hdfc word file

7/29/2019 Hdfc Word File

1/36

WE UNDERSTAND YOUR WORLD

The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) was

amongst the first to receive an in principle' approval from the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, as

part of the RBI's liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994.

The bank was incorporated in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC

Bank Limited', with its registered office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank

commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January

1995.

The business philosophy of HDFC is based on four core values -

Customer Focus, Operational Excellence, Product Leadership and

People. HDFC believes that the ultimate identity and success of ourbank will reside in the exceptional quality of our people and their

extraordinary efforts. For this reason, HDFC are committed to hiring,

developing, motivating and retaining the best people in the industry.


2/36

HDFC Bank is one of the most preferred employers in banking

industry.

MISSION:The mission of HDFC is to be "a World Class Indian Bank",

benchmarking against international standards and best practices in

terms of product offerings, technology, service levels, risk

management and audit & compliance. The objective is to build sound

customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be a

preferred provider of banking services for target retail and wholesale

customer segments, and to achieve a healthy growth in profitability,

consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. HDFC is committed to do this

while ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional

integrity, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.


3/36

COMPANY PROFILE

STRONG NATIONAL NETWORK

HDFC BANK

Type Public

Founded 1994

Headquarters HDFC Bank Ltd.,Mumbai, India

Industry Banking, Insurance, Capital Markets

Products Loans, Credit Cards, Savings, Investment, Insurance.

Net revenue Rs.2,509.6 crores

Net income Rs. 4,634.3 crores

Website www.hdfcbank.com


4/36

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTH

Right strategy for the

right products.

Superior customer

service vs. competitors.

Great Brand Image

Products have required

accreditations.

High degree of customer

satisfaction.

Good place to work

Lower response time

with efficient and

effective service.

Dedicated workforceaiming at making a

long-term career in

the field.

WEAKNESSES

Some gaps in range for

certain sectors.

Customer service staff

needs training.

Processes and systems, etc

Management cover

insufficient.


5/36

Opportunities

Profit margins will be good.

Could extend to overseas

broadly.

New specialist applications.

Could seek better customer

deals.

Fast-track career

development opportunities

on an industry-wide basis.

An applied research centre

to create opportunities for

developing techniques to

provide added-value

services.

Threats

Legislation could impact.

Great risk involved

Very high competition

prevailing in the industry.

Vulnerable to reactive

attack by major competitors

Lack of infrastructure in

rural areas could constrain

investment.

High volume/low cost

market is intensely

competitive.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT


6/36

Strategic management refers to the art of planning the business at the

highest possible level. Strategic management focuses on building a

solid underline structure to the business. It is the process of

organizations mission, vision and objective developing policies and

plans, often in terms of projects and programs which are designed to

achieve these objectives and allocating resources to implement the

policies and plans, projects and programs.

BUSINESS STRATEGY OF HDFC


7/36

HDFC BANK mission is to be "a World Class Indian Bank",

benchmarking themselves against international standards and best

practices in terms of product offerings, technology, service levels,

risk management and audit & compliance. The objective is to build

sound customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be a

preferred provider of banking services for target retail and wholesale

customer segments, and to achieve a healthy growth in profitability,

consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. Bank is committed to do thiswhile ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional

integrity, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. Continue

to develop new product and technology is the main business strategy


8/36

of the bank. Maintain good relation with the customers is the main and

prime objective of the bank.

HDFC BANK business strategy emphasizes the

following:

Increase market share in Indias expanding banking andfinancial services industry by following a disciplined growth

strategy focusing on quality and not on quantity and deliveringhigh quality customer service.

Leverage the technology platform and open saleable systems todeliver more products to more customers and to controloperating costs.

Maintain current high standards for asset quality through

disciplined credit risk management.

Develop innovative products and services that attract thetargeted customers and address inefficiencies in the Indianfinancial sector.

Continue to develop products and services that reduce bankscost of funds.

Focus on high earnings growth with low volatility.


