Benefits of CRM and Mapping to Insurance Brokers The insurance industry, like many others, faces ongoing customer challenges: ever-changing needs, buying behaviors, and product preferences. The issue is further complicated because of the diversity of customer behaviors by market and demographics. Although insurance brokers and producers realize the importance of finding, serving, and keeping loyal customers, not all are prepared to respond this this challenge. And while customers (mostly younger) are adapting to technological advances, the same cannot be said about all insurers. [a] One of the technologies that businesses are using for better customer service and increased profits is CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. In 2012, the CRM market grew 12%, worldwide. And the largest category for CRM: "customer service and support" (37%). [b]

While this growth is great for the insurance business, it is a warning flag to insurance brokers and producers, especially if you are not maximizing your resources more than your competitors are. CRM provides a good ROI. Recent research shows that investing in CRM technology pays off. For every dollar a company spends on CRM, it earns $5.60. [c] Why CRM and Mapping-enhanced CRM? With CRM, insurers can: • Respond more quickly to customer requests and improve closing rates • Develop targeted marketing campaigns via better customer profiling • Provide more personalized service and streamline sales-and-marketing processes • Take advantage of up-sell and cross-sell opportunities • Adapt to regulatory requirements more easily Benefits include: • Reduced costs, boosted market share, and increased profits • Improved broker and producer agility via mobile solutions and tools • Reduced busywork, freeing up time for more relevant customer contacts • Unprecedented visibility into the sales pipeline • Increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention Even better, when mapping is combined with a CRM system customer-and-prospect data are revealed graphically with color- and symbol-coding capabilities, as well as street and satellite images. Users of mapping-enhanced CRM are amazed to find business intelligence that often lies hidden in spreadsheet rows and columns.

Caution: A CRM system must have a commitment from top management that all teams will accept it and work together: marketing, sales, accounting, and customer service. CRM provides the right information at the right place, at the right time, for informed business decisions. For example: Think of how often a broker, producer, or the president complains about a customer-service issue "falling through the cracks” or someone being blindsided by an issue that he or she was not aware of. What is the cost of these problems? Finding, Serving, and Keeping Loyal Customers A key to finding, serving, and keeping loyal customers is to "know your best customers." That's because if you don’t know your best customers, then you can't even begin to find your best prospects, and you won’t be able to effectively add more best customers. You’ll be working with a blindfold, not able to hit the target. Knowing your best customers is much more than a simple spreadsheet of key customers’ names, addresses, and phone numbers. It is finding every piece of vital information about their company that will help you to build, solidify, and leverage your current relationship with them to not only expand business with them, but to find more like them. Why You Should Know Your "Best Customers" Whether your marketing strategies are customer acquisition, customer retention, or both, and regardless if your media choices are direct mail, print marketing, internet marketing, tradeshows, public relations, social networking, or mass advertising, without a “best customer” focus, chances are you’ll be hanging by a thread from your past marketing efforts. Or just hanging out. Best customers are important because: • They are the foundation of your current and future success • Your best customers were probably once your best prospects, and it is likely that much of your marketing strategies and efforts were built around finding and attracting them • Best customers provide cross-sell and up-sell opportunities • Without knowing your best customers, you can’t effectively retain them, keep them loyal, or turn them into advocates and referrals for your company • Best-customer knowledge provides the vital focus for campaigns and sales reps • It costs about five times as much to attract a new customer as it costs to keep an old customer Summary Challenges for the insurance industry include handling ever-changing customer needs, buying behaviors, and product preferences, complicated by a diversity of customer markets and demographics. To provide better customer service and for increased profits, businesses are increasingly using CRM software. In 2012, for example, the worldwide CRM market for all users grew 12%. For insurance brokers and providers, CRM offers many benefits, including reduced costs, boosted market share, increased profits, improved broker and producer agility via mobile solutions, and reduced busywork that frees up time for more relevant customer contacts – all leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

References [a] http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/The_insurance_industry_faces_more_uncertain_times/$File/IGLN_Insurance_industry_facing_real_challenges_Feb%202012.pdf [b] http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/04/26/2013-crm-market-share-update-40-of-crm-systems-sold-are-saas-based/ [c] Nucleus Research, Boston, MA

Bob Sullivan is president of InfoGrow Corporation. Bringing 24 successful years of experience in CRM, mapping, lead management, business intelligence, and B2B market analytics, InfoGrow helps clients identify their best prospects, discover missed opportunities, focus reps on the most profitable accounts, and reduce marketing waste. Contact Bob at 800-897-9807, x224.

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