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In our latest post, we have talked about the personalisation shift that companies face today. New technologies and changing customer expectations force organisations to critically review their processes and use innovative technology to create value for their clients.
This is no different in banking and insurance. Financial services providers have to take on a more supportive role as an advisor for their clients, preferably approaching them as individualised as possible. After all, customers simply see through hollow, automated messages. They expect to receive only relevant information that makes a difference for them on a personal level.
To guide you in this shift, our business architects developed the Personalisation Maturity Map. Based on this tool, we define your current level and starting point. From there, we design a roadmap and action plan to take your organisation to the next level.
What does a roadmap for the journey to the next level looks like? We identified 5 steps to guide an organisation in an iterative way to a higher maturity level. Let us walk you through these steps.
Five steps to reach a higher maturity
Step 1: Map out customer journeys
It all starts with a good understanding of the context surrounding the interactions with your customer. This is crucial to create a flow of touchpoints that is tailored to his needs and expectations. This journey maps out the customer experience before, during and after the transaction: walk in the shoes of your customer. Initially this journey will consist of very rough guide lines. By gathering more granular information about the person behind the screen, these lines are refined in a new iteration.
Read more about “customer journeys as your strategic guide”
Step 2: Develop an Omnichannel strategy
At the start the channels used to interact with your clients, will be mainly static. A/B testing makes it possible to allocate your customers into separate groups offering them different journeys. However, an omnichannel strategy goes beyond these experiments. Your various touchpoints should be orchestrated and aligned to offer a superior user experience. A “vistor” is recognised across different channels and his previous behavior and information is carried along. This results in a pleasant, seamless experience for your customer, who picks up right where he left off via a channel of his choice.
Step 3: Review your marketing strategy
Each level on the Maturity Map translates to different objectives and communication aspects. In the earlier phases, the definition of your target audience is still vague. By climbing up the maturity ladder, you’ll collect more data and introduce new tools to extract insights. The lens slowly sharpens and it becomes clear who your target profile is and how you reach out for him in a personalised way. The purpose of your campaigns becomes crystal clear and the tone of voice is exactly the one that resonates with your customer.
Do you want to know more about customer insights as the engine of your company? Please read our blog here.
Step 4: Elaborate the target reference architecture: make or buy building blocks
With a clear vision on your target audience, it is time to evaluate your existing application landscape. Which building blocks are needed to capture, structure and efficiently use your data? Which tools make it possible to collect and monitor real-time data? Which competences and resources are needed to implement this strategy? To answer these questions, it is important to keep your position within the Maturity map in mind. The more mature, the more important it becomes for your company to gain insights from real-time data and act upon these. An example is the behavior of visitors on your digital channels. Behavioral data reveals insights about the affinity with and interest in certain products and services. By making associations, you’re able to introduce other relevant products or services.
A reference architecture must be built in a way that it supports the goals and requirements of your organisation. Personalization data should be easy to capture and process.
Step 5: The customised journey
After having completed all the previous steps, you are now ready to convey a hyper-personal message, crowning all the earlier work. In this step, it’s about increasing the capturing, usage and combination of data. Measure the increase in your conversions and compare them with your control groups. Our approach is based on the Lean Start Up method.
Using the Lean Start Up method
Strategise: What distinctive experience do you want to offer your customers? The answer to this question helps to set your goals. Inspiration for your goal setting can come from a brainstorming session, but even better is to let your customers speak for themselves through the data you capture, apply analytics models to gain insights and reveal what your customers are looking for.
Target: Choose your well defined target audience. Again, take a good look at your data, but this time, dare to look further than the static characteristics and enrich your data with contextual and behavioral insights to define a more detailed customer profile.
Design: These deeper insights help to determine which unique value proposition you want to offer. Make sure the customer journey flows smoothly, the foundation for building trust with your customers.
Measure, Learn, Adapt: The trick is to start small. Work out multiple versions of your idea, go outside, test, compare and evaluate. Experiment with different messages on your channels and validate what resonates with your customers. Evaluate and look into ways to extend this winning strategy to other, different products and services.
The result is a personalised strategy, tailor-made for your customer and scalable in time and space. Through clear segmentation of your customer portfolio, conversations can be managed on an individual level. Advanced techniques such as deep learning, natural language processing and understanding are gradually introduced to ensure a superior digital experience via virtual assistants.
Eager to learn about the potential of Personalisation for your organisation? For a personalisation assessment tailored to your company, do not hesitate to contact us at inspire@ae.be
Read more : customer story about geographical data and personalisation here.
