MAM
Marketers have to be accountable for business consequences
MUMBAI: Marketers have to be accountable for business consequences and not just idea executions, experts in the industry said.
“There has to be an analytical correlation. If Rs 100 million is being spent, the marketer must know by how much he has moved the needle of market share. There has to be a target. A brave CFO (chief financial officer) works with his gut after getting an idea from his marketing team. Marketers should have the courage to put their necks on the chopping block and own the idea,” said Reliance DTH and IPTV CEO Sanjay Behl, while speaking at the Mindshare Brand Equity Compass.
Spatial Access Managing Partner Meenakshi Madhvani bemoaned the fact that big money is chasing mediocre ideas. “90 per cent of advertising consists of mediocre ideas. So marketers feel that they have to shout louder as the idea is mediocre. We are on a mediocrity spiral as often there is not enough time for creative. Every brand manager feels that a bigger budget leads to a stronger market position.”
Madhavani made the point that advertising shies away from accountability as there is no long term perspective. This is the same reason why a marketer will not want to invest in developing an accountability matrix.
Lowe chairman and chief creative officer R Balki denied suggestions that there is no accountability for a creative agency. “If that was the case and we kept failing, then why would we keep getting business? We get a retainer fee. There are also incentives which are not much anyway. The rewards and amount kept for success are not linked to performance. What we do is in line with the objective of a campaign. Is it to change perception or to sell?
There is a need to have ROI modeling embedded in the minds of marketers. Behl noted that Cricket offers immediate reach and impact. It is more measurable than any other media tool. Techniques are advanced and it can be known which game gave better economic value.
Madhavani said that cricket is good if you have just launched a product and want lots of people to know about it in a short period of time. “However if you have been doing a sustained campaign for your product over months, then you might not need cricket. Also for involvement, cricket reaches a small group. Advertisers are being misled by the fact that women watch the IPL. But IPL is not cricket. It is a tamasha. Generally women do not watch cricket.”
Obviously if one is getting higher value, then one will spend more. The question is what is the premium you have to pay and how much more value is the client going to get. Clients and agencies must also have a vision.
Buying family medical insurance online in India has become a common option for individuals who want to secure health coverage for multiple family members under a single policy. However, many buyers are unsure about the exact steps involved in selecting and purchasing the right plan online.
In this guide, you will know the step-by-step process of buying family medical insurance online in India, along with the key factors to review before purchasing a suitable policy.
Step 1: Assess Your Family’s Healthcare Needs
Before buying online health insurance, check the healthcare needs of all family members. Check age, existing illnesses, regular medicines, and the likely need for hospital care later. This helps in selecting a suitable sum insured, policy type, and level of cover. It also reduces the chance of buying a plan that appears suitable but does not meet actual medical needs.
Step 2: Visit the Insurance Company’s Official Website
After understanding the family’s needs, visit the insurer’s official website and read the plan details carefully. Use the official platform to review eligibility, policy wording, waiting periods, cover details, exclusions, and renewal terms.
This step gives a clearer understanding of how the policy works before payment is made. It also helps avoid confusion caused by incomplete summaries on other pages.
Step 3: Compare Available Family Health Insurance Plans
A family medical insurance policy should be compared on factors beyond the premium. Review the sum insured, hospital network, room rent limits, pre- and post-hospitalisation cover, daycare treatment coverage, and waiting periods. It is also important to check treatment sub-limits and specific policy conditions.
Careful comparison helps determine whether a plan provides balanced coverage and whether its terms are suitable for the healthcare needs of the entire family.
Step 4: Choose the Right Policy and Start the Online Purchase
Once the options have been compared, select the policy that best fits the family’s medical needs and budget. Before starting the application, review the covered members, policy term, benefits, and main conditions again. This is an important stage because errors here can lead to the wrong cover amount, an unsuitable variant, or missing details that create problems during policy use.
Step 5: Calculate the Premium Using an Online Calculator
Use the online premium calculator before making the final choice. Enter the correct details, including age, city, number of insured members, and selected cover amount. The result helps in understanding the expected premium and whether the policy fits the annual budget. This step is useful because it allows cost and coverage to be reviewed together, instead of choosing a plan only because the premium looks lower.
Step 6: Fill in Personal and Medical Details
When filling in the proposal form, provide accurate details for each insured member. This includes name, date of birth, contact details, medical history, ongoing treatment, and previous insurance information if required.
Every answer should be complete and truthful. Incorrect or missing details can create difficulty later. Before you submit the form, read every section again and correct any mistakes.
Step 7: Make Payment Through the Secure Payment Gateway
After checking the form, go to the payment page and complete the transaction through the secure payment gateway. Review the premium, policy term, and entered details once more before confirming payment.
After the transaction is completed, save the receipt, reference number, or confirmation message carefully. Keeping this record is useful if you need to track the purchase or follow up on policy issuance later.
Step 8: Download and Keep Your Policy Document Safely
Once the policy is issued, download the policy document, schedule, and any related papers without delay. Read them carefully to confirm member names, policy period, sum insured, and major terms. Save a digital copy in a secure folder and keep a printed copy if needed. Proper record keeping makes future renewals, document checks, and policy servicing easier and more organised when information is required quickly.
Conclusion
Buying health cover online becomes easier when you handle each step with attention. From checking your family’s needs to reading the final document, every stage helps you make an informed choice. A careful approach can reduce mistakes, improve your understanding of policy terms, and help you choose coverage that matches your household’s medical needs, financial capacity, and long-term healthcare planning in a reliable way for your family over the long term.