9/36

Marketing strategy:

Marketing is the process by which companies advertiseproducts or services to potential customers. It is an integrated process

through which companies create value for customers and build strong

customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in

return.

The HDFC bank has taken various tools to promote their

product and services such as organizing school level painting

competition, sponsoring college events, T.V advertisement etc. While

speaking to Business Line, Mr. Ajay Kelkar, Vice-President and

Head, Marketing, HDFC Bank, said, "We are looking at positioning

HDFC as a one-stop financial supermarket and the objective of the

promos is not just acquisition of new customers, but we are also

looking at creating product awareness, enhancing usage and also

providing value-adds to our customers to reward them for their faithand loyalty."

The first promo this year is titled Wheels of Fortune. "This

promo is targeted at all those customers who avail a personal loan,

car or two-wheeler loan. There will be a lucky draw at the end of the

promo and the winners would get exotic prizes." Also on the cards is a

school-level painting competition on wildlife across cities to promote

the Kids Advantage account.

The next step to these mass promos would be more

personalized promos. "They plan to send personalized mails about


10/36

their various products to all those they come in contact with during

these mass promotions."

The HDFC bank has also tied up with Business Today, to

sponsor 10,000 copies of the magazine in each metro. The cover of

the sponsored copies would be the December 2003 issue of Business

Today, which rated HDFC Bank as the best bank in the country. On

the opposite side, would be an advertorial which would talk about

HDFC as a `one-stop financial supermarket'. "These copies would be

circulated among top corporates and banks high-profile customers.

The following are the marketing plans of HDFC bank through

which they intended to have maximum impact on their target

audience.

HDFC Bank has launched neighborhood marketing initiatives in

tier-two cities and towns to create awareness about its various

products and services.

Mr Ajay Kelkar, Head, Marketing, HDFC Bank, said that these

initiatives are especially targeted at those consumers who are not

aware about the bank's various value-added services such as direct

banking facilities. They going to be demonstrate the advantages of

net banking and mobile banking, as these concepts are relatively new

to people living in smaller towns and cities.

HDFC, said that these campaigns provide us with information about

customer preferences that can be communication, making it more

effective." "We can measure the result of a campaign through the


11/36

sales that they generate and the customers that are added. There is a

clear return on investment, which from a functional point of view gives

the team a stronger voice. We have also been able to reduce our ad

spends by about 10-15 per cent and have also reduced the cost of

acquisition," he added

These campaigns provide us with information about customer

preferences that can be communication, making it more effective."

"We can measure the result of a campaign through the sales that they

generate and the customers that are added. There is a clear return on

investment, which from a functional point of view gives the team a

stronger voice. We have also been able to reduce our ad spends by

about 10-15 per cent and have also reduced the cost of acquisition,"

he added They plan to invest close to Rs 12 crore to create the

environment that is required to support customer intelligence that

leads to databased marketing."

HDFC Bank Marketing ATMs are back in the

ads

Major Indian banks with large number of ATMs always include

their ATM network as an important point in their marketing

communications. But when RBI made third party ATM transactions

free of service charge last year, it was debated whether the rapid

expansion of ATM networks by the big banks will really give the

desired advantage. However the free period was short lived and in 6


12/36

months the free access was restricted to 5 transactions per month

with an upper limit of Rs 10,000 per transaction.

The ATMs are back in the ads now but with a shift from the

largest ATM network to the fastest ATM. HDFC ATMs allow the

customers to store their favorite transaction and then give quick

access to that transaction with a favorite button rather than going thru

multiple screens every time and thus helps in 40% faster cash

withdrawal. HDFC is communicating this benefit to the customers thru

the 40% Faster ATM TVC series.

However the ATM ad is well positioned to fit with the HDFC

Banks tag line We understand your world by focusing on the real

issues like parking problems that underscores the need for faster

ATMs and thus delivers the message clearly that they care for their

customers. True, if not more ATMs to reduce the crowd, at least

have faster ATMs to serve them better.

