How can effective customer communications unlock the hidden value in your insurance customer base? Riverside give us 5 key areas to consider, including:
1. Do you neglect your greatest asset?
2. Why many of your customers want to buy more insurance – from you
3. Relevant offers of additional cover deliver great customer service – as well as improved customer loyalty
4. Be sure to involve your intermediaries in customer communications – and you can build their loyalty too
5. Unlocking the great hidden value in your insurance customer base – how to get started
1. Do you neglect your greatest asset?
Customers are the life blood of all business; without customers there’s simply no business. And effective, regular customer communication is a key factor in boosting profits, building customer loyalty… and even delighting your intermediaries. So why is it that many insurance companies communicate so rarely with existing customers after a policy has been sold? There are various potential reasons:
• The “new business” number is often seen as the most important indicator of success – with cross sales, upgrades and retention featuring less prominently. This is especially the case in markets which are still growing rapidly.
• Remuneration of management and the sales organisation sometimes gives greater focus to customer acquisition than customer retention and development.
• Delivering effective customer communications demands resource and expertise that the company might not have in-house.
• Many insurers are concerned that customer communication programmes would alienate the introducing intermediaries.
• There is often a view that customers simply don’t want communication from their insurer – or even that such communication could prompt policy lapses.
But the fact is that customers WANT to receive more communications from their insurance companies. And well managed communications from insurers to customers have been
seen to DELIGHT intermediaries – provided they are always kept fully informed.
What’s more, the demand for more and better communication is not coming from customers alone. Regulators around the world are increasingly keen to ensure that customers are kept
aware of the benefits and terms of the insurance products they hold.
Insurers who communicate effectively with their customers provide a service that reinforces the value of insurance protection – leading to increased customer and intermediary loyalty, as well as the goodwill of insurance regulators.
Your customers are your greatest asset; don’t neglect them.
To read the full report, please download the PDF version by clicking the button above (top right).
