Differentiating Value in the Post-Purchase Experience

After the sale, customer needs are similar whether they purchase online or in-store

By Joe Erdeman

In 2012, online sales hit $226 billion, up 16 percent from the previous year. The rapid increase in online shopping has raised a number of questions, including significant ones regarding state and local taxation of online sales. In May, the US Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which proposes to level the playing field for the taxation of online purchases.

Today, retailers determine necessary taxation based on a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that dictates that a state cannot force retailers to collect sales tax unless they have a physical presence in the state. Given the push-pull taking place between bricks-and-mortar and online shopping, it’s easy to see how the ability of online retailers to provide tax-free purchases to customers could be an advantage over bricks-and-mortar competitors. The Marketplace Fairness Act would require retailers with over $1 million in sales to collect state and local taxes for online purchases, eliminating one potential advantage in the battle for wallet-share.

With the Marketplace Fairness Act potentially eliminating a key advantage for e-tailers, both online and bricks-and-mortar retailers need to develop new ideas about how to differentiate themselves to consumers. The best place to start is the customer experience.

Your customer’s experience goes so much further than the moment of purchase, and everything that leads up to it. Yet most companies focus all of their efforts on the pre-purchase and point-of-sale. The best way to differentiate your brand to customers is to deliver an exceptional experience after the sale. Delivery and installation, tech support, service and repair all represent opportunities to reconnect with customers post-purchase and give them a reason to remain loyal to your brand. If you can add value to the customer experience after the purchase has been made, you’re ahead of the curve in standing out from your competitors.

And when you focus on the entire customer experience – pre-purchase, point-of-sale and post-purchase – you uncover new ways to build loyalty, gain efficiencies, improve performance and grow revenue. When you choose Assurant Solutions as your protection partner, you are choosing a partner that is focused on ensuring a world-class experience for your customers for the life of their product and a partner that shines new light onto the entire customer experience. This enables you to make better, smarter and more enlightened decisions that will build loyalty and drive growth.

In this age of shrinking profit margins and growing customer expectations, the best differentiator for any retailer – online or off – is to deliver a positive experience to your customer for the life of their product. And that’s what Assurant Solutions is all about.

New Technology Launches Place Greater Importance on Underwriting Expertise

By Joe Erdeman

2013 is proving to be the year of the new product launch in consumer electronics. New gaming systems, innovative Smartphones, 4K TV (Ultra HD), connected cars – the list is growing and will surely be enticing to consumers as each of these new products enter the marketplace. This is great news for consumers, retailers and manufacturers, but it also brings risk – the risk of the unknown.

For consumers, especially early adopters, how can they be sure the product will work as promised?

For retailers and manufacturers, the questions start piling up quickly. How can they entice consumers to take the risk? How can they be sure their protection plans are priced appropriately? How can they manage the risks of defects or other problems? And will their extended protection partner be able to help them navigate the process successfully?

The truth is that with new technology you really need a protection partner that is a proven underwriting expert and has strong financial backing to properly manage risk. Whether retailers or OEMs, our clients benefit from the decades of experience Assurant Solutions has in protecting consumer electronics. They benefit from our actuarial database that includes 80 million active ESC contracts and the largest actuarial team in the industry. And they benefit from knowing that we are backed by the financial power of a 120-year old Fortune 500 company with more than $28 billion in assets.

Simply put, we’re better able to help you mitigate the risk related to new technology than anyone else in the industry, and we’re positioned to weather any storm that comes along.

By offering your customers a protection plan on new technology, they are more comfortable making the purchase decision. By working with a proven partner, you can trust that the post-purchase experience is in good hands and you’re not going to be blindsided by risks you didn’t see coming.

This is the year of the new product launch, and it might also be the year to consider whether or not your current partner has the experience, expertise and stability to properly support your protection program. Not sure what to do? Talk to us. After all, we’re the protection experts.

Introducing VSCs Online Can Lead to More Sales at the Dealership

By Joe Erdeman

One of the foremost topics at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention last month was the transition of the industry[1] toward information transparency online. J.D. Power and associates found that[2] more than 80% of U.S. new car buyers use the internet to research their purchase prior to ever stepping foot in a dealership. Today’s automotive consumer expects to be provided with a wealth of information and given the opportunity to compare models and manufacturers at the click of a mouse. Automotive manufacturers and dealers are now navigating an online landscape of information transparency, and making adjustments in their sales approach to meet current day consumer needs.

Given that automotive consumers now expect to be supplied online with accurate information about their potential vehicle purchase, there is an enormous opportunity to also educate them on the value of a VSC during their research period. Interestingly, our proprietary research has shown that[3] consumers typically do not include service contract information in their research. Familiarizing customers with the value of purchasing a VSC, and the difference between VSCs and OEM warranties, means that they arrive at the dealership with an added level of comfort in saying “yes” to the VSC purchase. The web offers a wonderful opportunity to introduce customers to the VSC in a relaxed setting. With the freedom to take their time and do more research, they may be better able to consider the benefits of a VSC than in the higher pressure environment of the F&I office.

Dealers and manufacturers must ensure that the transition between the web and the dealer is seamless, however. This means that the VSC information provided online needs to be consistent with what the customer is presented at the dealership. Creating a seamless transition from web to dealer is critical in maintaining the trust of online-research consumers.