HDFC Banks strategy to promote debit cards

HDFC Bank has embarked on an innovative strategy topromote the use of debit-cards. It has launched `Visa Magic Moments'

- you will get a refund on any purchase made on a HDFC Bank debit-

card during randomly picked up five-minute periods during the day.

This offering on the HDFC Bank - Visa International `Electron' debit-

card is the best ever that has been extended to customers. The deal

will be on from July 24 to September 24.


13/36

Again, there will be 12 randomly picked five-minute durations

during which you could swing a refund. There is a small catch though:

HDFC Bank will call you up if you are the selected customer, and you

will then have to answer a question correctly. HDFC feels "Debit-card

holders can benefit from `Visa Magic Moments' promotion.

In addition to the ease of use through direct access to their bank

accounts, cardholders need only to continue their HDFC Bank Visa

`Electron' debit-card for everybody purchases, and in the process

could get a unique opportunity to win their purchase free".

HDFC bank feels, given the frequency of winning opportunities,

we estimate hundreds of winners over the course of the promotion.

HDFC Bank customers will not only enjoy unparalleled acceptance

and convenience of Visa Electron, but also get a chance to make free

purchases.

All this forms part of HDFC Bank strategy to increase the usage

of debit-cards. The product was first launched by Citibank in

association with MasterCard International, but it is HDFC Bank that

has taken it to the masses. Debit-cards from HDFC Bank were

launched about seven months ago. The bank claims that there are

already over 2,00,000 customers who have availed of it - HDFC

Bank's 70,000 and around 1,20,000 of Times Bank customers whohave a MasterCard International `Maestro' debit card. The national

roll-out of debit-cards began sometime back. HDFC Bank offers debit-

cards at Rs 250 per annum to all savings bank holders.


14/36

According to them the response so far has been good. The

Average transaction size on the debit-card has been around Rs 900 -

Rs 1,000. In the month of June, they saw about 20,000 transactions

which is a good start though small". The `Visa Magic Moments' is part

of HDFC Bank's attempts to incentivize the customers to use the debit

card, and not just acquire and keep one in the wallet. Alongside its

debit-cards, HDFC Bank has also set up over a 100 electronic data

capture (EDC) terminals in and around its branches in Mumbai. The

move is essential if acceptance outlets are to increase given the fact

that debit-cards are typically used for utilitarian purchases. EDCs

numbering between 500 to 1,000 are expected to be set by the bank

this fiscal on a countrywide basis. This will complement its ATM

network numbering 122 with an additional 250 or so by way of a wire-

up with other banks


15/36

Promotional strategy of HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank is a young and dynamic bank, with a youthful and

enthusiastic team determined to accomplish the vision of becoming a

World-class Indian bank.

Their business philosophy is based on four core values -

Customer Focus, Operational Excellence, Product Leadership and

People. They believe that the ultimate identity and success of our

bank will reside in the exceptional quality of our people and their

extraordinary efforts. For this reason, they are committed to hiring,

developing, motivating and retaining the best people in the industry.

HDFC Bank is one of the most preferred employers in banking

industry in India HDFC banks mission is to be "a World Class Indian

Bank", benchmarking ourselves against international standards and

best practices in terms of product offerings, technology, service

levels, risk management and audit & compliance. The objective is tobuild sound customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to

be a preferred provider of banking services for target retail and

wholesale customer segments, and to achieve a healthy growth in

profitability, consistent with the Bank's risk appetite. They are

committed to do this while ensuring the highest levels of ethical

standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and

regulatory compliance.


16/36

From doing cross-selling exercises to organising school-level painting

competitions, promotional activities are going to be the main focus of

HDFC Bank's marketing strategy this year.

HDFC Bank, said, "We are looking at positioning HDFC as a one-stop

financial supermarket and the objective of the promos is not just

acquisition of new customers, but we are also looking at creating

product awareness, enhancing usage and also providing value-adds

to our customers to reward them for their faith and loyalty."

