The impact of Customer Relationship Management on Indian Insurance Companies: A Case Study of SBI Life, Visakhapatnam, India

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1 The impact of Customer Relationship Management on Indian Insurance Companies: A Case Study of SBI Life, Visakhapatnam, India Kameswara Rao Poranki Professor in Department of Marketing, FAFS, Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia & Mohammed AbulKhair Associate Professor in Department of Marketing, FAFS, Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia Abstract With the ever growing population in India, there is a greater demand for insurance. This has resulted in a high level of competition among the insurance companies both in the public as well as in private sector. The government has launched a few social security schemes, which are of enormous significance for the masses. At a cost of a nominal premium, these schemes ensure comfortable future for many. The Schemes are Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Post office time deposits and bank FDs, Kisan Vikas Patra, Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme and Health insurance. Therefore, there is greater competition among the insurance companies to capture the market share. This has influenced many companies needed to focus on CRM (Customer Relations Management) and it has emerged as one of the most widely prescribed solutions for diminishing market share and sluggish growth in banking and financial sector in particular. Thus, the researchers of this paper have elucidate to understand various suitable strategies used in sales management with reference to the known standards of customer service and the models used in customer relationship management in insurance sector with reference to SBI Life. Key words: Customer Relations Management, Insurance, Consumer behaviour, etc. Originality/value: This piece of research is important in today's context of growing insurance usage in India by masses and this paper focuses on the impact of Customer Relationship Management on Indian Insurance Companies as a case study of SBI Life, Visakhapatnam, India. Introduction The government plans to increase foreign direct investment as in the insurance sector to 49 percent with a rider that voting right of overseas partner will remain capped at 26% as per the present scenario. Also, it was found that the Insurance Laws Bill, 2008 proposes an increase in foreign holding in insurance joint ventures to 49% from the existing 26% with corresponding voting rights. Though the government has not seen much support with FDI in multi brand retail, it still might take up the issue of FDI in insurance and pension. The proposal had been first floated by the UPA government though this government might have to complete the job. As per the latest news the Finance Ministry now proposes an amendment to the Bill, pending since 2008, by capping voting rights of the foreign partner to 26% even as FDI is raised to 49%, sources said. This is being done in the interest of meeting the growing capital requirement of insurance companies which are highly capital intensive. Sources said the proposal says that equity shares of foreign company should not exceed 49 percent of total paid-up equity capital of an insurance company provided voting rights of such foreign shareholders are not exceeding 26 percent in aggregate is imperative. It is quite interesting to note that in India life insurance sector plays a major role in savings of a person. Interestingly, there are many players in life insurance sector, and LIC is leading as it has roots in India from more than 50 years. To purchase anything in this world the customer has his/her own choice of preferences according to those preferences only, one can purchase the require product. The researchers of this paper aimed to examine RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 188

