Interviews

Yateesh Srivastava is the Chief Marketing Officer of AEGON Religare Life Insurance Company Limited and has 21 years of work experience spanning general management, marketing research, advertising, online and digital publishing and marketing financial services.

Here are the excerpts from the Q&A with him on the importance of technology for marketers

PW: As a marketer what would you say are your current priorities?

YS: This marketing year should see attention given to improving Customer Data Management & Analytics and Social Media & Digital Communication. Additionally, the integration of a Customer Self Service attitude into our business system and dedication to E-commerce and revamping our website.

PW: At AEGON Religare Life Insurance Co Ltd, how has technology played a role in customer acquisition or retention?

YS: We use technology to help customers buy policies online through a fully self-service option. In addition we use technology to offer payment options to our customers as well as create avenues for engagement. Data from our existing customers - demographic and transactional – will be used to create opportunities for engagement to enable service, cross-sell and up-sell.

PW: How has technology played a role in new product development, market expansion or other areas?

YS: In life insurance sales, online was a channel of distribution that was non-existent. At AEGON Religare, we designed a product and process aimed at creating a pure online channel and create a new mode of distribution in life insurance. Technology was at the backbone of the product offering to help create a new channel.

PW: Do you have a separate budget for the IT component of marketing? And how aligned are the marketing and IT functions in the organization?

YS: No we have different budgets but during the planning exercise the two departments sit together to create commonality of goals and objectives