Shape up or ship out

The life insurance industry is working hard to shake off the image of being seen as just another tax saving tool

The concept of "survival of the fittest" will never go out of fashion, but when it comes to the consumer's traction towards a brand, it is driven largely by the concept out of sight is out of mind. This makes it important for brands to stay in sight of their patrons. They can no longer restrict themselves to an occasional interaction, lest someone else replaces them in the consumer mindspace. While this holds true for practically every brand across any industry, it is de rigueur for life insurance. Unfortunately, over the years, the life insurance industry has positioned itself in a manner that customers see the need for an interaction with it only in the last three months of a financial year.

In its own way, the private life insurance industry has tried to change things since its inception nearly 12 years ago. There is a constant effort to create deeper messaging rather than wide-spread visibility. It is for this very reason that every player in the life insurance industry is trying to go that extra mile through contextual messaging grabbing every opportunity that presents itself.

Research has shown that one of the reasons that people turn to life insurance is that it offers tax benefits. This last minute interaction with insurers is more prominent among people from a younger age bracket. Since they are in the initial phase of their respective careers, the inclination towards prudent tax and financial planning is usually low through the year, but picks up at the end of the financial year.

On the other hand, a mature customer is more prudent with her finances and is acutely aware of the concept of life stage planning, thus placing the customer-insurer interaction on a different scale. Considering the growing awareness among an audience that is well-versed with the need for life stage planning, the life insurance industry is seeing a slow but sure move towards a year-long interaction.

Taking into account the long-term nature of life insurance contracts, there is a growing need for insurers to do what it takes to create a bond with the customer. One reason why most players in the industry play the 'emotion' card in their communication. The striking element with these campaigns is that they try to forge long-term engagement and do not necessarily speak of the product per se all the time. This diversity of thought helps build rapport with both existing as well as potential customers.

The growing popularity of the social media, which facilitates effective interaction with the customer without invading her space, makes this platform a key medium to reach out to present and potential customers. Today, campaigns are well past the stage of being simple mass media or on-ground activities. There is a strong integration of the digital medium. Activations on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are some of the prime methods of staying engaged with the customer while creating involvement with a brand - and better still - the company concerned.

Rituraj Bhattacharya,
head, market management, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance