Introduction to Insurance - Basic Principles of the insurance business - Life/Non-Life/Pensions/Health - Place in Economy, Support to Government - History and Growth, Size - Contribution to GDP/social Security/savings/investments - Global/Indian - New Developments – Blurring of boundaries.
Introduction to Marketing - Concepts, Tasks - Definition - Difference from sales/product orientations - Marketing Orientation & Mix - Segmentation, Research - Strategies, Planning Audit - Life Cycle, Positioning, Branding - Transaction vs. Relationship marketing (Loyalty building) - Positioning, - Brand building, Premium price.
Consumer Behavior - Needs, Wants & Demands -Unique - Before, During and After purchase - Strife towards Individuality (fashion) Similarity (Conformity) - Buying decision process Search for options - Perception, Strokes, Dissonance - Rationality in decision making - Insurance Consumers - Who decides, Individual vs Group - Level of involvement in decision cf. Risk in decision.
Introduction to Services - Characteristics and Problems - Additional Ingredients in the Mix.
Quality in Services - Levels of Quality, Costs, Elements - Gaps to Manage, Responsibility - Moments of Truth - Check Lists, Monitoring, Measuring - Structures, Tools, Complaints.
Strategies for Insurance - Product - Research - Pricing - Distribution - Promotion - Physical factors.
The People Factor - Criticality (Determinant of quality) - Training - Empowerment - Reward Systems.
Rural markets - Profile of the market (Size, significance, Importance) - Difficulties (Logistics, Linkages, Malpractices) - Economics.
Consumerism and Ethics.