CHAPTER - 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

Indian Banking Sector

The Indian banking has come from a long way from being a sleepy business Institution
into a highly proactive and dynamic entity. This transformation has been largely brought
about by the large dose of liberalization and economic reforms that allowed banks to
explore new business opportunities rather than generating revenues from conventional
streams (i.e. borrowing and lending). The banking in India is highly fragmented with 30
banking units contributing to almost 50% of deposits and 60% of advances. Indian
nationalized banks (banks owned by the government) continue to be the major lenders in
the economy due to their sheer size and penetrative networks which assures them high
deposit mobilization. The Indian banking can be broadly categorized into nationalized,
private banks and specialized banking Institutions. The Reserve Bank of India acts as a
centralized body monitoring any discrepancies and shortcoming in the system. It is the
foremost monitoring body in the Indian financial sector. The nationalized banks (i.e.
government-owned banks) continue to dominate the Indian banking arena. Industry
estimates indicate that out of 274 commercial banks operating in India, 223 banks are in
the public sector and 51 are in the private sector. The private sector bank grid also
includes 24 foreign banks that have started their operations here. Under the ambit of the
nationalized banks come the specialized banking institutions. These co-operatives, rural
banks focus on areas of agriculture, rural development etc., unlike commercial banks
these co-operative banks do not lend on the basis of a prime lending rate. They also have
various tax sops because of their holding pattern and lending structure and hence have
lower overheads. This enables them to give a marginally higher percentage on savings
deposits. Many of these cooperative banks diversified into specialized areas

(catering to the vast retail audience) like car finance, housing loans, truck finance
etc. In order to keep pace with their public sector and private counterparts, the co-

operative banks too have invested heavily in information technology to offer highend computerized banking services to its clients.
The Indian banking has finally worked up to the competitive dynamics of the new
Indian market and is addressing the relevant issues to take on the multifarious challenges
of globalization. Banks that employ IT solutions are perceived to be futuristic and
proactive players capable of meeting the multifarious requirements of the large
customers base. Private banks have been fast on the uptake and are reorienting their
strategies using the internet as a medium The Internet has emerged as the new and
challenging frontier of marketing with the conventional physical world tenets being just
as applicable like in any other marketing medium.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is Indias central bank. Though public sector banks
currently dominate the banking industry, numerous private and foreign banks exist.
India's government-owned banks dominate the market. Their performance has been
mixed, with a few being consistent profitable. Several public sector banks are being
restructured, and in some the government either already has or will reduce its ownership.

Private and Foreign Banks

The RBI has granted operating approval to a few privately owned domestic banks; of
these many commenced banking business. Foreign banks operate more than 150 branches
in India. The entry of foreign banks is based on reciprocity, economic and political
bilateral relations. An inter-departmental committee approves applications for entry and
expansion.

Capital Adequacy Norm

Foreign banks were required to achieve an 8 percent capital adequacy norm by March
1993, while Indian banks with overseas branches had until March 1995 to meet that
target. All other banks had to do so by March 1996. The banking sector is to be used as a
model for opening up of Indias insurance sector to private domestic and foreign
participants, while keeping the national insurance companies in operation.

Banking
India has an extensive banking network, in both urban and rural areas. All large Indian
banks are nationalized, and all Indian financial institutions are in the public sector.

RBI Banking
The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution. It is the sole authority for
issuing bank notes and the supervisory body for banking operations in India. It supervises
and administers exchange control and banking regulations, and administers the
governments monetary policy. It is also responsible for granting licenses for new ban
branches. 25 foreign banks operate in India with full banking Licenses. Several licenses
for private banks have been approved. Despite fairly broad banking coverage nationwide,
the financial system remains inaccessible to the poorest people in India.

Indian Banking System

The banking system has three tiers. These are the scheduled commercial banks; the
regional rural banks, which operate in rural areas, not covered by the scheduled banks;
and the cooperative and special purpose rural banks.

Scheduled and Now Scheduled Banks

The Indian banking can be broadly categorized into nationalized (government Owned),
Private Banks and specialized banking institutions, The Reserve Bank of

India acts a

centralized body monitoring any discrepancies and shortcoming in the System. Since the
nationalization of banks in 1969, the public sector banks or the nationalized banks have
acquired a place of prominence and has since then seen tremendous progress. The need to
become highly customer focused has forced the slow-moving public sector banks to adopt
a fast track approach. The unleashing of products and services through the net has
galvanized players at all levels of the banking and financial institutions market grid to look
anew at their existing portfolio offering. Conservative banking practices allowed Indian
banks to be insulated partially from the Asian currency crisis. Indian banks are now
quoting at higher valuation when compared to banks in other Asian countries (viz. Hong
Kong,
Singapore, Philippines etc.) that have major problems linked to huge Non Performing
Assets (NPAs) and payment defaults. Co-operative banks are nimble footed in approach
and armed with efficient branch networks focus primarily on the high revenue niche
retail segments.
There are approximately 80 scheduled commercial banks, Indian and foreign; almost 200
regional rural banks; more than 350 central cooperative banks, 20 land development
3

banks; and a number of primary agricultural credit societies. In terms of business, the
public sector banks, namely the State Bank of India and the nationalized banks, dominate
the banking sector.
Graph 1.1

5%

6%

6%

3%

National Banks
Corporation Banks
Private Banks
Multinational Banks
Money Lenders &
Others

80%

MARKET SHARE
Types of Banks
State Bank of India and

08

Associates
Nationalized Banks
Domestic Private Sector Banks
New Domestic Private Sector

19
25
09

Banks
Foreign Banks

29
Table 1.1

Complementing the roles of the nationalized and private banks are the specialized
financial institutions or Non Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs). With their
focused portfolio of products and services, these Non Banking Financial Institutions act
as an important catalyst in contributing to the overall growth of the financial services
sector. NBFIs offer loans for working capital requirements, facilitate mergers and
acquisitions, IPO finance, etc. apart from financial consultancy services. Trends are now
changing as banks (both public and private) have now started focusing on NBFC domains

like long and medium-term finance, working cap requirements. IPO financing to etc. to
meet the multifarious needs of the business community.

Commercial Financing
The commercial financing model in Indian banking can be broadly categorized into
project finance and working capital finance. These two segments form the pivot around
which banks operate.
Project Finance
Banks offer long term and short terms loans to business houses, corporations to setup
their projects. These loans are disbursed after the approval from the banks core credit
validating committee. In India, there are 11 national level land 46 state level financial
and investment institutions that cater to long term funding requirements of the industry.
The project finance segment is highly competitive with various players
Offering innovative schemes to entice corporate.

