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 our bank 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.

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.

COMPANY PROFILE
STRONG NATIONAL NETWORK

HDFC BANK

Type Founded Headquarters Industry Products Net revenue Net income Website

Public 1994 HDFC Bank Ltd.,Mumbai, India Banking, Insurance, Capital Markets Loans, Credit Cards, Savings, Investment, Insurance. Rs.2,509.6 crores Rs. 4,634.3 crores www.hdfcbank.com

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTH
Right strategy for the right products.

WEAKNESSES

Some gaps in range for certain sectors.

Superior

customer

service vs. competitors. Great Brand Image Products have required accreditations. High degree of customer satisfaction. Good place to work Lower with response efficient time and

Customer service staff needs training.

Processes and systems, etc Management cover insufficient.

effective service. Dedicated workforce aiming at making a long-term career in the field.

Opportunities

Threats

Profit margins will be good. Could extend to overseas broadly.

Legislation could impact. Great risk involved Very high competition

New specialist applications. Could seek better customer deals.

prevailing in the industry. Vulnerable to reactive

Fast-track development

career opportunities

attack by major competitors Lack of infrastructure in rural areas could constrain investment.

on an industry-wide basis.

An applied research centre to create opportunities for developing techniques to provide added-value services.

High volume/low cost market is intensely competitive.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

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

HDFC BANK mission is to be "a World Class Indian Bank", benchmarking themselves against practices in terms of product international standards and best 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 this while 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

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 and financial services industry by following a disciplined growth strategy focusing on quality and not on quantity and delivering high quality customer service. Leverage the technology platform and open saleable systems to deliver more products to more customers and to control operating costs. Maintain current high standards for asset quality through disciplined credit risk management. Develop innovative products and services that attract the targeted customers and address inefficiencies in the Indian financial sector.

Continue to develop products and services that reduce banks cost of funds. Focus on high earnings growth with low volatility.

Marketing strategy:
Marketing is the process by which companies advertise products 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 faith and 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

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

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

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 to promote the use of debit-cards. It has launched `Visa Magic Moments' - you will get a refund on any purchase made on a HDFC Bank debitcard during randomly picked up five-minute periods during the day. This offering on the HDFC Bank - Visa International `Electron' debitcard is the best ever that has been extended to customers. The deal will be on from July 24 to September 24.

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 who have a MasterCard International `Maestro' debit card. The national roll-out of debit-cards began sometime back. HDFC Bank offers debitcards at Rs 250 per annum to all savings bank holders.

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 wireup with other banks

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 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. They are committed to do this while ensuring the highest levels of ethical standards, professional integrity, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.

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 on during 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 10,000 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 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."

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.

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 the family, 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 of products of services is what psychographic

lifestyles and values, and how they translate into consumption or purchases

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.

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.

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 point of 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.

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.

FIVE S S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 SORT SYSTEMATIZE SPIC-N-SPAN STANDARDIZE SUSTAIN SEIRI SEITON SEIRO SEIKETSU 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.

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.

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.

HDFC BANK is the very consistent player in the new private sector banks. service. New private sector banks to withstand the competition from public sector banks came up with innovative products and superior

BANKS 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 a convenient way of meeting personal expenses along your journey, paying for taxis / internal travel, food expenses etc.

 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 are categorized 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 to suit 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.

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 of customers: 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

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 opening balance 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

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.

 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

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 datamining solution. This helps to analyse customer behaviour and 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 an opportunity 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

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,

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.