Latest news with #customerrelations
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Inszone Insurance acquires Denver West Insurance Brokers
US-based brokerage Inszone Insurance Services has acquired local peer Denver West Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed sum. Set up in 2003 by Tina Kiel, Denver West is known for providing personal and commercial insurance solutions. Kiel has chosen Inszone as a partner to facilitate transition as she approaches retirement, the press release said. Kiel said: "I considered multiple potential partners, but Inszone was clearly the best fit. It was important to me that Inszone kept things familiar for our clients. We use the same software and still use the same office." Denver West, which is based in Golden, Colorado, will continue to operate from the same office and with the same team members. Inszone Insurance Services CEO Chris Walters stated: "We are thrilled to welcome Denver West Insurance Brokers to Inszone. Tina Kiel has built an exceptional business centered on customer relationships and personalised service. 'This acquisition enhances our ability to provide outstanding insurance solutions throughout Colorado, further reinforcing our local presence." In February, Inszone acquired Kouri & Associates, an insurance agency based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kouri & Associates has a history dating back to 1970 when the Kouri family forayed into the insurance business. By 1977, the agency transitioned into an independent entity, offering personal lines and select commercial coverage for small businesses. Bryan Kouri, who has been heading the agency since 1990, has expanded its offerings to include homeowners, auto, life and commercial policies. "Inszone Insurance acquires Denver West Insurance Brokers " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
11-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Specialized CX Starts With One: Lessons From Aflac's Cancer Care Hotline
Originally published by CMSWire One team. One mission. One customer segment. Aflac's hotline for newly diagnosed cancer patients proves that going deeper is the key to meaningful support. The Gist Customer experience is never one-size-fits-all. That is especially true for customers who require specialized support or solutions tailored to their specific needs. They may have unique challenges or require a deeper level of care compared to your typical customer. A couple years ago, my organization introduced what we now call the Aflac Cancer Care Hotline, a dedicated customer service line for policyholders who contact us with a first-time cancer diagnosis. This service gives policyholders the option to connect with a customer care specialist specifically trained to respond to calls with individuals facing cancer for the first time. Since its inception, our team has responded with care and compassion to nearly 150,000 calls from policyholders navigating the physical, emotional and financial impacts of cancer. Based on our learnings from creating the hotline, here's how to identify customers within your organization who require additional support and how to build out the infrastructure to serve their needs. Start By Prioritizing One Customer Segment As with any business decision, offering specialized support to certain customers must be aligned with your values. Leaders can start by asking themselves, 'What is the experience we've committed to providing to our customers, and how can we build on it and do it better?' After completing this exercise, you may identify more than one type of customer that needs extra support, and prioritization may be necessary. Rather than try to address all these customers at once, pick one segment to focus on first, and then apply your learnings to others. You want to start where you can create the biggest impact, and it is up to each organization to define what impact means to them. Providing this additional support may not affect the speed at which you're able to serve customers or the number of calls you're able to field within a given time frame, so the impact may be measured instead by the long-term emotional effects of meeting these customers' particular needs. At my organization, the decision to focus specifically on policyholders who have been diagnosed with cancer was an easy one. Cancer insurance is one of the first products we introduced, two years after our company's founding. Our culture centers around being there for our customers during their times of need, and few events are as disruptive as a cancer diagnosis from a physical, emotional and financial standpoint. Gather Insights From Frontline Employees Employees who are on the front lines and who speak with customers daily are the ones who are the most aware of customers' challenges and ways to reduce friction. Once you have made a decision to focus on a specific customer segment , frontline employees are an important resource to brainstorm and pressure-test ideas. They can also help identify those customers who need additional support. The Aflac Cancer Care Hotline was born out of a brainstorming session with our call center specialists, who identified a key insight. A cancer diagnosis is challenging in many ways, but understanding and using your insurance benefits should not be one of those challenges. These employees, who have more direct interactions with current and prospective customers than anyone else, recognized that our policyholders with cancer require specialized support. Concentrate on Your Strongest Areas By now, you have identified a specific type of customer to focus on, and you have identified their pain points with the help of the employees who work with them directly. But here's the thing. Your organization probably cannot solve everything. Instead, look at where you are uniquely qualified to help, and lean into that. Sadly, my organization cannot change a policyholder's cancer diagnosis. We can't even influence the outcome of their treatment. But what we can do is provide a level of specialized compassion and expertise as we help these policyholders navigate our claims process. What we can do is make sure that every time a policyholder with cancer calls us, they speak with a human being who understands what they are going through and helps them get the most out of their insurance policies. This focus area makes sense because it aligns with our overall value proposition to provide financial assistance to our policyholders so they can focus more on treatment and recovery. Train Employees for Specialized Roles Working with a niche group of customers requires specific skills, knowledge and training. This includes developing a deep understanding of their unique challenges and needs, as well as expertise on how your organization's products or services will benefit them. For this reason, the employees who are best suited to work with these customers are probably ones who have been with your organization for some time. Once these employees have been specifically trained for their new role, it's important to follow up with continuous microlearnings that reinforce key values and help them keep up with customers' changing circumstances and needs. For the Aflac Cancer Care Hotline, we asked for volunteers among our senior customer experience