INSURANCE VALUE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, PART I:CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MANAGEMENT - Building more effective relationships through technology

In this, the first of a series of four articles, David Holtzman of BusinessEdge discusses customer experience management (CEM). CEM's aim is to develop personalized experiences by providing a view into the insurance enterprise from the outside in.

As the insurance marketplace faces new competitive pressures and trying economic times, insurers are searching for new ways to optimize their distribution channel through increased sales, improved customer service and reduced operational costs.

In addition to marketplace pressures, today's financial services organization suffers from being siloed as a result of acquisitions, product lines and/or lines of business. This internal structure results in external customer experiences that are individualized, isolated events instead of being part of an integrated customer experience. Because of this, customers and their preferences often receive a disjointed experience.

In order to address these external and internal issues, insurers must develop strategies that will build stronger, more effective relationships with their primary customers -- the producers, brokers and third-party agents that comprise the distribution channel. In addition, services and processes must be created that cater to the servicing needs of policy and contract holders.

Doing so will tightly couple the home office to the distribution channel leading to more effective processes and greater synergies across home office, marketing, sales and service functions. A tightly integrated distribution channel will lead to increased policy conservation, unified brand equity across all customer touch-points and ultimately increased revenue.

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