The opportunity to educate your customers online about their VSC options is one that can be used by both dealers and manufacturers alike. Third party administrators could also benefit from providing this content to their dealers as a “value add” to help increase sales. If you find that your online resources are lacking information about VSCs, we can help. Reach out to us and we will assist you in providing your customers with the information they need to consider during the research process in order to best protect their vehicle purchase.

Introducing Assurant Enhanced Systems Protection for Hi-Tech Vehicle Components

By Joe Erdeman

New cars seem to have more in common with computers than they do with the cars from my youth. The proliferation of technology, especially advancements in safety and entertainment technology, have made today’s cars and trucks safer and more fun. They’ve also made these vehicles more complex and more expensive to fix.

Consumers appreciate the hi-tech components that improve the driving experience, but they don’t fully understand whether their warranties or a vehicle service contract cover these components. They also underestimate the expense of repairing them. Our proprietary consumer research reveals the following information around consumers and vehicle hi-tech components:

• 75% of drivers have at least one hi-tech component in their primary vehicle.
• 48% of drivers have two or more hi-tech components.
• 44% of drivers are unsure whether hi-tech components are covered by their manufacturer.
• 50% of drivers believe the cost to repair a single hi-tech component is between $250 – $750, when costs are typically $1000 or more.

The fact is that most vehicle service contracts do not specifically address a significant number of factory-installed hi-tech components such as Bluetooth systems, entertainment technology and rearview cameras.

In order to fill this coverage gap, Assurant Solutions introduced a new product at NADA 2013 in Orlando. Assurant Enhanced Systems Protection enables Assurant clients to offer their customers breakdown coverage on hi-tech components that typically are not covered by a standard vehicle service contract. Our clients can now offer a customized version of Enhanced Systems Protection as either an in-boarded option on a VSC or – for the first time in the industry – as a standalone offering.

Enhanced Systems Protection offers enhanced protection and peace-of-mind to consumers. The solution specifically lists which components are covered, eliminating guesswork and misinterpretation by the consumer, dealer or administrator. Through this standalone offering, consumers can choose the level of coverage that is most appropriate for their needs.

For more information on this innovative new solution, download the Enhanced Systems Protection fact sheet. Then give us a call to find out more.

Top 5 Stories, Trends and Technology Developments: What we’ll be watching in 2013

By Joe Erdeman

2013 is promising to be a particularly exciting period for technological innovation. Once again, the innovations on display at CES 2013 proved that the consumer electronics industry is never static, always pushing for the next great idea – which is what makes it so exciting for all of us.  The team at Assurant will be watching several stories, trends and technology developments this year, spanning mobile, automobile, manufacturing and healthcare. The top 5 stories that we’ll be following in 2013 are:

• iPhone and Android vs. BlackBerry. According to an IDC study, Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android are set to overtake the share of enterprise customers using RIM’s BlackBerry. This is big news considering that BlackBerry has been the “gold standard” for security according to the IDC for several years. The National Transportation and Safety Board recently became the latest U.S. agency to switch from BlackBerry to Apple, citing failures “both at inopportune times and at an unacceptable rate”. Projections are showing that by 2016, the iPhone will become the top smartphone purchased by businesses, at a projected 68.9 million shipments. RIM will soon be launching the latest BlackBerry 10 OS, and we’ll be interested to see if this helps counter the current trend among business users.
• Smart Cars and Auto Connectivity. 2013 will see a number of new technologies make their entrance into the auto marketplace with the goal to improve driver experience and safety. Perhaps most excitingly, Ford and GM have announced plans to invite developers to create apps for their vehicles. These apps will enable consumers to develop a technology ecosystem that could theoretically travel with them to their next car. Possible apps include a Weather Channel app that would give radar projections based on the car’s location, and apps that could suggest a mid-point for a meeting, turn up your thermostat or turn on your oven when you’re nearly home.
• 4K and Internet Connected TV. In an industry always moving at break-neck speeds to “the next best thing”, 4K (also known as Ultra HD) looks poised to knock off 3D as the latest important development in home entertainment. Also significant is the rise of Internet Connected TV. Panasonic’s CTO predicts a massive media shift toward internet provided content, and a proliferation of new channels, new viewing habits and methods.
• Telehealth. Telehealth technology enables health care providers to monitor patient health outside hospital facilities, thereby avoiding non-critical and expensive re-admissions. New wearable devices include electrocardiograms that measure heart rhythms, disposable body patches, remote stethoscopes, as well as devices that store, display and process blood pressure, chronic disease and diet data. Telehealth offers the exciting potential to drive down the cost of healthcare while improving patient care.
• 3D Printing. A truly game-changing technology for the manufacturing sector, 3D Printing uses an additive process to create a physical duplicate of a product from a digital model. With this technology, companies can bring more products to market, faster. The products that can be produced through this method are varied, and include prosthetic limb casings, airplane wings, Smartphone cases and clothing. Interestingly, the consumer space is a key market for 3D printing and is expected to make enormous gains with hobbyists, model makers, and self-employed designers.

At Assurant Solutions we proactively respond to the speed of change in the marketplace and are able to support our clients as industries evolve through innovative solutions. We’re always ready to protect what matters most to your customers, make sure they always have a great service experience and keep coming back to you to get “the next big thing” in consumer electronics.