There can’t be many industries beyond insurance where customers purchase a product in the hope of never using it. Unlike other sectors, who have the opportunity to engage with their customers and build relationships with them through regular and continued service, only rarely will those who buy insurance products experience what they really have to offer. With so many customers putting very little value in insurance, it's little wonder that price – rather than brand, reputation or service – becomes the main motivator for purchase.
As if customer loyalty and retention isn’t enough of a problem, the surging popularity of comparison sites makes it as simple as a few clicks to find another provider who can offer them a better deal at a lower price.
With so few touchpoint opportunities to connect with customers, what can insurers do to help their policy holders feel more engaged and stem churn? Can they be swayed to purchase by factors other than price?
Increase Engagement to Boost Retention
There are a number of tactics to use and issues to address that insurance providers can use in order to build engagement and relationships with their customers and improve retention:
- The purchasing experience: It doesn’t matter whether a potential customer is using a laptop, tablet or mobile phone – they want the process of buying insurance to be speedy and simple. Forms need to be straightforward to complete, with relevant information stored between web pages and channels in order to streamline the experience. Also important is delivering an accurate, competitive policy quote in real-time – too long a delay could see a potential customer turning to a competitor who can give them an immediate response. However, while it is important that your quote is competitive, it also needs to be accurate and profitable for your business. Utilizing third party data will allow you to assess risk to deliver a price that will satisfy the underwriters and hopefully the customer too.
- Loyalty/reward schemes: In such a competitive market, when acquiring new policy holders is much more expensive than keeping hold of existing ones, loyalty schemes can play a significant role in your retention strategies. Offering redeemable points or discounts for other services can help keep customers engaged and such perks can be deemed enough to offset any potential increase in premiums come renewal time.
- Getting the most from your data: For customers who have agreed to receive marketing communications, analysis of your customer data (including demographics and life stage requirements) can present opportunities for cross-selling products and other offers. A Single Customer View will ensure that your data is up-to-date and clean, and keep your messages relevant.
- Effortless renewals: No matter how simple it is to shop online for policy quotes, renewing an existing policy is still easier. So, it’s crucial that insurers nail the renewal experience by making it as painless and straightforward as possible.
- The claims process: Making a claim is considered the defining moment for a customer. How any issues are submitted, handled and resolved can make or break your relationship with them. Like the buying experience, the ability to start the claims process should be easy to do from any device, with all relevant departments involved having access to the correct information at any given stage.
Use an SCV to Boost Your Business
At BlueVenn, we work alongside numerous insurance companies to provide them with the insight they need to fully understand their customers.
To read more about how insurance firms use BlueVenn and third party data to balance risk, pricing and customer value, take a look at our Insurance Marketing Solutions eBook.
Discover how:
- You can benefit from a Single Customer View
- How risk assessing can be streamlined
- Why multiple database silos could be losing you new business
- How you can benefit from a closed-loop marketing solution
