Thursday, October 25, 2012

“We cater to a niche”

In an exclusive conversation with B&E, V. Vasantha Kumar, Senior VP and Head – Marketing & Communications, ABN AMRO Bank, India reveals how they made it…

B&E: Foreign banks still seems to be laggards in India? Why it is so?

VVK:
There is a difference in the business models of banks like ABN AMRO and government owned banks in India. The target segment for a PSB or an Indian private bank consists mainly of the masses with the middle class forming a huge bulk of their customers, while foreign banks have a niche market to cater to. So the branding and communications we do is targeted at that particular audience only and the channels are decided accordingly.

B&E: What has ABN AMRO India done during the last six months as far as marketing initiatives are concerned and how has been the response?

VVK:
Ever since the takeover of ABN AMRO globally by RBS last year, a rebranding effort has been launched to change the identity of the bank in India. But, the unique feature of this rebranding exercise has been that it has been a very slow (but steady) process so that our customers can accept the transition smoothly and get used to it without any confusion (whether it is some other bank). We have not changed the identity of the bank overnight like many companies do. We feel that our customers as well as our sales people should take up the process smoothly without any hiccups.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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