1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. INSURANCE

Insurance is a financial product that provides safety against the life; to be generic it provides

security against uncertainty.

The history of insurance in India takes us back to the period when Manusmrithi and Arthasastra

were written. There were practices of pooling the resources in small units from every one and

redistributing them in the time of emergency or calamity. The insurance business in India has a

heavy impact and influence of other nations particularly England. In 1818 the first insurance

business in India was started by Oriental Life Insurance in Kolkata. The Royal insurance, Albert

life assurance and Liverpool and London globe insurance are a few foreign players who

dominated.

The business of life insurance in India in its existing from started in India in the year 1818 with

the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance company in Calcutta (presently Kolkata).

1.2. EVOLUTION OF INDIAN INSURANCE SECTOR

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect

statistical information about both life and non-life insurance business.

1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of

protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956: In this year 245 Indian and foreign players were taken over by the central government and

it was nationalized. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) was formed by an Act of Parliament, viz.

LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of India. The

general insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots to the Triton Insurance

Company Ltd., the first general insurance company established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by

the British. Some of the important milestones in the general insurance business in India are:

1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a code of

conduct for ensuring fair conduct and sound business practices.

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1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum solvency margins

and the tariff Advisory Committee set up.

1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized the general

insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.

With largest number of life insurance policies in force in the world, Insurance happens to be a

mega opportunity in India. It's a business growing at the rate of 15-20 per cent annually and

presently is of the order of Rs 450 billion. As of 2011 the contribution of insurance sector to the

GDP is about4.5%. Gross premium collection is nearly 2 per cent of GDP and funds available

with LIC for investments are 8 per cent of GDP.

A well-developed and evolved insurance sector is needed for economic development as it

provides long term funds for infrastructure development and at the same time strengthens the risk

taking ability. It is estimated that over the next ten years India would require investments of the

order of one trillion US dollar. The Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in

infrastructure development to sustain economic growth of the country. Insurance is a federal

subject in India. There are two legislations that govern the sector- The Insurance Act- 1938 and

the IRDA Act, 1999.

In India, insurance is generally considered as a tax-saving device instead of its other implied long

term financial benefits. Indians are prone to investing in real estate properties and gold followed

by bank deposits. They selectively invest in shares also but the percentage is very small. Even to

this day, Life Insurance Corporation of India dominates Indian insurance sector. With the entry

of private sector players backed by foreign expertise, Indian insurance market has become more

vibrant.

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1.3. PRESENT SCENARIO IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR

The Indian insurance industry is cluttered with 51 companies out which 24 companies operate in

Life insurance and 27 in Non-life insurance business. The development of the insurance business

can be traced by the Insurance penetration and Insurance density ratio. Insurance penetration is

measured as the percentage of insurance premium to the GDP where as Insurance density is

calculated as ratio of premium to the population. Insurance density for the year 2010 was USD

55.7 and the Insurance penetration was 4.40 per cent. Both penetration and density suffered a fall

in 2010 due to macro economic conditions.

LIFE INSURANCE: In 2011 India was ranked 9th in life insurance business among 156

countries for which data are published by Swiss Re. The growth of estimated life insurance

premium was 4.2 per cent (inflation adjusted) in India which was a decent figure when compared

to the global growth which was 3.2 per cent. In the life insurance business the first year premium

collected for the year 2010-11 was Rs 1,26,381 crores that comes to 15 per cent growth. The

growth rate of new business secured for 2009-10 was 25.84 per cent. The growth rate has fallen

by 10.84 per cent. Indian life insurance sector contributed 2.69 per cent to the global market in

the year 2010 which was 0.24 per cent more of the previous year.

