Zurich Insurance Because Change Happens - Essay Example

The company aims to provide higher returns to shareholders. A SWOT analysis has been conducted to analyse the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as market opportunities and threats. The company’s vision and mission statement has been formulated. The corporate objectives have also been discussed in details. The corporate objectives serve as the basis for formulation of marketing objectives. A five-year integrative strategic plan has been formulated with the aim to devise ways in which Zurich Insurance can develop their services in both existing and emerging markets.

The strategic plan involves a situational analysis. The macroeconomic analysis has been done through PESTLE analysis, business life cycle and elasticity of demand analysis. The industry analysis has been done through Porter’s five forces, Profit Impact of Market strategy (PIMS) and gap analysis. The market analysis involved determining the segmentation, targeting and positioning of the company’s products. The internal analysis was done through McKinsey’s 7s framework. The marketing strategies of the company were evaluated using Ansoff’s matrix.

The implementation of the strategies involved in launching products was done on the basis of 7 Ps of service marketing. The budget allocation for the marketing initiatives was discussed in details. The final step in the strategic plan was the formulation of a Gantt chart to determine the time required in establishing the products of the company. 2.0 Key Issues Zurich Financial Services Group is a major insurance service provider. The insurance sector is extremely competitive. The existence of several major players in the insurance industry makes it necessary to provide certain additional services to customers with the intention that they can gain competitive advantage.

In Switzerland, there are almost 80 insurance companies. Among these companies, five to six large players contribute to 80% of the market. The absence of government insurance companies further enhances the power of the private players (Herzlinger, 2008). The main competitive challenge for Zurich insurance is to differentiate itself from its customers by providing them with certain unique services that is not provided by their customers. SWOT Analysis Strengths The customer centric approach of Zurich insurance is its primary strength.

This approach helps them to get a competitive advantage and also instils a feeling of trust among the customers towards the brand. ‘Zurich Help Point’ helps the company to effectively communicate with their customers and their employees. It helps them to implement efficient HR practices and IT system to provide support to employees. Zurich Insurance regularly conducts market research. The company conducts primary as well as secondary research. It helps them in delivering to the customers the