Some consider customized, vertical-specific CCaaS platforms as the future of cloud contact centers.
Yet, the platform is not the magic dust. Instead, it is how a business applies that platform to solve sector-specific challenges that will drive better business, customer, and employee outcomes.
Genesys recognized this years ago, appointing heads of three verticals: banking, healthcare, and insurance. The role of each was to identify the business challenges faced in every sector.
After, these leaders and their support teams identified how the Genesys CX Cloud platform could address those challenges with the support of its partner ecosystem.
Manan Sagar, Global Head of Insurance at Genesys, was one such leader. And, after embarking upon this journey, he believes that the insurance industry is on the cusp of a major CX shift – which Genesys is prepared to lead its customers through.
Get Ready, Insurers! Change is Nigh
Once upon a time, insurance was all about safeguarding what customers own. Yet, that is becoming far less of a concern for the modern consumer. Instead, they buy insurance to facilitate their lifestyle.
Consider motor insurance. Ten years ago, a consumer cared more about owning a vehicle. Now, they typically think: how can I get from point A to point B in the quickest, safest, fastest way possible?
Moving from point A to B could include taking multiple modes of transport in a single journey, be it a train, bus, or car. That entire journey has to be quick, fast, and safe.
As such, the space is shifting from motor to mobility insurance.
Yet, the shift extends beyond that segment of the industry. As Sagar states:
“It’s something all insurers are starting to think about. The move away from insuring an asset that the customer soon forgets about to enabling the lifestyle that the customer wishes to have.”
That is likely the result of how customers interact with businesses in other sectors – and insurers must start thinking about how that change will influence their industry moving forward.
The Shorter Term – Stitch Your Customer Journeys Together!
Genesys is engaging more with insurers, helping them to address the gulf between an insurer and the modern consumer. According to Mannan:
“The starting point to bridging that gap revolves around making the experience much more seamless.”
Indeed, insurance journeys are often fragmented. For instance, a contact center agent may ask the customer for a policy number they can’t find. However, the business does store that information; it is just in another system the agent cannot access.
Such issues are commonplace. Yet, the ability to have the full context of where a customer has been and stitch that together so that agents can see a clear, complete view of the customer journey is something that businesses can do with the technology available today.
Developing that unified view of the customer journey is a critical first step. Another is for a business to analyze its primary contact drivers. As Mannan says:
“60 percent of queries are often customers calling for an update on a claim. That is an internal process, and businesses can instead update them on a proactive basis.”
Indeed, such a strategy can simplify the customer experience, significantly cut contact volumes for an insurer, and give them the time to think longer term.
Of course, some customers may still call for an update. Nonetheless, the business can deploy a voicebot in the IVR to give them an automated response upfront.
As a result, customers get the quick answers they crave without disturbing a live agent.
The Longer Term – Think: Personalized, Proactive, & Preventative
Customers rarely think about interacting with their insurance provider on a daily basis. Typically, they only reach out for two reasons: to make a renewal or file a claim.
As such, insurers typically suffer from lower levels of digitization and CX maturity than businesses in other sectors – such as banking, for instance.
Yet, as insurance becomes more of a “lifestyle facilitator”, Mannan believes:
“Customers will begin to expect the predictive, personalized, preventative experiences that they experience when shopping on Amazon or watching television on Netflix.”
More simple examples of this may include:
- Proactively sending new customers a rundown of all the benefits their policy offers.
- Notifying customers in time for renewals with auto-filled forms to simplify the process.
- Identifying family members within the customer base and proactively offering tailored group policies to cement their business.
From there, insurers may consider developing pay-as-you-go policies to better fit the lifestyle of many modern customers.
A pay-as-you-drive policy for smart cars is an excellent example, which the business may monitor through the Internet of Things (IoT).
The IoT also enables remote asset monitoring, which unlocks additional opportunities for a more personalized, proactive, and preventative customer experience.
For instance, an insurer can proactively track the health of goods, tell customers if something seems wrong, and offer times for a check-up, all without a human in the loop. That may prevent a costly repair further down the line and pave the way for a more seamless customer experience.
Such strategies are likely the future. And close relationships between CCaaS vendors and their network providers are critical here – like that between Genesys and Verizon.
Nonetheless, large insurers may have – on average – between 30-100 systems all touching the customer experience.
As such, orchestrating these next-generation experiences may seem unattainable. Yet, that’s where Genesys comes in.
Genesys: “The Octopus’s Head” of CX In Insurance
Consider the 30-100 systems of record that insurers have. Converging all those is an impossible task.
Yet, connecting them to a single system of engagement is possible. Genesys is that system.
“Think of Genesys as the Octopus head, dipping into many systems of record with its tentacles, pulling relevant information, and orchestrating new experiences,” says Mannan.
Moreover, Genesys may replace the many engagement tools businesses currently leverage, be it different channels, feedback mechanisms, loyalty management tools, or something else.
Instead, with a single layer, the vendor provides the appropriate orchestrations across all journeys for customers and employees.
Verizon helps insurers deploy that software and future-proof their customer experiences. To learn more, check out its Genesys Cloud contact center solutions webpage.
