“Marketing – a key for the nation to progress and develop Honest Marketing – a boon to the nation Dishonest Marketing – a curse to the nation”

Marketing is a tool to satisfy the human needs and requirements. With the development and establishment of various nation in the world, marketing, initially, begun with the barter system to meet the requirements.

Barter system of exchanging goods from one country to another country continued till the supply was sufficient. But gradually, it faced lot of problems and was forced to discontinue. It was then replaced commercially by currency and trading between one country to another country effected through Financial Institutions/banks.

Export/import of consumer/industrial goods gained more prominence in the current situation. But marketing adopted various methods for buying and selling of the goods, whether it is raw materials, semi finished goods or finished goods. Marketing, in real sense, defined as the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services to customers who want them and involves finding out what the customers want, creating that which they want at prices which they find reasonable, informing them availability of the same, distributing them in a way that are convenient to them, in order that they may be satisfied. However, various definitions have been propounded by the business entrepreneurs and commercial writers and authors.

But when it comes to the Service Industry, an extended definition has to be made for proper understanding to the customers. In service industry, marketing should be well defined and the products should have clarity and of no ambiguity to reach to customers.

For service industry, market is not defined. It may originate from office, residence, website, hoarding, advertisement. Different service industry adopt different methods for marketing of their products.

Whereas, in case of consumer goods, marketing is based on the quality, utility and price. In such a competitive marketing, retailers/wholesalers sell their goods, irrespective of its quality, with the message. ‘Goods once sold should not be taken back’.

It purely based on the pricing. Different consumers have different preferential. Some of the customers go by the price of the commodity, some go by the quality and utility and some go by all the factors involved. It is not possible to get all the ingredients mix but customers try to busy the best possible commodity at a reasonable price.

However, it is not the case with the service industries viz. Banks, Insurance and financial institutions where services are sold for securities. Securities in human life play an important role, keeping in view the spiraling inflation, price-rise and purchase of basic needs at an unaffordable prices left the people in the lurch.

Hence securities gained most prominence in the current situation. A person can go fasting once in a day but cannot ignore the family security.

Let us confine to the service marketing which is very important to satisfy the whole community of our nation.

Marketing of securities is defined, in real sense, as the dissemination of exhaustive knowledge and information about the products to the customers by various outlets to satisfy the requirements of the customers.

In the field of securities, Life Insurance Corporation of India is one of the well known industry to provide excellent products to the customers. It not only provide Tax-exemption for the policies being sold to the customers but also handsome returns on maturity of the policies, covering the basic risk factor of the human beings.

It is essential before launching of the service products detail information and knowledge of the products with its advantages, disadvantages, purpose should be publicized for the general public.

“Honesty is the best policy”

With this solemn message, it is essential to get the fee back on the products from the customers and the Industry should address such grievances of the customers.

For a successful marketing, the following factors should be scrupulously followed.

1. The product should have clarity and easy to understand;
2. Terms and conditions should be conveyed to the customers in neat and bold printed clauses;
3. Agreement by way of proposal form should be made available to the customers after finalization of the contract;
4. Courtesy and relationships should be maintained;
5. Customers should be easily accessible to the officials of the company;
6. Procedure should be laid down clearly for the customers;
7. At every offices ‘Please help me’ board should be displayed to guide the customers;
8. Retail customers’ meet should be held at every regions to educate the customers of the products and its usefulness.

With the advancement in technology, marketing of service products have become easy to handle the customers. The Internet has opened up new possibilities indirect marketing.

The company’s website has stored all the terms, conditions and details on the various products, which any customer can access.  With just one button of the computer system, a message can reach millions of persons instantaneously. Interactive systems can make it possible for likely customers to feed in basic information about themselves and obtain quotations from different companies, before they make any choices.

The potential of the Internet is yet to be explored, but various service organizations are getting excited about themselves and obtain quotations from different companies, before they make any choices. The potential of the Internet is yet to be explored, but various service organizations are getting excited about this new technology in communication. Data about potential customers and existing customers are stored in the system.

This data bank give enough opportunities to explore their business in various segments. One need not go door to door selling, he can track all the records in the system and directly deal with the customers and explore potential relationship with the customers. With the facilities of Internet and intranet customers are getting prompt attention and they are able to solve their problems.

Some of the basic advantages of Internet are highlighted hereunder :

1. Provide basic information about the products to prospects;
2. Provide answers to frequently asked questions about insurance in general and insurer’s offering in particular;
3. Provide details of nearest locations of insurer’s operating offices and representatives;
4. Provide quotations for premium;
5. Provide information to policyholders about the policy status, claims status, pending requirements etc;
6. Premium collection through ECS;
7. Policies also can be generated through Internet etc.

Everything has become transparent through Internet facilities. Technology has given a new lease of life for Service Industries. Less of grievances, customer education strategy have gained more prominence with the new technology.

Honest dealings with the customer bring positive growth and development of the industry. A satisfied customer can bring a chain of customers by the message of integrity and honest of the organization.

“Where there is honesty, there is faith and trust where there is sincerity and hard work prosperity and growth is assured”.

By: P. V. Sethu, Dy. Manager, New India Assce, Co. Ltd., Grievance Cell/H.O., Published by “The Insurance Times”, September, 2012