education
Like other services, the promotion should address, the accurate and timely
information helping to decide whether to visit target audience, the image to be
Example:
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travellers to plan and
have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers and a
wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to
booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in
the world, reaching nearly 260 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than
150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodation,
restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 42 countries worldwide,
including China underdaodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for
Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to
millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.
TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 24
other travel media
brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com,www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.co
m, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gat
eguru.com,
www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler
.com, www.jetsetter.com,www.lafourchette.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime
.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.c
om,www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.
viator.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn.
INDIA TOUR PACKAGES
We Offer India Tour Packages on Affordable Price with Quality Service.
We have Ready made Tour Package and also Make Customize (Tailor-Made)
Tour on Tourist Personalize Requirment.
All the Readymade Packages are Customzeble If guest required.
We also Provide Car Rental Service. for Tour Purpose or Corporate Purpose.
Minimum Advance Required for Booking Tour.
Payment Can be Done By Online using Credit Card. and also can do bank wire
transfer.
Tour
AGRA:
This historical city stands 200 km south of New Delhi, on the banks of river
Yamuna. Over three centuries ago, it was a powerful Mughal capital and the
most important city of northern India. It was at this time that Agra's many timeless
architectural wonders were born: the wonderful Taj Mahal, the awesome Agra
Fort, and the sprawling Sikandara - a whole city in itself.
Agra Fort : Built in red sand stone, it is the one of the famous sights of Agra
other than Taj Mahal. The semi circular fort was started by Akbhar in 1565, and
completed in 1574.
Taj Mahal : The most photographed monument in the world, the Taj stands in its
splendor of white marble, an imposing citadel on the banks of river Yamuna. Built
in 17th century by Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, in the memory of his
wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is an ode to the emperor's eternal love for his
wife. It took over 20,000 skilled workers from across the country, working day and
night, for 22 years for this architectural wonder to be created.
Fatehpur Sikri: 40 km from Agra, it is a city completely made of red sand stone.
Built by Akbar and dedicated to a saint, Fatehpur Sikri was conceived in 1571.
Worth visiting are the Jama Masjid, Salim Chisti's tomb, the Diwan- i-Aam, the
Diwan- i- Khas and the Queen's palaces within the city.
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary:
120 km from Delhi and just 17 km. from Fatehpur Sikri, it is home to over 375
species of birds, serene water bodies, lush woods, majestic lodges, and more.
Once the royal hunting reserve of the princely family of Bharatpur, the water bird
sanctuary is spread over 29 kms and is one of the best in India. It is best
explored on a bicycle, or on a pedal - rikshaw - whose puller will prove to be an
expert guide too!
(Included in the itinerary during winter only)
JAIPUR:
The Pink City is replete with historical landmarks that echo its past glory and
living traditions. Discover palaces and forts, temples and gardens, crafts and
pageantry here.
City Palace: Built by Sawai Jai Singh, it became the official seat of the Jaipur
royal family after 1922. A large part of the brilliant palace is now a museum,
displaying an excellent collection of artifacts used by the Rajput royalty.
Jantar Mantar: Built in 1728, it is one of Sawai Jai Singh's unique observatories.
It has instruments that have been scientifically designed to predict the movement
of the major stars accurately. It represents the high point of medieval Indian
astronomy.
Hawa Mahal: Also called the "Palace of Winds" was built in 1799. It is an
unusual five storeyed structure with a facade of extensive lattice- work in stone.
Aristocratic Rajput women to look out at the bustling bazaar below while
remaining unseen used it.
Amer Fort: It is one of the finest and the best preserved forts, having served as
the royal capital for seven long years before the city of Jaipur was built. It has a
complex of several palaces, meeting halls, pavilions, gardens and temples. The
Fort was built in the later half of the 10th century by Raja Man Singh.
Online Booking
Customer Perception: The agents were well presented and polite. Driver
selected for tour was a bit slow and could not understand very well. Hotel at
Delhi was good but did not have very good menu for children. Rooms were ok.
Hotel at Jaipur was excellent and would recommend to family and friends. Menu
was good and staff were very friendly towards children and helpful. Hotel in Agra
was not up to standard, had strange smell in rooms and was not as clean as
could be. All tour guides were very good at there jobs and knew their histories.
Overall tour was excellent but driver could have been more friendly and be able
to converse with the customers in english so he could have understood them
better.
