Case Study: ICD011: Customer Centricity
Drivers
- Changing client configuration, working towards partnership based business model
- Evolving customer expectations of insurance providers
- Identified need to grow, profitability!
- Identified need to segment key clients for relationship management
- Identified potential for added value services to cement relationships
- Desire to market test new service ideas
The client, a leading provider of insurance products through IFA intermediaries, was experiencing change in their IFA distribution network and had identified the need to work more closely with IFAs through a partnership based business model. In response, the sales and marketing teams had developed a number of new ideas that needed to be tested against the market’s needs and perception of value. In addition, there was a need to understand more about key clients and their existing relationships with the business.
Inputs
- Segmentation of customer base for a representative sample framework
- Design of structured interview topics
- Measurement framework for quantitative scoring and ranking of responses
- Key Client Review consisting of semi-structured qualitative interviews with director level clients
- Analysis of findings.
With a client brief to ensure that the consultants involved in the project were mature business professionals with a background in the financial services industry, The ICD Partnership was commissioned to work with the sales and marketing team to select a representative sample of key customers. An interview structure was developed that ensured meetings were short, focused and appropriate to elicit feedback on customer’s views, priorities, perceptions and opinions. All interviews were conducted with senior personnel predominantly operating at a board level.
Deliverables
- Report and recommendations to the client
- Presentation to key stakeholders in delivery of services and management of relationships
The ICD Partnership delivered a report and recommendations to the client that focused on quantitative measures and scores for each customer, allowing the client to understand the relative “satisfaction” of their customers with the services under research and also, where possible, their experience of this service. In addition to this qualitative feedback from customers relating to specific aspects of customer service allowed the organisation to use this information in the development of their customer management strategies and service development propositions. Finally informal feedback from customers confirmed that through undertaking the research this had in itself enhanced client perceptions of being valued.
Outputs
- Client identified those new services that added most value
- Client identified those services to be developed as a priority
- Client had a measure of the existing relationship status with key accounts
- Qualitative feedback on competitors and trends amongst the customer base
- Client now evaluating their programme of business transformation across all marketing, sales, and customer services areas of the business
The client was able to focus its efforts on providing a differentiated range of new services to add considerable value to their key customers both now and in the future. Additionally, the client has a benchmark for customer service delivery that is repeatable on a periodic basis and which can qualitatively and quantitatively measure progress and the impact of the introduction of new services.