HDFC Marketing Mix. 

Marketing Mix of HDFC Bank: 7 P’s

HDFC is a leading provider of financial services operating in the Indian market. The private sector baking organization has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in August of 1994, the company opened its first branch in February 1995. It celebrated its 25th anniversary by opening its 5000th branch in Mumbai on Feb.18, 2019. HDFC has acquired very fast growth in the Indian market and has an impressive physical presence throughout India. The company offers a large range of financial products and services and serves the individual as well as corporate customers, SMEs and government organizations. HDFC aims to cater to the diverse banking needs of the Indian people. It is also among the leading providers of digital banking services in the Indian market.

As a leading player in the Indian financial services industry, the company has grown its range of services targeted at the semi-urban consumers rapidly. More than half of its retail outlets are located in the semi-urban and rural areas of India. The demand for digital banking services in rural areas has also grown which has created new opportunities for players in the banking and finance sector. HDFC’s web of services is expanding continuously. Its extensive physical network of banking outlets and ATMs throughout India helps it serve customers in all corners of the subcontinent. The company is also investing in social responsibility to strengthen its social image.   

Company Name	Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC)
Industry	Indian Banking and Finance Industry
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Managing Director	Aditya Puri
Net Revenue 2018-19	INR 65,869.09 Crores
Employees	98,061 (2018-19)
Net assets as of March 31, 2019	INR 1,49,206.32 Crores
Competitors	ICICI, SBI, PNB, Axis Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indian Bank, Canara Bank, UCO Bank.

Product:

HDFC offers a large array of products and services including online banking services, savings and current banking accounts, financial loans, debit and credit cards, investment options and several more targeted at the banking needs of the diverse segments of Indian consumers. HDFC’s retail banking services for individual consumers have evolved a lot. Digital technology has particularly aided the fast growth of banking services in India. 

Personal and online banking services by HDFC:

Personal banking services offered by HDFC include current, savings, salary, Demat, and other accounts as well as credit cards and several money transfer options. HDFC’s mobile banking app allows making online payments and several forms of transactions like paying bills, transferring money to other accounts (HDFC and other banks) as well as apply for additional services using a smartphone.

Credit Cards by HDFC:

HDFC offers a large range of credit cards that suit the needs of different customer segments; larger than most other Indian banking providers. The various categories of credit cards issued by HDFC include premium cards, super-premium, cash-back, regular, commercial and some more categories targeting the needs of a business, professional, self-employed and other classes of consumers. Urban consumers can use personal banking facilities to avail of online services and pay bills using their credit and debit cards or through e-banking. 

Investment options by HDFC:

The company also offers several attractive investment options available to its customers including Demat accounts, mutual funds, equities and derivatives and more. 

Loans targeting different needs of consumers:

HDFC offers a large range of loan options for the various classes of consumers. It offers several types of loans for individual consumers and businesses targeting various needs and circumstances. Apart from home loans, personal loans, and business growth loans, HDFC also offers automobile loans as well as education loans and special loans for their rural consumers. In the automobile loans category, the company offers two-wheeler loans as well as three-wheelers, superbike, and loans for new or pre-owned cars. Consumers can also avail of loans from HDFC against their assets. For example, HDFC offers a loan on credit cards, gold loans as well as loans against securities, property, and vehicles.

HDFC Life Insurance:

HDFC has also brought several Life Insurance options for its consumers including Protect Life, Secure Children Future, Protect Life and Grow Wealth as well as pension plans. There are personal and accidental plans also offered by HDFC including Mediclaim, Critical Illness insurance as well as insurance against personal accident and a Super Top Up health insurance plan. The company also offers vehicle insurance including private cars, two-wheelers, and commercial vehicle insurance. Other types of insurance schemes provided by HDFC include travel insurance, home insurance, and cyber insurance. Consumers can also avail of several social security schemes from HDFC including PM Mudra Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Jyoti Bima Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Yojana.

