G. The rating agency "Credit-Rating" summed up the results of the study "The most customer-oriented Insurance Company”, which was carried out in order to increase the awareness of potential policyholders about the most typical conditions of insurance contracts in order to facilitate the process of choosing an insurance company for them. Based on the results, customer-oriented rankings were built and companies were identified that offer the most favorable conditions for policyholders.
In the course of the study, insurance products of 32 insurance companies were analyzed: 21 risk companies and 11 companies specializing in life insurance. Top Companies were determined by 4 types of insurance: Auto insurance (CASCO), Apartment insurance, Medical insurance, Life insurance. The collection of information for comparing the conditions of insurance products of different companies was carried out using a survey of insurers who expressed their willingness to take part in the study. The reliability of the information received was verified by comparing it with data from open sources, as well as by analyzing the insurance conditions offered by companies to potential policyholders in the process of preliminary negotiations.
The questionnaires that had to be completed to participate in the study consisted of 2 parts. The first part provided the calculation of the insurance rate for a hypothetical insurance contract according to the initial data given in the questionnaire. At the same time, in order to ensure comparability of insurance rates, all participants were offered the same initial data. In the second part, by answering questions, the conditions of the insurance program were disclosed, according to which the insurance rate was calculated.
In the process of assessing the degree of attractiveness of insurance conditions, not only the level of tariffs was analyzed, but also the availability of additional services, the number of various exceptions and restrictions on payments, the degree of complexity and transparency of the procedure for settling insured events (terms for making decisions, the number of documents that must be provided, the mechanism for implementing payments, etc.). In addition, when constructing a ranking of customer focus, some indicators of insurance payments were analyzed. This made it possible to draw a conclusion about the policy of companies in the direction of payment of insurance indemnities.
In the course of the analysis, each of the studied factors was assigned a certain score. The final rankings were based on the total points scored by the company. At the same time, the adequacy of the assessment depended, among other things, on the quality of filling out the questionnaires by the study participants.
The most customer-oriented companies in auto insurance turned out to be: "Ukrainian Insurance Group" (1st position of the ranking), IC "Universalnaya" (2nd position of the ranking) and Insurance Company "Ilyichevskoye" (3rd position of the ranking) . These companies are characterized by an average level of tariffs and a small number of exceptions and restrictions on payments and have a fairly democratic procedure for settling losses.
According to the results of the study, the following conclusion can be drawn: the rates for auto insurance in most companies are approximately the same level and the insurance conditions differ mainly in the number of exceptions and the peculiarities of the procedure for paying insurance compensation. The most typical exceptions to auto insurance conditions are: renting a car, using it as a taxi or for driving lessons, operating the car in an emergency condition, driving under the influence of alcohol, installing additional equipment that violates fire safety regulations. At the same time, not all companies consider violation of traffic rules as an exception.
Settlement procedures show more diversity: the period allotted to the insured for reporting an insured event ranges from 2 hours to 3 days. The most common period is 1 day. The amount of damage paid without calling the traffic police generally does not exceed UAH 6,000, and maximum term the decision to recognize an insured event is 90 days, although for most companies it is less than 30 days. As an additional service, many companies offer a free tow truck in case of an accident. Restrictions regarding the provision of this service are quite different for different companies, but basically the limit for free evacuation is at least UAH 500.
Among the companies insured apartments, the top 3 ranking steps were occupied by: With insurance company "Ilyichevskoye" (1st position), IC "Asko-Donbass Severny" (2nd position) and the company "VUSO" (3rd position). They demonstrated a loyal tariff policy, a minimum of restrictions on the amount of payments for insured property, a transparent procedure for settling insured events, and also provided for a number of insurance conditions additional services(such as, for example, calling specialized services in the event of a breakdown of engineering systems). In addition, these companies use a simplified procedure for concluding a contract, which is not available for all insurance companies: at the request of the client, the signing of an insurance contract can be carried out without inspecting the apartment and inventory of movable property.
If we analyze the general trends in the terms of apartment insurance offered by the companies participating in the study, we can note the presence of a fairly large number of restrictions on insurance contracts. The list of various types of unconditional exceptions found in company contracts consists of 39 items. The most common include: violations of the rules fire safety, use of property in disrepair or for other purposes, damage to property by animals, repair and construction work in the insured premises, natural subsidence of a new house. In addition, there are a number of restrictions regarding the storage conditions and the availability of documents for property located in the apartment, as well as limits on different kinds payments.
In order to fully and timely receive the insurance indemnity, the client must fully comply with the procedure for settling insured events stipulated by the conditions. This process requires quite careful attention, since most companies have a number of mandatory requirements. For example, with the submission of a written application for an insured event, the client must meet a maximum of 7 days. At the same time, the conditions, as a rule, stipulate a period during which, before the arrival of the insurance company, no measures can be taken to repair or restore damaged property. AT different companies this period is significantly different: the range of fluctuations is from 1 to 14 days. The standard set of documents listed in the conditions as mandatory to provide in order to receive an insurance payment consists of 3-4 items for most of the analyzed companies. But at the same time, it is common practice to have a reservation about the right of the insurance company to request other additional documents at its own discretion.
Towards "Health insurance" the largest number points scored: Insurance company "Krona" (1st line of the ranking), the company "Prosto Insurance" (2nd line of the ranking) and IC "Capital" (3rd line of the ranking).
The conditions of these companies provide insurance coverage for a fairly wide range of diseases at an average level of tariffs and no restrictions or large limits on the main types of payments.