The first promo this year is titled Wheels of Fortune, which will be onduring the month of January. "This promo is targeted at all those

customers who avail a personal loan, car or two-wheeler loan. There

will be a lucky draw at the end of the promo and the winners would

get exotic prizes."

Also on the cards is a school-level painting competition on wildlife

across cities to promote the Kids Advantage account.

The next step to these mass promos, which would be more

personalized promos. They plan to send personalized mailers about

our various products to all those who come in contact with during

these mass promotions."

The bank has also tied up with Business Today, to sponsor 10,000copies of the magazine in each metro. The cover of the sponsored

copies would be the December 2003 issue of Business Today, which

rated HDFC Bank as the best bank in the country. On the opposite

side, would be an advertorial which would talk about HDFC as a `one-


17/36

stop financial supermarket'. These copies would be circulated among

top corporates and our high-profile customers,

They feel that below-the-line promotions constitute a major part of the

bank's overall marketing plans this year, and therefore, a large

percentage of the marketing budget is allocated to promos. "These

promotions are conducted based on the results thrown up by data

analysis and data mining. Therefore, they are intended to have

maximum impact on our target audience."


18/36

Marketing mix in HDFC:

Marketing mix is the mixture of controllable marketing variables

that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in target market.

The following diagram will tell about the all marketing decisions

taken in s HDFC bank.


19/36

SEGMENTATION STRATEGY

Market segmentation strategy involves dividing the market

into groups, where individuals have similar needs and wants for

services and products. It could also be a segmentation of people

on the basis of behavior, culture and economic status. To get a

clearer picture of what is market segmentation, one can always

look into the definition provided by business dictionary.com, market

segmentation is defined as, "Process of defining and sub-dividing a

large homogenous market into clearly identifiable segments having

similar needs, wants, or demand characteristics".

Market Segmentation Strategies:

1) Demographic Variables: Demographic segmentation refers to a

wide study of the potential customers. While marketing a product

many variables like age, gender, education, income, size of thefamily, occupation, socioeconomic status, culture and religion,

language and nationality are taken into account. There are many

instances where such a segmentation has worked very profitably, toys

and clothes for every age group, certain food products that do well in

certain counties and don't in some, either due to cultural or religious

reasons. Demographic segmentation plays a vital role in determining

whether a product can be mass marketed or designed..

2) Psychographic Variables: Segmenting people according to their

lifestyles and values, and how they translate into consumption or

purchases of products of services is what psychographic


20/36

segmentation is all about. How one's interest, opinions, values,

attitude and the activities they perform, all affects how and why a

group of people would lean towards one product more than others. A

high status would translate into an expensive flying habit, while a thrift

value will translate into an economy flight.


21/36

TARGETING STRATEGY

A target market or target Audience is the market segment

which a particular product is marketed to. It is often defined by age,

gender and socio-economic grouping. Market Targeting is the

process in which intended actual markets are defined, analyzed

and evaluated just before the final decision is enter. Target

marketing is a strategic approach to creating a marketing mix for a

specific, targeted market segment.

1) Corporate Banking Market: This market target the

industries & fulfill their financial needs. It also target high profile

customer like industries, company, government. etc

2) Capital Market: In this market deals with mutual fund,

providing funds as per the needs and requirement of customer.

This segment is targeted on the long term needs of the individual

as well as of industries.

3) Retail Banking Market: When we say about retail market

here this means that the bank acts like shopekeeper providing daily

retail services to all type of customer at its branch. This segment is

for retail investors & provide them short term financial credit for

their personal, house hold needs.


22/36

Positioning strategy

HDFC Bank has positioned itself as a bank which gives higher

standard of services through product innovation for the diverse

need of individual & corporate clients. So they want to highlight

following points in their positioning segment :

1) Customer centric- It means putting the customer in the

centre of all the activities i.e making decision from customer pointof view.

