At our celebration of digital innovation, Innovate Together, we heard from successful leaders on how to deliver amazing customer experiences beyond products and services.
Why is this important? Because consumers are drawn to – and build loyalty with – companies offering the best customer experience, particularly in areas such as financial services.
In one of the sessions, Chief Information Officer and Transformation Director at Simplyhealth, Dave Exall, discussed how this can be achieved. He shared how Simplyhealth has transformed from a 150-year-old healthcare solutions provider to become a personalised digital health partner, available for the consumer wherever, whenever, and on any channel of choice.
We also heard from Ronan Gildea, a Solutions Engineer at Salesforce, who provided a crystal-clear walk-through of the Simplyhealth customer journey.
Read on to uncover the importance of hitting every touchpoint on the customer-colleague digital continuum.
The rise of digital health
For almost 150 years, Simplyhealth has been supporting customers in remaining healthy, living well, and accessing the healthcare they require – whenever and however they need it.
With in-person interactions coming to a sudden halt due to the pandemic, this has meant greater adoption of digital services – from chatbots, to live chat. Dave explains that while it is now perfectly normal for everyone to contact their doctor via phone or computer, it is vital to maintain an omnichannel approach.
"Allowing customers to contact us using their preferred method is so important. We need a way we can embrace every channel.”
The main challenge, Dave says, is addressing the needs of both traditional and digital-native customers.
“We want to answer calls quickly for elderly customers, but we also know younger people do not want to pick up the phone."
The customer-colleague continuum
While multiple entry points and a seamless experience are essential for the consumer, delivering a single view of that customer right across the organisation is imperative.
Not only will a single view provide the highly personalised and individualised service the customer demands, but it will also equip colleagues with everything they need to offer the best possible experience.
“Over the last year, we have moved from a traditional office-based contact centre to operating from home,” Dave says. “The number one thing for us is ensuring our frontline staff, who talk to customers every day, are equipped with the right capabilities.”
Colleagues with the right tools are happier, more relaxed, and more confident, which – in turn – makes the experience more pleasant for everyone and drives customer loyalty.
AI-powered interactions
To see such tools in action, take a look at Gildea’s walk-through of the reimagined Simplyhealth platform. He demonstrates how AI can serve product recommendations and knowledge articles to colleagues based on real-time customer requests.
This means that, in addition to accessing personal and claims information, colleagues can become subject-matter experts immediately, and cross-sell, upsell and further improve the experience.
The platform also includes at-a-glance information for a successful working day: schedules, task list, key metrics, KPIs and more.
The Healthcare solutions company
Simplyhealth differentiates itself in a flat market by offering a unique customer experience: everything from claim updates to health tips and advice, seamlessly and in the moment of need.
For consumers, Simplyhealth becomes far more than health insurance. Much as Peloton is now the digital spin class or Disney+ the home cinema, Simplyhealth becomes a holistic digital health partner.
"Simplyhealth is a channel-agnostic digital experience for its members, and there when they need it most," Gildea explains.
The Simplyhealth journey
For Dave, any rapid changes implemented over the past year have been one more part of the Simplyhealth journey with Salesforce, which includes:
· Service Cloud for customer service
· Sales Cloud for telesales campaigns
· Marketing Cloud to drive campaigns
· Tableau for data and insights
And Dave continues to look forward. “The key is to operate at pace,” he says. “You can't stay still for long.”
And for those considering their own Salesforce journey, Dave has this advice:
"Don't just take technology for the sake of it. Think about how it’s going to enhance that customer experience for you. The key is to operate at pace. For us, continually iterating the Salesforce platform delivers more benefits for our customers.”
Watch the full session for more insights on Simplyhealth’s elevated customer experience and their omnichannel approach. In it, Exall outlines what is next on his Salesforce agenda and Gildea dives deep into the reimagined Simplyhealth customer journey and its benefits to consumers and colleagues alike.