Place:

The head office of HDFC is in Mumbai, India. However the financial services company has maintained, and extensive presence throughout India through its banking outlets and ATMs. The company is continuously expanding its physical network throughout India including the rural areas. In the latest fiscal, the physical network of HDFC included 5,103 banking outlets as well as 13,168 ATMs across 2,748 cities and towns (Annual Report 2018-19). The company has more than half of its banking outlets in semi-urban and rural areas. As HDFC entered its 25th year, it is serving more than 4.9 crore customers directly or indirectly. During the latest fiscal, the company added 316 banking outlets. The share of semi-urban and rural outlets in the total network of HDFC is 53% which reflects its focus on the rural and semi-urban market (Annual Report 2018-19).

Price:

With regards to pricing, when seen in the context of banking and financial services, HDFC’s strategy is competitive but compared to the competing providers in the public sector, its prices or charges can be higher. However, the company is working to make its services available to customers from all sections across entire India including the populations in the rural and semi-urban areas of the country. While in some areas, banking with public sector banks can be more profitable, there are many reasons that HDFC customers find the bank more suitable for their banking and insurance-related needs. Apart from the better service, there are many more reasons that make HDFC the most preferred bank including its competitive interest rates. HDFC offers its customers both in the rural and urban areas banking services at affordable prices. Whether it’s about opening a new account or taking a loan, the company offers hassle-free services at competitive prices. In rural areas, people need to have just INR 2500 as minimum average balance.

The Minimum Average Balance limit is higher for urban and semi-urban consumers. The loan rates as well as credit card interest rates are also affordable at HDFC. However, the charges for processing loans and interest rates can be higher compared to the public sector services providers. Loan processing charges at HDFC can be up to 2.5% of the loan amount. This is a bit pricey compared to most of the other banks in India. The company also ensures that its clients whether in India or outside can avail of its services with the highest convenience. While in some regards, you may find its services a little costly compared to others, the level of convenience the company offers more than makes up for the charges. Most customers find it highly affordable since there are certain privileges associated with every bank account in HDFC and most of these privileges make it worth banking with the leading financial organization of India.

Promotion:

Apart from the traditional channels of marketing and promotions, HDFC also uses digital technology and other modern tools and methods to promote its brand and services. The company promotes its services including credit cards, loans, and other services from its website. Over time it has gained a large market share in India as a leading financial services company. HDFC enjoys strong brand equity which is a result of consistent focus upon customer convenience. It has been able to win in the customers’ trust through dedication to service. However, the brand also promotes from other digital channels including social media the Facebook page of HDFC Bank has more than 2.8 million followers. The company also promotes its products and services from Twitter. HDFC is among the most digitally advanced banking services provider in India. Apart from banking from your mobile device, you can expect highly secure transactions and more innovative facilities compared to what other providers have to offer. It always focuses on higher customer convenience and higher security of customers’ financial data which has resulted in better word-of-mouth and strong competitive advantage compared to its leading competitors including government banks. Its digital services are much more advanced including the mobile app which enables it to provide services to various classes of customers seamlessly. 

Higher focus upon customer service has led to higher customer loyalty and a stronger brand image overall. A lot of marketing also goes on at the touchpoints including banking outlets and ATMs. The banking outlets act as both marketing and sales channels for HDFC. Its dedicated customer service teams also work to inform existing customers and attract new ones. As a result, the customer base of HDFC has grown very fast in India. HDFC is considered a responsible and credible financial services brand, matchless in terms of service quality and great in terms of overall convenience. The brand also uses outdoor advertising and promotions for marketing as well as print and media advertisements to promote specific products or services. Apart from that, the company invests in social programs to maintain a socially responsible image in its core market. Its social initiatives which the bank has together termed as the Parivartan initiative are touching millions of lives across India. HDFC has also earned several awards and accolades for its extraordinary work in the field of banking in India. Forbes names HDFC India’s best bank in its survey of global banks for 2019. The company has won several more awards in other areas too including digitalization, marketing, and digital security of online transactions.