2 and make the company enable to the track customer sell the appropriate product understanding their needs and wants and to insure a long term retention of customers through the critical application of CRM in a comprehensive manner monitoring the performance of CRM to take corrective actions necessary to assure the results match the plan projections ( Literature Review As per the recent studies by the researchers it was found that, like any service brand, insurance companies are adopting techniques that have traditionally been employed for fast moving consumer goods to differentiate themselves in a homogeneous market (McDonald et al., 2001). Simplicity of insurance products (Devlin, 2001) and technology improving the quality of the sales process (de Chernatony and SegalHorn, 2003; Yang et al., 2004) are patterns that have revolutionized the industry. With the expansion of new technologies and distribution channels are creating an environment in which branding becomes more important while, at the same time, consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated about the relationship between brand promise and performance (Schreuer, 2000) is explained well. We all know that the Insurance companies are facing greater challenges in differentiating their product from others in the marketplace. The question of which elements of a particular offering are crucial to adding value (from the perspective of the consumers), becomes a key consideration as companies attempt to formulate competitive marketing strategies (Devlin, 2001). Interestingly, the Customer relationship management (CRM) or loyalty programs are a very popular option for many companies who have used this process to give rise to financial relationship with rewards to customers. Such strategies are employed in various sectors, both service-based and productbased (Uncles et al., 2003). This trend spread across the world especially developed countries are characterized by a stable insurance market with low growth potential and a high degree of competitiveness, the focus in these areas being on creating and managing a portfolio of profitable customers and maintaining it (Biswamohan and Bidhubhusan, 2012) is pivotal. The strategies thus adopted by take into account improving after-sales services to develop attractive and complex product packages that closely match the customer requirements. In this regard an important role belongs to the implementation of the customer relationship management concept in the insurance industry. It is a known fact that satisfied customer stays true to the company, purchases other insurance products as well, sends off favorable messages for the company's image and its products, pays less attention to competing brands and to their advertising and it is less sensitive to price, implying a lower cost of service than new customers because transactions are already a matter of routine (Montserrat, Scheike and Nielsen, 2012). Then, the Relationship marketing is concerned with how organizations manage and improve their relationships with customers for long-term profitability. Customer relationship management (CRM), which is becoming a topic of increasing importance in marketing, is concerned with using information technology (IT) in implementing relationship marketing strategies. Latest researchers has defined CRM as `a management approach that enables organizations to identify, attract and increase retention of profitable customers by managing relationships with them (Hobby, 1999, p. 28). This involves using existing customer information in order to improve company profitability and customer service (Galbreath, 1998; Couldwell 1999). It was noted that the Customer satisfaction is a vital CRM variable that must not evade our empirical scrutiny. Indeed, customer satisfaction is central to successful application of the marketing concept. Many company mission statements and marketing plans are designed around the goal of increasing customer satisfaction (Fournier and Mick 1999). While implementing CRM, a firm seeks to establish and maintain a long-term relationship with customers based on cumulative full customer satisfaction as opposed to transaction-specific customer satisfaction (Garbarino and Johnson 1999). Especially, successful CRM implementation requires a dedicated company-wide focus on key customers in one-to-one marketing efforts to fully understand and satisfy their needs and wants on an ongoing basis (Sheth, Sisodia, and Sharma 2000). Some researchers like Peppers and Rogers (1996) pointed out that most companies might lose 25% of their existing customers every year. Another researcher Pareto s 80/20 Law also claims that the top 20% of customers contribute 80% of profit for business. Therefore, it is pertinent that some companies want to make reasonable profit should retain the top 20% of customers by preventing them from defecting. The RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 189

key to arriving at the aforementioned rely not only on how well a firm can grasp the information about customers and their behaviors, but also on how satisfying the services or products it can

3 key to arriving at the aforementioned rely not only on how well a firm can grasp the information about customers and their behaviors, but also on how satisfying the services or products it can provide. As a result, customer relationship management (CRM) emerges as an effective strategic tool that employs advanced information technologies to develop, maintain, and enhance customer relationship. Research Objectives [1] To identify, contact, attract and acquire new customers. [2] To obtain a better understanding of the customers, and their wants and needs. [3] To define appropriate product and service offering and match it to the customers unique needs. [4] To identify cross selling and up-selling opportunities. [5] To increase retention of existing customers through improved after sales, service, & support. Why to buy life insurance: To protect and support your beneficiaries home and livelihood. To replace your income and minimize the debt load for your heirs. To provide beneficiaries with income tax free proceeds. To provide heirs with benefits to pay the tax on your estate. To help protect the value of your estate. It was identified that Life insurance helps protect the financial security of your family in the event of your on timely death. This is especially important when you are the primary wage earner. The owner of the policy pays the insurer premiums in exchange for a promise to pay the beneficiaries a death benefit upon the death of the insured. Figure-01: Concept of CRM Source: The above figure-01 will explains us the concept of CRM. It tells us the customer experience management; customer relationship management and customer loyalty program management are forefront in getting the desired results. Firstly, any company needs to manage the experience of the customer which would give enormous satisfaction to the customer. Secondly, the company needs to maintain or continue the good relations with the customers by constantly build up the relationship with the customers so as to gain their loyalty in purchasing the products or services. Thirdly, the company needs to have a systematic implementation of customer loyalty program management has be done so RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 190

