Truth about Brands in a Service Economy

“Consumers aren’t loyal to the company that provides the service, they are loyal to the people who provide them the

service.”

Anisha Motwani

It’s so true about finance brands

They are all service brands

- Intangible products, lots of and continuous consumer interactions

Anisha Motwani

To what extent would our impressions of finance brands be impacted by…

…TV Advertising?

…Print Advertising?

…Radio Advertising?

…Direct Mailers?

…Easy-to-remember toll-free numbers?

Anisha Motwani

To what extent would our impressions of finance brands be impacted by…

…The telemarketer pestering us?

…The insurance advisor who we meet?

…The person on the helpline?

…The customer care officer who went the extra mile?

…The timely reminders on mail / SMS?

Anisha Motwani

There’s more to finance brands than

brand communication

Anisha Motwani

There’s more to insurance brands than

brand management teams

Anisha Motwani

Because it’s all about people:

people delivering the service and

people consuming the service

Anisha Motwani

Delivering Service

Anisha Motwani

The 3 additional P’s of the marketing mix for service brands

• People

– How are the employees, sales, after-sales and customer service staff of your company handling your brand?

• Process

– How are the rules, procedures and systems of your company handling your brand?

• Physical Evidence

– How is the physical evidence (your forms, account statements, etc.) of your service handling your brand?

Anisha Motwani

People

• Does the staff know and feel the difference in their brand versus the competition?

• Does the staff believe in the brand and its values?

• Is the staff empowered to customise and deliver the service to its different customers?

Anisha Motwani

Even the telemarketerwho mispronounces a customer’s name, contributes to quality of service delivered

Ditto for the customer service representative,who says he does not have the authority

to modify the database information

Anisha Motwani

Process

• Does the process allow for customisation?

• Is it customer-friendly?

• Is it employee-friendly?

• Is it in sync with the overall brand promise?

• Is there a service recovery process / plan?

Anisha Motwani

Is the process a hurdle or an enabler of the brand’s promise of ‘fast service’?

Or is the company policy coming in the way of flexibility in options enjoyed by the customer for paying premium?

Anisha Motwani

Physical Evidence

• Do the application / claim forms make life easy or difficult for the customer?

• Are the account statements and documents easy to understand?

• How many asterisks are there next to the brand’s promise?

Anisha Motwani

Questions to ponder about

• What are we doing to ensure every individual involved in creating the brand is aware of his or her responsibilities?

• Are we aware that both front-end and back-end managers are creating and responsible for brand building in today’s context?

• Do they understand what the brand is and what they should be doing to create the right brand and brand experience?

• How should we share brand philosophies and values to make every creator an owner of the brand?

• Are we still stuck in a manufacturing world and leaving the all-important task of brand building and management to a group of advertising and communication managers within our company?

• Are our people, process and physical evidence seamlessly integrated to deliver the brand experience we want to create?

• Are we tracking all the key parameters of service that could influence our brand’s perceptions?

Anisha Motwani

Something worth thinking about

Thank you

Anisha Motwani