Customer Expectation: The customers require that the drivers need to be more
educated and should be taught English language and other relevant languages so that they
can communicate with the customers easily.
banking and for banks to interest in marketing subject can be arranged as: Change
in demographic structure: Differentiation of population in the number and
composition affect quality and attribute of customer whom benefits from banking
services. Intense competition in financial service sector: The competition became
intense due to the growing international banking perceptiveness and recently being
non limiting for new enterprises in the sector. Increase in liberalization of interest
rates has intensified the competition.
Banks wish for increasing profit: Banks have to increase their profits to create new
markets, to protect and develop their market shares and to survive on the basis of
intense competition and demographic chance levels.
The marketing comprehension that are performed by banks sinnce 1950 can be
shown as in following five stages:
1. Promotion oriented marketing comprehension
2. Marketing comprehension based on having close relations for customers
3. Reformist marketing comprehension
4. Marketing comprehension that focused on specializing in certain areas
5. Research, planning and control oriented marketing comprehension
prices of their services offered. By performing this, they keep their relations with
extant customers and take new ones. The prices in banking have names like
interest, commission and expenses. Price is the sole element of marketing variables
that create earnings, while others cause expenditure. While marketing mix elements
other than price affect sales volume, price affect both profit and sales volume
directly.Banks should be very careful in determining their prices and price policies.
Because mistakes in pricing cause customers shift toward the rivals offering likewise
services. Traditionally, banks use three methods called cost-plus, transaction
volume base and challenging leader in pricing of their services.
DISTRIBUTION
The complexity of banking services are resulted from different kinds of them. The
most important feature of banking is the persuasion of customers benefiting from
services.Most banks services are complex in attribute and when this feature joins
the intangibility characteristics, offerings take also mental intangibility in addition to
physical intangibility. On the other hand, value of service and benefits taken from it
mostly depend on knowledge, capability and participation of customers besides
features of offerings. This is resulted from the fact that production and consumption
have non separable characteristics in those services. Most authors argue that those
features of banking services makes personal interaction between customer and
bank obligatory and the direct distribution is the sole alternative. Due to this reason,
like preceding applications in recent years, branch offices use traditional method in
distribution of banking services.
PROMOTION
One of the most important element of marketing mix of services is promotion which
is consist of personal selling, advertising, public relations, and selling promotional
tools.
PERSONAL SELLING
Due to the characteristics of banking services, personal selling is the way that most
banks prefer in expanding selling and use of them.Personal selling occurs in two
ways. First occurs in a way that customer and banker perform interaction face to
face at branch office. In this case, whole personnel, bank employees, chief and
office manager, takes part in selling. Second occurs in a way that customer
representatives go to customers place. Customer representatives are specialist in
banks services to be offered and they shape the relationship between bank and
customer.
ADVERTISING
Banks have too many goals which they want to achieve. Those goals are for
accomplishing the objectives as follows in a way that banks develop advertising
campaigns and use media.
1. Conceive customers to examine all kinds of services that banks offer
2. Increase use of services
3. Create well fit image about banks and services
4. Change customers attitudes
5. Introduce services of banks
6. Support personal selling
7. Emphasize well service
Advertising media and channels that banks prefer are newspaper, magazine,
radio,direct posting and outdoor ads and TV commercials. In the selection of media,
target market should be determined and the media that reach this target easily and
cheaply must be preferred.
Banks should care about following criteria for selection of media.
1. Which media the target market prefer
2. Characteristics of service
3. Content of message
4. Cost
5. Situation of rivals
Ads should be mostly educative, image making and provide the information as
follows:
1. Activities of banks, results, programs, new services
2. Situation of market, government decisions, future developments
3. The opportunities offered for industry branches whose development meets
national
benefits.487
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations in banking should provide;
1. Establishing most effective communication system
2. Creating sympathy about relationship between bank and customer
3. Giving broadest information about activities of bank.
It is observed that the banks in Turkey perform their own publications, magazine and
sponsoring activities.
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
It was mentioned that close relationship was established between producer and
customer in service sector. In addition to this, life cycle of a customer relationship
was also mentioned under the product outline. According to the researchers,
maintaining the relationship for extant customer increases the profit of firms. It
should be emphasized that this fact has an importance of service sector.
Example:ICICI Bank was originally promoted in 1994 by ICICI Limited, an Indian
financial institution, and was its wholly-owned subsidiary. ICICI's shareholding in
ICICI Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in
fiscal 1998, an equity offering in the form of ADRs listed on the NYSE in fiscal
2000, ICICI Bank's acquisition of Bank of Madura Limited in an all-stock
amalgamation in fiscal 2001, and secondary market sales by ICICI to institutional
investors in fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002. ICICI was formed in 1955 at the initiative
of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian
industry. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution
for providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses.
