was unanimous applause , suggesting agreement .
Most people would agree that there is more friction when the customer makes a claim , than at any other point of the customer journey in insurance . Then I asked them , “ What do we call our customers when we are selling to them and when they buy a policy ?” Someone shouted , “ Customer ”. Then I asked , “ What do you call the customer who makes a claim ?” and the answer that came from the audience was , “ claimant ”.
Now , you can see where the ‘ disconnect ’ arises in that interaction . The name of the customer changes to claimant when he makes a claim . All along when he was buying , paying and renewing the policy , he was a customer . You can imagine the implication of that on the interactions around claim processing .
Insurance is a promise where customers are assured that everything will be ok should they face a risk related to the policy they have bought . They feel confident that they have done well in managing risk , and they do not expect that when unfortunately , they do face a risk , they will cease to be treated as customers , and be treated as claimants .
Customer engagement fits well within the context of customer acquisition and retention strategies . Without effective engagement , there will be a gap between your customer acquisition and retention objectives . You may win first time customers easily , but if you don ’ t engage them effectively , you will not be able to retain them over time .
That ’ s the power of the terms we use in managing relationships . Think about it : What does that do to the relationship and customer engagement ?
To address this pain-point , insurance companies need to apply the same enthusiasm in handling claims as they show when selling and renewing policies . They need to go beyond changing the name to removing other aspects that cause pain to customers . They need to speed up the processing of claims , treat customers with care during the process , and show empathy as they ask questions about the occurrences that lead customers to make a claim .
For any business seeking to enhance competitiveness through customer engagement , the proposed strategies above will be a good starting point - focus on building a relationship , ask questions and remove pain points in the customer ’ s journey . Enhancing customer engagement is a powerful way to build customer loyalty and brand evangelism .
Dr . Catherine Ngahu is the founder and Chairman of SBO Research , a company with a service footprint in 23 countries in Africa . She can be reached at : CNgahu @ sboresearch . co . ke ; Search for ‘ Catherine Ngahu ’ to follow her on YouTube .