7 Actions for Closing Out 2015 As If It Were a New Year
Insurance Journal, December 2015
Every year, we do it on the same day at the same time. The instant the calendar changes from the old year to the new one, we convince ourselves that this year will be different. We’re going to do everything we didn’t do in the past. It’s a predictable ritual; it’s become part of our DNA.
Good faith efforts rarely work. “Stuff” gets in our way and throws us off course. The big challenge is ending the year with the same drive and resolve with which we started it. Here are seven actions that can help:
Pull the Defensive Plug. For example, many insurance agents are convinced that consumers want the personal attention and the choices a local, independent agent gives them. While such thinking is understandable, it’s also a defense that inhibits coming up with innovative responses to the loss of their bread-and-butter auto insurance business to online sales. From all indications, that trend is increasing and expanding into homeowners and small business insurance. It’s true everywhere. If we want to be open to new ideas, then pulling the defensive plug is one place to start.
Can the Knee-Jerk Negativism. No Apple product has been as consistently panned as has the Apple Watch. But Noor Naseer, director of digital innovations, mobile at Centro, doesn’t agree.
“While consumers may not know exactly what they uniquely want or need from these tiny screens, they similarly didn’t know a decade ago that they would be waking up and going to bed (and going to the bathroom) with smartphones continuously by their side,” she wrote in Mobile Marketing Daily.
Sure, some things fail and others do work out well, but it’s not because of knee-jerk negativism.
Eliminate Excuses. When the company president pointed out the steady decline in consumer equipment sales over the last several years, the sales manager explained it was due to market saturation. Yet, when the issue was analyzed more carefully, the facts were quite different. Excuses may make us feel better, but they also blind us to new opportunities.
Question Customer Assumptions. “We know our customers and what they want” are arguably the most dangerous words in business. Yet, many companies continue to base marketing and sales decisions on anecdotal evidence that’s unreliable at best.
Why would a company drag its feet on gathering and analyzing customer data so it can learn everything about their preferences and buying behavior? In some cases it’s just plain old lethargy. But, more often than not companies can behave like individuals: knowledge upsets the status quo and puts new demands on the organization to embrace change. It’s much easier to say, “We know what our customers want.”
Dive into Digital. Many people think that buying insurance is only slightly less exciting than having a root canal, so it’s not surprising that it’s worth the effort to avoid both.
To attract today’s younger consumers, life insurance companies now offer “simplified issue” policies that are delivered in two hours. Applicants answer a few health-related questions and there’s no physical exam. Policies with face amounts up to $1 million are available. Even though premiums may be higher, the convenience may be worth it.
What makes it possible? Using their extensive databases, insurance companies use predictive modeling for the underwriting, cutting out stacks of slow moving paperwork. It’s not just faster; it’s also more accurate.
Activate Innovation. Customers not only want innovation, but they’re willing to pay for it. According to Lab42’s Innovation Study, 75 percent of those surveyed were willing to “pay a premium for innovation,” including electronics, automotive, restaurants, clothing and grocery store items. The opportunities are everywhere.
Tie It All Together. If there is a lesson to learn from Amazon, it’s the enormous benefit of tying everything together for customers. Whatever it is, the chances are that it’s available on Amazon or will be soon enough. And everything comes with a guarantee, no-hassle returns, reliable recommendations and free delivery with its Prime program. It’s the epitome of one-stop shopping for many consumers. Tying things together is what customers want.
A new year is no reason to assume that it will somehow be better than the one just ending. Whether it’s a company or an individual, it takes the right strategy to make sure the end is even better than the beginning.
Categories
- Benefits Resources
- Bonding
- BOP
- Business Insurance
- Commercial Auto
- Commercial Property
- Company News
- Construction
- Crime Insurance
- Cyber Insurance
- Directors & Officers
- Employee Benefits
- Employment Practice Liability Insurance
- Entertainment
- General Liability
- Health Insurance
- Healthcare
- Healthcare Reform
- Homeowners Insurance
- Hospitality
- Manufacturing
- Medical Malpractice
- Mining & Energy
- Nightclubs
- Personal Auto
- Personal Insurance
- Professional
- Restaurants
- Retail & Wholesale
- Risk Management Resources
- Safety Topics
- SBA Bonds
- Security
- Seminars
- Technology
- Tourism
- Transportation
- Uncategorized
- Workers Compensation
Archives
- May 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- November 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- February 2013
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- March 2011
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- April 2010
- February 2010
- November 2009
- October 2009
- November 2008
- August 2008