NON-LIFE INSURANCE: In non-life insurance business India is ranked in 19 th position. In

2010 the non-life insurance business experienced 8.1 per cent growth which is very impressive

when compared to the global growth rate of 2.1 per cent. In 2010 contribution of non-life

insurance business to the global market also increased by 0.58 per cent. In terms of first year

premium collected (new business secured) the non-life insurance business registered a higher

growth rate of 22.98 per cent in 2010-11 to that of 14.06 per cent in 2009-10.

The prime reason for the fall in growth is that the savings of people are being parked in gold and

land as they give higher returns than insurance. More than 55 per cent of the household savings

are invested on gold and land. If the contribution of insurance to GDP is to increase, people

should be educated and convinced about the benefits of insurance

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1.4. MODERN MARKETING APPROACH

Marketing strategies for insurance in the emerging scenario could be understood in terms of the

following steps; In India Insurance is sold and not bought. The agents / Advisors by using

various strategies sell the product by convincing the customers. Moreover, they push Policies

with the highest premium to pocket a higher commission. The consultative approach to selling is

the modern approach, which helps customers and prospects to buy. A consultant makes calls and

sells just like any other sales person. The difference is in their attitude, their approach and their

commitment. Here, the customer is seen as a person to be served and not a person to be sold. It

helps the purchaser to make an intelligent decision. The four-step process includes:

* Need discovery

* Selection of the product

* Need satisfaction presentation, and

* Serving the sale

This approach to selling their products requires understanding of concepts and principles

borrowed from the fields of psychology, communications, and sociology and needs a lot of

personal commitments and self – discipline from the seller.

 

 

1.4.1. PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Insurers are continuously innovating new products based on forward-looking models. They have

developed new products addressing the new challenges in society and products to address the

hazards from new environmental issues. Understanding the customers better has enabled

Insurance companies to design appropriate products, determine price correctly and to increase

profitability. Product development is made possible by integrating actuarial, ratings, claims and

illustration systems.

At present, the Life Insurers are concentrating on the pension schemes and the Non-Life Insurers

on many innovative schemes of various realms and thereby enriching their market share.

Moreover, with increased commoditization of insurance products, brand building is going to play

a vital role.

 

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1.4.2. CUSTOMER EDUCATION AND SERVICES

In the present competitive scenario, a key differentiator is the professional customer service in

terms of quality of advice on product choice along with policy servicing. Servicing focus is on

enhancing the customer's experience and maximizing his convenience. This calls for an effective

CRM system, which eventually creates sustainable competitive advantage and enables to build

long lasting relationship.

 

1.4.3. DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

While the traditional channel of tied up advisors or agents is the chief distribution channel,

insurers are looking to innovate and find new methods of delivering the products to customers.

Corporate agency, brokerage, Banc assurance, e-insurance cooperative societies and panchayats

are some of the channels, which are being tapped by the insurers to reach the appropriate market

segments.

Now days, the urban masses are tapped with the new techniques provided by Information

Technology through Internet. Rural masses are attracted by the consultative approach adopted by

the Insurers. Moreover, they attract the customers through telephone and mobile also.

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1.5. MARKET SHARE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES

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1.6. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The prime objective is to study the brand awareness and provide suggestions on promotional mix

that will facilitate effective enhancement of brand equity of IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Company Ltd.

To study the brand awareness of IDBI Federal, and

To find out the perception on different marketing communication tools.

1.7. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

A big boom has been witnessed in Insurance Industry in recent times. A large number of new

players have entered the market and are vying to gain market share in this rapidly improving

market. The study deals with the various communication tools that are vital in enhancing the

brand awareness.

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2. COMPANY PROFILE

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd is a joint venture between three financial companies –

Development and Commercial Bank, IDBI Bank, India’s private sector Bank, Federal Bank and

European insurer Ageas (formerly Fortis). IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co. Ltd. was formed on

March 2008.

In this venture, IDBI Bank owns 48% equity while Federal Bank and Ageas own 26% equity

each. The Headquarters is located in Mumbai, India.

IDBI Federal endeavors to deliver products that provide value and convenience to the customer.

