Internet As the Skin of your Organization

[Co-authored with Jamie Yoder]

In this first post, part of a series on the “Evolving Role of the Internet” we will examine how the role of the Internet has changed within insurance carriers from the early dot com years to now.

Imagine walking into the Big House at the University of Michigan with a capacity of over 100,000 and finding yourself amongst thousands of other Insurance officials shouting at the top of their lungs about having the best auto insurance with the best deductible,  or offering the best immediate variable annuity with the most advantageous GMWB rider. Contrast that scene with walking into a cocktail party where you mingle with the other guests, move from room to room, have conversations with other like-minded guests, exchange your views (and business cards) and form friendships and relationships.

Get the picture? The role of the Internet is changing in a similar fashion – from being the “mouthpiece” of the insurance carrier, blasting out messages one way, to becoming the “skin” of the insurance carrier, sensing the mood of consumers, agents, advisors, businesses, government, enabling more intimate communications conversations, influencing attitudes and essentially become the primary interface of the carrier to the external world.

The skin of the human body plays four critical roles – it provides a sense of touch, it acts as a barrier against infections and ultra-violet radiation, it regulates body temperature, and it synthesizes Vitamin D in the presence of sunlight.

TIAA-CREF's Nest Egg Challenge

The Internet is now capable of playing similar roles. It has changed from being a passive ”brochureware” platform, proclaiming the greatness of one’s products and brand, to providing a true sense of the experience that the customer is likely to have if they do business with the insurance carrier. For most customers of Progressive the Internet is most likely their first experience with the carrier. Whether it is the Route-Rageous Facebook application by Progressive that teaches basic driving skills in a funny way or TIAA-CREF’s Nest Egg Challenge Facebook application, a viral application on tips to save, insurance carriers are expressing and exposing their products in engaging new ways.

Just as the skin regulates body temperature, the Internet channel has been used effectively by the carriers to regulate the barrage of customer service queries, especially during catastrophic events. Once again, Progressive, an early adopter of social media, used Twitter as a real-time communication tool to drive traffic to ProgressiveResponds.com during the aftermath of this year’s floods in North Dakota and summer hailstorms in New Mexico. (See Progressive Details Twitter Strategy). It proved to be an effective way of communicating real-time during the post-catastrophic events, without placing a significant burden on customer service centers.

The Responsibility Project

With increasing usage of social networking and user-generated content, the online channel is also becoming a medium for synthesizing the views and needs of your customers and prospects so that you can tailor your products and services appropriately. The financial crisis and the resulting massive drop in the financial markets impacted consumers from all walks of life. Carriers like Liberty Mutual through the Responsibility Project site and USAA through their community website WOYM (What’s on Your Mind) are actively seeking user feedback and views to sense and then synthesize the appropriate response to the concerns of their customers. USAA recently absorbed the site into its existing website, Facebook, and Twitter interactions with its customers and boasts one of the largest followings (around 40,000+ fans) amongst insurance carriers.

Finally, the corporate skin, just as the human skin, needs regular care and attention and should not be left to wrinkle. Are you treating the Internet as the skin of your organization or is it still the mouthpiece? Are you treating your skin with adequate care and attention?

In future posts, we will explore the changing role of the Internet from different perspectives.

Evolving Role of the Internet – Part 1: From being the ‘mouth’ of the organization to becoming the ‘skin’ is a post from: Connections