There Are Technology Lessons To Be Learned From The Financial Side

Recently, representatives from Milwaukee, Wis.-based Northwestern Mutual Financial Services discussed their latest foray into technology, the release of a personalized Web system designed not only to serve as a marketing tool for the company and its agents, but also as a personalized extension of the agency over the Internet.

During development of its Web-based system, explained Conrad York, director of marketing for Northwestern, the company decidedafter some research and discussions with its exclusive agent forcethat the Web site needed to be personalized. The agents, he said, needed to "talk about their mission and team" with their clients.

"We put the financial representative first by giving each of them an opportunity to create their own Web site and a wide variety of ways to personalize that site," said Mr. York. "They have their own mission statements. They can talk about the team of specialists they work with. They can talk about the team within their local network office, staff, marketing directors and service directors.

"[This gives] the financial representative an opportunity to truly tell their encompassing story," he continued. "It can include the agents community involvement, charity involvement and what boards they sit on. We want to give someone an encompassing feel for who our financial representatives are. We did that because we feel that our folks are the best field force in the industry."

Prior to the Web sites official launch in November of 2001, Northwestern agents were on their own when it came to the Web. In developing the site, Mr. York said, one goal was to make the system as "frictionless" as possible for agents, so it would be easy to build their own information for the site. The idea, he said, was to "extend themselves to the space."

The result, remarked Brad Elman, a Northwestern financial service representative in San Jose, Calif., is "a wonderful tool."

One advantage, Mr. Elman notes, to using a company developed tool is overcoming the compliance issue. With the sites user-friendly template, all information the agent puts up on the site is transferred to the companys compliance department to ensure there are no problems with individual state regulations. However, the system still allows the individual agent to customize his or her Web page. And the agent is not starting from scratch trying to develop a system while worrying about compliance issues.

However, points out Mr. Elman, there is more to having a Web site than content.

"We want this to be an education tool, not just a selling tool," he observed.

The Web site serves two purposes, he said.

The first is providing information for the customer about the financial representative and how he or she runs the office. This saves time for both the agent and client.

The second purpose is to give the consumer background on the representative to allow the client to ask informed questions before meeting.

"We feel this is a better use of my time and theirs and gives a broader background in advance of the discussion," Mr. Elman said. "Its not a substitute for working with a planner, but it does allow research up-front [for the client].

"Clients want to do business with people who understand them," Mr. Elman noted. "We need to use technology to enhance human interaction, and the Internet is a huge depository of information toward that end. It is important that technology be used to accomplish [the clients] goals."

Mr. Elman emphasized that, "technology should be used to enhance and build the relationship, not to replace the relationship."

For his own sitebecause he is located in the technology-rich silicon valley areaMr. Elman admits to feeling some pressure to incorporate the best that technology has to offer. He is considering adding streaming video to the site.

In phase two of Northwesterns site development, Mr. York said, the design would allow for customization of colors, online calculators, and client account access.

It is, he noted, the contribution of the agents ideas that is leading the direction of the sites development.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, January 13, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.