Through a continuous process of innovation in product and service delivery we intend to deliver

world-class wealth management, protection and retirement solutions to Indian customers.

Having started in March 2008, in just five months of inception we became one of the fastest

growing new insurance companies to garner Rs 100 Cr in premiums.

The company offers its services through a vast nationwide network across the branches of IDBI

Bank and Federal Bank in addition to a sizeable network of advisors and partners.

As on 30th June, 2012, the company has issued over 3.97 lakh policies with over Rs. 21882 Cr in

Sum Assured. 

IDBI Bank Ltd. continues to be, since its inception, India’s premier industrial development bank.

Created in 1956 to support India’s industrial backbone, IDBI Bank has since evolved into a

powerhouse of industrial and retail finance. Today, it is amongst India’s foremost commercial

banks, with a wide range of innovative products and services, serving retail and corporate

customers in all corners of the country from 720 branches and 1228 ATMs.

 

Federal Bank is one of India’s leading private sector banks, with a dominant presence in the state

of Kerala. It has a strong network of 708 branches and 749 ATMs spread across India. The bank

provides over four million retail customers with a wide variety of financial products. Federal

Bank is one of the first large Indian banks to have an entirely automated and interconnected

branch network.

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Fortis is an international insurance group composed of AG Insurance, the overall market leader

in life and non-life insurance in Belgium, distributing its insurance products through the network

of BNP Paribas Fortis Bank and independent insurance brokers, and Fortis Insurance

International with subsidiaries in the UK, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg (Non-life),

Germany, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, and joint ventures in Luxembourg (Life), Portugal,

China, Malaysia, Thailand and India.

2.1. VISION

To be the leading provider of wealth management, protection and retirement solutions that meets

the needs of our customers and adds value to their lives.

2.2. MISSION

To continually strive to enhance customer experience through innovative product offerings,

dedicated relationship management and superior service delivery while striving to interact with

our customers in the most convenient and cost effective manner. To be transparent in the way we

deal with our customers and to act with integrity.

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2.3. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

2.3.1. ZONAL – WISE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Mr.Nageshwara Rao

COUNTRY HEAD

Mr.Murali

HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD

Mrs. Radhika Venkatraman

MARKETING HEAD

Mr. Amit Tripathi

TRAINING HEAD

Mrs. Vaishali

2.3.2. AREA – WISE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

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NORTH ZONAL HEAD

EAST ZONAL HEAD

WEST ZONAL HEAD

SOUTH ZONAL HEAD

Mr.Balaji

MUMBAI LUCKNOW COIMBATORE

AREA HEAD

Mr. Vijay Kumar

BENGALURU

AREA HEAD

HYDERABAD

AREA HEAD

COUNTRY HEAD

Mr.Murali

2.4. PRODUCT PROFILE

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COIMBATORE

AREA HEAD

Mr. Vijay Kumar

BRANCH HEAD

CHIEF MANAGER

Mrs.Shanthi Yagyanath

DEPUTY MANAGER SENIOR EXECUTIVE

BAND 1 BAND 2 BAND 3 BAND 1 BAND 2 BAND 3 BAND 1 BAND 2 BAND 3

AGENCY

BANKS

DISTRIBUTION CENTER

MANAGEMENT TRAINEES

CORPORATE CHANNELS

WEALTHSURANCE: The Wealthsurance Milestone Plan enables the policyholder to save and

build wealth to meet their financial goals. This Plan comes with a wide range of 13 investment

options and 7 insurance benefits - all packaged with a low charge structure and unmatched

flexibility.

HOMESURANCE: IDBI Federal Homesurance Protection Plan provides full insurance cover

for properties even under construction, thus ensuring that the beneficiary gets the full sanctioned

amount in case of any unfortunate event. It also has an innovative fixed period cover for those

who would aim to prepay their loans early. 