2) Service oriented- HDFC bank provides service to all his

client in retail banking, corporate banking, investement banking,

mutual fund, insurance, re-banking service. HDFC has got a

concept of customer relationship management which guides the

customer in choosing right type of investment to suit their

requirement.

3) Product innovation- HDFC bank provides retail banking,

corporate banking, investement banking, mutual fund, insurance,

re-banking service all this services to different types of customer.

When you say customer not everyone is uniformed in the likes &

dislikes and also needs & requirement. A priority customer will go

for higher deployment of their fund so HDFC has got plans for

various products and service to suit their requirement of these type

of customer.


23/36

WORK PLACE TRANSFORMATION

FIVE S PART OF KAIZEN

Focus on effective work place organization

believe in

Small changes lead to large improvement

Every successful organization have their own strategy to win the race

in the competitive market. They use some technique and

methodology for smooth running of business. HDFC BANK also

acquired the Japanese technique for smooth running of work and

effective work place organization.

Five S Part of Kaizen is the technique which is used in the bank for

easy and systematic work place and eliminating unnecessary things

from the work place.

BENEFIT OF FIVE S

It can be started immediately.

Every one has to participate.

Five S is an entirely people driven initiatives.

Brings in concept of ownership.

All wastage are made visible.


24/36

FIVE S

S-1 SORT SEIRI

S-2 SYSTEMATIZE SEITON

S-3 SPIC-N-SPAN SEIRO

S-4 STANDARDIZE SEIKETSU

S-5 SUSTAIN SHITSUKE

1. SORT:

It focus on eliminating unnecessary items from the work place. It is

excellent way to free up valuable floor space. It segregate items as

per require and wanted.

2. SYSTEMATIZE:

Systematize is focus on efficient and effective Storage method. That

means it identify, organize and arrange retrieval. It largely focus on

good labeling and identification practices.

Objective: A place for everything and everything in its place.


25/36

3. SPIC- n - SPAN:

Spic-n-Span focuses on regular clearing and self inspection. It brings

in the sense of ownership.

4. STANDERDIZE:

It focuses on simplification and standardization. It involves standard

rules and policies. It establish checklist to facilitate autonomous

maintenance of workplace. It assigns responsibility for doing various

jobs and decides on Five S frequency.

5. SUSTAIN:

It focuses on defining a new status and standard of organized work

place. Sustain means regular training to maintain standards

developed under S-4. It brings in self- discipline and commitment

towards workplace organization.


26/36

TECHNOLOGICAL STRATEGY

In the era of globalization each and every sector faced the stiff

competition from their rivals. And world also converted into the flat

from the globe. After the policy of liberalization and RBI initiatives to

take the step for the private sector banks, more and more changes

are taking the part into it. And there are create competition between

the private sector banks and public sector bank.

Private sector banks are today used the latest technology for the

different transaction of day to day banking life. As we know that

Information Technology plays the vital role in the each and every

industries and gives the optimum return from the limited resources.

Banks are service industries and today IT gives the innovative

Technology application to Banking industries. HDFC BANK is the

leader in the industries and today IT and HDFC BANK together

combined they reached the sky. New technology changed the mind of

the customers and changed the queue concept from the history

of banking transaction. Today there are different channels are

available for the banking transactions. We can see that the how

technology gives the best results in the below diagram. There are

drastically changes seen in the use of Internet banking, in a year 2001

(2%) and in the year 2008 ( 25%). These type of technology gives the

freedom to retail customers.


27/36

HDFC BANK is the very consistent player in the new private sector

banks. New private sector banks to withstand the competition from

public sector banks came up with innovative products and superior

service.


28/36

B ANKS PRODUCT AND SERVICES

STRATEGY

Travellers Cheques: Travellers Cheques are a safe and easy

way to protect your money when you travel. You can encash them

only when you need to, and only against your signature, unlike

cash which can be stolen and misused by anybody, immediately.

Credit Card: Credit Card can be used for all your requirements,

be it shopping, eating out, holidaying, fuelling up your vehicle,

railway ticket reservations - just about any financial requirement,

planned.

