Defining the Customer Lifecycle and Identifying Critical Moments

Executive Summary

A large specialty insurance provider wanted to gain clarity on the critical moments that drive loyalty. Andrew Reise helped create both the member and agent lifecycles with validation through qualitative and quantitative research. The research findings were mapped across the lifecycles and uncovered clear opportunities for business growth. As a result, the insurer is positioned with a new voice of member and agent strategy that captured the right feedback at the right time to uncover ongoing insights in the moments that mattered most.

How Andrew Reise Helped

Our team leveraged both inside-out and outside-in perspectives in this project. First, we built a thorough understanding of the member and agent experiences and illustrated a distinct view to the client. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, we understood the members’ and agents’ experiences and identified what mattered most. Our team mapped these critical moments in the lifecycle, and the client was well-positioned to build a measurement strategy. 

Defining Lifecycles

Work with the client began by building a thorough understanding of the business from key stakeholders and subject matter experts. We developed two lifecycles by using an inside-out view of the member and agent experiences. Each lifecycle was then validated through qualitative interviews and focus groups with members and agents.

Qualitative Research

Defining critical moments started with a qualitative research phase that consisted of interviews and focus groups with members and agents. Key objectives guided this effort to:

1. Understanding what was important when interacting with the specialty insurer
2. Considering how members/agents think of membership and its benefits
3. Learn the various emotions of the members/agents throughout the lifecycle
4. Recognize brand perceptions while gleaning insights to inform the quantitative design

Quantitative Survey

Validating the member and agent lifecycles started by designing and administering a survey on behalf of the specialty insurer. The survey results allowed the team to confirm the insights discovered with the qualitative research. It also helped identify what was mutually important to members and agents.

Identify Critical Moments

Resulting from the qualitative and quantitative research were loyalty drivers, and the analysis indicated several areas where members would find value. Some essential areas were refining a membership model and specifically targeting why they remain a customer. This included understanding what members want to feel and what interactions are critically important. Brand perception played an essential role in understanding how the company should strategically position the member experience and how agents play a critical role.

Results Achieved

As a result, the specialty insurer prioritized the loyalty drivers and was empowered by understanding the critical member emotions across the lifecycle. The effort revealed a disconnect between executive leadership’s assumptions about member sentiment and how members actually perceived the brand. Additionally, greater clarity was provided around what to measure in the lifecycle, which guided a future experience measurement strategy.