Personalization is critical to a successful customer experience, KPMG finds

Seven insurers are among the top 100 companies consumers ranked highest on customer experience delivery in 2018.

Consumers now want immediate gratification and want to feel valued and recognized as an individual. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Today’s insurance customers are demanding — and more decisive when you fail to meet their expectations. You aren’t likely to get a second chance.

Related: The art of personal selling in the digital age

Customer expectations are rising faster than most organizations’ ability to change their approach to customers expectations. So, what do insurance agents, brokers and other professionals need to do to meet customer expectations in the current climate?

Individualized experiences are key

A new report from U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG shows companies that offer the best personal, “individualized” experiences to their customers ultimately reap the benefits of higher revenue growth and improved brand standing and loyalty.

“In 2018, the concept of individuality and the unique sense of self remain equally relevant — however, now companies must not only show that they know their customers’ names but that they know them as a person,” said Julio J. Hernandez, KPMG’s global Customer Center of Excellence and U.S. Customer Advisory lead. “Today’s immediate gratifications consumers want to feel valued and recognized as an individual. In a world where consumers realize that their personal data has value, firms need to understand what information customers want to share and how they want to be engaged.”

The findings are from KPMG’s “2018 U.S. Customer Experience Excellence Analysis” of more than 7,500 U.S. consumers and 250 brands across 10 business sectors:

Top consumer brands for customer experience

The KPMG study also ranked the top consumer “champion” brands in terms of customer experience delivered. Among the top 100 companies consumers ranked highest on customer experience delivery in 2018, are seven insurers:

The study found that personalization is critical to the successful delivery of a customer experience, and a pillar of loyalty and advocacy. Customers want to be:

KPMG noted that personalization requires deep knowledge of the customer and his or her circumstances, and that “poor personalization is like no personalization at all.”

Download the full report.

Related:

Emerging tech fuels insurance consumers’ on-demand expectations

4 steps to transforming the customer claims experience

Perfect customer experience with persona-based engagement