Zurich For a long time, the printer case was probably the most unwieldy work tool at Zurich. However, it used to be common for the agents of the largest Swiss insurance group to take a trolley case with an external printer with them to customer appointments. It was thus possible for them to adjust and print out customer contracts during the conversation – and present them for signature.
Mobile printers were official work equipment at Zurich until 2019. Getting rid of them and equipping every insurance agent with an iPad was one of Conny Kalcher’s first official acts.
The Danish top manager has been chief customer officer at the Swiss insurance giant since 2019 – a board position that did not previously exist. She has consistently trimmed sales and claims processing for digitization and tailored them more closely to the needs of customers.
“The whole concept of selling individual policies is old-fashioned,” says Kalcher today. “Instead, we want to understand what the customer needs. The goal is to have more loyal customers by better providing them with the products and services they need.” Thomas Steiger, Head of Agency Sales Switzerland at Zurich, confirms: “That’s the big change in sales: we’re pursuing a customer-centric approach rather than a product-centric approach.”
In times of Apple, Amazon and Uber, it may seem natural that companies put their customers first. But in the sales department of a large insurance group, a cultural change was required. “This is a new way of thinking for many insurance agents,” says Kalcher.
Today’s sales people not only have to be able to explain how a life insurance policy works, for example. Rather, they have to analyze whether the specific customer needs them in their current situation.
competition in the nursery
Before moving to Zurich, Kalcher had hardly any contact with the insurance industry. But she was familiar with demanding customers: she worked in marketing for the Danish cult toy manufacturer Lego for almost 14 years, most recently as Vice President of Customer Experience. After leaving Lego, she was a partner at British property consultant Mindfolio and a board member of Danish clothing manufacturer IC Group and influencer platform Brandheroes.
In the meantime, Lego had lost sight of its own customers, and new models no longer met the taste of young customers. “There was a time when Lego was boring” Kalcher remembers. The managers in Billund watched as digital games increasingly outstripped the iconic colored bricks.
“We realized that playing time with Lego dropped to 20 minutes a day,” says the marketing expert. The company then realized: “We had to first understand children’s lives before we could adapt the product strategy and offer them different play experiences and exciting themes.”
With themed worlds including Star Wars, Conny Kalcher was able to convince the young target group of the product again during her time at Lego.
(Photo: dpa)
Market studies have shown that kids are spending more and more time on the computer and are more enthusiastic about film worlds such as Harry Potter or Star Wars than they used to be. So Lego started developing computer games and releasing kits to match the blockbuster movies.
With success: in 2006, when Kalcher took over the job as Vice President Consumer Experiences, Lego’s profit was around 173 million euros. When she left the company twelve years later, Lego was making billions in profits.
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First understand the customer in order to be able to offer him the right product – Kalcher repeated this strategy at Zurich. She had customer data digitized and visually processed. Sales should be able to get a comprehensive picture of the customer with just a few clicks on the iPad. “This gives our agents a starting point for their conversation,” says Kalcher.
Manager Steiger adds: “We want to develop transaction customers who have taken out insurance through personal consultations with relationship customers who have a more personal connection and several policies with us.”
More empathy in the event of a claim
Stephan Federer from the general agency Rentsch & Federer in Basel confirms that switching to digital tools has made his work easier. “This has given us a lot of flexibility. Five minutes after the consultation appointment, we can send the client the protocol and the contract documents.”
A frustrating back and forth for both sides with contract documents sent by post is avoided, according to Federer. “Today it is possible to adapt the contract within a few minutes, sign it digitally and then the issue is settled for both sides.”
The strategy also delivers measurable successes: customers arrange a consultation more often, they take out more policies and they are mostly very satisfied with the consultation. This is shown by figures presented by Conny Kalcher in November 2022 at Zurich’s Investor Day.
Customer satisfaction in the event of an insurance claim is at least as important as when concluding a contract. According to Kalcher, Zurich approaches customers who report damage differently. “We approach customers who have been involved in a car accident, for example, with empathy instead of asking the first question: What is your insurance number?”
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General agent Federer, whose employees are often the first point of contact in crisis situations, also finds: “In the event of a claim, we have become much faster and more empathetic. And today we have more flexibility to provide unbureaucratic help.”
For this reason, Kalcher predicts that their digital initiative will not completely replace traditional agency sales. The agents have the direct relationship with the customers and understand their needs. The digital channels are only support.
“I see a very exciting future for our agents,” the manager is certain. Only the trolley case with the printer doesn’t play a role in this future.
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