Banking Frontiers – July 2019

CorpCom

Employees, customers, lenders and the public constitute the value chain

and brand building is a continuous effort, says Neeraj Kumar Lal, head -

Strategy and Corporate Communications, Arohan Financial Services:

Ravi Lalvani: How do you evolve the

strategy for corporate communications in

the company?

Neeraj Kumar Lal: There are 4 distinct

customer segments as far as corporate

communications is concerned and these

are employees, customers in remote

geographies, lenders and public at large.

What are the key corporate communications

activities for each of these segments?

Awareness is the key for all the 4

segments. For the employees, its awareness

of the organization and this helps build a

sense of belongingness. For the customers,

the focus is on creating an awareness about

the benefits and value proposition. For the

lenders, it is to create awareness on value

and returns. And for the public, it’s all about

creating the brand awareness and equity.

What are the key corporate communication

channels used for each of the four

segments?

Arohan has unique top down

communication platforms such as ‘Hum

Saath Saath Hain’ that helps create field

as well as cross-functional connect. Our

monthly internal newsletter, Srishti, is an

active platform for sharing the latest news

and developments attuned to our vision,

mission and objectives, enabling employees

across locations to develop a sense of

belongingness and see their contributions

translate into organizational objective. We

ensure timely dissemination of corporate

announcements and achievements of

employees across the organization using

a formal digital channel. This helps

us to apprise our employees about the

developments and value of working for

a progressive organization. Corporate

communications also work closely with

the HR function to create employee

engagement campaigns and platforms.

Use of regional language in all the

above helps create clarity of understanding

among the target audience that spans

across remote locations in low-income

geographies in the east, north-east and

central parts of the country. We run various

awareness campaigns on products and

services. Our primary channels are our field

force and printed collaterals. Customers are

also reached out through centralized calling

processes and they are offered non-financial

products on eCommerce platforms. Press

notes on financial awareness, credit plus

services, social initiatives and customer

success stories are also released regularly.

Audio-visual media also plays a critical

role in reaching out to the customers and

creating instant connect.

For lenders, we use a combination of

print and digital platforms to connect and

create awareness. Videos, presentations,

annual reports – both in print as well

as digital copies - and website plays an

important role in creating a 360-degree

approach to connect with the investor,

lender and partner category of stakeholders.

Through our public relations interventions

in national and business pink journals and

magazines, we ensure that organizational

developments and growth stories that

impacts the industry and help the industry

steer forward are disseminated on a timely

manner. These efforts also play a crucial

role in leadership positioning of the

organization.

For the general public our social media

platforms actively create organizational

knowhow, awareness and connect. For our

MSME vertical, a separate handle allows the

business to generate interest and queries on

the product from a niche customer segment

with unique demography. We also leverage

the platforms to reach out to prospective

employees and keep them well-informed

of the organization’s growth story.

The CorpCom also focuses sharply on

connecting with the regional media to reach

out to and create awareness on the industry

and the organization among people and

local authorities.

What metrics are used to measure the

effectiveness of corporate communications

for each of the 4 segments?

Long-term and regular communications

towards each of the 4 segments ensure

effectiveness of the initiatives and activities.

Direct as well as indirect surveys are

conducted to measure the recall of the brand

in terms of external stakeholders and of the

level of engagement and belongingness for

the internal stakeholders.

What are the results achieved in the four

segments? What are the future plans?

Timely and consistent activities have

resulted in increased awareness about the

organization among the key stakeholder

categories, which in turn helps overcome

industry challenges. The brand equity is of a

leading, trustworthy financial inclusion player

with unique differentiators creating value for

all the stakeholders. Arohan will continue to

further strengthen its brand equity by way of

exploring future-ready platforms enhancing

overall customer experience.

[email protected]

Neeraj Kumar Lal explains the

4 customer segments and how

corporate communications can

address them

Arohan identifies 4 distinct customer segments