In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial
institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services group
offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a
number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. In 1999, ICICI become the
first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non-Japan Asia
to be listed on the NYSE.
After consideration of various corporate structuring alternatives in the context of
the emerging competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, and the move
towards universal banking, the managements of ICICI and ICICI Bank formed the
view that the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank would be the optimal strategic
alternative for both entities, and would create the optimal legal structure for the
ICICI group's universal banking strategy. The merger would enhance value for
ICICI shareholders through the merged entity's access to low-cost deposits,
greater opportunities for earning fee-based income and the ability to participate in
the payments system and provide transaction-banking services. The merger
would enhance value for ICICI Bank shareholders through a large capital base
and scale of operations, seamless access to ICICI's strong corporate
relationships built up over five decades, entry into new business segments,
higher market share in various business segments, particularly fee-based
services, and access to the vast talent pool of ICICI and its subsidiaries.
In October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the
merger of ICICI and two of its wholly-owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI
Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with
ICICI Bank. The merger was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank
in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in March 2002, and
by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April
2002. Consequent to the merger, the ICICI group's financing and banking
operations, both wholesale and retail, have been integrated in a single entity.
ICICI Bank has formulated a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for its directors and
employees.
Customer Perception: ICICI Bank is a very transparent organization in terms of
growth and promotions and and a very friendly atmosphere. No bias against
employee in relate to caste or religion. Techno savvy platform for employees
which help in reducing working hours and exert focus on sales. Respective goals
are given to each and every employee during starting of the financial year and
employee is rated accordingly at the end of financial year. Everyday day new
challenges in terms of targets of different products. Proper feedback is given to
employee at regular intervals and training for developing skills.
Customer Expectation: The customer care executive require training and
should be made to behave in a kind manner while addressing the grievances of
the customers. The grievances and complaints of the customers should be timely
addressed.
INSURANCE
Wherever there is uncertainty there is risk. We do not have any control over
uncertainties which involves financial losses. The risks may be certain events like
death, pension, retirement or uncertain events like theft, fire, accident, etc.
Insurance is a financial service for collecting the savings of the public and
providing them with risk coverage. The main function of Insurance is to provide
protection against the possible chances of generating losses. It eliminates
worries and miseries of losses by destruction of property and death. It also
provides capital to the society as the funds accumulated are invested in
productive heads. Insurance comes under the service sector and while marketing
this service, due care is to be taken in quality product and customer satisfaction.
While marketing the services, it is also pertinent that they think about the
innovative promotional measures. It is not sufficient that you perform well but it is
also important that you let others know about the quality of your positive
contributions.
Insurance marketing
The term Insurance Marketing refers to the marketing of Insurance services with
the aim to create customer and generate profit through customer satisfaction.
The Insurance Marketing focuses on the formulation of an ideal mix for Insurance
business so that the Insurance organisation survives and thrives in the right
perspective.
2. PRICING
With a view of influencing the target market or prospects the formulation of
pricing strategy becomes significant. The pricing in insurance is in the form of
premium rates. The three main factors used for determining the premium rates
under a life insurance plan are mortality, expense and interest. The premium
rates are revised if there are any significant changes in any of these factors.
Mortality (deaths in a particular area) When deciding upon the pricing strategy
the average rate of mortality is one of the main considerations. In a country like
South Africa the threat to life is very important as it is played by host of diseases.
Expenses: The cost of processing, commission to agents, reinsurance
companies as well as registration are all incorporated into the cost of installments
and premium sum and forms the integral part of the pricing strategy
Interest:The rate of interest is one of the major factors which determines
people's willingness to invest in insurance. People would not be willing to put
their funds to invest in insurance business if the interest rates provided by the
banks or other financial instruments are much greater than the perceived returns
from the insurance premiums.
3.PLACE
This component of the marketing mix is related to two important facets
i) Managing the insurance personnel, and
ii) Locating a branch.
The management of agents and insurance personnel is found significant with the
viewpoint of maintaining the norms for offering the services. This is also to
process the services to the end user in such a way that a gap between the
services- promised and services -- offered is bridged over. In a majority of the
service generating organizations, such a gap is
found existent which has been instrumental in making worse the image problem.
