Back to To The Point list

To the Point/November/2005

• What I learned by attending our own seminar
Two weeks ago, our Comp-Save Solutions group put on a Workers’ Compensation seminar with 55 participants. It was led by Judy Jacobs, one of our three Certified WorkComp Advisors.

If you were there, you can attest to the value of the session. The feedback we received from the participants was revealing: most employers simply do not know very much about Workers’ Comp and are astounded by their lack of knowledge, particularly when the price tag is so high.

At Mosinee Insurance, we have been moving in a different direction over the past several years, one that culminated in the “You Can Control Your Workers’ Comp Costs” seminar. Our business is selling insurance, but our real job is to apply our insurance knowledge and experience to help businesses manage their risks in ways that produce cost savings.

We figured out that the old line, “You run your business and let us worry about your insurance,” is irresponsible. The only way to really reduce insurance costs is to reduce risk and for this to happen, we must interact with our customers.

Standing at the back of the room listening to the discussion, I realized just how far we have come down this new road. Keeping customers in the dark about risk management issues is a major disservice.

In other words, the lively discussion by the participants sent us an important message: customers want to know more; it’s our job to deliver on that expectation.

Of course, we all want the lowest price for what we buy. When it comes to insurance, the way to get the best price over the long-term is to help customers position their businesses so that they are attractive to insurance company underwriters. It should be the insurance agent’s role to make sure that happens.

You can buy insurance many places and there’s always someone who will come up with a lower price. But once you know the right questions to ask and where to look for unnecessary costs, you will want to work with a partner, not just a provider.

• What the participants learned at the WorkComp seminar
Every employer has been paying Workers’ Compensation premiums for years, some even for decades. Whether they had three or 5,000 employees, here is what they said they learned

From just this handful of comments, it’s clear that ignorance is not bliss.

• The seminar report card
Passing the customer test is the big job. So, we asked the participants to tell us how we did. Here are just a few of the comments

• Summing up the seminar.
As an insurance organization, our direction is clear. We can serve our clients best by sharing our knowledge and providing the resources that assist them to manage risk better.

You can certainly look forward to more workshops and seminars from Mosinee Insurance (see next item).

• Next “You Can Control Your Workers’ Comp Costs” seminar. We have just completed arrangements with The Business News to co-sponsor another seminar with our Comp-Save Solutions group.

Publisher Jerry Mader had made the suggestion and we are pleased to announce that the next seminar will be held in Rhinelander in February. The date is yet to be set. We will let you know when the arrangements are complete.

This seminar is for companies in Oneida, Lincoln, Langlade and Vilas counties. If you are interested, please let us know by email JudyJ@mosineeins.com or call Judy Jacobs at 800-752-8506. We’ll make sure you get an invitation.

• Customer incentives? Maybe. Many companies aggressively offer discounts, introductory coupons and other incentives to lure new customers through the door.

While some prospects will make an initial purchase, there are indications that this tactic can backfire, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article.

In one study of financial services customers, researchers placed customers into two groups. These were “firm-determined” customers who felt induced to open an account because of incentives and “self-determined” customers who believed they joined on their own initiative.

A year later, the self-determined customers were twice as profitable as the firm-determined customers—and were 80% less likely to have defected to a competitor.

Similarly, in another study, self-determined customers of a delicatessen were more likely to give the store a greater share of their dining dollars.

The research suggests that customers attracted through incentives are often more focused on the offer than on cultivating a long-term relationship with the company. Even worse, aggressive new customer incentives may turn off loyal self-determined customers.

To market to these more desirable customers, the research suggests that incentives designed to reinforce a customer’s decision to patronize a company—such as a package of benefits that reward a continuing relationship—are more beneficial.

Sincerely,

Tom Helbach

Back to To The Point list