New Customer Support Model Takes Service to the Next Level
The five-star support teams service funeral firms more effectively
and efficiently, and help firms increase their preneed leads and sales,
build brand in their communities and increase their bottom line.
“Customer satisfaction” will not be found on a company
balance sheet or on a stock fact sheet. Yet, customer satisfaction
may wholly determine the success or failure of a company. Many will
promote customer service as their highest priority, but Assurant Preneed
took a proactive stance and radically changed the standard for servicing
you…our funeral firm partners.
In October of 2003, Assurant Preneed embarked on a new five-star
support initiative to streamline its internal information-sharing
process as a means to better serve customers’ needs for faster,
more effective support in the ever-changing marketplace.
“We reassessed our systems and concluded that our clients
needed more support from a variety of experts,” says Mike
Wiley, Assurant Preneed national sales manager. “It is the
entire team that makes this model successful, not just one component.”
To meet these diverse needs, Assurant Preneed developed the five-star
support system, which integrates and mobilizes five specialized
resource areas within Assurant Preneed. The five-star team includes
account executives, telephone account managers (TAMs), account coordinators,
trainers and a customer service call center – all working
together and all accessible to every funeral home partner.
“Our firms have access to a variety of resources and expertise
that they cannot get anywhere else in the industry,” says
Terri Bannister, Assurant Preneed assistant vice president of Training
and Development. “They can call us about human resources,
financial, legal or training issues and we will help them or track
down the answer. Because our customers require strategic planning
support, recruitment support, marketing support and customer service
support to grow or enhance their preneed programs, we must be multi-dimensional
in our thinking and our service.”
A centralized customer relationship manager database (CRM) of
all Assurant Preneed contacts keeps client information readily accessible.
This database guarantees the account teams have accurate and up-to-date
information on all activity with each of its funeral firm partners.
In fact, each member of the five-star program has full access to
the database to coordinate efforts and communication.
The Benefits
Whereas firms get juggled around from department to department at
other companies, Assurant Preneed firms benefit by having experts
solely devoted to building and enhancing their individual preneed
program from top to bottom. This way, firms no longer have to deal
with an entirely different staff every time they call for support.
“The new model enables us to build a strong and solid relationship
with our funeral firm partners,” says Becky Haugh, Assurant
Preneed assistant vice president of Sales Operations. “Both
large and small firms will get our full attention. The bottom line
is we are assisting firms with increasing preneed leads and sales,
building brand in the community and increasing their market share.”
Through the combination of a new organizational matrix and new
technologies, such as the database, the new five-star system helps
funeral firm partners increase leads and preneed sales; recruit,
hire and train preneed counselors and managers; develop business
plans and evaluate progress; fulfill product and direct mail orders;
and effectively field customer service calls from families.
Your Account Team
Executing the new high-level plan required revisions to the existing
organizational structure as well as to the roles and responsibilities
of more than 115 employees. At every level, employees were trained
on the processes and procedures of the five-star program. Also,
each account team sets goals to reach throughout the year and meets
on a quarterly basis to keep abreast on industry-wide topics.
“We’ve been tweaking our TAM model for four years now
so we knew training would be instrumental for this unit and for
each unit of the five-star teams,” says Haugh.
Account executives service funeral firms and provide preneed consultation
that will grow the preneed business and add to the firm’s
bottom line. The account executives are responsible for coordinating
the entire account team and integrating communication with the firms.
Rather than interacting with a single functional area, funeral
firms now work with a cross-functional account coordinator team
to support all their needs. Account coordinators now manage and
fulfill direct mail and product orders, develop business plans and
quarterly reviews to help firms reach specific goals.
The customer service call center also operates as a cross-functional
team. They provide service from the time a policy is submitted to
when the claim is processed, including: electronic transfer of claims
or commissions, live operators, and toll-free fax and telephone
numbers for both consumers and firms.
“These cross-functional teams provide better service,”
says Andy Marquez, Assurant Preneed vice president of Operations.
“The customer service center no longer has to transfer customers
to other departments and have them wait on hold. This model also
enables funeral homes to develop better relationships with their
account teams.”
Described as the stationary account executives, the five telephone
account managers (TAMs) are responsible for sustaining and growing
a firm’s preneed program on a daily basis. They place outbound
calls and field inbound calls to provide product, service and program
support for firms and account executives.
The trainers provide one-on-one strategic counsel to develop and
enhance each specific preneed program. The trainer’s goal
is to grow a firm’s market share by recruiting, hiring and
training new staff, coaching counselors and preneed managers and
providing continued education and networking opportunities to develop
the skills of preneed counselors and managers.
The Results
“We have only received positive feedback from our customers,”
says Haugh. “The five-star initiative delivers a full-service
approach that is unique industry-wide.”
Schoedinger Funeral Service in Columbus, Ohio has experienced the
benefits of the five-star support team first hand while working
with the regionalized customer service team. “One of the best
aspects of working with Assurant Preneed is the regionalized customer
service teams,” says Mike Schoedinger. “When we call
from Ohio we are working with a Mid-West based team that knows the
idiosyncrasies of our business. We are not speaking with an operator
who is just answering the question and going onto the next call.
We have built a relationship with our team and are confident that
we can answer our customers questions immediately.”
Carleen Webb, an independent preneed counselor at Memorial Funeral
Chapel in Elizabethton, Tenn., relies on her telephone account manager
when she has a question or needs supplies. “My telephone account
manager, Shelly McCosh, is always there when I need her and periodically
calls me to see if I need anything,” says Webb. “I know
that I can rely on her and get my questions answered immediately
or applications sent overnight if I run out.”
For more information about Assurant Preneed services or products
please contact your Assurant Preneed account executive, marketing
partner or general agent, or call 1-800-PRENEED and select option
9, or visit www.assurantpreneed.com/atlanta.
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