The transformation of potential policyholders to the actual policyholders is a
difficult task that depends upon the professional excellence of the personnel. The
agents and the rural career agents acting as a link, lack professionalism.
4. PROMOTION:
The insurance services depend on effective promotional measures. In a country
like India, the rate of illiteracy is very high and the rural economy has dominance
in the national economy. It is essential to have both personal and impersonal
promotion strategies. In promoting insurance business, the agents and the rural
career agents play an important role.
Due attention should be given in selecting the promotional tools for agents and
rural career agents and even for the branch managers and front line staff. They
also have to be given proper training in order to create impulse buying.
Advertising and Publicity, organisation of conferences and seminars, incentive to
policyholders are impersonal communication.
Arranging Kirtans, exhibitions, participation in fairs and festivals, rural wall
paintings and publicity drive through the mobile publicity van units would be
effective in creating the impulse buying and the rural prospects would be easily
transformed into actual policyholders.
5. PEOPLE
Understanding the customer better allows to design appropriate products. Being
a service industry which involves a high level of people interaction, it is very
important to use this resource efficiently in order to satisfy customers. Training,
development and strong relationships with intermediaries are the key areas to be
kept under consideration. Training the employees, use of IT for efficiency, both at
the staff and agent level, is one of the important areas to look into. Human
resources can be developed through education, training and by psychological
tests. Even incentives can inject efficiency and can motivate people for
productive and qualitative work.
6. PROCESS:
The process should be customer friendly in insurance industry. The speed and
accuracy of payment is of great importance. The processing method should be
easy and convenient to the customers. Installment schemes should be
streamlined to cater to the ever growing demands of the customers. IT & Data
Warehousing will smoothen the process flow. IT will help in servicing large no. of
customers efficiently and bring down overheads. Technology can either
complement or supplement the channels of distribution cost effectively. It can
also help to improve customer service levels. The use of data warehousing
management and mining will help to find out the profitability and potential of
various customers product segments.
A. Flow of activities: all the major activities of banks follow RBI guidelines. There
has to be adherence to certain rules and principles in the banking operations.
The activities have been segregated into various departments accordingly.
B. Standardization: banks have got standardized procedures got typical
transactions. In fact not only all the branches of a single-bank, but all the banks
have some standardization in them. This is because of the rules they are subject
to. Besides this, each of the banks has its standard forms, documentations etc.
Standardization saves a lot of time behind individual transaction.
C. Customization: There are specialty counters at each branch to deal with
customers of a particular scheme. Besides this the customers can select their
deposit period among the available alternatives.
D. Number of stores: numbers of steps are usually specified and a specific
pattern is followed to minimize time taken.
E. Simplicity: in banks various functions are segregated. Separate counters exist
with clear indication. Thus a customer wanting to deposit money goes to
deposits counter and does not mingle elsewhere. This makes procedures not
only simple but consume less time. Besides instruction boards in national boards
in national and regional language help the customers further.
7. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION:
Distribution is a key determinant of success for all insurance companies. Today,
the nationalized insurers have a large reach and presence in India. Building a
distribution network is very expensive and time consuming. Technology will not
replace a distribution network though it will offer advantages like better customer
service. Finance companies and Banks can emerge as an attractive distribution
channel for insurance in India. In Netherlands, financial services firms provide an
entire range of products including bank accounts, motor, home and life insurance
and pensions. In France, half of the life insurance sales are made through banks.
In India also, banks hope to maximize expensive existing networks by selling a
range of products.The physical evidences include signage, reports, punch lines,
other tangibles, employees dress code etc.
A. Tangibles: banks give pens, writing pads to the internal customers. Even the
passbooks, chequebooks, etc reduce the inherent intangibility of services.
B. Punch lines: punch lines or the corporate statement depict the philosophy and
attitude of the bank. Banks have influential punch lines to attract the customers.
Banking marketing consists of identifying the most profitable markets now and in
future, assessing the present and future needs of customers, setting business
development goals, making plans-all in the context of changing environment.
Example: LIC
Spread Life Insurance widely and in particular to the rural areas and to
the socially and economically backward classes with a view to reaching all
insurable persons in the country and providing them adequate financial
cover against death at a reasonable cost.
Conclusion
In India, banks hope to maximize expensive existing networks by selling a range
of products. It is anticipated that rather than formal ownership arrangements, a
loose network of alliance between insurers and banks will emerge, popularly
known as bank assurance. Another innovative distribution channel that could be
used are the non-financial organisations. We cant deny the fact that if foreign