There is a significant variation in the tariffs of this line of insurance. This is due to the existence of significant differences in the level of risks that various insurance companies take on, which becomes apparent when analyzing the exceptions and limitations provided for in their health insurance contracts. Thus, only 4 companies out of 19 participating in the ranking in this area pay the costs of treating chronic diseases that were discovered before the insurance contract came into force, not all of them cover the treatment of diseases that have the nature of an epidemic, a number of companies completely exclude certain diseases: chronic hepatitis, tuberculosis, diabetes, vascular diseases, hereditary and oncological diseases. The average rate is about 3%. At the same time, companies with high tariff the number of exceptions, of course, is less.
The conditions of the companies also differ in terms of the volume of limits on payments for different types assistance (outpatient, inpatient, medical), although a significant part of the company does not have these restrictions. Separately, payments for dental services are usually limited (the limit for them is, as a rule, no more than 5 thousand hryvnias per year).
Among the companies specializing on life insurance the best included: Aska-Life Company (1st position in the ranking), Insurance Company Ilyichevskaya (2nd position in the ranking) and PZU Ukraine Life Insurance Company (3rd position in the ranking).
These companies offer an average quarterly insurance premium, a sufficient amount of guaranteed redemption amount at the middle of the contract term and an acceptable investment income. At the same time, the number of exceptions and restrictions they have is at a low level.
The volume of quarterly payments under health insurance programs in the analyzed companies ranges from 1,500 to 4,000 thousand UAH. The term for making a decision on the payment is from 4 to 30 days. The amount of investment income accrued by companies under similar insurance contracts in 2009 shows significant fluctuations: from 2% to 17.4% per annum.
On the this moment For most ordinary citizens, the choice of an insurance company causes certain difficulties. This is due both to the lack of transparency of the market as a whole, and to the lack of practical experience of potential clients of insurance companies in analyzing the terms of insurance contracts. When concluding a contract, customers are guided mainly by the tariff and do not carefully study the conditions of insurance. For this reason, during the validity of the contract, they often do not adhere to all the conditions specified in it, when an insured event occurs, they violate the settlement procedure, and as a result, if there are justified problems with obtaining insurance compensation, they make claims against the insurance company. This situation is unfavorable for both policyholders and insurance companies. For the former, it entails unreimbursed material damage, and for the latter, it is fraught with market stagnation, as it not only undermines the reputation of individual insurance companies, but also reduces confidence in the insurance market as a whole.
The Agency intends to continue the practice of analyzing the customer orientation of insurance companies and hopes to increase the number of participants in the study in the future. This will make it possible to provide policyholders with more complete information about the insurance conditions existing on the market, which will ultimately help to strengthen the confidence of policyholders and develop the domestic insurance market.
A serious aggravation of competition and the conditions prevailing in the insurance market under the influence of the domestic economic situation are forcing Ukrainian insurance companies to adjust their marketing strategies, putting the client at the forefront with his needs, desires and requirements. Boris Viktorovich RATANOV, marketing director of IC VUSO, spoke about the importance of customer orientation in the development strategy of a modern insurance company to the Bankir magazine.
I am sure that the principle of focusing on customers in the conditions prevailing in the modern insurance market has not been fully implemented. Many companies proclaiming a customer-oriented approach change the content of the ideas of this approach, which is associated with an erroneous idea about it and a lack of experience in the development of this promising direction.
The marketing strategy within the framework of this approach implies a completely different view of the relationship between the insurance company and the client, when the primary attention is paid not to the product itself, but to the person - with his needs and interests.
This important element of work is also characteristic of our company, which speaks of the ability to build the "right" relationship with customers - both external and internal.
We are moving into this direction not so long ago, so we still have a lot of work to do. But we already know that one of the most important elements of customer orientation is service, a high level of customer service of IC VUSO, and we are actively developing this area.
For example, as part of a client-oriented approach, we opened the first simple and affordable online store selling insurance services and implemented the possibility of online insurance for everyone. The online insurance service from IC "VUSO" makes the relationship between the insurance company and the client easier, because ordering an OSAGO policy, a policy for traveling abroad (VZR), a CASCO agreement or another type of insurance has become much faster - in just five minutes, more convenient - without leaving home, and cheaper, because there are no intermediaries between the client and the insurer.
The next step to improve the operation of the online insurance service will be the introduction of the possibility of choosing a payment option; among them, payment by means of payment cards will be obligatory. Improvement of the system of paying for the purchase of an insurance policy online makes this service even more comfortable and accessible, because the buyer will be able to complete all the necessary steps to purchase insurance without leaving the computer.
Simultaneously with the improvement of the payment system, by the end of 2013 we plan to optimize the delivery of policies to customers. Buyers of the vuso.ua online store will be able to order the delivery of insurance by courier or pick it up at the nearest representative office.
We try to simplify the process of online insurance for the client as much as possible, but, unfortunately, until the mechanism of functioning is introduced at the legislative level electronic signature for individuals, we will not be able to save consumers of our services from having to deal with a certain amount paper documents. And if the client had an electronic signature, we - after payment - would send him an electronic policy, the buyer would sign it, and he would have a valid policy within 10-15 minutes from the moment of ordering on the site. But, while the aspect of delivery is mandatory when purchasing an insurance policy, IC "VUSO" makes delivery easier and more varied so that the client has the opportunity to receive his insurance policy in a way that is more convenient for him; the shipping costs are covered by the company.