BONDSURANCE: Bondsurance is designed for customers looking for guaranteed returns

which will not get affected by financial market conditions. It offers guaranteed return on

investment along with life insurance cover.

RETIRESURANCE: IDBI Federal Retiresurance Guaranteed Pension Plan is a non

participating traditional deferred pension plan designed to help customers secure their lifestyle

post-retirement, Guaranteed. The plan offers long term guaranteed* return of up to 25 years

linked to G sec rates, for those who don't want to take any chances with money saved for their

retirement. In addition to this customer will get guaranteed loyalty additions on maturity as a

reward for long term commitment. This makes their retirement planning safer combined with a

guaranteed growth.

MICROSURANCE: IDBI Federal Microsurance Plan is a one of its kind insurance plan which

can be very useful for various Micro Financial Institutions and NGOs, wherein not only the

members but even the member’s family gets an insurance cover

TERMSURANCE:  IDBI Federal Termsurance Protection Plan offers the unique Increasing

Cover option that automatically increases the cover every year without increasing the premium. 

INCOMESURANCE: Knowing the customer helped us to combine the Endowment & Money

Back plans into a single plan. It linked the returns to the G-Sec rates, transparently declared by

the government. Also, the Guaranteed Annual Payout and other benefits upon death are tax-free

under Sec 10(10D). 

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HEALTHSURANCE: This new insurance plan offers a host of features and benefits that are

designed to help manage the extra financial burden that comes with hospitalization.

2.5. PROMOTIONS AT IDBI FEDERAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

The promotional basket of IDBI Federal LIC contains the mix of conventional modes of

promotions such as print media, advertising hoardings, pamphlets, television commercials, local

events and distributors & agents (word of mouth).

2.5.1. PRINT MEDIA

As far as the print media advertising of company is concerned The Hindu, Economic times and

Times of India are the three major news papers where the ads are given. The advertisements in

these forms are intensively given during the period of February and March in order to attract

people who to invest in insurance for tax benefits.

The advertisements are given in the 3rd page of Economic times and Times of India and in the 1st

page of The Hindu. It costs Rs. 320/ sq cm for the 3rd page advertisement in ET and TOI and Rs.

400/ sq cm in The Hindu’s 1st page.

Advertisements are also given in reputed magazines such as outlook, India today etc., once a

month.

2.5.2. TELEVISION

Television ads eat the major share of the promotion budget at IDBI Federal. The company

advertises in sports channels and in the star group channels. The company is also in talks of

finalizing the deal for advertising in satellite channels. IDBI Federal sponsored a test cricket

series between India and Sri Lanka in 2008.

It costs Rs. 45000 to advertise for 10 seconds in Tamil nadu region and Rs. 60000 onwards for

10 seconds in sports channels. The Local channels provide the cheapest rate card i.e. Rs 6000-

8000 for 10 seconds.

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2.5.3. LOCAL EVENTS

Some interesting events are also conducted in and out the city to create more awareness about the

IDBI Federal and free gifts are given wherein local marketing people interact with the prospects

and try to gauge their financial needs and respectively pitch the products. 

The overall costs associated with such events totals to Rs. 2, 00,000 per annum such events are

mainly conducted in Apartments, Schools, etc.

3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

MARKETING FINANCIAL SERVICES by D.G. Davies (Emerald: journal of marketing)

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This article reveals the difficulties faced by the practitioners in the service industry. The author

raises a simple question can the services be marketed in the same way the physical products are

marketed? The intangible nature of the services does not allow the effective practice of the

conventional marketing techniques. At this point another question raises that is are services

sufficiently different to require new techniques to be marketed? The emphasis of this article is on

the significance in the difference of the nature of product and services and the marketing

techniques suitable for the same.

INTERACTIVE SELLING by Jackie L.M. Tam and Y.H. Wong (Emerald: journal of

services marketing)

This paper aims to study the influence of behavior and performance of salespersons on

customers’ trust and satisfaction and in turn their anticipations of future interactions with the

salesperson in the context of insurance selling. The results of this study shows that the

satisfaction of the customers influence future business opportunities as well. A framework has

been suggested for managerial implication to future research.

INSURANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT by Axle johne (Emerald: international

journal of bank marketing)

This paper reveals about the changes in British insurance sector due to deregulation. The effects

of intense competition and the changes that are needed in marketing the insurance products and

developing new products are being emphasized in this paper. The author signifies that in many

insurance markets the old style of combative marketing is supplemented by the new style of

competitive marketing.

CONTENT AND MEASUREMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY IN SERVICES by Ismo

vourinen, Raija jarvonen and uolevi lehtinen (Emerald: international journal of servise

industry management)

This paper tries to measure the productivity in services. The concepts of productivity in products

are deep rooted to mass production but in services it is quite difficult the content and

measurement are intangible. Here in this study he takes into picture the production process,

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productivity and effectiveness and efficiency as the criteria to compare and contrast the services

from products and thus trying to arrive at the content and measurement of service productivity.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research was carried on by conducting a survey in Chennai city to find and analyze the

effectiveness of the existing promotional mix of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd. The

respondents were requested to fill a questionnaire which contained 14 multiple choice questions.

The questionnaire was pretested with 25 respondents.

The following are the features of the survey

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The survey was conducted in Chennai city in different places like Malls and shopping

complex and also in person.

The questionnaire contains 14 questions that have multiple choices.

The total sample size of the survey is 150 in number.

The filled questionnaires were put into SPSS software for analysis and findings.

5. ANALYSIS

TABLE TITLE: FREQUENCY TABLE

Table 5.1: Ownership of insurance policy

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 87 58.0

No 63 42.0

Total 150 100.0

58 per cent of the respondents informed that they have insurance policy and 42 per cent of them

said they do not have. The graphical representation is presented in chart 5.1.

yes

no

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Chart: 5.1

Table 5.2: Customer response on brand name and reputation of the company influencing

the purchase of insurance policy

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 48 32.0

neutral 62 41.3

No 40 26.7

Total 150 100.0

62% of the respondents have stated that they are influenced by the brand name and reputation of

the company. The minimum of 40% of the respondents said that the brand name and reputation

is not the influence. Chart 5.2 portrays the pictorial representation of the data.

yes

neutral

no

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

Chart: 5.2

Table 5.3: Respondents level of agreement on knowledge about various insurance

companies with the help of T.V commercials.

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No. of

customers Percentage

Strongly.

Agree

73 48.7

Agree 26 17.3

Neutral 16 10.7

Disagree 7 4.7

Strongly.

Disagree

28 18.7

Total 150 100.0

48.7% of the respondents have strongly agreed that they knew about various insurance

companies with the help of T.V commercials and only 7% disagreed. The graphical

representation is depicted in the chart 5.3.

strongly agree

agree

neutral

disagree

strongly disagree

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

Chart: 5.3

Table 5.4: Respondents opinion on advertisements of insurance companies and products in

newspapers and magazines.

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 50 33.3

neutral 34 22.7

No 66 44.0

Total 150 100.0

Majority of the respondents i.e. 44% do not feel that the print media advertising is so effective to

grab the attention of the readers. They either do not notice or just skip reading it. 33.3% of the

respondents do feel that they regularly use to notice advertisements of various insurance

companies. Chart 5.4 gives the diagrammatic representation of the data.

yes

neutral

no

0.00%5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Chart: 5.4

Table 5.5: Respondents opinion on search for the insurance company and products over

the internet

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 87 58.0

No 63 42.0

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 58% of the respondents have made insurance related search in the web to browse the details about the insurer, products or to pay premium and 42 % of them said no meaning that they are using internet as a source in searching insurance products. The figures are depicted in the chart 5.5.

yes

no

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Chart 5.5

Table 5.6: Effects of a brand ambassador or a celebrity’s endorsement in taking the

insurance policy

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 70 46.7

neutral 48 32.0

No 32 21.3

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 47% of the respondents have been influenced by the endorsement of brand ambassadors in taking an insurance policy. Only 21.3% of the respondents do not agree with the above statement. The graphical representation of the data is given in the chart 5.6.

yes

neutral

no

0.00%5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Chart 5.6

Table 5.7: Influence of advertisements in social networking sites on purchase of insurance

products.

