______________________________________________

INTERNSHIP REPORT
______________________________________________

A Study on Marketing Strategies of Sahara

India Life Insurance

Harshit Sanjay Agarwal

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Studies
B.B.A.(M.S.)

816025
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my heartfelt gratitude to those who sincerely
helped and supported me throughout the project I have
undertaken to do and without their active support and help
it would not have been possible for me to complete the
venture.
As such, I once again extend my sincere thanks and gratitude
to all of them. To this effect, at first I take the opportunity to
express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my
guide Mr. K.K.Bajpai, Chief Finance Officer for his active
guidance and constant supervision together with time to
time providing with necessary information connected with
the project following active support in completing my
internship project. I also take the opportunity to express my
sincere thanks to my college mentor Dr. Nidhi Srivastava
for extending her cordial support, providing valuable
information and guidance, which helped me a lot in
completing the task at various stages.
Moreover, I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude
to Mr. Yuvraj Singh, HR Head for their kind co-operation
and necessary encouragement, which also helped me a lot in
completing the project.
Finally, I would also like to express my earnest gratitude to
my friends and family members for their constant support &
encouragement without which the assignment would not
have been completed.

Harshit Sanjay Agarwal Place: Lucknow

DECLARATION

I, HARSHIT SANJAY AGARWAL here by, declare that

project entitled “A Study on Marketing Strategies of
Sahara India Life Insurance“ and Submitted in
partial fulfillment for the summer training program in
National P.G. College, Lucknow, with the guidance of
Mr. K.K.Bajpai (Chief Finance Officer) and Mr.
Yuvraj Singh (HR Head). It is my original work and
no part of this dissertation has been submitted for the
award of any other degree/diploma/fellowship or
similar title or prizes to any University.

Place: Lucknow Harshit Sanjay Agarwal

 INDEX
Particulars Page No.
1) Introduction To Insurance 1
2) Need for Life Insurance
3) Indian Insurance Industry
4) Company Profile
a) Overview
b) Board of directors and key persons
c) Products and plans
d) SWOT Analysis

5) Marketing Strategy
a) Marketing Mix
b) Strategies
c) Importance
d) Steps

6) Consumer Satisfaction
7) Training and Task
8) Questionnaire and Survey
9) Conclusion
10) Bibliography
INTERNSHIP OBJECTIVES
1. Apply business concepts and theories to real-world
decision-making
2. Increase proficiency in specific business disciplines;
such as human resources management, operations
management, marketing, accounting, statistics,
economics, finance, and business law.
3. Develop and improve business skills in
communication, technology, quantitative reasoning,
and teamwork.
4. Observe and participate in business operations and
decision-making.
5. Meet professional role models and potential
mentors who can provide guidance, feedback, and
support.
6. Expand network of professional relationships and
contacts.
7. Develop a solid work ethic and professional
demeanor, as well as a commitment to ethical
conduct and social responsibility.
8. Assist the student's development of employer-
valued skills such as teamwork, communications and
attention to detail.
9. Expose the student to professional role models or
mentors who will provide the student with support
in the early stages of the internship and provide an
example of the behaviors expected in the intern's
workplace.
INTRODUCTION TO INSURANCE
Definition Of Insurance:
“Insurance is a contract between two parties whereby
one party called insurer undertakes in exchange for a
fixed sum called premiums, to pay the other party called
insured a fixed amount of money on the happening of a
certain event”.

It’s hard to think about those you leave behind if something

happens to you. Your family counts on you every day for
financial support: food, shelter, transportation, education,
and much more. You and your spouse have plans or your
future and dreams for your family: a bigger home, a new
business, college education, travel, retirement etc.
Life insurance is all about making sure your family has
adequate financial resources to make those plans and
dreams come true, if you were to die prematurely. Life
insurance provides a monetary benefit to a decedent's
family or other designated beneficiary, and may specifically
provide for income to an insured person's family, burial,
funeral and other final expenses. Life insurance policies
often allow the option of having the proceeds paid to the
beneficiary either in a lump sum cash payment or an annuity
It provides financial protection to help your family to
manage after your death. Insurance companies collect
premiums to provide for this protection. A loss is paid out of
the premiums collected from the insuring public and the
insurance companies act as trustees to the amount collected.
Why Life Insurance?
You think twice before taking the plunge into buying
insurance. Is buying insurance a necessity now? Spending an
‘extra’ amount as premium at regular intervals where you do
not see immediate benefits does not seem a necessity at the
moment.
Well you could be wrong. Buying insurance cannot be
compared with any other form of investment. Insurance
gives you a life long benefit and the returns will definitely
come but only when you need it the most i.e. at the right
time. Besides buying insurance early in life is one of the wise
decisions you could take. Because the premium you would
be paying would be comparatively lower.
Insurance is not about how much more it can offer you when
the stock market is at its peak. It may not be an attractive
investment option. But weigh the pros and cons and
consider how much more it offers at a small price.
Most important of all it provides you with that unique sense
of security that no other form of investments provides. It
gives you a sense of financial support especially during that
time of crisis irrespectively of the fluctuations in the stock
market. Insurance provides for your career goals right from
your childhood years.
If the earning member of the family is no more your child’s
educational needs will not suffer. In fact his higher education
too will be provided for. You need not spend sleepless nights
thinking about how to save for your child’s marriage. Life
Insurance will take care of that typical once-in-a-life-time
spending on marriages.
An accident or a disability may be devastating but an
insurance policy can be of utmost support for the family
during such times too. Besides it provides for additional
benefits such as bonuses. You need not worry about your
retirement years. The rising prices, taxes, and your lifestyle
will be taken care of easily. And you can relax and spend
your old age in comfort and peace.