In the future, we believe for the customer the most an important factor it will save your own time and the opportunity to buy insurance directly from the insurance company, and not through an intermediary, because in the event of an insured event, the intermediary simply shrugged his shoulders - and the "extreme" as a result remains the insurance company.
It is the increase in the level of responsibility of the insurance company to the client that is one of the main signs of client-orientedness, which makes it clear that our the main objective- not to sell a product, but to provide a quality level of insurance services. Because we understand very well that the main thing is to achieve the client's goal, and in the field of insurance it consists in guaranteed receipt of payment in the event of an insured event with the best level of service. This is the key to the success of a customer-oriented company.
“The customer is always right” is a phrase that business owners use as an example for their employees to teach them good service.
“The customer is always right” – this is the phrase that employees hate, believing that they provide good service, and the customer is just “borzeet”. The thin line between good and bad is called customer focus.
Looking ahead, I can say that if you have just decided to postpone reading an article with the words: “My company has good service, which means customer focus is at its best,” then I will immediately advise you not to rush.
Your service may be good compared to competitors or the market average.
However, after traveling around the world, I realized that Russia has room to grow. But the conversation is about you.
Therefore, even if the customer focus in your company is high, I insist that you read this material to the end.
Usefulness, chips and practical experience for the development of customer focus - everything will be. Without it in our blog in any way.
Tomorrow, today will be yesterday
In principle, this is all you need to know about the concept itself before moving on to specific tools to increase customer focus.
Small business - no service needed
The only thing I want to pay attention to is who is customer-oriented.
That is, which company needs to purposefully deal with it, and who better to postpone it for later and start attracting customers.
The answer is simple to disgrace - everyone. Yes, there are a lot of rumors now that this is only necessary for those who work in highly competitive niches.
But small companies, monopolists and innovative start-ups do not need this. But this is a delusion, or rather an excuse not to do this business.
Monopolists can "score" on a good service only for the time being, until a new competitor appears.
Then dissatisfied customers will immediately go to him. A startup is much more likely to “start powerfully” due to good service, external and internal customer orientation.
And a small business should value each client as the apple of its eye, so as not to make ends meet in sales endlessly, and start word of mouth.
Therefore, everyone needs it. Only one question - "To what extent?". Everything is more flexible here.
It makes no sense to kill only over one service. Only one service people will not go. Therefore, it is like in, you need to do well, but not perfectly. After all, work on the ideal is endless.
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Two types of approach
You could say we started talking about practice. And for its basis, we need in our head to divide customer focus into two types, which many do not know about.
Conventionally, they can be described as external and internal customer focus.
Customer oriented employee (internal)
The customer focus is a huge plus. These are very valuable employees who are quite expensive in the labor market.
They differ not only in that they comply with all the regulations for communicating with the client, but also in the fact that they put the customer, not the company and management, at the forefront.
Although it sounds strange. The example is as old as the world, but it reflects the idea most fully.
Customer oriented internal
It is they who follow the saying - "The client pays you money, not the manager."
It is quite difficult to evaluate and see such employees, but, as a rule, they are good sales managers who sell much more than their colleagues. They have the most loyal and regular customers.
Customer-oriented company (external)
This is a company that primarily focuses on long-term work and long-term stay in business.
To do this, the company develops whole rules, regulations and employees with customers. Where it is written even what temperature to pour tea to the client.
But papers are papers, it is impossible to foresee all situations. Therefore, the company's management must initially determine the strategy, not only create rules, but also nurture this attitude in each employee.
Unfortunately, this is the main problem, because companies are more focused on money and customers, and not on working with employees.
Examples of successful implementations
Example 1 Dom.ru Internet provider. After connecting the Internet, the master at the door, scratching his hands, asks the question: “Mistress, do you still need to do something around the house?”.
Most, as a rule, refuse, but there are people who ask to fix the faucet or throw out the garbage. The loyalty of the client after such an act of the master, of course, rolls over.
Example 2 Zappos online store. The company takes care of the domestic problems of employees.
The company has a “Good Deeds Department” that helps employees with family tasks (for example, taking their mother to the hospital).
Thus, employees become more focused on work, which means they treat the client better, because they see a good example.
Example 3 Clothing store. In the event that a client needs a different size in the dressing room, all he needs to do is press a button, at the signal of which the seller will come and bring the required size.
Usually the client has to scream or worse, dress in their clothes and repeat the lap of honor.
Example 4 Center child development. The administrators of the company give out tablets with the Internet and games for those parents who are waiting for their child during the lesson.
Thus, time flies by unnoticed, besides, all this is supported by comfortable and large chairs.
Example 5 Starbucks coffee shop. On each ordered glass of coffee they write your name.
This helps them not only in finding the owner of the drink, but also makes it possible to communicate all the time with the client by name. And as you know, we are ready to listen to our name forever.
Customer Focus at Starbucks Example 6 Our company. To all customers who have not called us (for example, in working time) we always call back and give a bonus for the current situation.
On the one hand, we are not obliged to give anything, because it is normal that there is non-working time.
But on the other hand, the client made an appeal to our company, and this is important for us.
Example 7 Jewelry "Cartier". When buying a ring in Europe, I was prepared for the fact that they would speak to me in English language, but no.
For all popular countries (including Russia), native speakers are provided on site. And for rare countries, you can be provided with an interpreter for a few hours.
Example 8 Bank Alfa-Bank. In the winter season, the bank wrapped all its metal handles with soft, velvet material so that when the client opens the door, he would feel not the cold, but the warm love of each person from this company.