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 93 62.0

No 57 38.0

Total 150 100.0

62% of the respondents have agreed that they use to get promotional notifications of various products and services in their social networking sites and 38% do not agree with it. The bar chart 5.7 gives the pictorial representation of the figures.

yes

no

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Chart 5.7

Table 5.8: Respondents opinion on consultation with friends or relatives on taking an

insurance policy.

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 94 62.7

No 56 37.3

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 63% of the respondents consult their friends and relatives before taking an

insurance policy and 37% of them said they did not consult their friends and relatives. The

graphical illustration of the data is given in chart 5.8.

yes

no

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

Chart 5.8

Table 5.9: Respondents opinion on consulting the agents of insurance company to know

maximum details about the products and its benefits

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 50 33.3

neutral 90 60.0

No 10 6.7

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 33% of the respondents only wish to talk to an agent before taking a policy,

60% of the respondents have it as an option. 7% of the respondents do not wish to talk to agents

at all. Chart 5.9 below gives the pictorial depiction of the figures.

yes

neutral

no

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%

Chart 5.9

Table 5.10: Respondents opinion on frequency of watching the advertisements of IDBI

Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd on T.V

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No. of

customers Percentage

Often 14 9.3

Rarely 70 46.7

Never 66 44.0

Total 150 100.0

It observed that only 9% of the respondents often watch the advertisements of IDBI Federal TV

and 47% have seen it rarely and 44% have never seen the advertisements of IDBI Federal in the

TV. The response data are graphed in Chart 5.10.

often

rarely

never

0.00%5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Chart 5.10

Table 5.11: Respondents opinion on listening to IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd

in Radio

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Frequency Percent

Yes 41 27.3

No 109 72.7

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 73% of the respondents have not listened to the advertisements of IDBI Federal in radio only 27% have listened. The response statistics is depicted in the chart 5.11

yes

no

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00%

Chart 5.11

Table no 5.12: Respondents opinion on noticing advertisements, links and posters of IDBI

Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd in websites over internet.

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 70 46.7

No 80 53.3

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 47% of the respondents have noticed the promotions of IDBI Federal while using internet and 53% have not come across any of such promotions in the web. The chart 5.12 gives the graphical representation of the figures.

yes

no

42.00% 44.00% 46.00% 48.00% 50.00% 52.00% 54.00%

Chart 5.12

Table 5.13: Respondents opinion on noticing the advertisement hoardings and bill boards

of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd

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No. of

customers Percentage

Yes 79 52.7

No 71 47.3

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 53% of the respondents have noticed the bill boards of IDBI Federal and 47% have not. The pictorial representation of the responses is given in the chart 5.13.

yes

no

44.00%45.00%46.00%47.00%48.00%49.00%50.00%51.00%52.00%53.00%54.00%

Chart 5.13

Table 5.14: Opinion on contact of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company agent(s)

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No. of

customers Percentage

Often 26 17.3

Once 74 49.3

Never 50 33.3

Total 150 100.0

It is observed that 17% of the respondents have been approached often by the IDBI Federal agents and 49% of the respondents have been approached once and 34% have been never approached. The responses are graphed in the chart 5.14.

often

once

never

0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

Chart 5.14

6. FINDINGS

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Out the 150 respondents only 87 are policy holders the rest 63 are potential customers.

This gives enough evidence for fall in the insurance density.

