Maximizing your CCM Investment
~ by Phil Devilleres
Technology Migration Over Experience Transformation
Today’s core transformation initiatives in the P&C domain often underutilize the capabilities of the new systems they invested in. Often, the transition to the new platform focuses on technology migration rather than experience transformation. Instead of focusing on elevating policyholder, agent, claimant and customer service experience, most projects merely transfer existing customer experiences and journeys to the new platform.
Figure 1. Elevating Customer Experience must be central to modernization efforts.
Why Experience Transformations are Overlooked
Factors that lead from little to no transformative value in technology investments include time and budget constraints, organizational resistance to change and lack of vision by leadership. As a result, many project teams take the shortest route possible to sunset the legacy system and quickly bring the modern system up and running. All too often, in the case of customer communications, templates are migrated using a “lift and shift” model. Existing print channels are kept intact without assessing the value and convenience of digital channels. The result is the same customer experience powered by new backend tools.
As a reference, an article on Forbes magazine by an expert panel summarized digital transformation failures succinctly. Click here to open the Forbes article in a new window.
Benefits of a Strategic Approach
When projects are conceived with a strategic approach, transformation of policyholder, agent, claimant, and customer service experience is the primary goal. The use of existing paper and print based channels can be minimized by leveraging digital channels, thereby increasing efficiency and convenience. In addition, the redesign of outdated content and format can improve readability and effectiveness of communications.
Figure 2. Carriers must incorporate mobile, email, SMS, chat channels to existing print channels
Key Ways to Maximize Your Investment
Below are a few examples of how a carrier can maximize their investment on CCM platforms.
Policyholders and Claimants
For policyholders and claimants, transforming policies, letters, notices, and forms to digital versions lead to ease of doing business with carriers. In addition, automation of emails and alerts reduce errors and increase engagement by leveraging the mobile channels.
Agents
For agents, statements and reports can become more readable and effective by using charts and graphs to depict insightful trends in their productivity.
Customer Services
For customer services, a pre-built library of templates that are editable and customizable would allow them to improve their service by quickly accessing brand and legally approved content.
Digital Channels
Leveraging digital channels also reduces paper usage, print and postage costs. Digital signatures can increase speed, improve security, and promote convenience.
Visualize the Customer Journey
All the examples above can be visualized by a customer journey mapping exercise. Customer experience experts can illustrate the current processes and journeys of policyholders, claimants, agents, customer service and others. Journey maps allow enterprises to visualize the existing processes and identify pain points for the stakeholders. Once the pain points have been identified, new journeys can be formulated and implemented using the new system.
Figure 3. Customer Journey Maps uncover pain points crucial to designing new experiences.
Savvy Consumers Expect Speed and Convenience
Core system transformation is not complete if customer communications are not extended to the digital channels. In the age of the smartphone, savvy consumers expect the same speed and convenience of today’s insurance carriers as they get from internet retailers. Carriers that fail to meet these expectations face challenges with customer satisfaction which will manifest itself in loss of retention.
Phil Devilleres is the CCM Practice Lead at CastleBay Companies and an Advisory Board Member for the Design Thinking Executive Program at the University of California at Riverside. He has more than 20 years of Customer Communication Management technology and strategy experience across Insurance, Financial Services and Healthcare industries.