NEED FOR LIFE INSURANCE

The need for life insurance comes from the need to
safeguard our family. If you care for your family’s needs you
will definitely consider insurance.
Today insurance has become even more important due to
the disintegration of the prevalent joint family system, a
system in which a number of generations co-existed in
harmony, a system in which a sense of financial security was
always there as there were more earning members.
Times have changed and the nuclear family has emerged.
Apart from other pitfalls of a nuclear family, a high sense of
insecurity is observed in it today besides, the family has
shrunk. Needs are increasing with time and fulfillment of
these needs is a big question mark. Insurance provides a
sense of security to the income earner as also to the family.
Buying insurance frees the individual from unnecessary
financial burden that can otherwise make him spend
sleepless nights. The individual has a sense of consolation
that he has something to fall back on.
From the beginning of your life, to your retirement age
insurance can take care of all your needs. Your child needs
good education to mold him into a good citizen. After his
schooling he needs to go for higher studies, to gain a
professional edge over the others- a necessity in this age
where cutthroat competition is the rule. His career needs
have to be fulfilled.
Life insurance today plays a major role in ones life at various
stages. Considering the benefits it offers one cannot but give
a thought to buying an insurance policy at the earliest.

Insurance provides:
Insurance provides various benefits to the people. Some of
them are listed below: -
1. Risk Coverage
2. Child Solutions
3. Whole Life Plans
4. Health Protection
5. Superior Saving Instrument
6. Investment
7. Retirement (Pension plans)
8. Tax Benefits
INDIAN INSURANCE INDUSTRY
There are currently a total of 24 life insurance companies in
India. Many of these are joint ventures between
public/private sector banks and national/international
insurance financial companies.
Private life insurance companies in India got access to the
life insurance sector in the year 2000. Most private players
have tied up with international insurance giants for their life
insurance foray.

List of Life Insurance Claim Settlement

Companies Ratio(2016-17)

AEGON Life Insurance 97.11%

Aviva Life Insurance 90.60%

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance 91.67%

Bharti AXA Life Insurance 92.37%

Birla Sun Life Insurance 94.69%

Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance 94.95%

DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance 90.87%

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance 93.29%

Exide Life Insurance 96.40%

Future Generali India Life 89.53%

Insurance
HDFC Standard Life Insurance 97.62%

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance 96.68%

IDBI Federal Life Insurance 90.33%

IndiaFirst Life Insurance 82.65%

Company Ltd - India First

Kotak Life Insurance 91.24%

Life Insurance Corporation of 98.31%

India

Max Newyork Life Insurance 97.81%

PNB MetLife Insurance 87.14%

Reliance Life Insurance 94.53%

Sahara Life Insurance 90.21%

SBI Life Insurance 96.69%

Shriram Life Insurance 63.53%

Star Union Dai-ichi Life 84.05%

Insurance

Tata AIA Life Insurance 96.01%

SAHARA INDIA LIFE INSURANCE

The Sahara Pariwar’s latest foray is in the field of Life

Insurance. The Pariwar’s life insurance company – Sahara
India Life Insurance Company Ltd.- has been granted licence
by the insurance regulator – the IRDA on 6th February 2004.
With this approval Sahara India Life Insurance Company Ltd.
becomes the first wholly and purely Indian company,
without any foreign collaboration to enter the Indian Life
insurance market. The launch is with an initial paid up
capital of 157 crores.
Sahara India Life Insurance Company Ltd. (SILICL) is a Life
Insurance Company in the private sector Sahara Asset
Management Company Pvt. Ltd. manages 16 equity and debt
mutual funds.
The core objective of the Company has been to reach out
across the country to all segments of society not only to the
privileged and urban based but to those belonging to the
middle class and living in the rural areas as well. With the
state-of-the-art technology, Sahara India offers extensive
range of competitive products to caters the insurance needs
of individuals of all ages and segments. Sahara Life
Insurance Provides an extensive range of products like
money back plan, unit link plan, term assurance
plan,endowment plan and group assurance plan to cater
the insurance needs of every individual. The company
has a claim settlement ration of 89.97% and has resolved
the maximum number of grievances for the customer
over the year.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Chairperson:-
 Shri O.P. Srivastava
Directors:-
 Shri R.S. Rathore
 Shri Brijendra Sahay
 Smt. Rana Zia
 Shri Mohammad Razi Siddiqui
 Shri Ishwar Singh Verma
Whole-Time Director & Chief Executive Officer:
 Shri Sanjay Agarwal
KEY PERSONS
Whole-Time Director & Chief Executive Officer:
 Shri Sanjay Agarwal
Chief Marketing Officer:
 Shri Pushkar Verma
Chief Investment Officer:
 Shri Praveen Kumar Paliwal
Appointed Actuary:
 Shri Dhiraj Goel
Chief Risk Officer:
 Shri Rajesh Kumar
Head IT:
 Shri Alok Kumar
Chief Financial Officer:
 Shri K. K. Bajpai
Head Policy Servicing & Underwriting:
 Shri Manoj Tandon
Company Secretary:
 Ms. Sakshi Pandey
Sahara India Life Insurance Products/Plans
Sahara India Life Insurance offers a range of innovative,
customer-centric products that meets the needs of
customers at every life stage. The various segments of life
insurance plan offered by Sahara India life insurance
company are:
 Unit Linked Plan
 Money Back Plan
 Endowment Plan
 Term Assurance Plan
 Group Insurance Plan
Apart from the above segment, Sahara India offers add on
plan such as Accident Benefit and Critical Illness Riders

UNIT LINK PLANS

With a upward growth in Indian Economy Sahara India Life
Insurance Company provides specially crafted insurance
product linked with capital market so as the insures should
also earn straight profit from the great potential provided by
these markets.

Sahara Sanchit – Jeevan Bima Plan

 A unit linked insurance plan with complete protection from

volatile equity market and insurance coverage under one
 umbrella.
 A single premium based plan offering enhanced value of
savings over a period of time.

 Multiple investment option as per risk appetite of customer. 

