When I recently moved to a new state and had to switch my auto insurance, I thought it would be quick and easy. I was wrong. The process was complicated, and included multiple pages of paper documents that had to be signed, scanned, re-scanned, re-scanned again and ultimately shipped overnight. Only after completing this process and waiting several days did I have my new insurance cards. For someone who is the ultimate online consumer (if I can buy it online, I will), this was a hassle, to say the least.
But maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. The property-casualty insurance industry is a complex one, marked by long-term agent-carrier relationships, regulations that vary state-to-state, processes and legacy technology. In a world in which you can order a car service, buy food or clothing with one click, or access any aspect of your banking or investment accounts 24X7, much of insurance is still different.
See also: Incumbents, Insurtechs Must Collaborate
The opportunity to do better has given rise to insurtech, the insurance-focused version of fintech. Through our work with the Insurance Digital Revolution, an industry initiative formed to advance digital technology adoption in insurance, and our partnerships with VCs and entrepreneurs, we’ve seen that many CEOs are focused on technology and solutions, but fewer are getting the most out of marketing. So we’ve pulled together these four lessons to help the B2B players break through:
- Keep asking yourself, so what? Have you ever been presented with a long list of features for a new product and said to yourself, so what? Some features, like easy-to-use, flexible, secure, fast, SaaS-based, are so common they lose meaning with buyers. The best companies don’t just talk about features, they talk about benefits ⎯ in very specific ways. These companies understand their customers and speak to them in terms that have real meaning. To get to the true benefits of your solution, after every feature, keep asking yourself, so what? Keep going until you can’t go any further. For example, a new analytics software solution might be easy to use. So what? You can create models instantly. So what? Your underwriters can see the effect of a rate change based on market conditions today. And there’s the benefit.
- In a market where everyone has a better way, say something different. Most solution providers come to market because they really do have a better way. But as a marketing and sales message, "we have a better way" is not enough. It only has meaning for prospects who are extremely frustrated with the current way, and doesn’t help your solution stand out. The same can be said for "we’re fast" or "we’re easy to use." If you look around, you’ll see that many technology companies say the same things. Test yourself by substituting another solution provider’s name into your sales presentation. If it still makes sense, you have work to do to differentiate your message. And while it’s okay to make bold claims (as long as you can back them up), don’t focus on too many. One tech company I know used a revolving list of 10 big claims about its solution. The approach not only diluted the message, but the company lost credibility by using so many superlatives, like "best" and "most powerful." It can take discipline, but focus on only one or two things that have real meaning to your customers.
- Fear doesn’t motivate people to buy. For many insurtech businesses, disruption is part of the value proposition: Some are clearly built on the idea of disruptive business models, and others on empowering carriers and agents to avoid being disrupted. But focusing on fear, and too little on the vision or the opportunity to improve business, won’t get you very far. When you’re selling to insurance carriers and agents, you’ll need to build trust into your solution. That means demonstrating not only how it works, but the results your customers achieve. One of the easiest ways to do this is let your customers tell their stories, on video. And you don’t need a big production ⎯ this is an area where authenticity trumps sophistication.
- Let your community work for you. While customer testimonials and case studies are important in establishing credibility, they’re only the first step. Not only must you convince prospective customers that your solution works, you must give them compelling reasons to change. Building community can take many forms, including creating and working with user groups, holding customer meetings and using social media, such as closed networks on LinkedIn, to discuss questions and ideas. In one example, a technology company implemented a sandbox and feedback loop, for customers to make suggestions and test new versions of the solution. This created a core community of customers who were clearly vested in helping the company grow.