4 as to attract the continued patronage of the customers, this would leads to higher profitability to the company. CRM is an organizational strategy to develop mutually profitable lifelong relationship with the customer The primary objectives of CRM are to build and maintain a base of committed customers who are profitable for the organization Use technology and human resources to understand the needs and behavior of present and potential customers. Acquire, retain and establish mutually rewarding, one to one, relationships with customers. Provide better customer service to customers. Identify high value customers so that the organization can serve them better with differential service. Increase customer revenues by cross selling and up selling. Simplify marketing and sales processes Collect customer information at all possible points and making this information available to the entire organization Need of CRM Companies have to increasingly pursue a customer centric competitive strategy rather than a product centric one. Customers demand constant access, immediate response & a personalized touch. Focus is shifting from supply chain to demand chain effectiveness. Better understanding & intelligent management of customer relationship is essential for survival. Research Method The method of this study is based on marketing research with structured questionnaire consisting of multiple choice questions. The sample survey is conducted on 100 customers belonging to different categories. Both primary and secondary data was collected. The data is interpreted based on percentage method and used bar and pie diagrams for representation. About SBI Life Insurance As per the news, the SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif and also SBI owns 74% of the total capital and BNP Paribas Cardif the remaining 26%. The authorized capital of SBI Life is Rs. 2,000 crores and a paid up capital of Rs 1,000 crores. The vision of SBI Life as "To be the most trusted and preferred life insurance provider" and followed by the mission as "To emerge as the leading company offering a comprehensive range of life insurance and pension products at competitive prices, ensuring high standards of customer satisfaction and world class operating efficiency thereby becoming a model life insurance company in India in the post liberalization period ". The values are Trustworthiness, Ambition, Innovation, Dynamism and Excellence. Name of s Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya Mr. V G Kannan Mr. B Sriram Mr. Pierre de Portier de Villeneuve, Mr. Gerard Binet Mr. Nilesh Vikamsey, Independent Mr. Ravi Rambabu, Independent Board of s Chairman Designation RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 191

5 Mr. Raj Narain Bhardwaj Independent Mr. Arijit Basu, Managing & CEO Source: CRM at SBI Life In the SBI Life a central monitoring team, the management can decide which complaints can be handled by the service agent and which need to be escalated to the next level and offers a summarized view for the management. The SBI Life now has a spanking new CRM system that has improved transparency, brought down complaint resolution time and cuts across all customer touch points. As per the first insurers that is compliant with the new IRDA regulation, allowing for seamless transfer of information and transparency. Then the new solution SBI life is ready to take the next step of servicing customers through new and emerging touch points such as mobile and social media, giving it a definite competitive edge in the market. ( Conclusion While most Indian insurers are busy re-architecting their IT to be compliant with the new and improved norms specified by Insurance Regulatory and Development Agency, SBI Life s getting ahead of competition and future-proofing their success with a new CRM solution. In India with a population of 120 crore it was found that only 8 crore people have life insurance policy. The government has launched a few social security schemes, which are of enormous significance for the masses. In the present research paper it was found that 65% people have insurance policy in LIC and remaining 35% people have insurance policy in other insurance companies. Since many years many people have trust in LIC than any other insurance company and still LIC holds huge market share in life insurance sector in India. The main reason behind this is LIC is a public sector company and has its roots from 50 years in India. 82% people are taking insurance policy only if it is within their budget and have flexible payment options and remaining is taking policy if it is not within budget. Among various factors 55% of people are looking for benefits policy and remaining 20% people are looking for brand name of insurance company. Finally, the researchers of this paper have found out that, various strategies used in sales management with reference to the standards of customer service and the models used in customer relationship management in insurance sector with particular reference to SBI Life are being practiced diligently to gain satisfactory market share in this ever growing sector. The researchers recommend the future researchers to conduct research in different areas and companies in this insurance sector about the practices of CRM and offer suitable solutions in the corporate world. References: [1] Biswamohan, D., Bidhubhusan, M., E-CRM Practices and Customer Satisfaction in Insurance Sector, Research Journal of Management Sciences, vol. 1(1), pp [2] Devlin, J.F. (2001), Consumer evaluation and competitive advantage in retail financial services: a research agenda, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 Nos 5/6, pp [3] De Chernatony, L. and Segal-Horn, S. (2003), The criteria for successful services brands, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37 Nos 7/8, pp [4] Devlin, J.F. (2001), Consumer evaluation and competitive advantage in retail financial services: a research agenda, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 Nos 5/6, pp [5] Fournier, Susan, and David G. Mick (1999), Rediscovering Satisfaction, Journal of Marketing, 63 (4), [6] Galbreath, J. (1998) Relationship management environments, Credit World 87(2), [7] Hobby, J. (1999), Looking after the one who matters. Accountancy Age 28 October, [8] Garbarino, Ellen, and Mark S. Johnson (1999), The Different Roles of Satisfaction, Trust, and Commitment in Customer Relationships, Journal of Marketing, 63 (2), [9] Montserrat, G., Nielsen, J.P. i Scheike, T.H., Time-varying effects in the analysis of customer loyalty insurance, Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 39, 3, pp RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 192

