Customers’ trust, confidence critical to business survival, says business expert

An insurance guru and Chief Executive Officer of Orange Insurance Brokers Limited, Mrs Janet Ibikunle has stressed the need for businesses to  build their focus on winning customers’ trust and confidence,  so as to ensure their survival in the nation’s ever-slippery business terrain.

Speaking with Brands & Marketing in Lagos, shortly after receiving the Most Customer-Focused Insurance  Company in West Africa Award, on behalf of her company, Ibikunle stated that  one of the corporate missions of the company is to correct some erroneous impressions about insurance business in Nigeria.

She ascribed the failure of the nation’s  insurance business to realize its full potential, sto its  inability to fully  earn Nigerians’  trust and confidence.

“But, at Orange Insurance Brokers, our primary concern is to erase such erroneous belief, by ensuring that customers are  fully compensated whenever it is time to do so.

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“We always act as the mouthpiece for the customers and that is why we tell the insurance companies that the only language we understand  is to ensure that customers’ claims are fully settled, and on time, too. “We believe the only way to grow insurance business is to win back customers’ confidence, loyalty and trust. And I think we are actually making progress,” she argued.

The Orange Insurance boss also expressed delight at the recognition given to the company by the Nigeria Brands Award, organisers of Nigeria Pension Awards and  the Africa Finance Awards, noting that such recognition would further spur on the company in its task of enhancing insurance business in Nigeria.

Speaking on the awards, the Managing Director of  Nigeria Brands Award, Mr Abidemi Adesanya,  explained that the purpose of the awards, was to continually encourage brands and their custodians, especially at these trying economic times, in the country.

He added that the theme of the awards, “The Strategic role of Business Leaders in Building Africa Finance Economy,” was informed by the need to bring to the fore the issue of finance which, he argued, still remains a huge challenge, facing businesses in this part of the globe.

According to him, the choice of the 13 awardees was arrived at after they had duly  satisfied  the rigorous screening of the award organising committee, led by Cammil Chineme, with other notable marketing communications practitioners and business executives, as members.