Home loan: Home loans for individual to purchase or construct

houses.

Personal Loans: The procedure of personal loan is simple,

documentation is minimal and approval is quick.

Foreign Currency Cash: Foreign Currency Cash is aconvenient way of meeting personal expenses along your journey,

paying for taxis / internal travel, food expenses etc.


29/36

Foreign Currency Demand Drafts: Demand Drafts are issued

in seven currencies like United States Dollars (USD), Great Britain

Pounds (GBP), EURO, Japanese Yen (JPY), Australian Dollars

(AUD), Canadian dollars (CAD) and New Zealand Dollars (NZD).

Foreign Currency Cheque Deposits: We can directly deposit

our foreign currency cheques in to our saving or current account.

Remittances: HDFC Bank offers the remittance facilities by

which we can send and receive money to anyone. They arecategorized depending on location and the urgency with which we

want the money transferred.

Trade Service: HDFC Bank have people with high level of

expertise and experience in trade services to provide services tosuit specific requirements and structure solutions for business

needs. HDFC Bank have 500 branches for trade services.

Mutual funds : Mutual funds are funds that pool the money of

several investors to invest in equity or debt markets.

Insurance: HDFC Bank offers a world of choice in insurance.

Like children future plans, retirements plans, standard life, etc.


30/36

ACQUISITION STRATEGY

AcquisitionStrategies

An effective Acquisition Strategy is based on acquiring profitable

customers at a low cost and is based on an effective business plan

that covers a host of activities:

Customer segmentation as an Acquisition Strategy

Research revealed that there were basically two types ofcustomers: those who were willing to pay for service and

those who werent. These customers lay in two buckets,

either with public sector banks or foreign banks . What was

revealing was that there were several customers who were

willing to pay for service but currently banked with public

sector banks, as they had no choice. This was the market

that appealed to HDFC Bank and was consciously targeted

for conversion with success. Those customers who were

unwilling to pay for service with public sector banks and

those who associated with foreign banks for the status

attached to them were not targeted as it would have been a

waste of resources.

Value proposition as an Acquisition Strategy

Addressing the need gap, HDFC Bank decided to offer

international levels of service at a reasonable price. This


31/36

proposition was relevant to a vast and statistically significant

middle-class market. Given the fact that this was what the

market was waiting for, it met with great success and helped

make acquisition an easier task, as it addressed consumer

needs.

Pricing as an Acquisition Strategy

In 1995 there were only two pricing points for consumers.

One could choose between a foreign bank with an openingbalance of Rs 10,000 and upwards or a public sector bank at

Rs 500, with polarised levels of service. HDFC Bank decided

to offer international levels of service and technology at Rs

5,000, thus suddenly growing the market as a huge chunk of

public sector bank customers who were willing to pay for

service found an alternative.

Distribution as an Acquisition Strategy

It is also important to know where your most important

markets are, and thus focus on those for best results. RBI

data (July 2000), for example, shows that the top 10 cities

account for 38 per cent of the all-India market in deposits. It

therefore enables us to concentrate on getting maximum

market share in those markets by offering a wide range of

products and services. Once the top ten centres were


32/36

covered, focus was shifted to the next 20 cities. This focus

on the top 30 cities covered 49 per cent of the deposit

market.

HDFC bank also consciously decided to have a Centralised

Processing Unit (CPU) that took care of all back-office

functions and thus left branches to concentrate on selling.

This allowed the bank to set up smaller branches at a lower

cost

Technology as an Acquisition Strategy

Harnessing enabling technology to provide convenience and

quality service through multiple channels at value for money

price points has been the banks mission from inception. To

this end the bank invested in open systems and a scalable

architecture that allowed it to ramp up easily and handle the

rapidly growing volume of customers, apart from reducing

costs.

