You can start a debate just by asking two different people whatthey think "customer relationship management" means. With oneindustry expert estimating that there are over 850 self-declaredCRM software vendors, you can see that opinions (and options) arevaried. We couldn't print details of all 850 vendors (without usingvery small type), but we did take a look at nine who call insurancecarriers their customers.
These tools will help you to improve both sales and serviceperformance and best of all, you will have a clear picture of whatyour company is trying to do with its customer base. Happyshopping.

Computer Sciences Corporation
www.csc.com

CRM vendors have not done a good job helping customers solvetheir CRM problems, at least according to Jeffrey Schwalk, directorof business transformation services for CSC. "They are trying tosell products instead of looking at the landscape," he said. "Youhave to know who the customers are and who the clients are. Thenyou can map where you are against where you want to be." CSC's CRMoffering, 3r Evolution, is an interactive channel management toolthat can integrate with the back office system, Schwalk said.

"We view CRM as a variety of different solutions," said FaithTrapp, CSC's vice president of marketing and sales force. "There isreally not just one product, but a combination of components."

3r Evolution can accept, process, and present information fromthe Internet, call centers, or other channels, according toSchwalk. It is compatible with third-party systems and its formataccommodates additional channels of business.

But Schwalk recommends care in implementing an Internet service."You have to have good integration with the back office," he said."You've empowered customers to reach out to you in differentchannels, but you've also exposed any problems you might have inthe back office."

Everyone wants things done immediately, but Trapp said it is notalways about speed to market. "You have to look at time to value,"she said. "Value for the customer and to the company. You need tobe easy to do business with, and that comes from good products,value to customer, and offering the right service at the righttimein the right way."

E.piphany
www.epiphany.com

The insurance industry has different needs than others becauseit works not only with insurance buyers, but also a layer ofindependent agents. The E5 suite from E.piphany has an architecturethat allows for both, according to Brad Wilson, vice president ofproduct marketing. Its multi-channel aspects are "notrevolutionary," according to Wilson, but offers the "sweet-spotwhere contact centers are today-a single view of the customer."

E.piphany helps customers recognize its top customers. "Who doyou want to spend time on?" asked Wilson. "Fifteen percent of yourcustomers represent nearly all your profits. The rest are eitherneutral or negative." When customers log on, the system looks atthe profitability metrics. "It allows you to put certain customersin shorter queues and others on longer queues or," he cackled,"lead them to self service."

In CRM, "one size doesn't fit all," Wilson said. "Companies needto follow the mantra, 'Think big, start small, grow quickly." Hehas seen customers shopping for a marketing application and thenend up deploying a service function. Customers need a "bestpractice approach," Wilson said. "You need intelligent crossselling. Don't waste the agent's or the customer's time."

Firepond
www.firepond.com

With its SalesPerformer and eServicePerformer, Firepond claimsto have the sales and service tools to enable insurers to avoid oneof their costliest problems: abandoned quotes. That's according toKim Rugala, director of product management.

SalesPerformer is a suite of tools that enables insurers togenerate quotes and sell policies "in minutes, not days," she said.By eliminating the need to re-key information, insurers avoid theextra work that ties up sales and service personnel. Firepondoffers its software in a variety of ways-wireless, on the laptop,or Web-based. "Service is a key throughout our system, but our bigfocus is on upfront questions," Rugala said. "If they havequestions up front, you want to answer them right away. That's whatturns a browser into a shopper."
The sales tool is Java-based, offering back-end connectivity to theenterprise system and applications. "Getting data from the legacysystem to the customers is a major issue for insurers," Rugalasaid. Being able to take the customer's data, analyze it, andreturn a quote to the customer is the direction many insurers needto follow today, she explained.

InSystems
www.insystems.com

The CRM field is "extremely vague," especially when it comes toinsurance, according to Brian Rowatt, director of insuranceindustry marketing for InSystems. "Players focus on mergingrelationships from the point of view of the carriers, but it'sdifferent in our marketplace," he said. "The customer is more thanone individual. There are multiple tiers and co-dependantrelationships."

InSystems has developed XRM (Extended Relationship Management)Insurance Solutions to connect all aspects of the relationshipsbetween carriers, brokers and agents, and customers. XRM has a"member level" and a "plan-sponsor level." The member level allowscustomers to manage all their enrollments, see certificates ofcoverage, and look at their detailed claims history. Theplan-sponsor level allows companies to manage the eligibility ofits employees with the carrier and allows them to look at billing,claims, and member notification information.

The carriers host the information on an extranet. Currently itis available for both group and individual health insurance. "Theunderlying technology can be extended into multiple segments," saidRowatt. "We are cautiously looking at areas in commercial lines. Intwo years I'd say we'll be aggressive in commercial lines."

London Bridge Group
www.london-bridge.com

Anyone in the CRM world has to be flexible, according to RichardDougherty, director of technical services in the CRM division ofthe London Bridge Group. "Software is just one part of the CRMsolution," he said.
London Bridge makes Vectus, which the company says boasts speed,flexibility, and architecture. "You don't have to make compromises"with Vectus, according to Dougherty; it has the ability to connectdifferent legacy systems, yet still give the user a single view ofthe customer.