Customer focus in Alfa-Bank Example 9 Pizza restaurant. Since the restaurant is very famous, with the influx of the season there are queues for tables that go along the street.
The wait can be up to 1 hour. So that during this time you are not tired, you are provided with chairs and free water, which is constantly replenished by the waiter in this area.
Example 10 Taxi service. When ordering a car, you can choose the “Silent driver” option.
Such an order will make it clear to the taxi driver that you need to drive in silence, and not tell how much he already drives this car and how the last passenger deceived him by 10 rubles.
Concrete steps
Give a list mandatory action to become a customer-oriented company is impossible.
Because if you read carefully, all criteria are based on the needs of the client.
In one business, it is important for the consumer to have easy chairs in line, and in another, they don’t give a damn about these chairs, the main thing is to be able to fill out all the documents on their own, even while standing.
In the example above, you can start to object and say: “We need both chairs and self-filling.” It's right.
True, if we are talking about small and medium-sized businesses, then there are no resources and time for everything.
Therefore, you need to move by priority and start with the most important. One to one, as in the use of advertising channels (see the video below).
But in order not to let you go with bare hands and a stuffed head, I will give you some theoretical and practical advice that will help you form the right actions in order to lay the foundations of customer focus.
- Determine direction. To a greater extent you are aimed at the client or at money. This is important because, for example, customers are often dissatisfied with a product and demand an exchange, a gift, and a return.
Under the law, in some cases, you can refuse them. But the fact of the matter is that customer focus is not a law, so you need to decide on the shore what to do.
- Count customer churn. Customers leave (below are interesting statistics) and this cannot be avoided. But if all customers leave, then something urgently needs to be changed.
After all, the outflow of customers is one of the indicators of your service. Tracking losses is easiest with .
- Exceed customer expectations.“Easy to say but hard to do,” you think. But actually it is not.
For example, all you need retail store, is to invest a chocolate bar in a customer's purchase. This will surprise him, and ruin you for mere pennies.
- Do not collect feedback using questionnaires. Never! Listen, never!
Questionnaires do not work, because even a positive client is too lazy to fill it out, and if he fills it out, he writes only good things so as not to offend.
- Deal with angry/gone customers. Be ready to talk to a lost client at any time.
A particularly powerful effect is achieved if the issue is resolved not just by the employee, but by his manager. And this will brighten up the negative if the issue has not been resolved positively.
- Change the staff. Implement bonuses for the best customer-oriented employees, this will be an additional incentive for them.
The prize can be both material and non-material, the main thing is that the employee wants to receive it.
Calculation formula
Everyone knows a lot about customer focus, but how to measure it - there is no single formula that takes into account all factors.
But I liked the Ovum research (it's a big research center).
They developed their own formula and decided to test different companies to see which one was how much customer-focused. Ready for results?
Even such large companies how Apple, IBM, General Electric failed to rise above 80%. The absolute majority of companies did not overcome the bar above 55%.
This perfectly shows that most companies in America "do not bother" with the quality of work. What can we say about Russia, where the situation is much worse.
Only by sharpening questions for service and quality of service in order to avoid lowering the coefficient due to the product and other technical issues that are not directly related to customer focus.
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PC: Survive in a crisis market advantages and raise the business new level are tasks for modern management insurance companies for which there is no universal recipe. But many experts agree that building a customer-centric business can be the panacea.
Nikolai NIKOLENKO, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IC Rosinkor Reserve LLC, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, certified international business coach, shared his vision of creating a client-oriented insurance business based on competent market management.
What is a client-oriented insurance company?
Two types of definitions can be given: ordinary and scientific. I want to tell dear readers right away that I will express my opinion the way I have it. Your right to agree with it or disagree. But any definition should reflect the essence of the phenomenon. You do not understand the essence - it is difficult to move on.
Lately, I've begun to gravitate towards my own aphorisms. One of them is as follows: genius lies in making complex things simple. On the contrary, idiocy consists in making simple things complicated.
By no means claiming to be a genius, I will try to give an ordinary definition of a customer-oriented company. A customer-oriented company is a company in which management and staff are tense so that the client is not tense.
And vice versa: a non-customer-oriented company is one in which
client, because management and staff do not strain.
Speaking methodologically with a practical focus, then a customer-oriented company is three "CP": Customer-oriented Products, Customer-oriented Processes, Customer-oriented Personnel. In other words, it is a certain system of relations with the client, in which his interests are primary.
I divide the business processes of an insurance company into two types: operational and non-operational. Operational activities include underwriting, actuarial activities, sales, claims handling, reinsurance and maintenance of insurance contracts. Non-operational business processes include: finance, information technology, business administration. Two business processes stand apart - marketing and personnel, although to be a scientific beech, the first should be attributed to sales, and the second to non-operational business processes. All these business processes in a client-oriented company should be built from the client, and not from what is convenient, for example, to the head of the claims settlement service, who sets himself the functions and the algorithm for their implementation, so as not to strain.
The example is simple: in a client-oriented company, you will not be asked every time for a passport to conclude a new insurance contract, since it is in the database available to all employees working with this client. And these are management competencies plus Information Technology. In the event of an insured event, you will also not be required to have a passport and a policy, since not only sellers have it, but it is also automatically available to losers. But all business processes are dead until they are touched by the intellectual and emotional energy of the people who drive a particular business process. Therefore, customer-oriented staff and management is a key factor in customer focus.