 Comprehensive insurance coverage against any ill-fated
incident.
 Minimum Issue Age is 18 Years

 Maximum Issue Age is 65 Years

 Policy Term is between 5 Years to 10 Years

 Maximum Age at Maturity is 75 Years

 Minimum Premium is Rs.30,000/- and no cap on the maximum
amount. 

 No top up facility allowed.
 Sum assured provided under this plan are 125% of premium
paid for insurer aged till 41 years and 110% of premium paid
for insurer aged 46 Years & above.

Sahara Utkarsh- Jeevan Bima Plan

 A unit linked insurance plan dedicated for exclusive customer

with higher risk appetite and enhanced sum assured amount.
 Available in two premium payment variables as single
premium and regular premium
 Offered to customer between age group of 12 years to 55 years.
 Policy term is between 8 years to 20 years and the payment
term is as per policy term except for single premium payment
plans.
 Maximum Age at Maturity should be 70 years.
 Minimum Premium for single premium plan is Rs.50,000 ,
whereas for Regular Premium is Rs.20, 000 under yearly mode
 and Rs.15, 000 under half yearly mode.

 No cap on the maximum premium amount.

 No change in premium amount is allowed and no top up facility
is available under regular premium plan.
 For single premium option, the sum assured is 125% of
premium for insurer aged till 45 years and 110% of premium
for customer aged above 46 years. 

 For regular premium plan, the sum assured is 10 times of
annualized premium for customer aged till 45 years and 7
times of annualized premium for customers aged above 46 &
above

Sahara Sugam Jeevan Bima Plan

 A Unit linked plan being offered is a unique blend of risk

coverage and market linked returns.
 Simple documentation and hassle free enrollment procedure.

 Flexibility to choose investment plan as per risk appetite and
financial objective.

 Minimum issuance age is 10 Years to maximum 55 years and
the policy term is 10,15 or 20 years.
 Minimum Premium is Rs.12, 000 and cannot be altered once
policy is issued.
 Sum assured is 10 times the amount paid towards annual
premium.

Money Back Plans

Sahara Pay Back – Jeevan Bima Plan

 A traditional limited premium money back participating
endowment plan proposed for those who seeks guaranteed
cash inflow to meet the desired financial obligations

 Double benefit of financial protection and earning at time
bound periods. 

 Offers financial assistance as lump sum payment at particular
intervals and thus fulfill financial commitments in future.
 Offered for minimum issue aged between 16 years to 50
years

 Minimum sum assured as Rs 75000 and thereafter in multiples
of 5000.

 Maximum sum assure available is Rs. 1 crore subject to
underwriting. 

 Fixed policy term for 12 years, 16 years and 20 years.

 Maximum Coverage Age is till 70 years.
 3% discount available for yearly prepayment payment and
1.5% on half yearly premium payment option.
 A Single Premium Money Back Endowment Assurance without
Profits Plan.
 Add on advantage of life cover up to maturity.
 Return of premium at maturity pooled with guaranteed
additions depending upon term and sum assured chosen.
 Regular flow of earning from return at specific intervals.
 Minimum Entry Age is 9 years up to maximum entry of 60
years.
 Minimum Sum Assured is Rs. 50,000/- up to the amount Rs. 1
 crore based on underwriting.
 Policy Term is fixed as 9 years/ 12 years/ 15 years subject to
maximum age at the maturity should be 70 years.

Sahara
Dhanvarsha-Jeevan
Bima Plan

 A traditional limited premium money back non-participating

endowment plan.
 Suited for those who have planned future financial obligations
such as child’s higher education or marriage.
 Complete protection against any financial adversity aroused
due to ill-fated event o the insurer
 Minimum issuance age is 15 years and maximum issuance age
55 Years
 Minimum sum assured under the plan is Rs 75000 and
thereafter in multiples of 5000.

 Fixed policy term as 15 years or 20 years and premium paying
term as per policy term.
 Discounts on premium @ 3% and 1.5 % for yearly and half
yearly modes of premium payments plans.

Endowment Plans


Sahara Shrestha Nivesh-Jeevan Bima plan

  A single premium without profit endowment plan.
 Specially designed for individuals with irregular income flow
such as income from real estate etc.
 Minimum Entry Age is 9 years to maximum 60 Years.
 Sum assured ranges from Rs. 30,000/- to Rs. 1 crore based on
underwriting.

 Minimum premium amount under this plan is Rs. 16,992 for
age at entry 9.
 The plan term is 5 Years to 10 Years subject to maturity age
under this plan.

Sahara Shubh Nivesh-Jeevan Bima plan

 A single premium without profit endowment plan combined

with the benefit of life cover up to maturity.
 Best fitted insurance plan for those who have higher
investment appetite and plan well ahead for their time bound
financial liabilities.
 Comprehensive life cover against one time single premium
payment.
 Minimum Entry Age is 9 years to maximum 60 Years.

 Sum assured ranges from Rs. 50,000/- and then in multiples of
Rs 5000/-.
 Fixed policy term of 10 years.
Sahara Dhan Sanchay Jeevan Bima Plan

 A traditional participating endowment plan with double

benefit of wealth creation and insurance protection.
 Multiple benefits of safe investment, tax benefit insurance
benefits under single plan

 Minimum issuance age is 14 Years up to 14 Years.
 Minimum Sum Assured Rs 50000/- and thereafter-in multiples
of Rs 5000.
 Guaranteed return of sum assured as 10 times of annualized
premium for age at entry less than 45 years and 7 times of
annualized premium for age at entry more than or equal to 45
years.
 The plan term ranges between 15 years to 40 years subject to
the age at the maturity of plan should be 70 years.
 Premium payment frequency options are monthly, quarterly,
half yearly or yearly.