When it comes to insurance policy people tent to go towards the companies that have a

good brand name and reputation. Obviously Life Insurance Corporation of India seals the

deal.

Majority (49 per cent) of the respondents believe that advertisements in television created

awareness about various insurance companies but only 9 per cent of the population have

seen the advertisements of IDBI Federal in television which is pretty normal.

62 per cent of the respondents use to get notifications of products and services in their

social networking sites but only 47 per cent of the population have seen the notifications

or promotions of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company in the web.

The radio advertisements of the company have created a very little awareness among the

population.

Majority of the respondents are not so interested in going through the advertisements in

newspapers and magazines. But IDBI Federal advertises in three different newspapers

(The Hindu, Times of India and The economic times) and few magazines (Outlook and

India today).

A brand ambassador’s endorsement has influenced 47 per cent of the respondents. This

practice is done by many leading players like ICICI prudential (Amitabh bachan), HDFC

Standard life (Kareena kapoor) and AVIVA life insurance (Sachin tendulkar) in the

insurance sectors and it has created impact in the people’s mind. IDBI Federal Life

insurance company should emphasis on this aspect.

The bill boards and advertisement hoardings has worked well for IDBI Federal as the

majority of the respondents has noticed it and created a decent amount of awareness.

There are a good number of potential customers left in the market but IDBI Federal’s

agents have approached only 17 per cent very often and 33 per cent of the respondents

has never been approached.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS

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Based on the analysis and findings I would like to contribute a couple of recommendations to

IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd.

There are a few areas where the company has not concentrated much

The television advertisement is the most common and effective means of communication for any

company to promote its product or service. IDIBI Federal Life Insurance Company is competing

in a monopolistic market should give a lot of emphasis for television advertisement.

7.1. Brand ambassadors

It is always good to have a celebrity endorsing a brand. Especially in a service industry where a

monopolistic market prevails, a celebrity endorsement will have a huge impact in developing

brand awareness.

The company should choose a celebrity who has high recognition and a voice to persuade the

listeners. It is also important to be appropriate in choosing the celebrity to endorse IDBI Federal

Life Insurance Company Ltd. A classic example would be

7.2. Event sponsor

IDBI Federal has sponsored a test cricket series between India and Sri Lanka. I would

recommend IDBI Federal to get into a spectacle event such as IPL, Film Fare award ceremony or

any television program that attracts a good TRP rating.

7.3. Corporate tie up

IDBI bank is a renowned organization in the banking sector. The bank is a lender for many top

corporate companies. Capitalizing on the brand equity of IDBI bank the IDBI Federal Life

Insurance Company can approach such organization for a tie up in providing Medi claim

insurance for the employees which is usually provided in most of the established corporate. This

surely will have a good effect on enhancing the brand equity of IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Company Ltd.

7.4. Web marketing

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With the advent of information technology the corporate are making the most of it for promoting

their products and services. Few of those promotional techniques are search engine optimization

(SEO) and social networking optimization (SNO).

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

This is one of the fast growing means of web promotion. Whenever people want to know about a

product or a service or the organization that offers it they tend to search for the information over

the search engines. They obviously go through the top search results. Now making the product or

a service to be the top search result is SEO. This can be done by providing links and keywords of

the company’s official website in various files and documents and uploading them in the

internet.

This will have a huge amount of impact towards the enrichment of the brand awareness of IDBI

Federal. Since the SEO being a latest form of web marketing the early mover will have an edge

over the competitors. So I would strongly recommend IDBI Federal to take steps towards

implementing SEO.

SOCIAL NETWORKING OPTIMIZATION (SNO)

This is also a trending means of web marketing which every top corporate are trying to step into

and many are very successful as well. There are a couple of popular social networking websites

such as Facebook , Orkut and Google +. Companies create a web page and update their company

status, conduct contests, provide information and share the same with millions of people over the

social networking sites by sending notifications, adding tags and by referring.

