The customer journey has transformed from a  relatively straightforward one into a multi-storied Rubik’s cube. In addition, consumer expectations and demands have never been higher or more complex.

Trailblazers like Netflix and Uber have led the charge, immersing traditional products into their customers’ daily lives, creating an on-demand environment. Nowadays, consumers expect to engage with brands 24/7 whenever and however they want, across their buying journey.

This current environment means companies – including insurance providers – are at risk more than ever to customer churn.

However, with this heightened risk comes the potential for increased rewards. Companies that are able to create experiences that meet customer demands open themselves up to  growth and opportunities like never before. 

Overcoming The Tech Stack Roadblock

Here’s an example of an issue we often run into:

An insurance company stores customer level data in multiple platforms including BMS/AMS, CRMs, eCommerce tools, and email platforms

They also have customer experience teams (e.g., marketing, sales, service) creating outbound experiences (across email, mobile, etc.). And at the same time, they’re creating inbound experiences at call centres and on websites. 

Too often, data from one team is very slow to reach another. This is a result of multiple unconnected platforms and labour-intensive processes reliant on trained technical resources and results in teams having incomplete customer views which not only frustrate customers but also result in missed opportunities.

At Goose Digital we see this often. As an example, it may take a client weeks to deploy something as simple as a cross-sell campaign. They are held back by the heavy lifting of having to pull together data from different platforms to identify opportunities, build segments and offers and then execute across different marketing channels. Never mind predictive modelling, nurturing and reporting!

CDPs: Optimal Data Solution for the Insurance Industry

Customer data platforms (CDPs) are a clear and present solution to the problems listed above, offering the following benefits to businesses: 

  • Taking separate data sources and uniting them into a single customer view
  • Democratizing customer insights 
  • Offering the ability to scale AI
  • Orchestrating experiences across the entire customer experience spectrum\

Case Study: Onstar Insurance

Onstar Insurance is a General Motors subsidiary and startup. 

Their customer journey goal was to find the right audience on the right channel at the right time with the right message. 

To get where they needed to, Onstar used ActionIQ’s CDP, which enabled them to take the following actions.

  • Align short, mid, and long term use-cases (e.g., renewal flow, claims updates, retargeting lost leads) with their business strategy objectives.
  • Action insights derived from use-cases to pinpoint gaps in marketing technology.
  • Built a matrix to identify high-value opportunities.
  • Prioritize 3 or 4 use cases with the highest potential value – as aligned with business priorities.
  • Build and implement a tech stack with a timeline aligned to business value.

The result? Onstar is already in 29 states after only launching in January 2020.

This level of success requires a strategic plan and platforms to support key use cases. And this can only be achieved through real-time data consolidation, movement, structuring, and segmentation across multiple marketing channels. An outcome made possible by CDPs such as ActionIQ.

Unifying Data Without The Heavy Lifting

A CDP like ActionIQ integrates and unifies customer-level data from multiple disparate sources. This enables non-technical resources to view and action cohesive data without heavy lifting. Data can then be presented in executive-level dashboards, highlighting trending and key KPIs. Side-by-side analysis provides the ability to understand marketing actions and resulting reactions. Often, these data points will be stored in different platforms( e.g., audience level groups in a CRM, engagement data from an email or marketing automation platform). making action-oriented insights next to impossible. Unified in a CDP they become not only possible but extremely valuable. 

Insurance Companies Need CDPs to Power Intelligent Marketing Communications.

Due to the Netflixes and Googles of the world, customers expect 24/7, on-demand brand access. Satisfying these demands means finding the right marketing channels and identifying high-value use-cases so that you’re spending your time, effort, and resources efficiently. 

Furthermore, it’s only through executive-level reporting that you’ll keep marketing tactics and business strategy aligned.

What does your insurance company need to do to combine all the moving parts mentioned above? The answer is simple: leveraging a CDP such as ActionIQ to its fullest potential.

Need help or have more questions about CDPs? Contact us today to learn more.