Group Insurance Plans

Sahara Samooh Suraksha

 A term insurance cover plan for Establishments/Groups, at

nominal premium amount.
 Advantage of market appreciation on the savings portion of
premium paid under this plan.
  Available for groups where at least 75% of existing
employees/members with minimum 25 eligible members are
willing to join the plan.
 Minimum monthly total contribution of Rs.5000

 Participation of all new eligible members in the group is
compulsory on the next renewal date.
 Minimum group size should be 50 members with minimum
contribution per month as Rs. 5000

 Minimum entry age 18 years whereas maximum entry age 64
years.
 Minimum sum assured per member Rs. 50,000/- up to the limit
of maximum sum assured per member is Rs. 5 lakhs.

Sahara Accidental Death Benefit Rider

 A Non Linked Accidental Death Benefit rider group

plans with dual option to choose as either single
premium or Regular Premium.
 For regular premium payment the plan term should be
less than or equal to policy term.
 Minimum entry age at is 18 Years and maximum age at
entry 60 years and the maximum maturity age is 65
years.
 Minimum Sum Assured is Rs 50,000 whereas
maximum sum assured is as per the plan sum assured
or Rs.20, 00,000 including cover under all previous
policies with the Company, whichever is lower.

Sahara Surakshit Pariwar – Jeevan Bima Plan

 A non-linked, non-par micro endowment life insurance plan

with objective of reaching to socially weaker sections of the
society.
 Twin benefit of providing life cover and building your savings.
 Affordable monthly premium of Rs 500 or Rs 250 for 5 years or
10 years respectively.
  Reasonable return at the end of maturity of the plan.
 Minimum entry age is 18 years to maximum 50 years.
 Policy term as between 5 years to 10 years and the premium
payment term shall be as per plan term.

 Sum assured of Rs 30000/- per life i.e. sum assured is fixed per
life under the plan.
 Fixed premium amount of Rs. 500 per month for premium
paying term of 5 years and Rs. 250 per month for premium
paying term of 10 years

 Only monthly premium payment frequency is available.
 Grace period of 30 days irrespective of any calendar month will
be allowed to pay premiums.

 Maturity benefit as the sum of Guaranteed Sum Assured and
accrued guaranteed annual additions.
 Death benefit of either 5 times the annualized premium or
105% of all the premiums paid as on date of death

Term insurance Plans

Sahara Social Security Plan

 It is a non-participating without profit plan as such the policy

will not participate in the profits of Sahara Life.
 A term plan intended to provide insurance coverage to the
economic weaker section of society.

 Focused to all groups belonging to unorganized/informal
sectors including economically weak or backward classes with
at least 50 members are eligible to participate in this scheme
 Affordable premium amount with comprehensive coverage.

 No maturity or survival benefit.
 Only death benefit shall be payable to the nominee in the event
of death of the member during continued membership of the
group.
 Nominal premium starting from Rs. 100

 Group policyholder or members can pay premium as totally or
in portion as decided during inception of policy.
 Grace period of one month for premium payment, post which
 the policy shall be terminated and will not have any cash value
on termination.
 Other value addition benefit includes Double Accident benefit
which offers an additional benefit equal to sum assured shall
be payable if death is caused within 180 days of any bodily
injury sustained directly and solely from an accident

General Terms & Conditions for all the plans

 Suicide Clause: In case of death due to suicide, within twelve

months from the date of inception of the plans, the nominee or
beneficiary of the policyholder shall be entitled to at least 80%
of the premiums paid provided policy is in force or from the
date of revival of the policy the nominee or beneficiary of the
policyholder shall be entitled to higher of 80% of the premiums
paid till the date of death or the surrender value.
 Free look period: A policyholder is entitled to review the
terms and conditions of the plans within a period of fifteen
days from the date of receipt of the policy bond. If the
policyholder disagrees with the terms and conditions, he has
the option to return the policy bond after stating the reasons
for the disagreement. In such a scenario, the policyholder
would be entitled to refund of premiums paid after deducting
the stamp duty. No further charges would be deducted.
 As per Section 41 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938): —
"No person shall allow or offer to allow, either directly or
indirectly, as an inducement to any person to take out or renew
or continue an insurance in respect of any kind of risk relating
to lives or property in India, any rebate of the whole or part of
the commission payable or any rebate of the premium shown
on the policy, nor shall any person taking out or renewing or
continuing a policy accept any rebate, except such rebate as
may be allowed in accordance with the published prospectus
or tables of the insurer.
 If any person fails to comply with sub regulation (2) above, he
shall be liable to payment of a fine which may extend to Rupees
five hundred
SWOT ANALYSIS
Using:- USP, Competition, STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)
- Marketing Analysis

Sahara Life Insurance

Parent Company Sahara India Parivar

Category NBFC

Sector Banking & Financial Services

‘Chiranjivi Bhav’; ‘Aatma vishwas ki nayi

Tagline/ Slogan
taaqat’

USP First Fully owned Indian Insurance Company

Sahara Life Insurance STP

Segment Personal and Group Insurance

Target Group Urban and Rural Investors

Positioning Complete Insurance and financial solutions

Sahara Life Insurance SWOT Analysis

1. Network of 25000 advisors across India

2. Brand Sahara is one of the most stable
Strengths
names in India
3. State of Art Actuarial IT Infrastructure

Weaknesses 1. Lack of Innovative Plans as they are

 comparatively new in the insurance
industry
2. Lack of Infrastructure as compared to
bigger insurance players.
3. Lack of advertising causing low brand
visibility

1. High earning Urban Youth looking for

investment options
Opportunities
2. Educated people are looking for
investment options in diverse portfolios

1. Fluctuating economic scenarios

Threats 2. Entry of new NBFCs in the sector
increasing competition

Sahara Life Insurance Competition

Below are the 3 main Sahara Life Insurance

competitors :
Competitors 1. LIC
2. SBI Life Insurance
3. HDFC Standard Life
MARKETING STRATEGIES
MARKETING MIX
The 'marketing mix' (also known as the 4 Ps) is a
foundation model in marketing. The marketing mix has been
defined as the "Set of marketing tools that the firm uses to
pursue its marketing objectives in the target market". Thus
the marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing
decision, namely: Product, Price, Promotion, and
Place. Marketing practice has been occurring for millennia,
but marketing theory emerged in the early twentieth
century. The contemporary marketing mix, or the 4 Ps,
which has become the dominant framework for marketing
management decisions, was first published in 1960. In
services marketing, an extended marketing mix is used,
typically comprising 7 Ps, made up of the original 4 Ps
extended by Process, People, and Physical evidence.
Occasionally service marketers will refer to 8 Ps, comprising
these 7 Ps plus Performance.