Both these types of web marketing can be outsourced to freelancers for a cheap cost to the

company or IDBI Federal can set up its own web marketing team which will help producing a

better brand awareness. Creating brand awareness is the first step towards creating brand equity.

8. CONCLUSION

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An organization may have an excellent product or a service with which they can deliver good

value to the society but effective commercialization of the same depends upon the type of

promotion and communication mix they use to create awareness about the product or service.

The issue with IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Limited is they have good insurance

products that will create value to the customer but their promotion mix has not created a great

deal of awareness among the people. IDBI Federal should concentrate on the communication

tools that will reach out to all section of the society to create maximum awareness among the

people.

Television commercials and print media are conventional type of promotions that creates good

amount of awareness among the people so the company should give emphasis on these two tools

while preparing their promotion budget.

Brand ambassadors, tag lines and captions are few things that add value to the communication

process; the company should also concentrate on this aspect. Another important mode of

communication that is creating a huge impact in the market is promotions in web. People are

spending a lot of time over the internet searching for information and involving in social

networking. This gives good scope for marketers to promote their products and services and

IDBI Federal should take initiatives to promote their services online.

If the promotion mix is looked over and effective changes are made to create a dynamic

promotion mix IDBI Federal will go a long way in the industry.

9. BIBILOGRAPHY

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REFERENCE

ARTICLES

1. CONTENT AND MEASUREMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY IN SERVICES by Ismo

vourinen, Raija jarvonen and uolevi lehtinen (Emerald international journal of servise

industry management)

2. INSURANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT by Axle johne (Emerald international

journal of bank marketing)

3. INTERACTIVE SELLING by Jackie L.M. Tam and Y.H. Wong (Emerald journal of

services marketing)

4. MARKETING FINANCIAL SERVICES by D.G. Davies (Emerald journal of

marketing)

BOOK: MARKETING MANAGEMENT by PHILIP KOTLER

WEBSITES

1. http://www.irda.gov.in/Defaulthome.aspx?page=H1

2. http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-plc.html

3. http://www.answers.com/topic/product-life-cycle

4. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/product-life-cycle.asp#axzz1wo9NnMij

5. http://www.netmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/

6. http://www.du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/Academics/course_material/EP_16.pdf

7. http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/mcon-mktmeasures-life-cycle.pag

ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE

This survey is conducted to design an effective promotional mix for IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Company. Ltd, kindly answer the questions below. Personal details are optional to be filled.

NAME:

AGE:

OCCUPATION:

ANNUAL INCOME: MARITAL STATUS:

1. Do you have an insurance policy?

o Yes

o No

2. Do you think Brand name and reputation of the company influence you for the purchase

of insurance policy?

Yes

Neutral

No

3. I use to notice advertisements in my social networking sites and web sites

Yes

No

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4. Does a celebrity endorsement influence you in taking any of your decisions (answer w.r.t

insurance)?

Yes

Neutral

No

5. I came to know about various insurance companies through television advertisements

Strongly agree Agree neutral disagree Strongly disagree

6. I use to notice the advertisements of insurance products and companies in news papers

and magazines

Yes

Neutral

No

7. I have notified promotions of products in social networking sites and made insurance

related search in the internet

Yes

No

8. Do you consult friends or relatives before taking an insurance policy?

Yes

No

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9. Have you ever talked with the agent of any of the insurance company to know maximum

details about the product and its benefits?

Yes

Neutral

No

10. How often have you seen the advertisements of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company

Ltd regularly in TV?

a. Often

b. Rarely

c. Not yet.

11. Have you listened to IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd advertisements in radio?

Yes

No

12. Have you noticed advertisements, links and posters of IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Company Ltd in websites over internet?

Yes

No

13. Have you noticed advertisement hoardings and bill boards of IDBI Federal Life

Insurance Company Ltd?

Yes

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No

14. Have u been approached by the IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company agent(s)?

Often

Once

Never

FEEDBACK:

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