TCF sits very comfortably with the text book definition of good marketing, namely satisfying consumer wants and needs profitably.

Within the TCF initiative, the FSA aims to deliver six improved outcomes for retail consumers. Firms are being encouraged to focus on these and make TCF an integral part of their business culture and treat TCF as a continuous process.

The six improved outcomes are as follows:

• Consumers can be confident that they are dealing with firms where the fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture
• Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified consumer groups and are targeted accordingly
• Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale
• Where consumers receive advice, the advice is suitable and takes account of their circumstances
• Consumers are provided with products that perform as firms have led them to expect, and the associated service is both of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect
• Consumers do not face unreasonable post sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.

TCF is therefore an issue of cultural change and strong leadership from senior management to drive this change.