Check yourself: The key to a world-class distribution network

Carriers know the customer experience is everything. This is followed closely by price, and as a carrier, you often compete on price. But if you’re not consistently delivering a great customer experience, your customers will find a carrier who does, even if your prices are lower.

This is why carriers regularly survey policyholders after they interact directly with the carrier, i.e., after a claim has been resolved, when policyholders renew or leave, etc. Many carriers opt for the net promoter score (NPS) survey, which asks how likely the recipient is to recommend the carrier to friends or family to determine if policyholders are a promoter, passive or detractor.

NPS is popular for a reason: It’s simple and familiar, so customers are more likely to complete the survey. It’s also short and sweet, so it’s easy to send from a variety of channels, including texts, calls and emails. And it’s a great way to get a snapshot of where your brand stands with customers now, track perceptions over time and know when to dig deeper to resolve issues.

But, to achieve a truly great customer experience, you shouldn’t be using NPS surveys on just your customers.

Use NPS to Find out how your distribution network is doing

Knowing what your customers think of your carrier organization is critical, but there’s a larger distribution network that represents your brand via their interactions with policyholders. The distribution network includes brokers, agents and producers, and NPS surveys can help you find out if your distribution management system is truly best in class.

For example, surveys can help you understand how well brokers and agents have done explaining your benefits, features and coverage to policyholders. Is the network managing expectations effectively by giving customers an accurate overview of the policy they purchased, or did the policyholder feel blindsided when a claim was denied for coverage they thought they had?

Is your distribution network handling the onboarding process for new customers in a way that represents your brand values? Surveys can reveal whether your distribution network is falling short and where they excel. It can also provide invaluable insight on why customers stay with your carrier organization and why they leave.

Do customers stick around because of your price point or underwriting practices? Do they stay on board because they have a great experience through your distribution network? These are all critical questions, and regularly surveying customers who interact with the network can give you the answers you need to make improvements and refine your approach.

Use NPS to find out how your distribution network thinks YOU’RE doing

Almost all carriers use surveys to keep tabs on customer sentiment when policyholders interact with the carrier, and it’s a good idea to expand that to include surveys on interactions with the distribution network since agents, brokers and producers are the face of the company to customers. It’s important to hold them accountable because they are central to the overall brand experience.

But, don’t forget to hold yourself accountable too, by surveying your distribution network to find out how they think you’re doing. Are you keeping agents, brokers and producers informed? Do they have the information they need and the right platforms and tools to show up as experts and accurately communicate policy benefits to customers?

Given high levels of reinsurance and reseller activity and changes in actuarial processes that may affect underwriting and risk levels — are changes at the carrier level being communicated effectively to distribution networks, who need to be kept informed of facts and benefits in a timely manner? This all affects the policyholder experience downstream, so getting answers is critical.

Whether you work with independent or captive agencies, find out how your agents, brokers and producers feel about working with you, the carrier. Would they recommend you to friends or family members who are thinking about working in the industry? Do you make their jobs easy? Are they enthusiastic promoters, “meh” passives or disgruntled detractors?

Check your network — and yourself — to deliver the best customer experience

We all know the distribution network plays a key role in shaping the customer experience, so by all means, make sure they’re doing a great job. But don’t just measure them — measure yourself too. Make sure your network is getting the training and information they need to effectively represent your brand and that they have the tools they need, such as automated communication, to do proactive outreach.

Find out if your agents, brokers and producers would recommend you as a partner if their friends or family were thinking about selling policies. Ultimately, their experience is reflected in the customer experience, so make sure they’re taking care of policyholders and that you’re taking care of your network. That’s how to create a great customer experience — and a world-class distribution network.

Tara Kelly is the founder, president & CEO of SPLICE Software, a customer engagement company that specializes in using big data, small data and artificial intelligence to create messages that drive customer engagement and the desired call to action.      

Opinions expressed here are the author’s own.

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