I also want to note that all processes, structures, technologies and personnel must move and work from the client under the guidance of a special center for professional work with clients. So think tank is a company's marketing service that builds relationships between the company and customers, and also sets the standards for these relationships based on the strategy for working with customers of a particular company. And management in this area is called market management, or in our opinion - customer relationship management.
How would you rate the overall level of marketing management in Russian insurance companies?
It is always easy to criticize, especially others. I will try to avoid this and raise a problem that, in my opinion, is no less significant than the state of the assets of insurance companies and the OSAGO problem. Moreover, in my deep conviction, the problem of assets and the problem of OSAGO, oddly enough, is directly related to customers. The purpose of this interview is to ensure that we once again carefully look at the area of interaction between insurers and policyholders, which is quite problematic.
First, it must be honestly said that the level of marketing management in insurance companies, to put it mildly, is not very high, and to be even more honest, it is extremely low. It is clear at the same time that we take the general trend and the “average temperature in the hospital”. And this is the problem with many companies. In order not to be unfounded and not to discuss the problem at the level of emotions, but at the level of content, let's look at the numbers and facts.
A recent sociological survey conducted in Russia showed that more than two-thirds of the population, 76 percent, trust banks, and just over one-third, 36 percent, trust insurance companies.
The level of penetration of insurance in our country does not exceed 15-20 percent for both enterprises and the population. Also, according to various estimates, from 20 to 60 percent of clients leave insurance companies in the second year. It is clear that the reasons are different. However, the lion's share of customers leave due to poor service. Clients leave the company, and with them insurance premiums and profits of insurance companies leave as the basis for the formation and maintenance of the company's assets. Yes, for opponents I’ll say right away that sometimes losses also go away.
Secondly, today only a few companies have fully functional marketing services, the management of which understands their necessity. There is good examples. Just the other day I was in an insurance company, probably the only one in Russia, where I found a market management division. Well done! Another 30-40 companies have marketing organizational structures, but they do everything, but not attract and retain customers. But these are structures and employees who should professionally deal with clients.
Clients are the most important intangible asset of the company, which is the foundation of all other assets: financial, human, information. financial services and IT services are available to everyone, HR services are available to many. And not many companies have marketing services. Marketing in most companies on a voluntary basis is done by salespeople, because it is easy to ask them for sales volumes, that is, measurable indicators. Therefore, they have to create customer databases, develop sales channels, etc.
The marketing function has two main functions - to attract and retain customers, and to maintain feedback with them. Let me give you a simple example of customer feedback.
I drive a BMW car. Immediately after buying a car official dealer thanked me in writing and on the phone for purchasing a car from them. After my visit to the service, for any reason, a specialist always calls me and checks how satisfied I am with the service. At the same time, this is done informally and not for show.
I bought policies in different insurance companies and now I buy, because our company does not have all the products. But not once did anyone ever call me and ask about how, for example, I was served when buying a policy or settling a loss. I'm not blaming anyone now, as I myself work for an insurance company. I want to say that we still have a lot of work and improvement in the area of customer relations.
Thirdly, you need to understand that, all other things being equal, the aggregate indicator of a company's success is the growth in sales volumes. And in sales there are simple three "K": Clients, Contacts, Contracts. This formula was developed and gained through my more than 20 years of experience in various insurance companies: large, medium and small in various positions from the head of the sales department to the general director and chairman of the board of directors. How many companies do you think today have such a key indicator as the number of clients, the level of customer retention, the average premium per client, the number of policies per client? But this is the basis for calculating the volume of insurance premiums for the year at certain rates.
Fourth, customers are different. I distinguish two main types of clients: Regular Clients and Potential Clients. And regular customers are divided into three categories: Renewal Customers, Key Consumers and Cross-Consumers. By attachment to the company, customers are one-time, permanent and loyal. And clients are profitable and unprofitable. Some readers of this interview may accuse me of being too academic and mentoring. But understanding what I am talking about is very important for management, as there will be different forms, methods and technologies for working with them for different types and categories of clients. And the development and implementation of these technologies is a function of marketing.
Today, in companies with clients, everyone works - and rightly so. But the company must have a professional body for working with clients, which determines the ideology, strategy and tactics of this work. It is the misunderstanding or unwillingness of management to understand this simple thing that causes poor organization of work with clients. Today, managers of insurance companies, wittingly or unwittingly, are simply obsessed with the internal processes and problems of the company. This is important, but no less important is the desire and ability to look not only inside, but also outside.
Does the reason for poor marketing organization lie in the minds of specific managers?
Of course. But not only in the head, but also in the heart. I often hear complaints from colleagues about the crisis, sanctions and other external causes. Since the external environment for all insurance companies is the same and crisis, then with this approach, all companies must be unsuccessful and all managers must also be unsuccessful. But there are successful managers, and there are successful companies. At the same time, ask any manager about whether he is successful, and you will get an affirmative answer. I repeat that I have worked in different companies and I am convinced that all the reasons for success, as well as defeats and failures, lie within us.
The formula for success in management is very simple: Y = V ppr, that is, success is equal to the rate of acceptance right decisions. And the speed of making the right decisions is directly proportional to the coefficient of management competence and inversely proportional to the number of decision-making levels, which can also be expressed by the formula: V ppr = Kk / Ku. The more levels of decision-making and the less competent management, the decisions are made more slowly and incorrectly. Everything is very simple: I think clearly, I state clearly, I act clearly. If the manager speaks floridly, then he does not understand the essence of the phenomenon. If he does not understand the essence, then he will not build a system of work.
