Ovum Wants Insurers to Revise Customer Strategies

The insurance industry is quickly moving from a model where one-to-many messaging works, particularly in mass media, to a framework where consumers are gaining more power in the business transaction, according to new research from Ovum.

However, the analyst firm believes that until insurers understand who the customer is, they will be unable to shape, deliver, and strengthen the experience each customer expects. Insurers must ensure that marketing is tailored to each individual customer as closely as possible, Ovum analysts warn.

"Without a thorough knowledge of their customers, insurers are heading toward a competitive myopia. Customer experiences are becoming the basis of competition in the insurance industry, and companies need to encompass customer needs, expectations, and satisfaction into their customer experience management (CEM) strategy," said Barry Rabkin, Ovum's principal analyst in the Insurance Technology Practice, in a statement.

"In this age of more, customers are increasingly expecting to receive a quality experience from their interactions with insurers. Insurers must quickly weave in the importance of customer experience into the company strategy at each touch point in order to succeed or fail to meet their expectations," Rabkin concluded.

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