Technology – benefit or acquisition tool?

Technology never stands still. That means brands have to follow suit. Sometimes it seems you have to innovate simply to stand still.

As an agency we not only need to innovate we need to need to be constantly aware of what’s ‘here now’ and what’s ‘coming next’. We’re building a reputation for doing both.

Following on from the agency’s publication of ‘The iPad Revolution’, on the topic of how tablet technology is impacting on financial services and the way they are sold, we were asked to present to ILAG, one of the UK’s foremost FS institutions, on the subject of:

Emerging technologies and trends – how consumers can use technology to access the market, how the market might shape itself in response to change, and how can we exploit technology across the possible value chains to get best results for both the provider and customer?

It’s not exactly the snappiest of titles for a presentation.

However it does reflect the concern that members of the Life Insurance and Wealth Management industries feel with regard to keeping at the forefront of technology when it comes to delivering products and services to customers.

Actually when we discuss technology we’re really talking about tools. Back in the day the only technology/tools a customer needed was a chequebook and a pen. Other than some elegant graphics they all looked pretty much the same.

Today’s technology has spawned a plethora of new tools, calculators and ‘apps’ to help customers manage their money (and at the same time cross sell products and services).

However from our discussions at ILAG it is becoming increasingly apparent that the pure functionality technology engenders is only part of the piece. Good technology is more and more seen a marketing advantage in its own right.

So should you embrace technology for customer retention purposes – aligned to your own back-office requirements and BPM?

Or should you view technological innovation as a brand differentiator and route to customer acquisition?

We think it’s a good question. If you’d be interested in debating it further, or seeing what other people are doing in this space (no pun intended!), give us a call.