It's no secret that I conduct business training in the open market. Often I ask listeners a simple question: what is marketing? The answers are very diverse and about segmentation, and about the Boston matrix, and about sales channels, etc. However, these definitions are instrumental in nature, not essential. If the manager understands the essence of the phenomenon, then he will give it a definition, as I say, in the top ten. It doesn't matter if it's your own or taken from a book. The main thing is that it should reflect the essence. And the essence lies in the relation. You can argue methodologically and theoretically as much as you like about what marketing is, since there are hundreds of definitions of this phenomenon. The manager, on the other hand, needs a subject-practical definition, since, understanding it, he will build a marketing system in the company.
Marketing is the relationship between a company and customers. Marketing is all about attracting and retaining customers. Advertising, public relations, customer matrices, needs research, product requirements definition, sales channels and technologies, databases, CRM, contact centers, customer lifetime value - these are all tools for realizing the essence of marketing. Managers, unfortunately, focus on tools rather than substance. In this case, you can grab a separate tool without understanding the system. It does not lead to success.
But it is not enough to know, you need to build a marketing system based on knowledge. In addition to knowledge and skills, you need to put into practice everything that is in your head. What I do is the content of the activity. How I do it is the technology of activity. "What" and "how" are in the head. But how I feel about what I do - is in the heart. An alloy of strong intellect, as well as positive emotions and will give an excellent result.
The presence of common sense, the ability to penetrate deeply into the essence of phenomena is an innate natural ability along with physiological and emotional genetic codes. In addition to the level of natural abilities, there is also a level of acquired ones: the more a person works on himself, learns, trains and develops, the more he can compensate for the limitations of natural abilities.
I will say something that many may not like: not everyone is given successful management, but everyone tries. Probably because in short term the consequences of managerial errors are not as obvious as in the work of a surgeon or an architect. In management, the result may be delayed in a very long term (and our insurance service itself is also delayed). Even the profit received is not an indicator, because it may not be the result of proper management, but the monopoly position of the company, the order natural resources and others. In general, any person can come to management, but only a person with developed natural intellectual and emotional inclinations can become a talented manager - an intellectual-volitional person who has the necessary system of values and motives. After all, no one argues that a talented composer or architect needs to be born, although success still needs a lot of work. But if there are no outstanding natural abilities, then you can only become a good manager, not an outstanding one.
First, these activities can be divided into two levels: strategic and operational. At the first level, the company must clearly define the business ideology, marketing or customer relationship strategy, and the company's competitive advantages.
The client-oriented ideology of the company will be reflected in the mission, vision and values of the company. This is the spiritual basis of the company, and therefore - of management and personnel, from which the customer-oriented approach of employees begins. Again, there are many opinions on this subject. Some managers believe that the mission and vision are abstract things and absolutely not working tools. But it's not the tool itself, but the attitude towards it. I repeat: the essence lies in the relationship. The mission is needed only as much as management and staff believe in it. Does not believe - do not develop it and do not apply, as it will remain an empty phrase.
The working mission and vision will permeate all the operational activities of the company. This will find its place in recruitment, where, among other corporate competencies, customer focus will be key. The ability and desire to work with clients will also be reflected in job descriptions and competency profiles of all company employees, up to the cashier and cleaning lady. The system of motivation of the company's employees will necessarily take into account the quality of customer service. It is not enough to proclaim a client-oriented ideology, it must be implemented. Therefore, it is necessary to form a marketing strategy for such an ideology.
Marketing strategy answers five simple questions: to whom, what, how, where and at what price to sell? Speaking in marketing language, the company needs to determine: target customer segments (CCS) with which it is going to work; insurance products for these target client segments; channels and technologies for selling insurance products to specific CCUs; regions of the company's operation; product prices for specific channels and CFBs.
All this will be reflected in the marketing section of the company's strategic plan. All these things are countable. Therefore, the key indicators of this section will be the following: the number of customers, the number of products and sales channels, the number of regions, and the forecast volumes of insurance premiums by strategy years. I had to develop such plans more than once. And there is also a successful experience of their implementation. However, to be honest, not all strategies were fully implemented. And the reason that strategies are not always implemented is again in the heads and hearts of top managers. Either there is not enough will and desire, or the management “forgets” about the content of the strategy and goes into products and segments that generate cash flows and cause losses, since the company lacks the competencies and competitive advantages to work in these market segments. I didn't go through this with just one company. And history has repeated itself over and over again.
In your opinion, what is the essence of competitive advantages?
Competitive advantages are also a marketing tool, and a strategic one at that. This is something that few companies have compared to others. If only you have this competitive advantage, then it is called unique. Competitive advantages, of course, need to be formed and developed. But here, too, there are a number of features that management does not always take into account in its activities.
First, competitive advantage cannot be abstract. For example, many companies write about an individual approach to customers. But such an approach must be confirmed by special flexible products, customer service technologies and dedicated customer-oriented employees of the company who lead the customer in everything. life cycle insurance service. Again, I will give an example of the above-mentioned company, where there is a technology and a turnkey customer service system - private insurance.
In addition, every competitive advantage of the company must be supported by arguments and facts. If you say that your competitive advantage is that you pay, then this must be confirmed by the completeness and quick payment terms and the absence of claims from customers.
Secondly, building competitive advantage means constantly monitoring the market and competitors, their products, prices, etc.
