Digital transformation: The insurance industry's top resolution
Discover how tech advancements can enhance sales and customer experiences, while attracting top-flight talent.
While a human-centric approach is integral to insurance sales, face-to-face interactions are becoming ever rarer as meetings are forced online. We are entering a “new normal” post-pandemic era, and the key to driving revenue and building personal relationships now lies in a companies’ digital capabilities.
How helpful is your AI customer service chatbot/? How are you applying data to your future projections? How are you leveraging tech to streamline your administrative processes and spend more time with your clients?
Unfortunately, many insurance companies still have their sales teams using scattered tools and lack a comprehensive digital strategy. In the post-pandemic sales environment, this model is simply unsustainable.
Digital transformation needs to be at the top of every insurance executive’s to-do list. Implementing a comprehensive technology infrastructure at your brokerage can help drive revenue, attract and retain top talent and meet evolving customer expectations.
Closing sales using digital tools
A successful digital sales strategy should quickly scale and speed up operations, help identify current sales opportunities and reveal untapped areas for future profits and potential losses.
Investment in tools like AI, customer relationship management (CRM) software, cloud technology, and data analytics are amongst the leading opportunities for the insurance industry.
According to Deloitte’s 2022 Insurance Industry Outlook, next year 74% of insurance companies expect to increase spending on AI, 72% on cloud computing and storage, 67% on data analytics, and 63% on mobile technology. This is because the return on investment on digital technology is truly consequential.
One insurance company in Deloitte’s study utilized an AI-powered support system that provided agents 860,000 individual and 80,000 corporate sales leads per month. Productivity for those agents increased anywhere between 20% to 130% compared to the conventional sales model.
This is just one example of many. Agents can also leverage digital tools and applications within CRM software to make selling more efficient while ensuring client data remains secure. For example, SignEasy announced its new integration with Salesforce, the world’s leading CRM software. Agents can download SignEasy from the Salesforce AppExchange and use it to request and send signatures directly in their contracts, invoices, project quotes and more. They can automate getting documents signed in a specific order, send reminders to signers, and track the progress of agreements — all significantly speeding up the closing process.
Overcoming ‘The Great Resignation’
In October, more than 4 million Americans quit their jobs, keeping steady with the trend that the labor market has seen over the past few months. Known as “The Great Resignation,” workers are switching companies, starting their own consultancies, or leaving their industries altogether — and the insurance sector has been no exception.
The insurance job market is incredibly competitive right now. Top sales reps are looking for companies that have recognized the shift in selling, and invested in the right sales tech stack to set up their teams for success. Implementing best-in-class CRM software can show agents that your brokerage is serious about digital transformation, and also help current employees streamline and consolidate their customer interactions.
Salesforce, for example, enables agents to create customized workflows and easily accessible customer databases with the digital tools and apps available via their AppExchange.
Keeping up with customer expectations
Social distancing measures caused a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. Nearly 9 in 10 consumers say they expect companies to accelerate their digital initiatives moving forward, according to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Consumer report.
Companies across all sectors are putting their digital transformation into turbo drive because customers now expect best-in-class digital experiences to be the norm. Brand loyalty has decreased due to the wide variety of options available on the digital marketplace and patience has worn thin in the age of instant gratification.
That being said, digital tools should not replace human interaction and demonstrable knowledge of a client’s industry. In Salesforce’s study, 84% of business buyers said they are more likely to buy from a company that demonstrates an understanding of their business goals, but also said 57% of reps lack that knowledge.
Technological transformation is not a linear process. Some businesses may adopt new tools in a piecemeal fashion, while others may perform a complete overhaul of their practices. There is a fine line that brokerages must walk between providing digital services and still maintaining a human touch. The key lies in staying true to your company’s mission and values while updating operating models that enable maximum efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Sunil Patro is the CEO and founder of SignEasy, the leading eSignature solution for businesses and professionals worldwide. More than 160,000 customers from 150 countries trust Signeasy’s easy-to-use and secure solution to shorten contract turnaround times, close deals faster, improve their customer experience and reduce their environmental impact.
Opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
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