Implementing CRM solutions should focus on four areas, accordingto Dougherty. "What is the business problem?" is the first, hesaid. Companies need to start off in a pilot environment beforerolling out a solution enterprise-wide.

Second, "Return on investment can measure the effectiveness ofthe implementation," Dougherty said. "You have to get it up quicklyso it takes weeks, not years."

Third, the implementation needs to allow the customer to retainownership of the system. "They don't want you hanging around as aconsultant," he said.

The fourth area involves training the IT staff, so it has theability to maintain the system on its own.
Among its qualities, Dougherty said, Vectus can offer individuallypriced policies based on customer risk and coverage value. It alsoallows a view of the customer and other relationships the customermay have. (So you know the 18-year-old with three speeding ticketsis the son of a someone you like doing business with.)
Vectus also allows customers to amend policy records on their ownand then generate correct premiums and documentation.

NaviSys
www.navisys.com

Front Office is a CRM suite from NaviSys that connects point ofsale and on-going customer service needs for carriers, according toMichael Roe, chairman, president, and CEO. Front Office can bebroken down into components-Distribution Channel Management,Electronic Illustration, Electronic Application Entry, ElectronicUnderwriting, and Electronic Customer Service-or it can be used inits entirety.

"We tie together the back office platforms with the customerservice and sales," Roe said. He said there is nothing complicatedabout running customer service through your Internet site. "We arenot reinventing the wheel," he said. "We just want to providecustomers with the ability to make changes to their policies andmake additional purchases online."

Roe cautions insurers to investigate the software beforepurchasing it. One step is to take a greater interest in the ACORDstandards. "If an insurer is not careful, things won't work well,"he said. He also believes that an insurer can't just shop for a CRMsolution without a close look at how the company does business."There is no definitive model for CRM," said Roe. "It's a way ofdoing business and it can be inconsistent in the insurancefield."

PeopleSoft
www.peoplesoft.com

PeopleSoft unveiled version 8 of its CRM product in June (called8CRM), offering features such as interactive management, salesforce automation, support for call centers, and a help desk. Allare available as either a full suite or individual modules,according to Louise Stonehouse, the company's director of insurancestrategy. "It will capture every interaction, whether it is overthe Internet or a phone call," she said. "It gives a 360 degreeviewpoint."

The sales tool alone makes it "easy and valuable to the salesforce," she said. "You pull leads with a complete history of theirtransactions." An analytics tool also helps the sales forcedetermine whether the person on the phone is a profitable customerfor the company.

The call center is PeopleSoft's flagship application, accordingto Stonehouse. It gives the CSR a view of past transactions andentitlements. And it not only generates leads, but measuressuccess. "Once you have a lead, this will push it to the salesforce," she said. "The customer goes from a prospect to alead."
Having 8CRM in modules means that companies can focus on particularareas of the CRM chain without buying the entire system at onetime. "You pick off key objectives and make a tight strategy," saidStonehouse. "It forces companies to have a vision. You have to getcompanies to focus on the key issues. We can build it, but theyhave to do the heavy lifting."

Selectica
www.selectica.com

The Selectica approach to CRM is "to service the entirelife-cycle experience," said Raj Jaswa, president, chairman, andCEO. Its ACE eCRM is focused on insurance and e-banking. PuneetGupta, group manager for eCRM strategies, said Selectica iscompliant with other applications that customers have in place, andthat most of those systems are using only 10 to 15 percent of theirfunctionality. "We want to close that loop," Gupta said.

Jaswa blames that on the companies that jump too quickly afterthe first answer they hear. "Typically, companies buy into asweeping strategy before examining their structural needs," hesaid. Sometimes that means scaling back. "How much CRM do youneed?" asked Jaswa. "It takes a lot of effort and a lot of money toget a system off the ground."

For insurers, ACE has the ability to deliver rate informationquickly and to up-sell and cross-sell products at the same time,according to Jaswa. "We automate e-business processes. Once you dothat, there's an opportunity to do other things. This integrateslevels of efficiency into the whole life cycle."

Witness Systems
www.witsys.com

The eQuality product from Witness Systems doesn't perform CRMfor companies, but it makes the companies do better CRM, accordingto Oscar Alban, principle market consultant. The company started asa quality monitoring system, but has grown to performanceoptimization. "[EQuality] allows you to close a loop as you monitorcalls or e-mail," Albon said. "You can then send training directlyto the desktop."

One important ability that eQuality has is verification ofsales. Call center personnel can record the customer's agreement tomake a purchase, eliminating any confusion, said Alban. Thepractice of "slamming" has landed many phone-oriented sales firmsin trouble and has made some customers leery of purchasing anythingover the phone. "This can make things comfortable for thecustomer," Alban agreed.

Witness Systems continues to track performance of sales peopleby recording random calls on a percentage basis. Someone just outof training might have seven of 10 calls monitored while a veteranCSR might have just four of 10 monitored.

Alban said that management practices and a lack of training arethe major reasons for CRM installations failing. "Old methods won'tdo anymore," he said. "The risk factor is too big."