Thirdly, and most importantly, one must clearly understand the location of the company's competitive advantages. Many managers will say that they are on the site or in the corporate sales book. But this is a formal approach. The bottom line is that the competitive advantages of the company are in the heads and hearts of the staff: he knows them and he believes in them. If they are not there, then the company has no competitive advantages, because the company's personnel conveys competitive advantages to customers.
What are the key activities at the operational level to achieve a customer-oriented company needs to be implemented?
Indeed, in order to implement the client-oriented ideology and strategy of the company, its management needs to implement an extensive system of measures. First. You need to create a full-fledged marketing service. The main functions of such a service will be: creating matrices and customer databases in accordance with the company's strategy, developing and implementing the company's product policy, sales channels and technologies, advertising, public relations, as well as working with customers in terms of the quality of their service in the company. In other words, the key task of such a division is to create a system for attracting customers for the selling divisions of the company.
Second. The company needs to create a marketing system to support sales. The bottom line is that the system exists when the seller does not run around the market with cold sales on the bases that he himself creates. The marketing service is created in order to turn cold customers into warm ones, and even cooler - into warm ones. It is the marketing service that creates customer matrices and customer databases, and also organizes a systemic impact on these databases to attract customers. The processed databases are transferred to sellers for further work. The marketing service also develops requirements for insurance products and sales technologies, which are also provided to the company's sellers. We sell three incarnations: Competitive Advantage, Seller Competence and Quality Product. O competitive advantages was said above. By selling the skills of a salesperson, we sell ourselves as a competent professional capable of solving customer problems with the help of insurance. By selling a product, we are selling the company and ourselves. Moreover, if you have not sold yourself, then there is no need to talk about selling the company and the product. Thus, marketing has a significant responsibility for the company's sales in terms of customers.
Third. I especially want to dwell on the insurance product. In many companies, this is a synonym for the type of insurance. But this is far from true. Of course, each individual company will have its own understanding of the insurance product. I will share my experience.
Our company has an understanding of the product in the broad sense of the word and in the narrow one. In the broad sense of the word, an insurance product includes the following blocks: license and insurance rules, underwriting for the product, claims handling for the product, marketing, training of sales personnel, IT support of the product. All this is posted on the portal in the corporate sales book. The seller, having entered the portal and clicking on the relevant product, will see all the company's documents and materials on this product in the corresponding blocks. In the "Underwriting" block, he will see all instructions and standards for a specific product (for example, cargo insurance), tariffs and calculators, all forms of applications and questionnaires, as well as other documents related to underwriting in cargo insurance. In the marketing block, the salesperson can view cargo insurance sales techniques, databases of potential customers, all leaflets and booklets on this product, standard presentations and letters to cargo insurance customers. The training block presents teaching materials on a product for self-study and tests for passing a test on a product.
Now about the product in the narrow sense of the word. I often ask managers a question: “What are we actually selling to the client?” The answers are interesting: protection, calmness, confidence. Maybe that's why we sell our services poorly, because we don't understand their essence.
You may or may not like my opinion, but I think we're selling insurance benefits. Insurance management needs to understand this simple truth. You can call it in many ways, but we sell financial compensation, money. Moreover, for little money we sell big ones in the event of an insured event. Yes, compensation is probabilistic, but that is why our service costs tenths and hundredths of a percent. The bank sells its loan for 100,000 for 120,000, and we sell 100,000 rubles of liability for a thousand rubles. And understanding this gives the seller a paradigm shift, because then he begins to tell the client something completely different - to explain in what cases the payment is due, what is the procedure for receiving it, etc., and not to “sell” the policy.
There is another popular objection: if the client realizes that he “bought money”, he will immediately go to beat cars for compensation, etc. But I don’t think that everyone is thieves and crooks, and if someone thinks so trusts the client - why did he even come to work in this market? It is also a matter of customer relationship. According to an analysis carried out in Eastern European countries, cases of clear fraudulent, criminal acts in payouts account for less than 1 percent of total payouts.
Fourth. Creation of customer service standards and a feedback system with customers on compliance with these standards. Whose function is this? Also a marketing division, more precisely that part of it, which is called "Customer Service" or "Service Quality Service". The meaning of her activity is that the client does not run around the company from employee to employee with his problem, who kick him off, but knows where to turn. This service should monitor the percentage of clients leaving, including leaving after a poorly regulated insured event, and also be an arbiter between the client and all other services of the insurance company. This service also maintains constant communication with customers, especially key and loyal ones.
I'm not talking about the endless kicking off of those who applied for a legitimate payment, but about something completely different. About, for example, how Western companies send a letter of gratitude to a client for purchasing an insurance policy, congratulate them on holidays, and so on. And I'm not saying that this should be done for all clients, but mainly for profitable ones.
In general, employees of the marketing service must also have certain financial and economic competencies. Working with a client requires knowing the client, feeling the client, and measuring the client. Measure not only premiums, but also profitability, service life in the company, underwriting results for clients, keep profitable ones, and get rid of unprofitable ones. Evaluate the profitability of a client to see exactly how much profit the company will lose if the client leaves.
The client in the company is kept by four conditions. First, a quality product, and the quality of a product is determined by a well-made insurance payment, with the obligatory observance of such conditions as speed, completeness and absence of bureaucracy. Secondly, high-quality service at all stages of the conclusion and operation of the contract. Thirdly, of course, the price parameter. Fourth, the system of relations with the insurance company. And finally, we must understand that the client needs to deliver the policy to a convenient place for him and in a convenient way for him.