Category Definition/ Explanation Typical Marketing Decisions

 Product design – features, quality

 Product assortment – product
A product refers to an item that range, product mix, product lines
satisfies the consumer's needs or  Branding
 Packaging and labeling
wants.
Product  Services (complementary service,
after-sales service, service level)
Products may be tangible (goods)
or intangible (services, ideas or  Guarantees and warranties
experiences).  Returns
 Managing products through
the life-cycle[6]
Price refers to the amount a  Price strategy
customer pays for a product.  Price tactics
Price
 Price-setting
Price may also refer to the sacrifice  Allowances – e.g. rebates for
consumers are prepared to make to distributors
 acquire a product.  Discounts – for customers
(e.g. time or effort)  Payment terms – credit, payment
methods
Price is the only variable that has
implications for revenue.
Price also includes considerations
of customer perceived value.

 Strategies such as intensive

distribution, selective distribution,
exclusive distribution [21]
 Franchising;[22]
Refers to providing customer
 Market coverage
access
Place  Channel member selection and
Considers providing convenience channel member relationships
for consumer.  Assortment
 Location decisions
 Inventory
 Transport, warehousing and
logistics
 Promotional mix - appropriate
Promotion refers to marketing balance of advertising, PR, direct
marketing and sales promotion
communications
 Message strategy - what is to be
Promotion communicated
May comprise elements such
as: advertising, PR, direct  Channel/ media strategy - how to
marketing and sales promotion. reach the target audience
 Message Frequency - how often
to communicate

 Facilities (e.g. furniture, equipment,

access)
The environment in which service  Spatial layout (e.g. functionality,
occurs. efficiency)
 Signage (e.g. directional signage,
The space where customers and symbols, other signage)
Physical service personnel interact.  Interior design (e.g. furniture, color
evidence Tangible commodities (e.g. schemes)
equipment, furniture) that facilitate  Ambient conditions (e.g. noise, air,
service performance. temperature)
 Design of livery (e.g. stationery,
Artifacts that remind customers of a brochures, menus, etc.)
service performance.[25]  Artifacts: (e.g. souvenirs,
mementos, etc.)
Human actors who participate in  Staff recruitment and training
service delivery.[26]  Uniforms
 Scripting
People Service personnel who represent
 Queuing systems, managing waits
the company's values to customers.
 Handling complaints, service
Interactions between customers. failures
Interactions between employees  Managing social interactions
 and customers.[27]

 Process design
 Blueprinting (i.e. flowcharting)
service processes[28]
 Standardization vs customization
decisions
 Diagnosing fail-points, critical
The procedures, mechanisms and
incidents and system failures
Process flow of activities by which service is
 Monitoring and tracking service
delivered. performance
 Analysis of resource requirements
and allocation
 Creation and measurement of key
performance indicators (KPIs)
 Alignment with Best Practices
 Preparation of operations manuals

Marketing Strategy
Marketing Strategy has the fundamental goal of increasing
sales and achieving a sustainable competitive
advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic, short-term,
and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal
with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a
company and the formulation, evaluation and selection
of market-oriented strategies that contribute to the goals of
the company and its marketing objectives. Marketing
strategies cover everything from Pay per click; search engine
marketing, public relations (PR), Engineering with
Marketing & the much more.
The Importance of Marketing Strategies

Owners of small and medium-sized businesses need to be

keenly aware of the importance of promotional and
marketing strategies. Promotional and marketing strategies
help your organization utilize the skills of your employees
and stakeholders and can help you develop creative
approaches to sales and customer service.

The Marketing Plan

Promotional and marketing strategies are often first

brainstormed and written as part of an organization's
marketing plan. If your small business doesn't have a
marketing plan, you should seriously consider developing
one. Most marketing plans include the current or expected
strategies you have for your products, the price points of
those products, how you intend to distribute the products,
and your advertising and marketing tools. A marketing plan
is also important for developing a promotional strategy as it
helps your business identify its target markets and to set
measurable goals. It is vital to the success of the
organization that you implement a marketing plan that aims
for growth and positive change in the bottom line.

Understanding Your Clients

Promotional and marketing strategies can also assist your

business in understanding and connecting with clients and
customers. If your marketing plan is loosely structured, you
might not have much success at targeting products to the
"right" demographics. Having a solid and well-thought-out
marketing plan can help you identify gaps in the
marketplace and provide feasible solutions for your clients.
If you operate an ice cream business in a neighborhood
where no other ice cream shops exist, it might be easier to
attract clients than in a town where there are other ice
cream options. In this case, understanding that your clients
want sprinkles and waffle cones might help you sell more ice
cream and keep your customers coming back for more.

Developing Financial Goals

Promotional and marketing strategies are also important for

guiding your business into the development of financial
goals. Financial goals are two-fold: They are related to your
sales targets and also to your expenses budget. Sales targets
are initially set as part of the marketing plan but might
change over time according to changing market conditions,
increases in product price, or increases or decreases in
consumer demand. Monitoring expenses is also part of
financial goal development. If your business tends to spend
more than it brings in, you'll have a serious problem
maintaining long-term business viability. However, if the
business is able to closely monitor its outflows, only
spending what it absolutely needs to, you'll be better
equipped to increase the profit margins.