Working Capital
In order to meet the diverse needs and requirements of the business community, banks
offer working capital funds to corporate. Working capital finance is specialized line of
business and is largely dominated by the commercial banks. The Indian banking saw
dramatic changes in the last decade or so ever since the advent of liberalization and
Indias integration with the world economy. These economic reforms and the entry of
private players saw nationalized banks revamp their service and product portfolio to
incorporate new, innovative customer-centric schemes. The Indian banking finally woke
up to the surging demands of the ever-discerning Indian consumer. The need to become
highly customer focused (generated by high competitive levels) forced the slow-moving
public sector banks to adopt a fast track approach. Taking a leaf out of the private sector
banks, the public sector banks too went for major image changes (including corporate
brand building exercises) and customer friendly schemes. These customer friendly
programs included revamping of the product and service portfolio by introducing new

product & service schemes (like credit cards, hassle-free housing loan schemes,
educational loans and flexi-deposit schemes) integration of the branch network by using
advance networking technology and customer personalization programs (through ATMs
and anytime banking etc.). Many banks have started capitalizing on the recent stock
market surge by adding (Initial Public Offering) IPO financing options and schemes in
their product mix. IPO finance has received a positive response from the investors and
is becoming popular amongst the business community. The objective of all these
strategies was very clear to bridge the service & product gap that was inherent in the
banking system. To cater to the increasing customer demands and the surge in business
volumes, many public sector banks have ploughed back funds to invest heavily in
technology upgrades and
systems like LANs, WANs, VSATs etc. Marketing and brand building programs were
also given a new thrust in the new liberalized banking scenario. Promotional budgets
were hiked to cater to the new and large discerning target audience. Banks were now
keen on marketing their products and service though various mediums to reach their core
customers. Direct marketing, Internet marketing, hoarding, press ads, television
sponsorships, image makeovers etc. became an integral part of a banks marketing
mix. To meet the personalized needs of the customer and in order to differentiate its
services, banks repositioned themselves in specialized fields, like housing loans, car
finance, educational loans etc. to optimally service the customer. Permission marketing
became the new strategy that banks began to propound i.e. feeding the customer (with
his or her consent) with product and service information and thereby enticing him
towards the banks product service portfolio.

New Generation Banking

The liberalize policy of Government of India permitted entry to private sector in the
banking, the industry has witnessed the entry of nine new generation private banks. The
major differentiating parameter that distinguishes these banks from all the other banks in
the Indian banking is the level of service that is offered to the customer. Verify the focus
has always been centered on the customer understanding his needs, preempting him
and consequently delighting him with various configurations of benefits and a wide
6

portfolio of products and services. These banks have generally been established by
promoters of repute or by high value domestic financial institutions. The popularity
of these banks can be gauged by the fact that in a short span of time, these banks have
gained considerable customer confidence and consequently have shown impressive
growth rates. Today, the private banks corner almost four per cent share of the total share
of deposits. Most of the banks in this category are concentrated in the high-growth urban
areas in metros (that account for approximately 70% of the total banking business). With
efficiency being the major focus, these banks have leveraged on their strengths and
competencies viz.
Management, operational efficiency and flexibility, superior product positioning and
higher employee productivity skills. The private banks with their focused business and
service portfolio have a reputation of being niche players in the industry. A strategy that
has allowed these banks to concentrate on few reliable high net worth companies and
individuals rather than cater to the mass market. These well-chalked out integrates
strategy plans have allowed most of these banks to deliver superlative levels of
personalized services. With the Reserve Bank of India allowing these banks to operate
70% of their businesses in urban areas, this statutory requirement has translated into
lower deposit mobilization costs and higher margins relative to public sector banks.

Capital Market
Stock market volatility touches every participant directly/indirectly in the capital market.
General feeling is that the stock markets worldwide have become very fragile in the recent
past on account of various developments such as Asian crisis. Brazil Real fall and Russian
debacle. Many far-reaching stock reforms have been introduced in the Indian market for
the last few years. These reforms, in turn, changed market structure. Changing market
structure influences nature of stock price behavior.

1.2

C O M PAN Y P R O F I L E

ABOUT AXIS BANK

Axis Bank was the first of the new private banks to have begun operations in 1994, after
the Government of India allowed new private banks to be established. The Bank was
promoted jointly by the Administrator of the specified undertaking of the Unit Trust of
India (UTI - I), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurance
Corporation of India (GIC) and other four PSU insurance companies, i.e. National
Insurance Company Ltd., The New India Assurance Company Ltd., The Oriental
Insurance Company Ltd. and United India Insurance Company Ltd.
The Bank as on 30th June, 2011 is capitalized to the extent of Rs. 411.88 crores with the
public holding (other than promoters and GDRs) at 52.87%. The Bank's Registered
Office is at Ahmedabad and its Central Office is located at Mumbai. The Bank has a very
wide network of more than 1281 branches (including 169 Service Branches/CPCs as on
31st March, 2011). The Bank has a network of over 6270 ATMs (as on 31st March, 2011)
providing 24 hrs a day banking convenience to its customers. This is one of the largest
ATM networks in the country.
Promoters
Axis Bank Ltd. has been promoted by the largest and the best Financial Institution of the
country, UTI. The Bank was set up with a capital of Rs. 115 crore, with UTI contributing
Rs. 100 crore, LIC - Rs. 7.5 crore and GIC and its four subsidiaries contributing Rs. 1.5
crore each.

SUUTI - Shareholding 27.11%

Erstwhile Unit Trust of India was set up as a body corporate under the UTI Act, 1963,
with a view to encourage savings and investment. In December 2002, the UTI Act, 1963
was repealed with the passage of Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and
Repeal) Act, 2002 by the Parliament, paving the way for the bifurcation of UTI into 2
entities, UTI-I and UTI-II with effect from 1st February 2003. In accordance with the
Act, the Undertaking specified as UTI I has been transferred and vested in the
8

Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), who
manages assured return schemes along with 6.75% US-64 Bonds, 6.60% ARS Bonds
with a Unit Capital of over Rs. 14167.59 crores.
The Government of India has currently appointed Shri K. N. Prithviraj as the
Administrator of the Specified undertaking of UTI, to look after and administer the
schemes under UTI - I, where Government has continuing obligations and commitments
to the investors, which it will uphold.

Shareholding Pattern
As on 30/06/2008
Sr.

Name of the Shareholders

No.
A.

No. of

% Stake to

Shares Held

Total

Promoter Shareholding
1.

Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the

9,72,24,373

27.11

3,71,95,831

10.37

Unit Trust of India -UTI - I (SUUTI)

2.

Life Insurance Corporation of India

3.

General Insurance Corporation of India

81,23,331

2.27

4.

The New India Assurance Company Limited

38,06,443

1.06

5.

National Insurance Company Limited

26,81,740,

0.75

6.

United India Insurance Company Limited

16,16,415

0.45

7.

The Oriental Insurance Company Limited

14,89,118

0.42

15,21,37,251

42.43

37,23,819

1.04

Total Promoter Shareholding A

B.

Non-Promoter Holding
8.

Indian Financial Institutions (IFIs)

9.

Mutual Funds

2,90,63,376

8.11

Others (Individuals/Corporate

4,24,54,676

11.84

10.

