For a long time, insurance companies were in the driver’s seat when it came to customer communications. Not anymore. A combination of rapidly expanding digital technology and changing demographics has transformed the interactive landscape and the customer engagement model.
Digital consumers are changing the rules of the game. The customer is now in control more than ever before, with numerous purchasing options, vast online research tools and multiple touch points. For many transactions, consumers increasingly prefer digital channels, which make content universally accessible by mixing media (graphics, text and video), tailoring messages (providing discounts, location or demographic information) and adding social connectivity (allowing communities or friends to build around themes and needs).
These hyper-connected consumers are using smartphones and mobile technology to research, shop and purchase insurance according to their individual needs, wants and preferences – all at a fair price. And they expect insurers to communicate with them on a personalized, relevant and contextual basis. In the mobile mind shift, insurance customers expect that they can get what they want, right when they need it, thanks to that mobile device constantly at their side. These assumptions have been shaped and reinforced in millions of transactions and interactions in the modern retail and service economy.
So the big question: are insurers adapting to this new model? Can they communicate effectively with digital natives when, how and on whatever platform they demand? The answer is: not fully. But times are changing. Many insurers are developing and executing strategies focused on customer communications management (CCM).
The path to successful digital mastery, however, can be a long road riddled with obstacles, including legacy technology, organizational inertia, operational inefficiency and the need for top-down corporate leadership. For most insurance companies, effective digital CCM is a journey, not a destination.
In our latest white paper “Insurance and customer communications management: give customers what they want”, we explore the significant shift in consumer communication expectations, the traditional hurdles that insurers face and how these can be overcome with a broad CCM vision based on practical, achievable business goals.
The fact is that insurers have not kept pace with rapidly emerging customer needs. It is critical to be relevant and speak to the customer in their voice. If you can’t communicate with customers in the way they want, someone else will.