Strategic Planning

Another important aspect of promotional and marketing

strategies involves strategic planning. Strategic planning is a
concept that encompasses marketing, promotion, sales, and
financial goals and is essentially about developing goals for
your business. Having a strategic plan for your business
means having plans in place to deal with both expected and
unexpected situations. If you know that your mortgage will
balloon by 5 percent next year, a strategic plan will outline
how you'll increase sales or decrease expenses to meet this
additional outflow. A strategic plan might also include
solutions to "what-if" scenarios. This means having a plan B
for months when profits are down or expenses are unusually
high. Sales and promotional strategies are important here
because they allow you to ramp up marketing and to
increase the bottom line without sacrificing efficiencies or
service.

Steps to Create a Marketing Plan

Everyone knows you need a business plan, yet many
entrepreneurs don’t realize a marketing plan is just as vital.
Unlike a business plan, a marketing plan focuses on winning
and keeping customers; it's strategic and includes numbers,
facts and objectives. A good marketing plan spells out all the
tools and tactics you’ll use to achieve your sales goals. It’s
your plan of action—what you’ll sell, who'll want to buy it
and the tactics you’ll use to generate leads that result in
sales. And unless you’re using your marketing plan to help
you gain funding, it doesn’t have to be lengthy or beautifully
written. Use bulleted sections, and get right to the point.

Step 1: Begin with a snapshot of your company’s current

situation, called a “situation analysis.”

This first section defines your company and its products or

services, then

shows how the benefits you provide set you apart from your
competition.
Target audiences have become extremely specialized and
segmented. No matter your industry, from restaurants to
professional services to retail clothing stores, positioning
your product or service competitively requires an
understanding of your niche market. Not only do you need
to be able to describe what you market, but you must also
have a clear understanding of what your competitors are
offering and be able to show how your product or service
provides a better value.

Step 2: Describe your target audience.

Developing a simple, one-paragraph profile of your

prospective customer is your next step. You can describe
prospects in terms of demographics—age, sex, family
composition, earnings and geographic location—as well as
lifestyle. Ask yourself the following: Are my customers
conservative or innovative? Leaders or followers? Timid or
aggressive? Traditional or modern? Introverted or
extroverted? How often do they purchase what I offer? In
what quantity?

If you’re a business-to-business marketer, you may define

your target audience based on their type of business, job
title, size of business, geographic location or any other
characteristics that make them possible prospects. No
matter who your target audience is, be sure to narrowly
define them in this section, because it will be your guide as
you plan your media and public relations campaigns.

Step 3: List your marketing goals.

What do you want your marketing plan to achieve? For

example, are you hoping for a 20 percent increase in sales of
your product per quarter? Write down a short list of goals—
and make them measurable so that you’ll know when you’ve
achieved them.

Step 4: Develop the marketing communications

strategies and tactics you’ll use.

This section is the heart and soul of your marketing plan. In

the previous sections, you outlined what your marketing
must accomplish and identified your best prospects; now it’s
time to detail the tactics you’ll use to reach these prospects
and accomplish your goals

A good marketing program targets prospects at all stages of

your sales cycle. Some marketing tactics, such as many
forms of advertising, public relations and direct marketing,
are great for reaching cold prospects. To identify your ideal
marketing mix, find out which media your target audience
turns to for information on the type of product or service
you sell. Avoid broad-based media—even if it attracts your
target audience—if the content isn't relevant. The marketing
tactics you choose must reach your prospects when they’ll
be most receptive to your message.

Step 5: Set your marketing budget. You’ll need to devote a

percentage of projected gross sales to your annual
marketing budget. Of course, when starting a business, this
may mean using newly acquired funding, borrowing or self-
financing. Just bear this in mind—marketing is absolutely
essential to the success of your business. And with so many
different kinds of tactics available for reaching out to every
conceivable audience niche, there’s a mix to fit even the
tightest budget.
As you begin to gather costs for the marketing tactics you
outlined in the previous step, you may find you’ve exceeded
your budget. Simply go back and adjust your tactics until you
have a mix that’s affordable. The key is to never stop
marketing—don’t concern yourself with the more costly tactics
until you can afford them.

Marketing Strategies for Insurance Companies

Insurance companies are in a unique position when it comes
to marketing. They have no tangible products to sell, but
must instead rely on strong relationships with loyal
customers and word of mouth to help them compete. Still,
despite the challenges, the marketing strategies for
insurance companies are really no different than for any
other company, and require a strong focus on the basics of
effective marketing.

Know the Market

First and foremost, insurance companies must know their

market. This means having a strong understanding of their
target audience, their competition and the most effective
ways to connect with that audience, according to Lin
Grensing-Pophal, author of "Marketing with the End in
Mind." Competition is fierce, but service organizations like
insurance agencies that thoroughly understand the needs
and concerns of their target audience can effectively
motivate that audience to connect with them.

Establish a Plan
Successful marketers just go out and "do things." Based on
their knowledge of the market, and their overall goals and
objectives, successful marketers identify and prioritize the
communication strategies most likely to generate the results
they need. This generally involves a combination of activities
that include both traditional and new media, direct and
indirect sales.

Measure Effectiveness

It is important for insurance companies to measure the

effectiveness of their marketing efforts based on the goals
they have established. This may be as simple as comparing
the number of clients before and after a campaign. It may
also involve using online analytics to monitor website visits
after launching a promotion.

Gather Feedback

For insurance marketers, word of mouth is key. In addition

to measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts based on
quantitative data, insurance marketers can seek input from
their existing and new clients about their communication
efforts. What worked well? What was unclear? How might
they communicate more clearly in the future? In addition,
clients can be excellent advocates and part of the marketing
process. Successful insurance marketers will take advantage
of the opportunity to leverage their clients as word-of-
mouth marketing advocates.

CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Ensuring high standards of customer satisfaction is an
important part of our Mission Statement at Sahara India Life
Insurance. To deliver excellence in customer service, we
have put in place a prompt, accessible and responsive
mechanism for addressing your grievances and suggestions.
Life insurance players have started realizing that their
business depends on customer service and customer
satisfaction. This research, using confirmatory factor
analyses, proposes a six dimensional service-quality
instrument consisting of ‘assurance’, ‘personalized financial
planning’, ‘competence’, ‘corporate image’, ‘tangibles’ and
‘technology’ in life insurance. A causal model, using
structural equation modeling, is suggested to investigate
the effects of the proposed service quality instrument on
customer satisfaction (‘satisfaction with agents’,
‘satisfaction with functional services’, ‘satisfaction with
company’ and finally with ‘overall satisfaction’). The
proposed framework attempts to provide a blueprint for
appropriate course of action (by life insurance service
providers) to create a base of satisfied customers through
quality services. The life insurance industry like many other
financial services industries is facing a rapidly changing
market, new technologies, economic uncertainties, fierce
competition and more demanding customers and the
changing climate has presented an unprecedented set of
challenges. Just like companies of other business domains,
life insurance also considers their customers as the most
important asset.
Life insurance providers increasingly recognize that today's
customers who insist on improvements in quality of
services have many alternatives and, therefore, may more
readily change providers if not satisfied. This is evident
from the not so uncommon practice of ‘policy lapses’
readily embraced by unsatisfied policyholders. The
decrease in customer loyalty has made management of
service quality and customer satisfaction critically
important factors for insurance players. The life insurance
providers need to reconfigure their strategy and business
to sustain or improve their competitive advantage, and for
this they first need to consider how to create a satisfied
customer base that will not be eroded even in the face of
fierce competition.
Relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction:
The insurance agents in Sahara India Life Insurance also
take care of some important factors assuring maximum
customer satisfaction:

 Problem-solver: Customers enjoy coming up with

creative problems? Much of this job is helping clients
find the right insurance policies for their needs. If you
get a sense of accomplishment from finding the right
solution for a client, this career might be for you.

 Honest: This might seem obvious, but unethical

insurance agents rarely stay in business very long.
Telling the truth to clients is what will win respect and
trust, which will result in higher retention of clients.

 Communication skills: Insurance is difficult for the

average person to understand. Insurance agents who
can easily explain coverage options in easy to digest
 ways are going to have much greater success than
those who cannot.

 Good listener: The key to being a good insurance

agent is putting the needs of the client first. In order to
do this, it is essential an agent listen carefully to what
their prospective clients need and clearly demonstrate
their interest in providing a proper solution. No one
wants a stereotypical salesperson that won’t stop
talking.

 Networking skills: Do you have a large network? Are

you comfortable asking friends, family, and clients for
referrals? In order to grow your book of
business, asking for referrals and networking will need
to be second nature to you.

For receiving customer feedback Sahara India Life

Insurance has assured the following few steps through
which the clients can directly come up wit the problems,
and the solution is delivered in a much quick time to make
sure customer does not takes any stress on themselves.
By Post
Write to us at:
Sahara India Centre ,2,
Kapoorthala Complex,
Aliganj,
Lucknow-226024.
By Email
Send us an email at:
sahara.life@sahara.in
At your nearest Sahara India Life Insurance Branch
Visit your nearest Sahara India Life Insurance Branch
On our Toll Free number
1800-180-9000
(Customer Service timings: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Thus, this ensures a good relationship between the service
provider and the customer and ensures that the customers
are satisfied.
TRAINING
The kick off of my training took place with a 3 days training
period in which all the interns were given lectures on
Insurance sector: history, origin, various plans,
understanding and benefits of various plans, assessment of
needs of customers, etc. The training continued for a period
of 5 hours each day for those 3 days.
Along this the training helped me get a deeper view of the
insurance sector particularly helping me understand how to
choose a Life Insurance Policy, to understand what is the
Law of Utmost Good Face, and the value of word of mouth in
this industry.
The training period helped me in understanding various
plans offered by the companies and various benefits that
company provides to its costumers in order to maintain
their clients and also increase them in number.
Since Insurance as a marketing concept is based on getting
as many newer clients to the company and making them a
part of the company by selling them an insurance policy.
Thus, the same task was given to me to conduct a survey in
the form of a questionnaire to help the company know what
the people think when it comes to Insurance policies and
selling one policy in my task to complete my assignment.
TASK
As I was conducting the survey and I met Mr. Mohan
Srivastava. He was not having any Insurance Policy with him
at the current time as he had an Insurance policy earlier and
the company did not gave the required return in the 5 year
time period that he had invested in.se
In order to complete my given task, I accompanied by my
mentor in Sahara India Life Insurance went up to Mr. Mohan.
He was one amongst the people of age group between 46-55
years, occupationally a Self Employed and was the only
source of Income for the family. Earning annually up to
6.5lakhs per annum, which he thought, was doing well for
his family.
Unaware of the uncertainties and also not wanting to invest
in insurance because of past experiences I tried to make him
focus on the uncertainties that could be protected by
insuring his Life with our company. I explained him that an
insurance policy should be seen as an insurance product
which helps in time of any adverse circumstances and
should not be seen as investment yielding products. In
case he wants to get returns then he should investment in
other products such as Mutual Fund, Fixed Deposit,
Equities etc.
After getting to know that he was also a heart patient and is
also having regular checkups with a cardiologist. After
assessing all his information I persuaded him to buy an
insurance policy listing the treats his family may suffer in
case of any unfortunate circumstances.
Understanding this he agreed upon getting the insurance
done for his Life to maintain safety measures. In order to
complete my task I sold him Sahara Sugam Jeevan Bima
Plan for duration of 10 years and a sum assured amount of
Rs. 5, 00,000. With a minimum amount of premium payable
he also got a medical cover for 12 major problems.