Bodies/HUF/Trusts/Banks)

Total Non-Promoter Indian Shareholding - B

7,52,41,871

20.99

1,36,72,028

3.81

11,19,02,720

31.21

56,10,661

1.56

Total Non-Promoter Foreign Shareholding - C

13,11,85,409

36.58

Total A + B + C

35,85,64,531

100.00

C.

Foreign Shareholding

11.

FDI Route - GDRs Issue (2005 & 2007)

12.

Foreign Financial Institutions (FIIs)

13.

NRIs/OCBs/FBD

Table 1.2

Board of Directors
The Bank has 10 members on the Board. Dr. P. J. Nayak is the Chairman and CEO of the Bank.
The members of the Board are:
Dr. P.J. Nayak

Chairman & CEO

Shri N.C. Singhal

Director

Shri A.T. Pannir Selvam

Director

Shri J.R. Varma

Director

Dr. R.H. Patil

Director

Smt. Rama Bijapurkar

Director

Shri R.B.L. Vaish

Director

Shri M.V. Subbiah

Director

Shri Ramesh Ramanathan

Director

Shri K. N. Prithviraj

Director

Table 1.3

Chairman & CEO's Message

At Axis Bank, it has been our constant endeavour to bring a sharper focus to the
requirements of our customers and we strive to leverage cutting-edge technology to
provide the highest levels of service to you. We are one of the few banks in India which
has built up a fully integrated centralised banking architecture to offer you banking
services anywhere, anytime. Our Internet banking initiative also provides convenience
10

and real time transaction services. We recognize the importance of the Internet as an
increasingly indispensable medium of communication and commerce. We endeavour,
therefore, to bring to you through this website a whole range of banking services. At
present our Internet Banking module, iConnect, allows you to view all your accounts
with us, including savings, current and depository accounts, for transactions and balance
details, and to transfer funds between accounts within the Bank. We provide facilities for
bill payments, NRI services, a shopping mall, financial advice and retail loans. Through
our Bill Pay service on the net, you can pay your bills online. At the Shopping Mall you
can shop online. The NRI Services channel offers remittance facilities and a lot more to
Non-Resident Indians.
Notwithstanding the immense benefits that Internet Banking brings, the Bank also has
other distribution channels. At the end of June 2008, the Bank increased its reach to 433
cities, towns and villages across the country through 713 Branches & Extension Counters
and 2904 ATMs. The Bank offers a complete range of retail and corporate services,
including retail loans, corporate and business credit, forex and trade finance services,
investment banking, depository services and investment advisory services. Our deposit
base currently stands at over Rs. 88,900 crores with over 89 lakh accounts.
The Bank's International Debit Card, which comes with the Savings Bank Account,
personalised and carrying a unique insurance cover for every account holder, has received
an excellent response from customers, with over 90 lakh debit cards having been issued
as at end June 2008. We were the first bank to offer the AT PAR Cheque facility, free of
cost, to all our Savings Bank customers in all the places across the country where the
Bank is currently present. By virtue of this facility, customers can now use the AT PAR
cheque to make cheque payments (upto a ceiling of Rs. 50,000/- per instrument) to any
beneficiary at any of these places. We also offer the international Travel Currency Card in
eight currencies. The Travel Currency Card is a signature based pre-paid travel card that
enables travelers global access to their money, in the local currency of the country they
are visiting, in a safe and convenient way.
The Bank launched its Credit Card in Gold and Silver variants in August 2006, and these
are presently available in 56 cities across the country. Our latest offering is India's first
EMV standard based Platinum Credit Card.

11

I welcome you to Axis Bank and hope that you enjoy surfing through our website. And if
you are not already our customer, I invite you to become one, and to enjoy the Axis Bank
experience.
P.J. Nayak
Chairman & CEO
Our Mission and Values
Vision 2015 and Core Values
VISION 2015:
To be the preferred financial solutions provider excelling in customer delivery
through insight, empowered employees and smart use of technology
Core Values
Customer Centricity

Ethics

Transparency

Teamwork

Ownership

Our Mission
Customer Service and Product Innovation tuned to diverse needs of individual and
corporate clientele.
Continuous technology upgradation while maintaining human values.
Progressive globalization and achieving international standards.
Efficiency and effectiveness built on ethical practices.
Core Values
Customer Satisfaction through
Providing quality service effectively and efficiently
"Smile, it enhances your face value" is a service quality stressed on
Periodic Customer Service Audits
Maximization of Stakeholder value
Success through Teamwork, Integrity and People
Compensation Policy

12

P R O B L E M S O F TH E O RG A N I S ATI O N
The erstwhile UTI Bank has changed its name to Axis Bank effective July 30, 2007. This
is the first time that a bank has gone in for a brand-change voluntarily; earlier names of
banks have been changed either due to a merger or an acquisition.
UTI brand was given in 1994 by its promoters and UTI Bank could use the brand only till
January 2008 as per Govt directives. Many unrelated shareholder entities like UTI
Technological Services, UTI Investor Services and UTI Securities were carrying the UTI
brand.7
Axis refers to a line of reference, stability and maturity. The new logo of the bank has the
same colour as the previous UTI logo but now uses the alphabet A from the word
Axis. The bank is also publicizing the change through campaign titled Twins both
equal.
Axis Bank has business of Rs.102,000 crore with a market capitalization of Rs.21,817
crore making it the fifth largest in India. It has 60 lakh customers and communicating to
them the name change would be the prime exercise for the bank.
Immediately, the bank will replace signages in 8 metro cities while in other 250 cities
by September. It is also informing customers about the brand change though Internet and
mobile banking, ATM, call centres, newspapers and radio. Even elements like cheque
books, welcome kits, pay orders have been resigned to reflect the new look.
Now with a name having universal appeal, the bank would now work towards becoming
a multinational bank and diversifying into other financial services like AMC, insurance
and restructure operations to reflect a modern approach to banking.
However, the bank also has a task in its hand to communicate to the customers and public
about its nature as having a UTI name prefixed would have implied that it has been a
quasi-government bank. It would also have to educate about its shareholding to further
expand itself into the retail business.