Product range as an Acquisition Strategy

A complete range of products, from a basic savings account

to value-added services, loans, NRI and depository services,

enables the bank to straddle the full product spectrum that

fulfills any financial need. Thus we provide a customer the

choice to start a relationship with several options.


33/36

Choice of Channels for servicing as an Acquisition

Strategy

HDFC Bank offers multiple channels to customers to access

their bank. There are customers who prefer to deal with the

bank by coming to branches...and HDFC bank have 126 of

them in 46 cities. There are others who prefer to bank from

electronic channels like ATMs, phone, Internet or even the

mobile. This choice helps in acquiring customers with varying

behaviour patterns.

Value propositions as an Acquisition Strategy

Different segments have different needs, and to offer a value

proposition that appeals to each of these segments, the bank

has launched various products. Younger, tech-savvy

customers who are comfortable with direct banking channels

like ATM, mobile phone, Internet and debit card can open a

Freedom Account with just Rs. 1,000. Those who seek the

familiarity of branch banking can avail of the basic savings

account at Rs. 5,000. While High Networth Customers

(HNW) are invited by the bank to start a relationship through

the Preferred Account when their relationship size exceeds

Rs. 5 lakh.

People as an Acquisition Strategy

While one may talk of technology, access channels and

products, one simply cannot ignore the human element. A


34/36

human face and personal relationships are still imperative for

growth. At HDFC Bank, employees understand servicing,

and the front-office staff belongs to various service sectors

such as travel, hospitality, credit cards, etc.

Data Management as an Acquisition Strategy

To enable the bank to understand the customer and

consequently service him better, HDFC bank have invested

huge amounts to implement a data-warehousing and data-

mining solution. This helps to analyse customer behaviourand thus develop relevant products and services for

prospects.

Cross-Selling as an Acquisition Strategy

With a wide network and multiple channel access, customers

deal with the bank in several ways. Each interaction is anopportunity to cross-sell another product. After all, historically

it has always been cheaper to sell to an existing customer

than to acquire a new one. More banks are also leveraging

routine communication such as account statements to carry

marketing messages and cross-sell products while driving

down communication costs.

Micro Marketing as an Acquisition Strategy

Given the nature of the banking sector, customers always

operate in a micro market which revolves around their


35/36

residence. As bank branches are spread across the city, each

branch vies for customers with competition in the vicinity. This

also varies within a city and most certainly between larger

metros and smaller metros due to the difference in competitive

presence, service benchmarks and customer expectations.

Acquiring customers requires different propositions and

consequently every branch needs to draw up its own marketing

plan. There also needs to be tight co-ordination of all sales

channels DSAs, phone, DM, Mass media etc, for greater

efficiency and optimum results.

Alliances as an Acquisition Strategy

Several corporates focus on the same type of customer even

though they may not be competing in the same business

category. For example an ISP, a car manufacturer, a cellular

services provider, or a computer seller may be targeting the

same SEC A customer. There is great merit in leveraging

customer bases and making joint offers to customer bases

and acquiring them.

Internet as an Acquisition Strategy

While one may talk of various strategies and products etc.

one needs to be alert to the changes that the Internet is

bringing about. It has already challenged established

paradigms, and will also force us to change our thinking. The

medium obviously affords a wide reach and it is a boon,


36/36

especially in reaching out to our NRI customers. Also, the

interactivity of the medium offers an opportunity to have a

one-to-one dialogue with the customers and get their

feedback instantaneously. As and when webcams become a

norm in most homes, one can also envision a virtual

relationship manager (like Anna Nova the virtual webcaster).

Mergers an Acquisition Strategy

However, finally, organic growth has its limitations. Toadys

dynamic environment is forcing organisations to grow and

reap the benefits of economies of scale at speeds hitherto

unheard of. HDFC Bank set the tone for another first in the

banking industry by acquiring TimesBank and overnight grew

its customer base by over 3 lakh in 38 branches. With this

precedent, mergers might just become the norm for rapid

growth and customer acquisition in the banking industry.

hdfc word file

Documents