Shifting Environment From a Focus on Products to Customer Centricity

Shifting Environment From a Focus on Products to Customer Centricity

Contents Section 1: Affinity Marketing Section 2: Customer Centricity: A Differentiating Factor Section 3: Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Understanding Clients Customer : the Centre of Business opportunities

Section 1: Affinity Marketing

Affinity Marketing Traditionally, this relates to retail distribution focusing upon specific types of simplified products that could be sold over-the-counter. For an insurance company, affinity distribution could be with: Banks Exchange houses Travel agents Car dealers Aggregators Telesales companies

Why affinity distribution channels? Insurers Insurers are in the business of risk and profit comes from efficient U/W and appropriate pricing I n s u r e r s l o o k a t c o s t - e ff e c t i v e distribution channels with long term sustainability A penetration strategy is enabled to increase the customer base Affinity Partners Insurance products are enablers for additional income Commission income represents additional revenue source with no / low investment Owners of huge database which is a valuable source of potential customers

Building synergy between Affinity Distribution Channels and Insurers Both parties should have a clear strategy of what needs to be done Determine the common needs of the customers Develop products to cater to those needs Implement marketing activities Review and adapt to the changing needs of the customers Conduct sales training to effectively penetrate the data base

Affinity Distribution Channels - Examples Affinity Distribution Channel Target segment Implementation Exchange House Remittance customers Provision of life assurance to the level of remitted amount Car dealers Motor customers Motor insurance packaged along with vehicle and marketed as free insurance. Travel agents Customer buying tickets Travel insurance embedded in the ticket cost Aggregators / Comparison Websites Online buyers Provide competitive quotes for different insurance products.

Benefits of Affinity Marketing Schemes Insurers Insurer reduces his expenses in marketing research Insurer benefits from increased level of fidelity on the part of the customer By joining the affinity partner, the insurer strengthens his reputation Insurer has access to affinity group information, he doesn t have to buy the data and can research the data further via customer segmentation.

Benefits of Affinity Marketing Schemes Affinity Partner Affinity group increases its income via a commission Affinity group develops an enhanced connection with its members and expands its offering Affinity partner enhances its reputation and avoids the costs of merchandising the product directly.

Benefits of Affinity Marketing Schemes Customers Benefit from an insurance product that has been discounted Become more confident in their choices because of the partnership between their affinity group and the insurer. Benefit from a insurance product that has been especially designed and manufactured for them to satisfy their needs.

Why some Affinity Marketing Schemes don t succed Poor timing in targeting customers (eg product launch at Christmas / during the summer holidays) Net disposable income of target audience is not sufficient for the products offered. Some products are not sufficiently tailored to meet the customers specific needs.

E-Commerce Sharing referrals by promoting icons and links connected to other websites that meet the customers needs. Affinity marketing online : - Can increase sales - Can enhance website visibility - Encourages traffic - E-commerce websites / applications are increasingly segmenting the market by capturing customers behavior online along with their buying habits.

Section 2 : Customer Centricity: A differentiating factor

Objectives of Customer Centricity creating value for the customers to differentiate the offer managing customer experience with the brand or company. Customers have higher bargaining power nowadays with unlimited access to information, product options and service providers. Therefore, companies need to compete by creating the best experience for their customers to earn their trust, loyalty and commitment.

Customer Centricity: A differentiating factor Customers Centricity should be the focus of every business to create value for customer and capture value from customer in return. In designing a customer-driven marketing strategy any company must answer these questions: What customer will we serve? (what is your target market) How can we serve these customers best? (what s our value proposition)

Customer Centricity : Determinants CUSTOMER CENTRICITY IS Using customer data to better understand your customer base Identifying the best customers In sorting customers into meaningful groups data can be derived about the target customer types that your organization would really like to attract. Using Customer Lifetime Value to segment your customers

Customer Centricity : Shifting the culture ORGANISATION CENTRIC CULTURE CUSTOMER CENTRIC CULTURE What products can we sell to our clients? What does our client need to get done now and how can we help? What relationships do we need to establish with our clients? Versus What relationships do our clients expect us to establish with them? How can we make money from our clients? What value do our clients need to see before they are willing to pay?