C O M P E T I T I O N I N F O R M ATI O N
Ranking
1
2
3
4

BANK
CITY BANK
ICICI BANKING CORPORATION
HDFC BANK
AMERICAN EXPRESS

13

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33

HSBC
STANDARD CHARTERED GRINDLAYS
STATE BANK OF INDIA
CANARA BANK
IDBI BANK
BANK OF AMERICA
ABN- AMRO BANK
GLOBAL TRUST BANK
BANK OF INDIA
CORPORATION BANK
BANK OF BARODA
DEUTSCHE BANK
PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK
BANK OF MAHARASHTRA
AXIS BANK
DENA BANK
BANK OF PUNJAB
BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA
CREDIT LYONNAIS
ANDHRA BANK
SYNDICATE BANK
UCO BANK
INDUSIND BANK
ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE
BANK OF MADURA
KARUR VYSYA BANK
TAMILNADU MERCANTILE BANK
STATE BANK OF PATIALA
JAMMU & KASHMIR BANK
Table 1.4

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION

STRENGHTS

Market position is strong

Aggressive foreign bank

Shareholders return has grown more than 7 times

Maintains a position as a leading Asian Cash Management provider

Brand Axis Bank modern and dynamic look appeals to the growing middle
income earners

14

One of the most profitable MNC in India

Improved product proposition

Better geographic balances

Multi-cultural organization that offers opportunities to good managers

WEAKNESS

HDFC, IDBI, ABN-AMBRO, Citibank and HSBC are dominant players

Has disadvantage due to last entry

Fewer locations as compared to other MNC banks

Service delivery perception is weak

OPPORTUNITIES

Branch expansion for rapid growth

Increase focus on value creation in whole banking

Improve shareholders return

Build market share in consumer banking as consumer banking continues to offer

highest potential for growth

Broadening of the demographic base

Tie ups with master card networks

Integrated sales and service approach

Can offer a complete corporate package into under proposed corporate

relationship

THREATS

IDBI is pitching in quite aggressively

Citibank is expanding in new markets

Competitive products and offers from IDBI and HDFC

Proposed networking of all branches in next 6 months

Reduced business in OECD business

15

CHAPTER 2:
TOPIC INTRODUCTION& LITERATURE REVIEW

16

2. 1 About The Topic

MARKETING STRATEGIES
Marketing strategy specifies a target market and a related marketing mix. The two
interrelated parts are :
A target market- a fairly homogenous group of customers to whom a company wishes to
appeal.
A marketing mix- consisting of the controllable variables the company puts together to
satisfies this target market.
Marketing strategy involves selecting and describing one or more target markets , and
developing and maintaining a marketing mix that will produce mutually satisfying
exchanges with target markets.
CEOs tend to see marketing as a department that comes into play after the product has
been made and the remaining job is to sell it. We argue instead that marketing must be
seen as setting the strategic direction for the firm. Peter Drucker stated it well over thirty
years ago: A company has only two basic functions: innovation and marketing.
Kotler published lateral marketing (co-author Fernando Trias De Bes) which offers a
creativity approach that differs from using vertical marketing (i.e., segmentation) to
finding new ideas. Vertical marketing works within a given market; lateral marketing
instead visualizes the product in a new context.
Author : Michael Porter.
And works of P. Kotler
Name of Book :Competitive advantage\
Concepts addressed include 'generic' strategies and strategies for pricing, distribution,
promotion, advertising and market segmentation. Factors such as market penetration,

17

market share, profit margins, budgets, financial analysis, capital investment, government
actions, demographic changes, emerging technology and cultural trends are also
addressed.
There are two major components to your marketing strategy:
1. how your enterprise will address the competitive marketplace
2. how you will implement and support your day to day operations
In today's very competitive marketplace a strategy that insures a consistent approach to
offering your product or service in a way that will outsell the competition is critical.
However, in concert with defining the marketing strategy you must also have a well
defined methodology for the day to day process of implementing it.
In the process of creating a marketing strategy, you must consider many factors.Since
each category must address some unique considerations, it is not reasonable to identify
'every' important factor at a generic level.However, many are common to all marketing
strategies.
You begin the creation of your strategy by deciding what the overall objective of your
enterprise should be. In general this falls into one of four categories:

If the market is very attractive and your enterprise is one of the strongest in the
industry you will want to invest your best resources in support of your offering.

If the market is very attractive but your enterprise is one of the weaker ones in the
industry you must concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering
as a stepping stone toward this objective.

If the market is not especially attractive, but your enterprise is one of the strongest
in the industry then an effective marketing and sales effort for your offering will
be good for generating near term profits.

If the market is not especially attractive and your enterprise is one of the weaker
ones in the industry you should promote this offering only if it supports a more
profitable part of your business (for instance, if this segment completes a product
line range) or if it absorbs some of the overhead costs of a more profitable
18

segment. Otherwise, you should determine the most cost effective way to divest
your enterprise of this offering.
next step is to choose a strategy for the offering that will be most effective in the
market.

A COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY is based on the concept that you can

produce and market a good quality product or service at a lower cost than your
competitors. These low costs should translate to profit margins that are higher
than the industry average. Some of the conditions that should exist to support a
cost leadership strategy include an on-going availability of operating capital, good
process engineering skills, close management of labor, products designed for ease
of manufacturing and low cost distribution.

A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY is one of creating a product or service that is

perceived as being unique "throughout the industry". The emphasis can be on
brand image, proprietary technology, special features, superior service, a strong
distributor network or other aspects that might be specific to your industry. This
uniqueness should also translate to profit margins that are higher than the industry
average. In addition, some of the conditions that should exist to support a
differentiation strategy include strong marketing abilities, effective product
engineering, creative personnel, the ability to perform basic research and a good
reputation.

A FOCUS STRATEGY may be the most sophisticated of the generic strategies, in

that it is a more 'intense' form of either the cost leadership or differentiation
strategy. It is designed to address a "focused" segment of the marketplace, product
form or cost management process and is usually employed when it isn't
appropriate to attempt an 'across the board' application of cost leadership or
differentiation. It is based on the concept of serving a particular target in such an
exceptional manner, that others cannot compete. Usually this means addressing a
substantially smaller market segment than others in the industry, but because of
minimal competition, profit margins can be very high.

19

Pricing : A pricing strategy is mostly influenced by your requirement for net income and
your objectives for long term market control. There are three basic strategies you can
consider.

A SKIMMING STRATEGY
If your offering has enough differentiation to justify a high price and you desire
quick cash and have minimal desires for significant market penetration and
control, then you set your prices very high.

A MARKET PENETRATION STRATEGY

If near term income is not so critical and rapid market penetration for eventual
market control is desired, then you set your prices very low.

A COMPARABLE PRICING STRATEGY

If you are not the market leader in your industry then the leaders will most likely
have created a 'price expectation' in the minds of the marketplace. In this case you
can price your offering comparably to those of your competitors.

Promotions : There are two basic promotion strategies, PUSH and PULL.

The PUSH STRATEGY maximizes the use of all available channels of

distribution to "push" the offering into the marketplace. This usually requires
generous discounts to achieve the objective of giving the channels incentive to
promote the offering, thus minimizing your need for advertising.

The PULL STRATEGY requires direct interface with the end user of the offering.
Use of channels of distribution is minimized during the first stages of promotion
and a major commitment to advertising is required. The objective is to "pull" the
prospects into the various channel outlets creating a demand the channels cannot
ignore.

There are many strategies for advertising an offering. Some of these include:

Product Comparison advertising

In a market where your offering is one of several providing similar capabilities, if

20

your offering stacks up well when comparing features then a product comparison
ad can be beneficial.

