Insurers struggling to meet customer expectations for a seamless and personalised experience are at risk of losing their customers’ loyalty, according to a survey of 8,000 consumers globally, including 1,000 Australians.
MuleSoft’s Consumer Connectivity Insights 2018 report revealed that 64% of Australian consumers believe that organisations in the insurance sector provide a disconnected experience, while 61% of the respondents said their insurance experiences were personalised.
Meanwhile, 67% of Australian customers said disconnected service in insurance would make them consider changing to another provider or vendor.
The global survey, commissioned by MuleSoft and independently carried out by Opinium Research, analysed whether organisations are meeting customer expectations for a connected, personalised experience across banking, insurance, retail, and government.
“Across all industries, organisations are falling short in delivering connected customer experiences,” said Will Bosma, VP of Asia-Pacific at MuleSoft. “Australians are calling for on-demand experiences where their needs are met in minutes, not days. The risks for organisations that fail to adapt are significant – more than 60% of Australians have considered changing a service provider due to a disconnected experience. While only a small percentage actually actioned this threat in the past 12 months, we can expect many more to act on their words if organisations do not act quickly to improve connectivity and personalisation.”
According to the MuleSoft report, one technology area which falls short in meeting customer expectations is chatbots.
The study found that 43% of Australian consumers have engaged with a chatbot over the last 12 months, and, of that figure, only 35% had their query completely answered or resolved. The rest were either asked to call a customer service representative (27%), directed to a web form (14%), or were told that the chatbot didn’t have access to the necessary information or systems (22%).
Despite the less-than-optimal connected experiences, the survey found that Australian consumers are fairly loyal to their insurer, with 66% of respondents saying they would not give up on an activity or request, even if the organisation’s process made completing it difficult.
Australian consumers were also found to be relatively accepting of the time taken to perform transactions. But while they may be willing to accept longer timeframes, particularly for more complex transactions, “they will favour providers that are able to simplify connected experiences, reduce friction, and make transactions occur faster,” MuleSoft said.