6 [10] McDonald, M.H.B., de Chernatony, L. and Harris, F. (2001), Corporate marketing and service brands moving beyond the fast-moving consumer goods model, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 Nos 3/4, pp [11] Nan-Hong Lin, Wen-Chun Tseng, Yu-Chung Hung & David C. Yen (2009) Making customer relationship management work: evidence from the banking industry in Taiwan, The Service Industries Journal, 29:9, [12] Peppers, D., & Rogers, M. (1996). The one to one future: Building relationships one customer at a time (pp ). New York: Doubleday. [13] Sheth, Jagdish N. (2002), The Future of Relationship Marketing, Journal of Services Marketing: Marketing Must Become a Leader for Change Across the Corporation, Marketing Management, 10 (3), [14] Uncles, M.D., Dowling, G.R. and Hammond, K. (2003), Customer loyalty and customer loyalty programs, The Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20 Nos 4/5, pp [15] Yang, Z., Jun, M. and Peterson, R.T. (2004), Measuring customer perceived online service quality: scale development and managerial implications, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 24 No. 11, pp [16] [17] Source: [18] ANNEXURE 1. Please tick the factor that drives you for the purchase of the insurance. Parameter Safety 35 Benefits 23 Comfort 22 Brand 20 The above table depicts 35 customers are giving more importance to safety out of all other parameters. 2. Do you plan to have a life insurance policy in near future? Time Frame to take the policy Within 6 months 38 Within 1 year 21 After 1 year 28 Above 1 year 13 This table explains about the customer's intention to take the policy as per the time frame given above. 3. Which of life insurance policy do you prefer for your family. Customer Preference on the type of policy Traditional Plans 19 Money back Plans 34 Unit linked Plans 27 Market investment Plans 20 The above table tells us the type of policy or plan the customers prefer. RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 193

7 4. Which mode of payment do you find more suited to your convenience. Mode of payment for the policy Quarterly 29 Half yearly 28 Yearly 24 Any other 19 The above table tells us the mode of payment the customers are intended to pay for the policies they are going to purchase. 5. Are you satisfied with the services and benefits of the insurance company in which you have policy Satisfaction Yes 74 No 26 The above table tells us how many customers are satisfied with the services of SBI Life Insurance 6. Do you suggest the insurance company in which you have policy to your friends? Customer Suggestions to Friends Yes 71 No 29 The above table tells that how many customers are willing to suggest the policy to their respective friends. 7. Which of the following media in your view is the best seated for the insurance industry. Media preference News papers 33 T.V 26 Hoardings 23 Events 18 The above table explains about the media preference of customers to know about the SBI Life Insurance. RJSSM: Volume: 05, Number: 11, March 2016 Page 194

Dynamics of Perception of Potential Investors in Visakhapatnam, India

Dynamics of Perception of Potential Investors in Visakhapatnam, India Kameswara Rao Poranki Professor in Department of Marketing, FAFS, Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia (KSA) Email: kamesh_p2001@yahoo.com