We’d like to offer a big thank you to IASA for a great event. More than 1,000 attendees came together in Orlando for four days of interactive meetings and presentations focused on the transformation taking place in the Insurance industry.
The 2017 IASA Conference lived up to the hype as the most talked about and most attended insurance conference of the year. As I walked around the show floor, attendees and exhibitors were engaging in discussions that centered on the challenges that the insurance industry is facing today. Topics ranged from the industry being at a critical tipping point and the need for transformation, to heightened customer expectations and the concept of defining your customer personas to understand who they are rather than try to give them what the industry feels is right, to the disruption that InsurTech is driving.
Beyond Technology, Becoming Customer Obsessed
I had the pleasure of speaking to many business professionals throughout the event. We discussed a variety of topics, but the common thread across all our conversations was the evolution that is taking place in insurance and the steps required to transform your business to survive. While fear of change today is tough, irrelevance tomorrow…is worse.
Many of my conversations centered on how to start building a transformation strategy. Most companies make the mistake in focusing more on the digital than the transformational. This makes the strategy focused on technology rather than being business driven. Digital transformation is a business initiative where technology plays an enabling role. We recommend using technology to support, not guide your strategy.
The challenge is how to redefine the customer journey using technology as an enabler of change. It’s a continuous process – strategy and execution combined. Too often one comes without the other. Too often we think about the technology first, then figure out how to make it work. So, which steps should you take first for the biggest impact?
At Edgewater, we recommend you start by putting consumer engagement at the center of your transformation strategy – your customer personas. Then, you’ll know the right questions to ask: “How will we personalize our products and services for the consumer? How can we unify all of our touchpoints to create a better experience? How should we extract insights from the data we are collecting to deliver future value?” Finally, you’ll see that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Every day we are helping insurers become customer obsessed by building a strategy that focuses on what their customers want – a strategy beyond technology.
A few insights from this year’s event
First, we loved hearing from leading insurers about their own goals for digital business transformation and the role we at Edgewater can play in being a strategic partner to help them accelerate their journey. We have a deep understanding of the business and technology trends impacting the industry as well as the all-important consumer trends that are driving the need for change.
The next was the buzz around the shift to digital. Digital channels, devices and experiences are now disrupting the insurance industry. While technology leaders tend to be more familiar with the changes that are taking place, increasingly, business leaders are eager to understand how they can capitalize on these emerging trends to provide a competitive advantage. Customers are demanding new ways to engage with insurers, expecting a more personalized experience. We work with executives every day to create and implement their digital transformation strategies providing innovative ways for companies to interact and provide value added services to their customers.
And finally, at the event we received positive feedback on our recently published Insurers Guide for Digital Transformation. The guide is a starting point for how leaders should help their companies create a customer engagement strategy. Many of you, whether leaders in business or technology are eager for more information on how to get started with building your transformation strategy. We look forward to working with you as you start or continue your transformation.
If you missed us at the show, you can visit our website to see how we are helping companies begin their transformation.
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