AMSTERDAM, November 28, 2013
Karian Inpijn is responsible for developing strategic policy around customer contact for VGZ, Bewuzt, IZA and IZZ, among others. VGZ recently launched a completely renewed website. A conversation about website optimization, customer journeys, a/b testing, putting the customer first, getting people on board and a competitive market: "You have to offer customers what they're entitled to."
VGZ favorite
VGZ was recently number one in the research that WUA conducts annually into online orientation toward health insurance. More brands that Inpijn is responsible for appear in the list below, but VGZ is in first place, coming from position 3 in 2012 and position 8 in 2011. The brand made progress not only in ranking, but also in score. In 2011 the score was still failing, in 2012 a cautious 5.8 was recorded. This year VGZ leads the list with a Web Performance score of 6.3.
Web performance score
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Number 1: VGZ.nl - 6.3
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Number 2: Independer.nl - 6.1
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Number 3: CZ.nl - 6.1
Karian Inpijn, you are number 1. What is your first reaction?
Inpijn: "We are very proud, we had a goal and the fact that we won is confirmation of the great step we have made toward and for our customers with a large number of optimizations. In 2009 we didn't even make the list! For the new website we focused very much on customer research because we see that a lot of important information comes from that."
What important changes have you implemented and how?
"We have implemented many important changes in diverse segments. We first put the customer at the center, then we made changes in usability, content, product offering, brand experience. But we also looked at our performance and our business processes."
"Mapping the customer journey was an important part. What happens at the front end of the website and what happens at the back end: how 'available' is our information, can we show it? Once you have written the right content, how can the customer absorb it? We often and gladly listen to customer feedback, for example via a button on the website. That is very direct. We also listen on social media to what our customer thinks."
"We have various customer panels, also on the internet. We try to present things to them monthly, quite a few people participate voluntarily. We conduct usability research throughout the year, sometimes we do the website, other times we go deeper into the 'My environment'. We want to give the customer personalized information there regarding their healthcare costs. From the generic to the personal situation."
Listening, Inpijn believes, is one thing. Converting to improvement, that is a second. Going from insight to actual changes and improvements to the website was still difficult two years ago. VGZ now does this better from a multichannel approach.
Is thinking from the customer perspective difficult for you?
"No. What we have done is looked at how we want to deploy our channels from a customer contact strategy. Online is part of a multichannel strategy. We look at the customer who seeks the online channel during their journey. Because: during that journey a customer must also be able to find the telephony channel when personal contact around care is relevant. Two years ago we got permission from the board of directors for this strategy. Support is extremely necessary to be successful."
The market for health insurance is becoming increasingly competitive, it seems. Is that correct?
"Yes. The market has become very competitive. But it's not a winner takes all market. Certainly not when you look at the number of players and brands present. Everyone takes a small piece of the market, and every year that piece changes by between 7 and 8 percent. There is increasingly more attention on our side for loyalty. New customers is one thing, second is customer retention. The website is strongly focused on customer loyalty. What we find important is good service toward the customer. You have to offer customers what they're entitled to."
How do you optimize?
"Optimizing is a continuous process of the past 2 years. I think we use all the methods we can use to optimize. Qualitative research, web analytics, a/b testing. During a campaign period an a/b test has a completely different purpose. There it's much more about conversion. It depends on the time of year, what the market demands and what the customer demands. Our customer contact strategy is dynamic, and we want to keep it that way. It's a living plan."
And mobile and tablets?
"In the mix of channels it was a very logical choice to create a responsive website. That is really embraced by the customer, we see that reflected in visits. Of course it's logical that there is still a lot of work to be done, but mobile visits have doubled this year. Since the launch of the new site we also see that mobile time on site is increasing."
Your organization is relatively large and everyone seems to have an opinion about the website. What are the best practices, what is the most important lesson in such a large website project?
"You have to make the change together and with the customer. It's a big chain, we have a large part of the market and we have many employees. A lot of time, attention and effort goes into creating support and enthusiasm. We had to get through that, and we succeeded. We also cleaned up a third of the content. Not everyone was equally happy about that. You then have to fall back on your communication and your content strategy. Regroup, say goodbye to less relevant matters, back to the core."
"The biggest success factor is the focus on the combination of channels. Furthermore: you really need a group of employees who are driven and enthusiastic to be successful. So look for it in employees in such a large project: ultimately it's the people who have to make the difference toward your customer."
