We are in an era, where decades are happening in MOMENTS. Being witness to the fastest changing world around us, what (or who) do you think is driving the pace? Consumer Demands, Models around perceiving the unperceived, Technology Disruption??? Some Markets/Industries/Companies evolve rapidly, while others lag behind.
Well, our focus is not to talk about "Why" and "What" of Change & Pace that impact one way or the other and our personal plan forward. There is a lot of market research and there are a lot of individual opinions.
This week, it's about eCommerce trends and what do they mean to Insurance?
Let me start with my personal experience....
A few months back, intending to invest in a new camera for an upcoming mountain-trekking in Himalayas, I logged into amazon duh... Searched for what I needed, and the result came up - I scroll down to check the reviews, and mid-way, it shows me the best add-ons that I might need: a sturdy hard case, simply perfect for my trek....
Aren't these the kind of experiences that take us back to the same brand again & again? Same time, they also create an expectation within us to be taken care of, similarly, elsewhere & everywhere!
Absolutely - eCommerce evolution & trends are shaping consumer lifestyle and expectations, far beyond imagination, in every walk! We don't even know what we want/need - seems like the market knows better!
Let's start understanding the dominant e-commerce trends, in the market, today:
- Extensive use of e-commerce sites for retail trade, Introduction of cryptocurrency, Block-chain based mobile wallets like mMoney
- Mobiles and Tablets in extensive use for e-commerce, social media, and online shopping - with Mobile leading the pack through
- Mobile devices contributing to max digital traffic.
- 90% of Mobile Time spent on Apps.
- Average e-commerce time spent via mobile apps, is 20 times more than website use.
- Preference for Mobile App over websites for personalized user experience, speed, extra features & special offers.
- Conversion & retention rates: Almost 3 times more on Mobile than other Web Mediums (Sites/Portals)
Conclusion: Mobile websites better for driving initial awareness and engagement, but apps best serving latter funnel stages.
- Continuing/increasing use of social media - opening a wide-ranging scope for options analysis and recommendations.
What do they mean to Insurance Industry? Depends on where you are in the eco-system and your appetite for "Customer Value". Just this much is the truth though: YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE. You have to necessarily plan for your e-commerce strategy and plan it RIGHT & FAST.
A few questions that you might want to find answers for, first, before taking the leap for way forward:
- What are those dominant e-commerce trends in your market?
- What are those, for your consideration, in the segment that you are serving - geography, LOBs, Customer Segments (Age, Profession, Gender etc)
- Who do you consider your competition to be? (Absolutely critical - not everyone considers competitors as competitors)
- What is internal thinking - for change (Biz Model first & Tech next)?
- Where is your tech today vis-à-vis trends - fragmented or holistic?
- What are your data sources? Do you consider the customer/market unstructured data for services?
- What are your definitions mobility, availability, accessibility etc?
Answers to these questions will help find your right road-map for laying foundation for serving your customers beyond expectations through e-commerce platforms.
Successful companies have been extensively focusing on Mobility, Aggregators (rate & terms comparisons to start with), Real time Messaging, Virtual Assistance, Real-time proactive advises based on interaction experience.... For right end-to-end customer experiences & delight, be it big-bang or incremental, by addressing everything around the customer - perceived & unperceived - for
- Self- sufficiency
- Ease of use, intuitive and gratifying
- Personalised experiences
- Availability/Accessibility - anytime, anywhere
- Comparability - from hoards of options, on what works best for me.
- Affordability - based on what I want
- Accessibility - 24/7
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