Published on May 17, 2023
Updated on May 25, 2023
Indian market is a multi-headed Hydra that confounds in more ways than one. Being the world’s largest democracy and the most diverse country has resulted in a level of stratification that most countries would be unable to fathom. The tiered expectations and a shift in customer demographic are pushing insurers to rework the Customer Engagement Strategies For Gen Zs.
Tier 1 customers hold businesses to an extremely high standard, often on par with global companies operating out of mature ecosystems like the UK, USA, et al.
Tier 2 customers on the other hand are more rustic in their ways of seeing but actively seek the kind of novelty and flair that their Tier 1 counterparts crave. This cohort also strikes a fine balance between modernity and tradition when it comes to customer engagement expectations, e.g. would prefer talking to a live agent instead of a bot.
Tier 3 customers continue to operate on a major time lag, i.e. fully digital touchpoints do not work and software can be a catalyst for change only insofar as they remain invisible in the interactions that Tier 2 customers have with businesses.
Use Cases:
Given the democratized access to generative AI technologies, insurers would do well to incorporate them in each and every facet of the customer experience, right from purchase, all the way to fraud detection. That being said, regional differences could be accounted for in the following ways:
Tier 1: Metro cities require a comprehensive customer experience approach that never rests. Highly personalized chatbots that operate on context, slick user interfaces that are built to minimize friction in service, and proactive communication (via reminders, automated calls, etc.) are strategies that insurance providers could start using.
Tier 2: Given the relatively less frenzied environment in Tier 2 cities, it would make more sense to devote a sizable portion of the budget towards a digitally-enabled physical office. Incorporating the usual technologies to extend reach, while also maintaining a team in these geographies would give it that added human touch that Tier 2 residents usually appreciate.
Tier 3:
For Tier 3 cities, technology ought to recede into the background and do all the legwork that humans did earlier. A more committed implementation of predictive analytics would be needed as Tier 3 residents don’t have as much of a digital footprint as their Tier 1 and Tier 2 counterparts do.
Phygital v. Digital
Ensuring stickiness and retention amongst Tier 1 GenZ customers will require a domineering digital play. Establishing multiple touchpoints across popular and emerging platforms would be a non-negotiable strategy.
Tier 2 customers on the other hand would do well with a digital play with a slight mix of physical touchpoints which could include a singular office in the arena, primarily for servicing and support activities. Customer engagement would require a localization effort, in terms of language as well as distribution.
Tier 3 GenZ members would require a full-fledged phygital strategy where the role of digital engagement would purely be limited to the realm of convenience, by way of sharing documents, essential information, etc. Establishing reasonably spacious offices, coupled with outdoor advertising would be the only way to be ‘taken seriously’ in such geographies.
Next-gen Engagement Models
Both AdTech and MarTech are evolving at a rapid pace, to the point where the cost of implementing experiential engagement strategies is decreasing with each passing year. Audiences in Tier 1 areas will be more receptive to AR/VR engagement that can allow Insurers to integrate physical locations with a slick, digital experience.
The current ecosystem could even allow for engagement strategies built on the metaverse. These, however, will need to be restricted to upscale commercial/residential areas for maximum effectiveness.
Tier 2 and Tier 3 geographies, on the other hand, are not yet primed for such innovations. The balance between physical engagement strategies, i.e. having a team on the ground, hosting events, and actively reaching out to younger customers in collegiate environments ought to be in favor of the physical, with digital-only being an enabler.
There can be no one size fits all customer engagement strategies. The only way forward would be to carefully select an engagement mix and deploy it dynamically to get the attention of GenZ customers.
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