Kasey Ketcham, Sr. AVP, Commercial Digital Enablement & Experience at Nationwide

1. What are the biggest challenges that carriers face today in utilizing technology to elevate the customer experience?

Carriers, agents, and customers alike face significant headwinds that are impacting our ability to operate and optimize as we all might desire. However, as the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and it’s during these difficult times that we also see significant breakthroughs in people, process, and technology. For a carrier, it is paramount to understand the most critical needs for our agency force, and pace investments and capabilities that provide the greatest benefit to the agent. Any technology or capability must enhance the experience in a meaningful way (reduce time & effort, or generate greater revenue & profit), or it will become just another thing to juggle for an already taxed agency workforce.

2. Why is it important for agents to provide a great customer experience to small business owners?

We all recognize recognize that agents and small business owners have a choice when making decisions regarding their protection needs. As such, carriers want to provide the best possible experiences to their agents, and agents in turn want to create the best possible experiences for their customers. In a digital world we all expect, or even demand, effortless, personal, and reassuring experiences, and when those are not experienced most customers seek alternatives. In fact, according to a 2021 & 2022 CX Forrester study, those companies who focused on customer experience enjoyed over two times the revenue, profit, engagement, and retention when compared to peers that chose not to focus on customer experience.

3. What advice would you give any small commercial agents on how to leverage technology to improve their relationships with their customers?

My advice would be to assess their agency and identify the specific and unique needs and opportunities that persist within their agency. It is important to then prioritize those needs for the highest value opportunity, e.g., marketing, new business quoting, customer remarketing, servicing and policy amendments, etc. As the highest need is identified, collaborate with your key carrier partners, and engage the technology solution that best solves that need.