By Natalie Bruckner. Originally published in the summer 2020 issue of Business Class magazine.
Adapt or die. That’s a saying often heard in the insurance world when it comes to attracting and retaining customers in this rapidly changing world.
This sentiment may seem extreme, but in an industry that has to contend with the advent of autonomous cars changing the role of roadside assistance, more extreme weather events impacting our homes and the recent pandemic placing additional strain on travel insurance providers, it begins to make sense.
These are just some of the challenges that John Mullane, BCom ’04, faces on a daily basis in his role as vice president of digital and customer experience transformation at BCAA. And yet, you won’t see him panicking.
“Insurance is seeing a lot of disruption both in the way of digital aggregators and new ways to manage insurance, like Lemonade and Trov, who provide on-demand insurance. A subset of the new generation really only cares about their bike, laptop and skis . . . and insurance needs to respond accordingly. BCAA has a long-term strategy that looks to 2030 and my role is to ensure we are a major player digitally. We are not trying to be Amazon or Google, but we certainly want to look at how they deliver and evaluate that in the context of the BCAA digital-first environment. We need to be sure we remain relevant for BC and we have lofty goals in how we can do that,” he says.
While the specifics are still very much under wraps, Mullane adds that appealing to Millennials, who now represent the largest group of consumers, is essential as they are setting the expectations moving forward. “We need to not fall in the trap that all they expect is digital. Sometimes the best customer experience is in person. Yes, we need to build a digital customer relationship, but we also have to focus on how that applies to our brick-and-mortar stores.”
Coming from an operations background means Mullane understands how to remain relevant in the lives of customers and that being flexible is essential. He credits his BCom in entrepreneurship for this: “It got me excited about taking on challenges and being part of the decision-making process,” he says. “I thought I would end up starting my own business, but my current role requires me to challenge the status quo and think about things differently, and have that entrepreneurial mindset.”
For Mullane, this approach has helped during his role’s evolution from director of customer experience improvement to VP digital and customer experience transformation.
“We started looking at things differently; putting customers at the centre of everything we do. So instead of just providing home insurance, for example, we are now considering providing additional tools and resources like a homebuyers checklist guide. It transforms the thinking by considering the journey our customers take more broadly,” he says.
Adaption and entrepreneurship aren’t the only traits that Mullane cites as essential to his role. Stepping into the customer-first mindset comes naturally to someone with experience on the front lines of customer support.
Mullane worked in high-end hotels after completing his BCom, which he says instilled in him an understanding of dealing with customers, and insight into their journey. He advises anyone wishing to follow his path to do the same. “Talk to your members, your customers. You learn about the underlying causes of what they are saying, and how you can address the real concern and not just the symptoms.”
With a pandemic and its associated economic uncertainty underway, Mullane knows his industry will experience big shifts. The ideas of adaptability and customer-focused thinking will surely be vitally important in the coming months. Mullane acknowledges there will be big decisions to be made and no doubt some failures as well–but the core philosophy of transformation remains the same.
“The most important thing is to walk in your customers’ shoes and experience interactions in the context they experience them— getting close to your customers will help you understand what consumer behaviours have changed (or not) as a result of the current global pandemic. If you can do that, then customer experience initiatives will be highly valuable as they can position you to innovate and grow as we begin to restart our economy.”