Product Benefits advertising

When you want to promote your offering without comparison to competitors, the
product benefits ad is the correct approach. This is especially beneficial when you
have introduced a new approach to solving a user need and comparison to the old
approaches is inappropriate.

Product Family advertising

If your offering is part of a group or family of offerings that can be of benefit to
the customer as a set, then the product family ad can be of benefit.

Corporate advertising
When you have a variety of offerings and your audience is fairly broad, it is often
beneficial to promote your enterprise identity rather than a specific offering.

Distribution :

On-premise Sales involves the sale of your offering using a field sales
organization that visits the prospect's facilities to make the sale.

Direct Sales involves the sale of your offering using a direct, in-house sales
organization that does all selling through the Internet, telephone or mail order
contact.

Wholesale Sales involves the sale of your offering using intermediaries or

"middle-men" to distribute your product or service to the retailers.

Self-service Retail Sales involves the sale of your offering using self service retail
methods of distribution.

Full-service Retail Sales involves the sale of your offering through a full service
retail distribution channel.

Of course, making a decision about pricing, promotion and distribution is heavily

influenced by some key factors in the industry and marketplace. These factors should be
analyzed initially to create the strategy and then regularly monitored for changes. If any
of them change substantially the strategy should be reevaluated

21

The environment : Environmental factors positively or negatively impact the industry

and the market growth potential of your product/service.

Government actions - Government actions (current or under consideration) can

support or detract from your strategy. Consider subsidies, safety, efficacy and
operational regulations, licensing requirements, materials access restrictions and
price controls.

Demographic changes - Anticipated demographic changes may support or

negatively impact the growth potential of your industry and market. This includes
factors such as education, age, income and geographic location.

Emerging technology - Technological changes that are occurring may or may not
favor the actions of your enterprise.

Cultural trends - Cultural changes such as fashion trends and life style trends may
or may not support your offering's penetration of the market

The prospects :The characteristics of the prospects include

The potential for market penetration involves whether you are selling to past
customers or a new prospect, how aware the prospects are of what you are
offering, competition, growth rate of the industry and demographics.

The prospect's willingness to pay higher price because your offering provides a
better solution to their problem.

The amount of time it will take the prospect to make a purchase decision is
affected by the prospects confidence in your offering, the number and quality of
competitive offerings, the number of people involved in the decision, the urgency
of the need for your offering and the risk involved in making the purchase
decision.

The prospect's willingness to pay for product value is determined by their

knowledge of competitive pricing, their ability to pay and their need for
characteristics such as quality, durability, reliability, ease of use, uniformity and
dependability.

22

Likelihood of adoption by the prospect is based on the criticality of the prospect's

need, their attitude about change, the significance of the benefits, barriers that
exist to incorporating the offering into daily usage and the credibility of the
offering.

The Product / Services : Factors to consider include:

Whether some or all of the technology for the offering is proprietary to the
enterprise.

The benefits the prospect will derive from use of the offering.

The extent to which the offering is differentiated from the competition.

The extent to which common introduction problems can be avoided such as lack
of adherence to industry standards, unavailability of materials, poor quality
control, regulatory problems and the inability to explain the benefits of the
offering to the prospect.

The potential for product obsolescence as affected by the enterprise's commitment

to product development, the product's proximity to physical limits, the ongoing
potential for product improvements, the ability of the enterprise to react to
technological change and the likelihood of substitute solutions to the prospect's
needs.

Impact on customer's business as measured by costs of trying out your offering,

how quickly the customer can realize a return from their investment in your
offering, how disruptive the introduction of your offering is to the customer's
operations and the costs to switch to your offering.

The complexity of your offering as measured by the existence of standard

interfaces, difficulty of installation, number of options, requirement for support
devices, training and technical support and the requirement for complementary
product interface

The competition :
It is essential to know who the competition is and to understand their strengths and
weaknesses. Factors to consider include:
23

Each of your competitor's experience, staying power, market position, strength,

predictability and freedom to abandon the market must be evaluated.

Your enterprise :
An honest appraisal of the strength of your enterprise is a critical factor in the
development of your strategy. Factors to consider include:

Enterprise capacity to be leader in low-cost production considering cost control

infrastructure, cost of materials, economies of scale, management skills,
availability of personnel and compatibility of manufacturing resources with
offering requirements.

The enterprise's ability to construct entry barriers to competition such as the

creation of high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of
scale, exclusive access to or clogging of distribution channels and the ability to
clearly differentiate your offering from the competition.

The enterprise's ability to sustain its market position is determined by the

potential for competitive imitation, resistance to inflation, ability to maintain high
prices, the potential for product obsolescence and the 'learning curve' faced by the
prospect.

The prominence of the enterprise.

The competence of the management team.

The adequacy of the enterprise's infrastructure in terms of organization, recruiting

capabilities, employee benefit programs, customer support facilities and logistical
capabilities.

The freedom of the enterprise to make critical business decisions without undue
influence from distributors, suppliers, unions, creditors, investors and other
outside influences.

Freedom from having to deal with legal problems.

Development :

24

A review of the strength and viability of the product/service development program will
heavily influence the direction of your strategy. Factors to consider include:

The strength of the development manager including experience with personnel

management, current and new technologies, complex projects and the equipment
and tools used by the development personnel.

Personnel who understand the relevant technologies and are able to perform the
tasks necessary to meet the development objectives.

Adequacy and appropriateness of the development tools and equipment.

The necessary funding to achieve the development objectives.

Design specifications that are manageable.

Production :
The following factors are considered:

The strength of production manager including experience with personnel

management, current and new technologies, complex projects and the equipment
and tools used by the manufacturing personnel.

Economies of scale allowing the sharing of operations, sharing of production and

the potential for vertical integration.

Technology and production experience

The necessary production personnel skill level and/or the enterprise's ability to
hire or train qualified personnel.

The ability of the enterprise to limit suppliers bargaining power.

The ability of the enterprise to control the quality of raw materials and production.

Adequate access to raw materials and sub-assembly production.

Marketing / sales :
Factors to consider include:

Experience of Marketing/Sales manager including contacts in the industry

(prospects, distribution channels, media), familiarity with advertising and

25

promotion, personal selling capabilities, general management skills and a history

of profit and loss responsibilities.

The ability to generate good publicity as measured by past successes, contacts in

the press, quality of promotional literature and market education capabilities.

Sales promotion techniques such as trade allowances, special pricing and contests.

The effectiveness of your distribution channels as measured by history of

relations, the extent of channel utilization, financial stability, reputation, access to
prospects and familiarity with your offering.

Advertising capabilities including media relationships, advertising budget, past

experience, how easily the offering can be advertised and commitment to
advertising.

Sales capabilities including availability of personnel, quality of personnel,

location of sales outlets, ability to generate sales leads, relationship with
distributors, ability to demonstrate the benefits of the offering and necessary sales
support capabilities.

