One of the key concepts in managing customer relationships is listening to the voice of the customer. For brokers, that front line customer is the employer.

Over the past few months I have been in several meetings with employers where a few definite themes have emerged about their needs. While this is not a scientific study, these themes point to obvious things employers want to experience when working with a benefits provider. 

Get obsolete forms and information off websites. Two stories illustrate the pitfalls of obsolete forms.  In the first, during a finalist presentation a benefits manager asked whether we had current disability claim forms on our website. We said yes, and then asked why this was a key question. The benefits manager went on to explain one of the reasons they went to market with their disability plan was their incumbent carrier had obsolete claim forms on the Web and required a claimant to complete a second form after they had already used one from the Web. Of course, the claimant was a key executive who was very unhappy. The second illustration is from another meeting with an HR benefits administrator who indicated she goes on to websites from providers to test whether the products and services being proposed are updated. She had recently received an email from a broker describing a great new money-saving voluntary life program her company could sponsor. The broker trumpeted this as the newest package on the market. She went to their website and found a link to the great package the broker had described in the email, which was on the broker's page listed as “new for 2007.”  Needless to say, her interest level quickly deflated.