People:

Apart from the other areas, HDFC excels in terms of HR too. The company places exclusive focus on hiring and developing talent that can successfully help the company achieve its mission of being ‘A World Class Indian Bank’. There are five core values underlying the business philosophy of HDFC. They are operational excellence, customer focus, product leadership, people and sustainability. Apart from an important core value, its people’s happiness and satisfaction are also a strategic priority for the company. The company believes that ultimately its success rests on the exceptional quality of its people and their extraordinary efforts. For this reason, HDFC hires, develops, motivates, and retains the best people in the banking and financial services industry. As of March 2019, the number of permanent employees working for HDFC was 98,061. The company also focuses on the other aspects of HR management including competitive remuneration and other important perks. It trains its employees to provide the best in class customer service and carries on regular performance review and management so the employees can find career growth. During the fiscal year 2018-19, there was an increase of 10.31% in the median remuneration of HDFC employees (Annual Report 2018-19). The company always focuses on maximizing employee satisfaction by providing them the right work environment as well as all the other important resources and tools that then need to achieve their potential.

The company has designed a special hiring and training program for candidates who want to pursue a successful career in banking. The Future Bankers program by HDFC is an initiative to attract and develop young people who want a career in banking. This program aims to turn young graduates into highly trained, customer-facing personnel. Apart from on-campus learning for the first six months, an internship of 6 months is also included as a part of the learning program. The successful candidates are awarded a post-graduate diploma certificate as well as a full-time job opportunity with HDFC. As a part of this training program, the candidates are provided knowledge and skills in core banking areas including banking products, processes, systems, regulations and compliance frameworks involved in everyday banking operations. The main aim of this program is to fill the shortage of qualified talent in the banking industry and create future leaders in banking.

Processes:

The efficiency of banking processes is an important focus for HDFC in order to provide hassle-free banking to all its customers. In recent years the company has heavily invested in digital technology and AI to make banking safer and more accessible. HDFC Bank is currently leading the Indian banking industry in terms of digitalization and security. HDFC has always focused on launching customer-centric products and services. Innovative processes and programs are a priority for the bank. As a part of its Go Digital proposition, the Digital Transformation, and Mobile Banking unit at HDFC was founded in July 2014. The DTMB team works upon advancing HDFC digital innovations in the digital, mobile, and social space. The company has brought a large range of digital products that make the process of banking easier as well as secure.

Apart from its powerful net banking portal and mobile banking app, the company has launched a host of highly successful digital banking products including instant loans and several other apps. Recently it also introduced robotic assistants at HDFC Bank outlets. The company is also planning to launch humanoids in the domestic banking space and customers may soon come across one at one of their city branches. For making banking even convenient, HDFC Bank also allows its customers to chat with bank representatives on chat and Facebook Messenger and avail of various services including bill payments, event bookings, and travel bookings. Overall through the help of AI, Augmented Reality and digital technology, the company has been able to improve the process of Banking and transactions and make them a lot easier, faster, convenient and secure as well.

Physical Evidence: 

 It is the digital era and a very large number of customers are using their smartphones and smartphone apps for their banking needs and to access their bank accounts online. However, HDFC has an extensive physical network spread across India including its rural parts. While customers can avail of most of the services online, they can still walk into a nearby branch to see a representative face to face or to ask for information related to new products or services. With the growing use of online banking, the need for paper has nearly been eliminated from most processes.

Customers can fill most of the forms online and even apply for loans from their smartphones or computers. However, there are several areas where a customer may like to see a representative face to face and talk to him. In such a case, they can reach HDFC at any of its touchpoints throughout India. While there are several banks with an extensive network in India, HDFC’s outlets and ATMs can be traced easily and recognized by their distinct logo as well as blue, white and red colors. The number of HDFC ATMs throughout the country has also grown fast which its customers use for withdrawal and other services. In tier 1 and 2 cities of India especially, it is not difficult to come across its outlets and ATMs at every major location.

Cite this article:

MLA:

Pratap, Abhijeet. “Marketing Mix of HDFC Bank: 7 P’s.” Cheshnotes, 21 Dec. 2019, cheshnotes.com/2019/12/hdfc-marketing-mix/.

APA:

Pratap, A. (2019, December 21). Marketing Mix of HDFC Bank: 7 P’s. In Cheshnotes. Retrieved from https://cheshnotes.com/hdfc-marketing-mix/