The appropriateness of the pricing of your offering as it relates to competition,

price sensitivity of the prospect, prospect's familiarity with the offering and the
current market life cycle stage.

Customer services :
strength of the customer service function has a strong influence on long term market
success. Factors to consider include:

Experience of the Customer Service manager in the areas of similar offerings and
customers, quality control, technical support, product documentation, sales and
marketing.

The availability of technical support to service your offering after it is purchased.

One or more factors that causes your customer support to stand out as unique in
the eyes of the customer.

Accessibility of service outlets for the customer.

The reputation of the enterprise for customer service.

26

Conclusion :
Two of the most important assessments are described below.
1. Cost to enter market : This is an analysis of the factors that will influence your
costs to achieve significant market penetration. Factors to consider include:

Your marketing strength.

Access to low cost materials and effective production.

The experience of your enterprise.

The complexity of introduction problems such as lack of adherence to industry

standards, unavailability of materials, poor quality control, regulatory problems
and the inability to explain the benefits of the offering to the prospect.

The effectiveness of the enterprise infrastructure in terms of organization,

recruiting capabilities, employee benefit programs, customer support facilities and
logistical capabilities.

Distribution effectiveness as measured by history of relations, the extent of

channel utilization, financial stability, reputation, access to prospects and
familiarity with your offering.

Technological efforts likely to be successful as measured by the strength of the

development organization.

The availability of adequate operating capital.

2. Profit potential : This is an analysis of the factors that could influence the
potential for generating and maintaining profits over an extended period. Factors
to consider include:

Potential for competitive retaliation is based on the competitors resources,

commitment to the industry, cash position and predictability as well as the status
of the market.

The enterprise's ability to construct entry barriers to competition such as the

creation of high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of

27

scale, exclusive access to or clogging of distribution channels and the ability to

clearly differentiate your offering from the competition.

The intensity of competitive rivalry as measured by the size and number of

competitors, limitations on exiting the market, differentiation between offerings
and the rapidity of market growth.

The ability of the enterprise to limit suppliers bargaining power.

The enterprise's ability to sustain its market position is determined by the

potential for competitive imitation, resistance to inflation, ability to maintain high
prices, the potential for product obsolescence and the 'learning curve' faced by the
prospect.

The availability of substitute solutions to the prospect's need.

The prospect's bargaining power as measured by the ease of switching to an

alternative, the cost to look at alternatives, the cost of the offering, the
differentiation between your offering and the competition and the degree of the
prospect's need.

Market potential for new products considering market growth, prospect's need for
your offering, the benefits of the offering, the number of barriers to immediate
use, the credibility of the offering and the impact on the customer's daily
operations.

The freedom of the enterprise to make critical business decisions without undue influence
from distributors, suppliers, unions, investors and other outside influences.

28

2.2 Literature Review

Wo r k S c h e d u l e o f Tr a i n i n g
Wee k 1 a n d 2
All new summer trainee visit our Retail asset center and fulfill all documentation , they
undergo 5 days Induction training and gets the insight of products , work culture , process
and other Banking features, collect the primary data from bank and
Wee k 2
The summer trainee will be given the specific products of bank based on requirement and
availability. the trainee gives the outline of research work
Wee k 3 , 4 a n d 5
The trainee visit branches, agencies, and outsourced companies, corporates to get the feel
of market and strategies the product with SWOT Analysis.
Wee k 6 , 7
Starts colleting primary and secondry data from the market allocated and starts analyzing
the data collected.
Wee k 8
Presentation of Project report with physical copy of project and updation about the key
finding based on market feedback.

29

LOANS IN INDIA
One of the reasons for boom in Indian economy is that now a days loans are easily
available and the rate of interests at which they are available are very reasonable. Banks
are giving loan for and loan against any and every thing. Government too is encouraging
people to take loans for certain purposes. For example, government is encouraging people
to take housing loans by giving tax concessions.
In view of the deluge of loans that are available in the market today, we have come up
with useful information about variety of loans that are available in India. These include:
Home Loans India
To have one's own home is the dream of every person. Now that getting a home loan is so
easy it seems everyone can fulfill his / her long cherished dream.
Auto Loans India
With a plethora of auto loans opportunities available these days, it is now possible for
you to buy your dream car.
Business Loans India
Several banks give loans to cater to business requirements. Banks have laid out a number
of products specifically catering to SSI (small-scale industries) and Small Business
Borrowers.
Education Loans India
Education is the essence of life. To ensure that no deserving student is denied education
for want of funds government is promoting education loans in a big way.
Personal Loans India

30

Personal loan is an unsecured loan that does not require any security for borrowing
money. Personal loans help you to take care of your immediate requirements without
much of a hassle.
Loans against Property
Loan against home connotes a loan that is given or disbursed against the mortgage of
home. The loan against property is given as a certain percentage of market value of the
property.
Loans against shares
It is advisable to take loan against equity (shares & debentures) only when you are
expecting a certain sum of money a few months down the line and you need some funds
in the interim.

CUSTOMER ASKED FOLLOWING QUESTION:

1Q) How do I repay the loan?
You can repay the loan in Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) through post dated cheques, Standing Instructions and ECS facility.

2Q) Are there any additional charges?

A processing fee of 2% of the loan amount is payable upfront. This fee will be deducted
from the disbursal amount payable to you
3Q) Can I prepay my loan?
Yes, you can prepay the entire loan outstanding any time. No Prepayment charges to be
levied on the outstanding loan amount. Part Prepayment is permitted.
4Q) Do I need to open an account with Axis Bank for availing and/or servicing the loan?

31

We will encourage you to start a banking relationship with us so that we will be able to
offer a host of other value added services, which are complementary to the loan, however
opening an account with us is not mandatory.

32

CHAPTER 3:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

33

3.1 Purpose of the study

The research process consists of series of closely related activities. At times, the first step
determines the nature to the last step to be undertaken why a research study has been
undertaken, how the research problem has been defined, in what way and why the
hypothesis has been formulated, what data has been collected and what particular
methods has been adopted and a host of similar other questions are usually answered
when we talk of research methodology concerning a research problems or study.
Research simply means a search for facts answers to questions and solutions to
problems. It is a purposive investigation. It is an organized enquiry.
In other words research means search for knowledge and research methodology is a
systematic way to solve he research problem. It is a science of study how the search is
actually done. It presents the source of data collection, the sampling procedures and tools
of investigation and limitations of the study. My research project has a specified
framework for collecting the data in an effective manner. Such framework is called
research design.

3.2 Research Objectives of the study

To study the benefits of this product provided by various banks.

To make comparative analysis with all the leading banks.

To recommend strategies to enhance the promotion of banks.

The primary purpose of this study is to present a clear picture of how banking
started in India.

To increase the competition in this sector so that the common people has the
advantage of enjoying quality services at a reasonable cost

Insurance has a far reaching effect in synchronizing between the various service
sectors. So if this sector can grow, the prospects of the various other services
sector remains to be promising.