specialists. While this was not a prerequisite, many of these volunteers have been personally affected by cancer in some way and were already deeply empathetic toward our policyholders. Our original plan was to rotate these employees to a different customer experience team every 30 days, since we did not want them to burn out. But when the time came, no one wanted to leave the cancer care team. They knew they were making a difference, and they were proud of the work they were doing. Key Elements of Specialized Customer Support Programs This table outlines strategic components organizations can use to build tailored support experiences for niche customer segments. Share Knowledge Across Departments The people who work closely with these customers become the experts. It's important to listen to them, give them autonomy to do their jobs effectively and share their key learnings with others. Developing a process to share these learnings with your organization's sales, research and development, and marketing teams will help you continuously improve the support and services you provide to all customers. If something works well, build on it. The employees who manage our Cancer Care Hotline hold a weekly meeting to talk about the calls they fielded and any challenges that arose. During one of these meetings, they came up with the idea of sending care packages to some of these policyholders as another way of showing our support. Our entire organization has benefited from their extensive knowledge of our cancer insurance plans and their deep empathy toward our customers. If providing a best-in-class customer experience is one of your core business values, offering specialized support to customers who need it helps you consistently deliver on that promise. By identifying the right customers to focus on, working closely with those who know them best, equipping frontline employees with training and resources, consistently improving processes and building on successes, every organization can build the infrastructure required to effectively serve niche customers. Creating this type of program requires time and investment, but, done correctly, it builds goodwill with customers, differentiates your organization from competitors and serves as a powerful way to demonstrate your values in action to employees. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Aflac Incorporated
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Devon Waitrose worker, 94, has no plans to retire
A man who started a job at Waitrose at the age of 80 is still working there aged 94 - and said he has no plans to Shipton has been described as a "local legend" and a "national treasure" by colleagues at the Exeter branch of the said he had been asked many times about the prospect of retirement but had no plans to give up."At first I thought I would probably stop at 95, but the most important thing is that I can still climb the stairs to the canteen because that is vital," he said. Mr Shipton has had many jobs in his long working life. He served in the army before working in electronics, has been a cabinet maker, restored antique furniture, maintained swimming pools and programmed he said his job at Waitrose did not feel like work."I come here to play with my customers; the relationships with the customers are beautiful," said Mr McConnachie, deputy branch manager for Waitrose, Exeter, said Mr Shipton was brilliant with all customers: "Young and old, he will talk to anyone; he is sort of a national treasure for us in the branch."Customer Dana added: "John is an amazing man, he teaches us all what it is to be human."John said the secret to a good life was having fun and working in a job you said: "You just have to find what you are passionate about, and do that".
Globe and Mail
15-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Bank of America to Open Over 150 Financial Centers by 2027, Stock Up
Bank of America BAC plans to open more than 150 new financial centers across 60 markets by the end of 2027. With this move, the bank continues its aggressive expansion as part of a broader strategy to strengthen customer relationships and tap into new markets. BAC plans to open 40 new financial centers in 2025, in addition to 70 more in 2026. Since the announcement of this plan, shares of BAC have risen 3.2%. Strategic Rationale Behind BAC's Expansion Plan Bank of America currently offers banking services to nearly 250 million individuals in over 200 markets, representing approximately 82% of the U.S. population. With ongoing expansion, the company is increasing its physical footprint and adapting to evolving consumer behavior. Since 2014, the bank has steadily expanded its financial center network, entering 11 new markets. Since 2016, BAC has spent more than $5 billion on its financial centers network. The bank has added 471 centers in its existing markets since 2016 in response to changing client preferences. Additionally, the company completed the renovation of more than 3,000 financial centers last year, with plans to complete more than 500 additional renovations over the next two years. Notably, the bank has seen a surge in requests for in-person advisory services to discuss more complex financial issues, despite 90% of its customer interactions taking place online. In 2024, nearly 10 million appointments were scheduled with financial specialists in BAC's financial centers. This shift toward in-person advisory services seems to be driving the company's focus on opening new centers in key regions. Around 30% of the bank's financial centers are in low- and moderate-income communities, which act as a critical tool for deepening relationships with customers. Our Take on BAC's Expansion Strategy The bank's strategic investment in new financial centers and its expansion into new markets reflects a broader industry shift toward optimizing its networks to deepen customer relationships and tap into new business opportunities. The expansion underscores the bank's strategy to modernize its banking locations and enhance customer engagement, providing Bank of America with long-term leverage in the evolving banking landscape. Shares of Bank of America have risen 16.9% in the past year compared with the industry 's growth of 29.5%. Currently, BAC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Other Banks Taking Similar Steps In November 2024, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC announced plans to increase its branch investment by $500 million to open more than 100 additional financial centers and renovate 200 existing locations across the United States. This was followed by PNC's announcement in February 2024 to invest $1 billion to open more than 100 financial centers and renovate more than 1,200 existing locations by 2028. Similarly, in the same year, JPMorgan JPM announced its plans to open more than 500 new financial centers, renovate roughly 1,700 locations, and hire 3,500 employees by 2027. With this, the company is poised to bring affordable and convenient financial services to communities nationwide. This expansion will enable JPM to foray into several new markets, including low-to-moderate income and rural communities with limited access to banking services. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC): Free Stock Analysis Report
