Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona
Socializing customer experience with executives grows a trusted brand
Situation
Great customer experience (CX) has long been an oxymoron in the health insurance industry. Carriers are typically focused on customer service (fixing problems reactively) instead of the end-to-end customer experience (proactive).
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona saw the opportunity to change the dynamic and was among the first to form a CX team. They knew that to truly integrate CX in the company culture, it was paramount to get buy-in, alignment and support at the executive level.
Solution
Studio PKC joined with the CX team to design a boot camp that give the company’s senior leaders the opportunity to experience the value and impact of CX. We created two interactive working sessions combined with individual field work to do just that.
The senior leaders were invited to choose their own mission to uncover the mystery of powerful customer experiences. Each participant received a mission box with “Be the Customer” instructions, notebook and pen, and magnifying glass (a fun element to enhance the experience. They then chose two retailers to visit:
• Dutch Brothers
• Sephora
• The Container Store
• Zappos
• Trader Joes
Studio PKC crafted the mission for each retailer. We developed the “to-dos” along with observation prompts and questions to answer. After following the mission, participants opened a second envelope that detailed the retailer’s brand promise and culture so that they could compare their experience with the promise. Questions for further investigation helped participants see the connection between what a company says and what it does.
Success
100% of the senior leader team completed their field exercises. A couple visited all four retailers! In the subsequent working session, leaders shared their findings and impressions. There was a unanimous “ah ha” about the difference between customer service and customer experience, which led to a deeper dive discussion about how the field work findings could translate to transforming the customer experience with a health insurance company.
Following boot camp success, we conceptualized and executed a comprehensive brand/CX rollout to all employees, making the connection between the brand promise and delivery actionable. Studio PKC was later called in to give voice to the company’s “in their words” initiative for call center staff, which included language cheat sheets, coaching exercises, and before/after benefit narratives.