To know the consumer feedback.

34

To know the marketing strategies adopted to promote these products.

To make the private players responsible to the investors and not to the
government

3.3 Research Methodology of the study

3. 3.1 Research Design
Before examining type of research design , it is important to be clear about the
role and the purpose of research design we need . We need to understand what
research design is and what is it not. We need to know what design it is into the
whole research process from framing a question to analyse the respected data.

3.3.2 Data Collection Techniques

Since the information required was not of a very technical nature and also
looking at the scope of the project and the extent of the target segment, the
sampling

technique

employed

was

Convenience

Sampling.

administered the questionnaires.

3.3.3 Sample design

3.3.3.1 Population
It was not possible to cover the entire population of approximately
2cr +

Salaried customer in the Delhi and their remote locations

where they are Located. Therefore 250 Salaried customers were

studied by me for this research.

3.3.3.2 Sample size

100 Salaried customer and Self employed Professional.

3.3.3.3 Sampling method

To obtain a representative sample , a probability sample of the
population was drawn i.e. Cluster ( area ) sample ,

35

where Delhi

City was divided into 14 Area sample under five blocks of similar
Category

3.3.4 Method of data collection

PRIMARY DATA
It is collected directly from people and organizations via questionnaires or
surveys before being analysed to reach conclusion concerning the issue
covered in the questionnaires or survey.
SECONDARY DATA
Various websites were consulted to collect literature relevant to the topic.
Secondary data collected by others to be reissued by the researchers.
Various Sources Used

1.

Internet

2.

Newspaper

3.

Prospectus

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN / FORMULATION

Questionnaires: - A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented
to respondent for their answers. It can be Closed Ended of Open Ended
Open Ended: - Allows respondents to answer in their own words & are
difficult to Interpret and Tabulate.
Close Ended: - Pre-specify all the possible answers & are easy to
Interpret and Tabulate.
TYPES OF QUESTIONS USED IN THIS PROJECT:
Close ended Questions
To know the choice of the people regarding various matters
Dichotomous Questions
Which has only two answers Yes or No.
Multiple Choice Questions

36

Where respondent is offered more than two choices. This is done to know
the choice of the customers regarding different matters.

3.3.4.1 Instrument for data collection

While above two are best suited for explorative research, Survey research
is best suited for my purpose i.e.for Descriptive Research.
Sampling Area
Axis Bank are currently offering personal loans only at the given locations
and the eligibility would be based on the Tier location.

Tier 1: - Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Gurgaon.

Tier 2: - Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkatta.

Tier 3: - Coimbatore, Kochi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Jamshedpur,

Vadodara, Trivandrum, Vishakapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Trichy, Surat,
Nashik, Aurangabad, Goa, Guwahati, Nagpur, Chandigarh, Noida,
Ghaziabad, Faridabad.

Tier 4: - Bhopal, Calicut, Jodhpur, Mysore, Pondichery, Raipur, Rajkot,

Durgapur, Dehradun, Hubli, Jalandhar, Kolhapur, Ludhiana, Madurai,
Mangalore, Patiala, Siliguri , Ranchi, Tirunelveli, Udaipur, Vijaywada,
Indore, Ajmer, Allahabad, Bhatinda, Belgaum, Bhavnagar, Bhilwara,
Jamnagar, Kanpur, Kota, Salem, Ujjain, Warangal, Mehsana.
Based on Tier Location, I had choosed the available location as my mentor
Mr Navdeep Bharadwaj is taking care of Delhi Location ( 38 Branches) he
has arranged my visits in Tier 3 Location also branches and corporates in
Noida and Ghaziabad.
Tier 1- Delhi region( C.P, Punjabi Bagh, Pitampura)
Tier 3- Noida and Ghaziabad.
Sampling unit

37

Sample Unit :Salaried customers from MNC, Government, Self Employed

doctors and C.A.

3.3.4.2 Drafting of a questionnaire

1. Do you know about products & services of Axis Bank ?
Yes
No
2. Have you ever opted for services & products from any other bank?
Yes
No
3. If Yes,
Which Bank have you taken from?
IDBI Bank
HDFC Bank
UTI Bank
CITI Bank
4. How often you visit your bank?
0-3 times
4-6 times
7-9 times
Above 10 times
5. How did you come to know about the services & products?
Advertisement
Word of Mouth
Referred by your Friend
Referred by relatives.
6. What made you select this particular bank for the services & products?
Convenient location

38

Procedures
Facilities
Working hours
Advertisement
7. How do you like the services & products by your bank?
Very good
Good
Neutral
Bad
Very bad
8. Would you like to make any suggestions about your bank?
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

3.3.5 Limitations

The sample size of customers and prospects is fairly small and consistent
conclusions cannot be drawn on the information provided.

Satisfaction being a relative term cannot be much commented on as it

varies from individual to individual and can only be measured if the
respondent has also experienced the services of a similar organisation in a
similar sphere.

One major constraint was the small sample size as it may lead to slight
variations in the end result also the Personal loan Policy was later
modified and became more comepetitive which resulted in deviation.

39

A few customers were either quite reluctant to part with their precious
time or had problems in attaching weights and emphasis to different
attributes.

Customers in refinance cases were in direct contact with the dealers and
were more bothered with getting the delivery of the car rather than
handling the delays on availing the finance as it did not directly affect
them.

There is bound to be a subjective bias in the results because of

inconsistency and selective perception about the opinions of the
respondents.

40

CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

41

1. Do you Know about Axis Bank?

(a) Yes
(b) No

92%

8%

Graph 4.1

Figure 1
VISION

To be the preferred financial solutions provider excelling in customer delivery through

insight, empowered employees and smart use of technology

92% people out of 100 are aware of Axis Bank.

42

2. Have you ever opted for services & products from Axis Bank?
(a) Yes

61%

(b) No

39%

Graph 4.2

figure 2
61% out of 100 people have opted for services & products from Axis Bank Customers are
using its online banking policy that makes them enable to use the
prepaid mobile recharge, e-statement, online shopping etc.

43

following services:

3. How can Personal Loan from AXIS BANK or its competetiors?

(a) Citi Bank

19%

(b) Axis Bank

8%

(c) HDFC Bank

42%

(d) ICICI Bank

7%

(e) NBFC

12%

(f) ABN AMRO Bank

2%

(g) Others

10%

Graph 4.3

Figure 3
%out of 100 having Personal loan from Axis Bank.

44

4.

How did you come to know about Personal loan?

(a) Advertisement

76%

(b) Word of Mouth

14%

(c) Referred by your company / Friend

10%

Graph 4.4

Figure 4
76% out of 100 came to know about Personal loans offered by Axis Bank through
Advertisement.
10% out of 100 came to know through company/ friend
14% out of 100 came to know through word of mouth

45

5. What made you select this particular bank for the services &
Products?
Emi
Brand name
Procedures
Facilities
Policies
Advertisement
Foreclosure charges
Graph 4.5

Figure 5
52% out of 100 chose Axis Bank because of its 0% foreclosure charges.