Customer Centricity : Customer Focused / Customer Centric CUSTOMER FOCUSED Delivering an optimal customer experience consistently throughout the organisation CUSTOMER CENTRIC Considering a customer s lifetime value and focusing marketing efforts on that chosen segment to drive profit

Customer Centricity : Shifting the focus from Product to Customer Financial objective for a product centric company focuses upon optimizing value created by each product. Financial objective for customer centric company focuses upon optimizing value created by each customer (eg cross-selling of products). Customer Lifecycle Customer Centricity Customer Experience Customer Value

Customer Centricity : Old Wine in a new Bottle? Customer centricity relates to the full customer life- time value including : - Customer service - Customer experience - Customer loyalty - Customer retention - Customer win-back The connected web-enabled customer now provides the insurer with a unique opportunity to get to know his/her likes / dislikes, wants and needs. At the same time, companies need to careful in sharing data (eg confidentiality of customer data). The challenge remains as to how to monetise the LIKES

Customer Centricity: Customer Service How do customers of today differ from customers of yesterday? Customers want to find what he / she needs in a fast and easy way. In terms of customer service, everything is now required immediately. A call operator who fails to pick up a phone within 3 rings may have lost a potential life-long customer. Customers want the fewest touch-points as possible. This applies equally to navigation of a website as to interface with a contact center. They don t want to hear corporate speak nor be subject to unnecessary advertising in the process. Organisations need to deliver a customer centric mindset to their organizations and promote / embrace it as a mission (rather than a concept ). Such a mindset can only really be inculcated via changing the corporate culture through the behaviours of their staff.

Customer Centricity: Legacy Perception v Reality

What companies do wrong? Paying more attention to the specific product than the benefits and experiences produced by these products to their customer This can result in Misrepresentation Misselling Lack of transparency

How to create superior customer satisfaction Innovation Focusing on customer centricity means understanding the complexity of customer needs which drives innovation in terms of product and services that in turn improve the Product superiority Service excellence Customer Centricity overall business performance.

Section 3: Customer Centricity in Bancassurance

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Understanding the clients Building Synergy between banks and insurer Approaches to Customer Segments Approaches Customer segments Value-centric approach Affluent segment Upper middle income Volume-centric approach Mass market

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Understanding the clients Value Centric Approach Objective Higher premium sizes and higher revenue generation Typical products Life and investment plan; jumbo life cover policies Target segment Affluent and upper middle income segments Sales approach Advice based selling Increased underwriting requirements Sales team Investment relationship managers Associate wealth directors Challenges Investment and insurance expertise needed Availability of qualified staff Continuous acquisitions Long-term sustainability Key focus on quality sales

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Understanding the clients Volume Centric Approach Objective Penetration on customer base Typical products Personal line products Target segment Mass market Sales approach Simplified documentation Pre-underwritten policies Over-the-counter experience Sales team Branch CSRs or insurance champions in the branches Field sales team Call centers Challenges Insurance and sales expertise Initial years acquisitions, later retention Straight through processing Lower premium products, sell more Lower revenue generated initially

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Understanding clients Both approaches Volume-centric Value-centric Revenues Time Horizon

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Customer: The center of business opportunities Sources of innovation Innovation A recognized need Financial support Competent people with relevant technology

Customer Centricity in Bancassurance Customer: The center of business opportunities Innovative insurance solutions Products Packaged products for specific customer segments Eg linking ladies bank accounts with Women s Health Insurance Eg portable Investment Plans / Life Assurance for Middle East Expats Processes Simplified documentation Claims intimation through SMS, mobile apps, etc according to the client s preference. Services Easy payment options (eg instalment plans via bank deductions) Renewal reminders via e-mails, SMS, etc. Statement updates Technologies Mobile apps Instant policy issuance via web portals

Thank You Presented by: John Stefanowski ACII Senior Bancassurance Development Manager RAK Insurance Email: johnstefanowski@rakinsurance.com