It’s really important that brokers cater for any way in which the customer wants to interact with them.
A customer’s preferred method will have everything to do with their take-up of technology. So, technology has to cope with variety, especially in today’s fast moving IT world.
Web apps are not a new thing. They’ve been tried and tested in many industries. The most successful web applications are designed for the customer’s demand and nothing else.
Convenient
They give you the chance to expand the traditional phone or face-to-face customer experience. This makes ‘accessing’ you (at any time of the day – remember this is the customer’s choice) more convenient and time-efficient for everyone.
Customers should be able access important information from the web app. They may want to message you – or to have online chats that are an alternative to phone or email.
Our statistics show that when you offer variety of communication through a web app, customers naturally migrate to the method they prefer. For example when introducing a messaging service in a social media style, 47% of customers regularly use this method as it becomes natural.
When a customer wants to interact with you through technology, for example on an escape of water claim or motor renewal, they want to be able to quickly and easily get an answer.
Therefore any web app should ensure that the window into your service is easy to interpret. Don’t get too clever here, but ensure it is meeting the customer’s need in a clear and concise way.
Customer
Behind the scenes, especially if you are working in collaboration with multiple parties, it’s critical that the technology gives everyone the chance to serve the most important person involved – the customer. So making this type of technology available to others is essential to ensure that customer service doesn’t fail elsewhere.
There are other benefits too. Web apps can give customers access to timely and relevant information – removing some of the onus placed on broker and insurer’s admin teams. For example, web apps can provide policy revisions at the time of renewal or administrative follow-ups like updated certificates of insurance to download.
Or they could simply provide an alert for changes that could affect the validity of policies. All of these services work to keep your customer informed and active in your relationship.
Sales
And you can forget heaving around briefcases of brochures and the constant paper chain processes. An app delivered through a tablet can be used as a sales tool in your face-to-face meetings.
Not only can you demonstrate how the app could make your customers’ lives easier, you can use it to present insurance providers’ marketing materials and quotes, or to track leads.
As the online behaviours of customers evolve, so must the insurance industry’s activity. Your technology must keep pace. This means constantly reviewing your digital strategy.
E-commerce activity is increasingly shifting from desktop or laptop to mobile, making use of the unique capabilities of smartphones such as secure in-app messaging, text alerts and image capture.
Insurance brokers that harness this technology are more likely to survive as the business environment becomes more competitive.
Customers now routinely use the internet to inform, compare, buy and interact with providers. It is a new form of engagement that offers a timeless window of contact and brokers need to grab it now.
Article sourced from
http://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurance-age/blog-post/2410848/using-apps-can-enhance-client-relationships
Author: Sian Barton
Source: Insurance Age | 01 Jun 2015