46

6.

How do you like the Marketing strategy by different banks?

(a) Good

68%

(b) Average

19%

(c) Bad

13%

Graph 4.6

Figure 6
68% out of 100 people find Marketing Strategies by Axis Bank as Good.
19% out of 100 people find Marketing Strategies by Axis Bank as Average.
13% out of 100 people find Marketing Strategies by Axis Bank as Bad.

47

7.

What motivates you for selecting any bank for Personal loan loan.
(a) Rate of intrest

42%

(b) Brand name

4%

(c) Procedures

9%

(d) Facilities

3%

(f) Policies

8%

(g) Other facility ,Foreclosure-

34%

part payment
Graph 4.7

Figure 7
42%% people chose Axis Bank for its low rate of intrest

48

8. Which Bank would you prefer if you have never applied for Personal
Loan?
(a) IDBI Bank

12%

(b) HDFC Bank

17%

(c) AXIS Bank

56%

(d) CITI Bank

7%

(e) GE Capital

5%

(f) ABN AMRO Bank

3%

Graph 4.8

Figure 8
30% people would prefer Axis Bank for Personal loans.
It is the second highest among other banks HDFC being the most preferable with 43%.

49

CHAPTER - 5:
FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS

50

FINDINGS
It was found that all the branches have not been able to contribute their due share to
the overall growth of the bank.
About 14% of the branches have show decline in deposits levels whereas about 16%
of branches could not show even 5% growth in deposits.
F It was also found that the market share of the Bank in deposits was l,6l/ in March
1999, which has been coming down and reached 1.22% in 2004. During 2004-2005
the growth in banks aggregate deposits was 1.09% as against the banking industry
growth of 1 7.29% which has resulted in to further slippage in Bank market share to 1
.6% in March, 2005.
There is a need for improving the corporate dealing as it is a necessary for the
survival of any organisation in the corporate world.
The bank requires aggressive advertising through the print and the electronic media,
as very less proportion of population is aware of Dena Bank.
Computerizations of all the branches should be done as early as possible.
To improve its accessibility, the bank should increase its ATM network.
The bank should initiate services like online trading and E-commerce.
The reasonable balanced growth of all the branches is necessary for overall
development of the Bank.
There is a need for improving the growth in Retail Banking because the pace of
growth in retail banking is very slow in spite of good product lines.
The NPA (Non Performing Assets) management should be the most crucial concern
area for the Bank, therefore the Bank should plan and implement certain corrective
measures to decrease its NPAs.

51

LIMITATIONS
Though Axis bank seems to be ruling the roost in various segments of bank product
industry, findings suggest that its marketing strategies are not without loopholes. Let us
have a look at these loopholes or limitations in brief.
The pricing strategy adopted by Axis shows considerable fluctuation, which has led the
consumer base to remain almost stagnant in many segments. Usually, the prices of these
products are too high to make these affordable to the common masses and particularly
those belonging to low-income groups. This phenomenon seems to be most evident in
culinary goods segment, which constitutes the backbone of Axis industrial base.
WHEN INTERPRETATING THE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION OF THIS
RESEARCH STUDY READERS SHOULD TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION SOME
OF THE LIMITATIONS AS LISTED BELOW:

Although factors such as Respondent: Age, gender are not taken under
consideration when analyzing the data.
Due to Time and Resources limitation it will affect the results of findings
and thus the conclusion drawn.

SUGESSTIONS

Axis bank use aggressive marketing techniques to compete more efficiently with its
competitors like HDFC, ICICI bank.

Axis should work a bit more efficiently on its products pricing to cope up with the
rising competition in the market.
52

Axis should introduce some new products to target the other segment of the
customers to seek a greater market share.

Axis should introduce a new product line on health products due to raising health
awareness among the customers about processed foods.

53

CHAPTER - 6:
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

54

RECOMMENDATIONS
After completing my thesis i can say that Axis Bank is one of the top banks performing in
India. It was started in 1955 and since then it has kept its dignity in spite of increasing
competition. It has collaborated with certain foreign companies in order to increase its
asset value and goodwill. It has been dealing in many products like accounts, demats,
loans, cards etc.
The marketing strategies adopted by the bank are innovative and impressive. Since
majority of population stays in villages the bank has to explore the rural markets also. In
addition to this the bank should have a branch in every city of the country. By keeping a
regular check the operating cost can be minimized.
The main aim of the bank should be bringing money from other countries to india. From
the findings it is clear that there is an intense competition in banking industry and as a
result prices are declining at a regular pattern. The reason for this increasing competition
is the increase in demand and aggressive promotional campaigns done by the banks.

C O N C LU S I O N S
1. Almost all the Banks offer similar features and facilities with their current
account, therefore for existing customers of Current Account of any Bank to shift
to another Bank; this is very rarely the criteria or reason.
2. The level of service in terms of delivering whatever is promised, fast response in
case of problems, is the most important benefit that the customers seek, from the
Bank they have a Current Account with.
3. Network reach and visibility of a Bank is a very important criterion for the
customer while opening a Current Account. We can also conclude from our
analysis that network reach in terms of Branches and ATMs is directly
proportional to the market share in case of Private Players.

55

4. In case of a new customer, if a bank approaches it first for opening a Current

Account with them, then there is a good chance for the bank of getting many
future businesses and cross sales from the deal.
5. Aggressive Marketing is the key to increasing the market share in this area, since
the market has a lot of potential both in terms of untapped market.

56

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The information has been derived from various reliable sources:
1. Books and authors:
Banking theory law and practices by Sundharam and Varshney
Research methodology by Kothari C.R.
Marketing research by Gupta S.L
2. Newspapers and magazines:
Economic times
Times of India
H.T
India Today
3. Web-sites:
http://www.axisbank.com/
http://www.axisbank.com/xmlapplication/aboutus/financials/images/Annual-Report2008.pdf
http://www.axisbank.com/xmlapplication/aboutus/financials/images/Annual-Report2007.pdf

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ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE

9. Name: _____________________________
Age : _____
10. Occupation
Service
Profession
Business
Others
11. Do you know about products & services of Axis Bank ?
Yes
No
12. Have you ever opted for services & products from any other bank?
Yes
No
13. If Yes,
Which Bank have you taken from?
IDBI Bank
HDFC Bank
UTI Bank
CITI Bank
14. How often you visit your bank?
0-3 times
4-6 times
7-9 times
Above 10 times
15. How did you come to know about the services & products?
Advertisement
Word of Mouth

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Referred by your Friend

Referred by relatives.
16. What made you select this particular bank for the services & products?
Convenient location
Procedures
Facilities
Working hours
Advertisement
17. How do you like the services & products by your bank?
Very good
Good
Neutral
Bad
Very bad
18. Would you like to make any suggestions about your bank?
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

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