Creating success in a business-to-consumer environment
The pandemic has forced companies, including insurers, to reconsider how they sell and service their products to customers.
Insurance providers were certainly not immune to the disruptions caused by COVID-19. Just as it disrupted manufacturing, supply chains, travel and other commercial sectors, insurance companies have had to adjust rapidly to the dramatic changes the pandemic brought to daily life. A recent survey by NielsenIQ data showed that 67% of consumers have changed their buying habits due to the virus, and this would include the consumption of insurance products and services.
Across the economic spectrum, businesses are turning to business-to-consumer (B2C) models in order to maintain their competitive advantages, and insurers are no exception. By engaging directly with consumers via websites, mobile apps and other tools, insurers are able to deliver services at a lower cost and provide higher levels of service.
The challenge to this approach, however, comes in managing the data loads that B2C channels generate. Volumes are growing larger as firms move beyond B2C to embrace Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) models that essentially mirror the e-commerce operations employed by the retail industry and others. Traditional insurers who are just starting out on this transition face an even greater hurdle in that they must compete with established players, many of whom were founded on business models that featured both B2C and D2C as core competencies.
This is to say that in today’s post-pandemic economy, any insurance firm, whether it is a national underwriter, a regional office or local agent that has not developed a robust e-commerce strategy that connects directly to customers is facing obsolescence. Online economic activity skyrocketed in response to the pandemic-induced lockdowns as users across all demographics turned to their devices to obtain vital goods and services.
Changing times: Customers want immediate access
Just as we’ve seen in auto, travel and other industries when consumers no longer have to engage with third-party providers and can instead go directly to the source at the tap of a screen, traditional B2B intermediaries like agents and local franchises must seek new market opportunities elsewhere — and this can be most easily done in the online world.
The key challenge in making the transition from B2B to D2C is to implement this strategy quickly, non-disruptively and cost-effectively. At the same time, however, this change must remain focused on enhancing the customer experience by properly leveraging data across a fully integrated digital support environment.
A basic tenet of marketing is to provide a unique, engaging and, in the digital era, highly personalized experience. To achieve this, providers need to enhance a number of key technologies like data collection and analysis, both of which must be ramped up to continuous, real-time operational footprints.
One of the most useful data sets is buyer preference, which can be accurately determined by assessing relevant data such as previous purchases, brand preferences and customer location. These points are used to create both an individualized customer profile that guides any and all personal interaction, as well as broader demographic profiles that can be used to direct messaging, advertising and other forms of outreach. If done properly, this enhanced capacity for data management and analytics will result in higher levels of brand loyalty and repeat engagement on the part of consumers, particularly in the online world where consistency, contextual relevance and strong brand alignment have been proven to be key drivers for success.
With this level of knowledge in hand, the next step is to apply it to every touchpoint in the customer engagement process. Data must be optimized in ways that enhance interactions across all channels, from initial engagement to sales, fulfillment, customer support and elsewhere. This requires a complete, 360-degree view of data, which can only be done by shedding the aging, fragmented resource environments that currently inhibit the exchange of information within most organizations’ data footprints. As primarily a service-based industry, insurance must place a premium on speed, given that online consumers are not known for their patience and can easily click elsewhere if their needs are not met in a timely manner.
Direct customer outreach boosts loyalty and long-term ROI
Implementing an advanced customer data platform (CDP) can be invaluable but it requires a true commitment to acting on customer data. Not only can it provide significant benefits to leading-edge business models in the insurance game, such as higher conversion rates and heightened customer loyalty and retention, but it also harnesses the often dispersed knowledge that exists within siloed sales, marketing, support and other departments. This allows organizations to maximize the value of the data that is costly to generate and maintain. In addition, new generations of intelligent platforms can perform detailed analytics on finite and broadly general data sets to provide complete views of existing and potential customers.
Whether you’ve built a direct offering or started a new direct online channel on your website, it’s critical to measure and analyze the results on an ongoing basis. This enables faster adaptation to adjust to customer preferences and better serve them.
Without a doubt, the transition from B2B to D2C will require careful planning based on extensive knowledge of consumer trends. The pandemic has changed the game for the insurance industry and virtually every other industry on the planet. Consumers now have the ability and the motivation to seek out the best deals possible with both ease and sophistication. It is now up to providers to decide if they truly want to succeed in this new economic environment or give in to competitors who can engage consumers on their terms.
As a senior customer experience strategist at O3, Michael Tarquinio works with enterprises to drive seamless interactions between brands and their customers. Contact him at michaeltarquinio@o3world.com.
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