Consumers who provide personal information anticipate relevant interactions in return and want to be personally recognized throughout the customer journey. (Photo: terovesalainen/Adobe Stock)
It's no secret that consumers' habits and expectations have evolved significantly in recent years. New technology, changing shopping habits and preferences, and pandemic-related restrictions combined to shift what consumers want and need from brands, even compared to just a few years ago.
Outdated loyalty programs that rely only on transactions without rewarding emotional engagement no longer appeal to customers. To remain loyal, today's consumers expect a different kind of brand experience.
The Lacek Group, a customer loyalty and relationship management consultant, and Sitecore, a customer experience management company, recently collaborated on a survey of brand-engaged consumers across 13 global markets. The goal was to better understand their current perspectives on loyalty. Survey results offer key insights into how insurers can keep pace with consumers' shifting expectations while maintaining the trusted, exceptional customer service required to attract and keep loyal customers.
What follows are some of the key takeaways.
Consumers still want to engage — just in new ways.
Most consumers continue to be open to communication from brands. The majority of survey respondents (81%) report signing up for a loyalty program or opting in to communications from a brand. In the financial services sector, the numbers are even stronger: 84% of those surveyed say they've signed up to engage with financial service brands. Consumers who give explicit permission for brand communications provide access to influence their hearts and minds in lower-cost channels.
Expectations for how your brand uses consumers' information are changing, however. The study found consumers who provide personal information anticipate relevant interactions in return and want to be personally recognized throughout the customer journey. Consumers aren't interested in a barrage of impersonal emails offering deals or promotions that don't speak to their needs. Brands should strive to provide personalized, immersive, connected experiences at every customer touch point.
Insurers know more about their customers than just typical demographic data, which provides a unique opportunity to offer personalized interactions. Knowing when your customer purchases new home or gains a teen driver in the family offers opportunities to connect during important life events. That kind of tailored engagement can build lasting trust and loyalty.
It's all about trust and shared values.
Trust has always been imperative in the insurance industry — and it continues to be. But today's consumers consider more than whether or not their insurer can be counted on to pay their claim. According to the research, almost half of consumers say knowing their privacy is protected increases their sense of loyalty.
Sharing personal data with a company is an act of trust. Your customers expect private information will be handled with care. And, if there is ever a breach, they want it to be handled quickly, effectively, and transparently.
Today's consumers also give more consideration to a brand's values than they have in the past. When it comes to joining or remaining engaged with brand loyalty programs, 50% of respondents indicate brand values, reputation, and actions have become somewhat or much more important.
Insurers who are transparent about their company's practices and values have an opportunity to make the personal connections consumers desire. Leaning into those values as part of your loyalty program is an opportunity to further solidify your connections with customers.
Deliver a seamless digital customer experience.
Today's consumers live across multiple digital channels and expect brands to do the same. Nearly one quarter of respondents identified four to six types of digital channels as critically important for engagement.
With the ongoing importance of digital service platforms, customer engagement looks a bit different than it did a few years ago. But it's still crucial that every platform deliver the same reliable and personalized service. While consumers are engaging increasingly through digital channels for the convenience and efficiency, in times of crisis they value having the option to speak directly to a real person who understands their specific needs. Regardless of the platform, every interaction with your brand should be efficient and positive.
Get personal when your customer needs you the most.
Consumers still care about the bottom line when choosing an insurer. Rational benefits like discounts and rewards matter — but understanding what makes consumers feel more loyal should inform how you influence them to act more loyal.
According to the research, exceptional customer service is the top-rated emotional driver for loyalty. Brands who find opportunities to strengthen the emotional bond with customers will win.
In the insurance industry, the claims process is often a time of heightened emotion or stress. Customers want to feel taken care of; they want their hand held through it, so to speak. Providing supportive, personalized service at the moment of truth pays off in the form of customer loyalty.
Never give them a reason to leave.
Exceptional customer service has become the baseline assumption. No one looks forward to the time and paperwork involved with switching insurers, but today's customers won't hesitate to make a change if they believe they've been treated poorly.
A single bad experience is enough for nearly half (44%) of survey respondents to stop engaging with a loyalty program. That percentage is even higher among members of Gen Y and Gen Z.
Better yet: Give them new reasons to stay.
Consider a loyalty strategy that offers consumers rational and emotional benefits. Be thoughtful and creative with the offerings — staying alert to how your brand can strengthen both rational and emotional bonds to foster total loyalty with your customers.
Rational benefits, such as lower premiums for multiple coverages, can be enhanced with emotional benefits, e.g., surprise gifts. In fact, 47% of those surveyed say surprise gifts are important to keeping them engaged with a brand.
Insurers' unusually detailed view of their customers' life stages and events puts them in a strong position to surprise and delight customers at threshold moments. When a customer purchases a new home, consider sending a note and a gift card to a home improvement store. If they purchased an RV, share your congratulations and a gas card. Personalized and relevant gifts resonate with today's consumers, who want to be recognized as individuals throughout their experience with your brand. These situation-tailored gifts can also open the door for meaningful, mutually beneficial partnerships with other brands.
The survey results also demonstrate that tiered membership status or concierge-level services provide emotional motivation for loyalty. A customer whose bundle of insurance coverages earns them platinum status and access to a special customer service number will likely perceive the benefit as valuable even if they never use it.
The loyalty landscape is changing to reflect consumers' evolving expectations for brand engagement. With change comes new opportunities to build and nurture lasting, even lifelong, affinity for your brand.
For a full version of the survey results visit thinking.lacek.com.
Jon Fjalstad (Jon.fjalstad@lacek.com) is a senior vice president and group account director for The Lacek Group, a Minneapolis-based data-driven loyalty, experience, and customer engagement agency that has been delivering personalization at scale for its world-class clients for more than 25 years. The Lacek Group is an Ogilvy Experience company.
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