My training helped me understand the need assessment of

the client so that he feels secured and satisfied at the same
time.
This is how I completed my first set of assignment.
The second insurance policy in my internship period with
Sahara was when I meet Mr. Sanjeev, an employee in the
Godrej department of Lucknow region. He has nuclear family
with his spouse and 2 young kids in 1st and 3rd grade
respectively. So I again at first sight experienced the same
expression as I generally notice when people come across to
an insurance agent.
Since I was an intern they welcomed me as I made them
aware of the fact that it was not mandatory for them to
purchase the product I was here to sell, but just to hear me
out once.
Referring to the fact that they had 2 kids I introduced them
to the child endowment policy, which caters the services of
benefiting the children for their higher education, which will
help them in their future. Understanding my very fact they
questioned me about the authenticity and the cheapest of
facility available. After whimsically going through their
documents I calculated the best possible plan Sahara
Dhanversha-Jeevan Bima Plan which they found suitable
for their family and to which the insurance premium was
pretty much what they had asked for. This is how I
persuaded them and very humble in my approach I was able
to sell my product.

The third policy I sold was to Mr. Durgesh, A teacher in a

neighborhood renowned school. Having a decent income he
is a teacher of Hindi in higher classes. His family had four
members, which had his mother, wife, and daughter.
When I excruciated some details about his personal life and
plans, I got a blight hint that among all his plans he never
mentioned about his daughter’s marriage. Arbitrarily when I
corroborated with him he was also not having any such
policy which could give his daughter a bright marriage and
in which he could stay tension relieved. So albeit his
constant nagging about the insurance policy, I managed such
to get me a chance such that I was able to give him a brief
about the endowment policy of our company he thought of
purchasing it which concluded my task for the summer in
the market.
Next was to ensure that all the three policyholders were not
in any sort of darkness from any truth and were open to all
the terms and disclosers of the company. Keeping an
account of the premium deposits on time of all the policy
holders, gentle reminders of lapse or of due dates prior to
due dates was the summary of the task that I performed
within my internship duration.
Questionnaire and Survey
I am a BBA(MS) student pursuing my course from National P.G.
College Lucknow.

As a part of my curriculum I am doing my project in your company.

Please give your views/opinions to these questions given below. The
information given by you will be used only for academic purpose, will
be of immense value and would assist me in this endeavor.

No. of Respondents: 50

1. Which of these long-term savings you are aware of?

(a) Life Insurance (b) Fixed deposit (c) Mutual Funds (d)
Securities (Shares and Debentures) (e) Post Office Savings (f)Others

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Life Insurance Fixed Deposit Mutual Fund Securities Post Office Others
2. Have you taken any life insurance policy?
(a)Yes (b) No
45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Yes No

3. If “Yes” From which source did you come to know about

life insurance?
(a)News Papers and Magazines (b) Radio (c) Television
(d) Executive Agents/ Field sales

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Print Media Radio T.V. Agents
4. If you are holding a life insurance policy, please mention
the name of the policy that you taken and the name of the
company?

(a) Sahara Life (b) LIC (c) ICICI Prudential (d)Max Bupa
(e)Others
20

18

16

14

12

10

0
Sahara Life LIC ICICI Max Others

5. What prompted you to buy the life insurance policy from

the company named by you?
(a) Brand image of the Company

(b) Excellent past record of performance

(c) My friend/acquaintances have bought from this company

(d) Marketing people insisted me to buy

(e) Impressed the company’s Ads and promotion

 50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Brand Image Past Records Social Group Marketing Advertisments
People Insisted

6. Are you able to recall any “Ad‟ about life insurance in

general and/or life insurance product in particular?

Answer No. of People

(a) Yes 41

(b) No 9

7. If “Yes” What in the main message that you get from the
“Ad”? (Rate out of 5)

Message Ratings
(a) Risk coverage 4

(b) Protection for the family 5

(c) Long term savings 2

(d) Tax savings 2

(f) Any other (old age, pension plans etc) 3

8. Do you think that advertises (the life insurance company)
wants you to know belief or do? (Out of 5)
(a) Life insurance, a must for family protection 5

(b) Should go for compulsory long term savings 3

(c) Should express my love for family through life insurance 4

(d) Should have adequate risk coverage 5

(e) Can save tax through life insurance 3

(f) Can have peace and mental satisfaction 5

(g) Should have economic independence and dignity

in old age 5

9. How did you made your purchase decision for life

insurance product? (Based on the answers received)
(a) Consult other people to help choose the best alternative available
from a product class

YES [] NO [ ]

(b) Try to buy the same brand that my friends/ colleagues have
bought

YES [ ] NO []

(c) Consult an Agent / Advisor before making final decision to buy

YES [] NO [ ]

(d) Base my decision on the brand value of the company and the
product. YES [] NO [ ]

(e) Achieve a sense of belonging by purchasing the same brands and

from the same company that other purchase

YES [] NO [ ]
10. While purchasing a life insurance policy of a particular
brand would you so that the commercial / Ads and other
promotional campaigns used by the insurance company.
(a) Remind you of the brand Yes [] No [ ]

(b) I feel as though I were right there in the commercial expensing

the same thing Yes [] No [ ]

(c) I am comparing the brand with other competing brands on

matters that are important to me. Yes [] No [ ]

(d) This commercial leaves me with a good feeling about using the
brand that I have bought. Yes [] No [ ]

11. Personal data

i) Sex Male -37 Female- 13

ii) Age group

18-25 yrs 26-35 yrs 36-45yrs 46-55 yrs Above 55

25

20

15

10

0
18-25 26-35 36-45 >55
iii) Occupation

 Government /Public sector employee

 Pvt. Sector employee
 Self employed Professional (Doctor / Lawyer etc.)
 Retired or Housewives

15

10

0
Public Sector Pvt. Sector Self Emp Retd./ Housewife

(iv) Annual Income

 Less than Rs.3,00,000

 Between Rs.3,00,000 to 5,00,000
 Between Rs.5,00,000 to 8,00,000
 Between Rs.8,00,000 to 10,00,000
 Above 10,00,000

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES
1) https://www.saharalife.com/index.html
2) www.scribd.com
3) en.wikipedia.org
4) https://www.irdai.gov.in/