Improving Customer Retention in the Insurance Industry using Dynamics CRM

Differentiate on Service not on Price

The challenge these days in the Insurance Industry is that it is almost impossible to differentiate on price given the tools that are at the consumers finger tips.  Web sites such as www.iselect.com.au, www.greenslips.com.au, www.infochoice.com.au and www.ratecity.com.au all give you the ability to get quotes from multiple insurance providers on the same terms, simultaneously with relative ease. As an insurer as soon as you drop your price the competition will do the same.  Conversely you can't raise your price otherwise the consumers will be aware of the variation and migrate to other providers fairly quickly.  Price as a tool to drive demand is working less and less. 

The trick then is to retain your customers in the first place through effective customer service across the Customer Service  Cycle.  This article discusses the key points any insurer should consider when developing their customer service strategy and gives examples of how a tool like Dynamics CRM can assist in the execution of that strategy. 

The Customer Service Cycle

The following is the basic cycle that needs to be considered when interacting with customers in the insurance industry...

In brief ....

• Profile - Having a complete understanding of your customer's needs and wants;
• Segment - Different customers require and prefer different service levels and different types of service.  You need to provide this to them;
• Interact - Having tools that help you manage the interaction with your customers efficiently and effectively; and
• Personalise - Providing offerings and service levels specific to your customers needs.

Profile

The first step in the Customer Service Cycle is to Profile your Customer before you interact with them.  Some refer to this as having a 360 Degree View but it's more than that.  Aside from understanding your customers history it's also important to understand their purchase preferences and what they will want in the future. Basic questions like...

• What have they purchased in the past?
• How will that influence what they would purchase in the future?
• How have they interacted with you before?
• What have your communications have been about ?
• Based on their Demographic what products and services will they be most interested in?

In Dynamics CRM aside from providing that 360 Degree View and complete Audit History you can use custom Workflows to identify potential cross/ upsell opportunities.  You can create customer experience maps which will provide your customers with custom interactions based on their profile. 

Segment

Once you've Profiled a customer you want to Segment them not just based on the types of products and services they would be interested but also the level of service the customer will prefer.  Not only can "over servicing" be an unnecessary cost to the business but it can also lead to reduced customer satisfaction.  Calling the customer repeatedly who does not want to be called can work against you.  Communicating to the customer over the phone when they really would have preferred email also leads to a reduced perception of service.  Once you've determined the appropriate level of service then understanding the types of services they are interested in, not only increases your chances of upsell and cross sell but also increases the overall perception of Quality of Service

An example of this in Dynamics CRM is Dynamic Marketing Lists.  Users can create complex Boolean logic queries which are dynamically updated based on the information in the CRM database. This allows for extremely targeted communication.  For example you can create a Marketing List that identifies customer who are coming up for insurance renewal whom you haven't talked to in the last 6 months but whom prefer to be called after 6:00pm. 

Interact

A good interaction with a customer is one where you have as much information as possible at the point of that interaction and where you have a structured but flexible interaction process thereby increasing the chance that the customer gets what they want as quickly as possible. The customer having to provide information you show already know or having to wait whilst you process through several screens on your business system is going to cause frustration on their end and reduce the perception of service. 

An example of how Dynamics CRM can improve interactions with your customers is through the use of Dialogs for phone based communication.  The Dialog tool in CRM allows you to script conversations with your customer.  It can present information about your customer based on a recognised phone number.  As you ask and answer questions in the system the Dialog determines the next set of questions for you to ask you customer.  All the while the relevant data is being trapped by the Dialog in CRM in one screen eliminating the need to navigate from screen to screen.  Thereby the system improves customer interaction by making sure you have the requisite information at your figure tips, have a structured process and not having to navigate from screen to screen. 

Personalize

Customers expect all their communications to be highly personalized.  One example of this is the email that is addressed to them by name from the person in your organization they know, that shows that you remember their history with your organization and provides them with specific information on the services they are interested in.  Or in the case of a phone, recognises the customers phone number and provides you with the information necessary to continue on the previous conversation with the customer or proactively know what they would likely be calling you about to prepare you for the conversation. 

An example of this in Dynamics CRM is using Click Dimensions to provide Dynamic Content Emails.  These tools allow you to tailor content in your email communications specific to your customer.  The person based out of Victoria, Australia receives contact details specific to that geography, offer information specific to their needs and if you want can even have a graphic on the email specific to them (e.g. If you are in Victoria the header graphic is a picture of AFL star but if you are in NSW the header graphic is a picture of a Rugby League star). 

Improved Service in the Insurance Industry is the Way...

Speaking from a personal perspective the services companies I use for all the services I consume (not just insurance or financial services) I've stuck with or left based on wether that company could give me what I needed when I needed it.  I didn't stick with them for providing me services that I wasn't interested.  Ultimately those service providers whom Profiled and understood me, Segmented and provide me the offerings and level of service I was interested in and made me felt that I was getting more Personalized service are the ones that got my business.  Interactions that were smooth and efficient also helped.  Insurance providers need to understand this model as do services companies across most industries.   Dynamics CRM has a number of tools that can support an effective Customer Service Strategy in this regard.  If you'd like more information you can contact us at info@esavvy.com.au . 


David Goad is the Managing Director for eSavvy – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Gold Certified Partner. eSavvy is an award winning Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner staffed by some of the most experienced solution and technical architects in the Microsoft partner channel. We build and deliver relationship management solutions based on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform for large enterprises as well small and midsize businesses in Australia.