Butterfly Data Helps Insurers Drive Double-Digit Improvement in Customer Retention
In the first eight months of 2021, publicly announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) were valued at more than $3.6 trillion globally and $1.8 trillion in the US according to Dealogic. Both numbers are the highest since 1995, when the data provider began its tracking.
Financial predictors expect robust M&A to continue, fuelling companies to evolve and grow by valuing digital, technology-enabled, and disruptive businesses as their preferred candidates.
Challenges: Data Silos, Brand Overlap, Communication Variants
Making a merger or acquisition successful is challenging. Often larger companies acquire smaller entities with different processes, technology, and culture. Data is siloed, brands overlap, and communication channels differ. But help is available if you tap into the right experts.
Financial Services companies have turned to Butterfly Data, a consulting firm with data science and data management experts who help companies achieve data-driven results through digital transformation.
A large multi-line insurer engaged Butterfly after acquiring two small property and casualty providers. The insurer, with a portfolio of multiple brands and offers, needed a cross-sell renewal campaign that leveraged multiple communication channels. The insurers’ data was in separate data warehouses and the data was not consistently updated when subscribers changed address, marital, or living status. Quality audit processes were not regularly followed.
Prior to the Butterfly engagement, switched data files led to home subscribers receiving auto renewals and vice versa – a costly mistake given they spent $1 per subscriber to send each incorrect letter, then a corrected letter, followed by an apology mail.
Butterfly addressed the data and process challenges
Butterfly tackled the data and the process challenges leveraging SAS analytics software. They consolidated and harmonized the data to get to a single version of the truth for each customer. The data included customer channel preferences and permissions, as well as data bureau updates to ensure correct contact details. Butterfly established a monthly review process with all stakeholders – Marketing and IT - to review data quality and accuracy and to ensure consistent communication. The firm initiated a quality audit process to ensure proper data governance and to safeguard against using the wrong files.
Personalized campaigns were initiated using A/B testing. Existing home insurance customers would get an email one month before their renewal date, offering a discount to switch their car insurance. Two weeks before renewal, customers would receive a text reminder, if allowed, with an incentive to switch insurers. With the goal of being data driven, the marketing team set up tracking codes to measure the effectiveness of the channel, timing and content, allowing experiments and updates to drive improvement.
Double-Digit Improvement
Personalized and proactive communication in the customer’s preferred channel led to double-digit improvement in customer retention. New monthly campaigns like ‘multi-buy offer’ and ‘member-get-member’ contributed to a high single digit improvement in churn.
Improvements were underpinned by rigorous data and quality processes that provided governance, visual KPIS that measured outcomes, and a feedback loop that shaped more effective campaigns. These insights enabled the marketing team to measure detailed aspects of each touch point, the timing, and channel encompassing creative, message, and segment.
Learn how Butterfly Data, a SAS Gold partner, can assist with your M&A or digital transformation initiatives on the SAS partner site.