Where to find competent marketers?
So far, the demand for this profession is extremely limited. And it is limited due to the objective state of the market. But I would be inconsistent if I blamed everything on external environment. This is what distinguishes a talented manager from a mediocre one in that he can see the essence of a phenomenon, its components as systems, and can notice or feel trends in order to build a company not on the fact of the occurrence of something, but in accordance with these future trends.
And the trend is such that the further, the more it will be necessary to take into account the opinion of the client, if you want the language of the imperative, then build for the client. This means that there should be a service that sets the priority in the company's work with clients. And this is a marketing service that is inextricably linked with sales. All other services of the company should be built from the client, and not from how convenient it is for employees. It is no coincidence that in Western companies there are positions of top managers in marketing and sales. That is, the head of the sales system has the tools to attract customers and increase sales.
There are three ways to build a professional marketing service. The first is to attract graduates majoring in marketing. I don't want to offend young people, but Steve Jobs said that MBAs know how to manage, but they don't know how to do it. I mean, you need to look not only at the diploma, but more at the person, his intellectual and creative abilities, as well as the desire to work. The second is to attract marketers from another industry. Will have to teach insurance specifics. The third is the formation of marketers from creative and smart sellers of their company. But I will say right away: all three options will work successfully only when the top manager who manages this service understands the essence of marketing himself, constantly develops and sets the bar for the development of the entire marketing service.
In conclusion, I want to say that the crisis is not eternal and will definitely end, it will begin the economic growth followed by qualitative and quantitative growth of customers. Where they will go tomorrow is quite obvious: where they are well served and sell good insurance services. Get ready for this today or die.
(According to the materials of the media information group "Insurance Today")
A study conducted by Ovum showed that there are very few companies today that adapt to the needs of their customers.
The study showed that 90% of companies are at risk of losing customer focus. Otherwise, they must learn to adapt more quickly to the needs of their customers. Companies are also overlooking key opportunities to increase their customer satisfaction and loyalty, which in turn leads to rapid company growth.
Despite what many use in their work, business is still held back by a slow decision-making process, insufficient involvement of salespeople in the process of communication with customers, as well as a lack of communication channels and an illiterate attitude towards innovation.
In their "Customer-Adaptive Enterprise Maturity Levels" report, Ovum also notes that Inflated customer expectations driven by the rise of social and mobile technology have made it harder for companies to remain customer-centric. This has led to the need to form a deeper and broader, company-wide focus on the client, and not just those departments of the company that are directly related to work with them. For most companies, this is not easy.
Ovum rated the companies 8 key criteria which he considers fundamental for the development of customer orientation. Among them:
- competent leadership,
- the degree of involvement of sellers in working with customers,
- teamwork company employees,
- timely response to customer needs,
- customer experience,
- use of innovation,
- integration processes,
- and, last but not least, organizational structure enterprises.
Any company that scores high on all of these criteria "can claim to be customer-centric," says Ovum chief analyst Jeremy Cox.
However, the main problem is that only a few can achieve such recognition. In fact, according to Ovum, average mark was only 52%, and no company scored more than 80% across all criteria. Companies that have shown a tendency to adapt to customer needs include IBM, Virgin Atlantic, First Direct, Handelsbanken, Apple, and GE, but unfortunately they are in the minority.
The results demonstrate that companies are not yet "sufficiently connected to their customers and lack the understanding and experience to nurture a customer-centric approach," Cox says.
Still, given the progressive nature of customer-friendly companies, Cox isn't surprised by the results. Every market is subject to influence modern technologies and dependent on the "whims" of consumers, whose dissatisfaction can either improve or ruin your business's reputation, Cox explains.
Carter Lasher, Principal Analyst for Enterprise Applications at Ovum, points out that "technology is driving customer-centric companies, but not at the heart of it." “To become customer-centric, you first need to find an approach to the customer,” he says.
You need to listen to customers to “keep your finger on the pulse” and improve the customer experience over time, Cox recommends. In addition, the use of technology is critical to the success of your business, and this requires support and competent management from the leadership.
“For customer-focused companies, there is no shortage of technology, but the main obstacle is the lack of leadership vision, a deep understanding of the customer, and the ability to combine it all into one end-to-end process,” Cox concluded in his report. This is the time when investors are looking at how companies can truly engage and build trust with their customers. , and perhaps in the future we will see more evidence that leaders actually know how to plan, coordinate and control the work of their company in the long term, rather than chasing short-term results.
The findings of the study are supported by Forrester Research's "The State of Customer Lifecycle Marketing, 2013" report, which showed that only 13% of companies are true leaders in customer focus, strategy building, organization and coordination of work within the company, technology application, data management and analytics. .
Sad to admit, over 40% of organizations can be classified as underperforming. The reason for this is the lack of any efforts and initiatives in working with the client, as well as the inability to manage structured and unstructured data sources in one centralized system . As a consequence, this adversely affects the further decision-making process, according to the Forrester report.
To manage structured and unstructured data sources in one centralized system, the company's CRM system must meet the following requirements:
- worked on the basis of WEB technologies that help to combine databases, social and media content
- was accessible from mobile devices in the place where the employee is located
- had an open architecture for integration with other systems
- had the ability to adapt flexibly to regularly changing business conditions
“These companies have all the prerequisites to catch up and adjust their work with clients; but currently it appears they are more willing to aggravate existing customer relationships than to improve them,” said Corinne Munchbach, an analyst at Forrester.
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