How brokers' 'competitive edge' has changed

I’m not sure whether any of you have been following this column since 2004, when I first started contributing. At that time, the title was “Competitive edge,” and most of my early columns attempted to answer the question, “How does a person in the benefits business gain a competitive edge?” This month, we’ll go back and discuss how (and whether) gaining a competitive edge in our business has changed over the past 16 years.

The ideas discussed in those early columns turned out to be more timeless than I expected. The very first column I could find (I lost copies of some old columns years ago in a flood) discussed gaining an edge by choosing the right critical illness product. It analyzed why CI products meet an important need for employees and their dependents. That certainly seems contemporary, doesn’t it?

(Check out the oldest article we could find from Marty in our digital archives.)

The next handful of columns also covered topics still vital today, including:

• “Why would my employees buy your products?” analyzed why voluntary products represent the best financial security solution for most workers. The closing paragraph stated: “The answer to why would employees buy voluntary benefits is: They need the coverage, and they are not getting answers to their needs elsewhere. Market studies have consistently indicated that employees like the triple convenience of access to products at the workplace, simple underwriting, and the relatively painless process of paying premiums via payroll deduction.”
• “What’s in it for the employer?” discussed the benefits employers realize by offering voluntary plans, including employee satisfaction, filling gaps in employer-provided plans, and including value-added services to help employers communicate.
• “Why should I give you my business?” focused on the employer’s decision-making process. The most effective technique is to present comparisons of value that go beyond product specifics like features and price. The most useful comparisons tell how the program is going to be administered, including the supporting technology, methods of paper-free employee communication and enrollment, billing support and claims processes.
• “Create success through ethics” covered do’s and don’ts of preparing presentations. Ethical sales behavior is a great way to build customer loyalty. Putting customers’ best interests first and making ethical presentations is among today’s biggest issues.

My favorite article from that first year, though, was probably one that espoused using analytics, as described in ”Moneyball,” to gain a better understanding of the factors which drive success in the benefits market. And of course, today’s ability to collect and organize data is a very contemporary topic.

My memory of those early columns was that much of the focus was on product design and features. I expected this would lead into a discussion of how the market has become more customer-focused. Instead, I found that the topics covered then remain vital today.

The best way to build a competitive edge is still to understand our customers’ needs. Once we have established those needs and why they are important, we can present the products that best answer their needs. We then need to explain the process that supports benefit plans. This includes the technology used to administer plans and the communications campaigns that support enrollment and use of the products.

Read more: 

• Four golden rules to gain a competitive edge
• Open enrollment: Then and now
• Brokers’ roles evolving, expanding