What was the problem you were grappling with?
We were in a situation of continuous disruption of the financial services distribution business as new fintech players with huge cash burns were spending heavily on brand awareness. We were running the risk of becoming an irrelevant brand.
Who did you approach for advice and why?
I followed my intuition and introspected deeply over my meditation sessions on what should be the way forward for us. I had no one else to solicit, as no one understands your business better than you.
What was the best advice you ever received?
The advice I received from within me was to focus on our strengths—what is the one thing we have that no one can ever copy. The answer I got was: we are a nearly 60-year-old brand that has been building ‘Relationships for Life’. So we will be trusted by people who require trust-based services the most—that is, the retirees. We refocussed our energies on building special products and solutions for that segment.
How effective was it in resolving your problem?
This insight became a life-changing moment for us. Our retirement services were very well received by the market and today it contributes around 25 per cent to the bottom line of the company within just two and a half years of its launch. And, we believe that it will be a major growth driver for the company in the future.
