SINGAPORE — The 4th Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) has made data as the world’s most valuable resource.
As a result, every organization is now moving to leverage what is now “the digital era’s oil,” to enhance productivity, discover new revenue streams, and improve customer experience.
Allianz Philippine National Bank Life (APL), formed formally in 2016 from the partnership of Germany’s Allianz Group and the Philippines’ fourth largest commercial bank, is one of these organizations.
Previously, its customers belonged to the economy’s upper segment who normally bought single premium insurance worth P100,000 a year. But now, as part of its thrust for financial inclusion, the company seeks to reach out to more customers in the “middle layers this time around,” Gae Limsiaco Martinez, chief marketing officer of APL, said in an interview.
“Now, the product we are pushing for us to reach more people is very affordable to middle segment families — that is our target at only P15,000 a year,” she said, during the Allianz Digital Day here at its Asia Lab located in one of the island city’s five-star hotels.
Tapping on Allianz database
In order to leverage PNB’s database, she said they are tapping on the data scientists of Allianz, 10 of them based with Asia Lab.
“We are working closely with the data science team of Allianz for us to know the customers of PNB better, for us to be able to offer proposition appropriate to the different segments,” she said. “These are the behavioral, transactional [customers]. We [can] understand them more [through their behaviors].”
Asia Lab, opened in Singapore in May 2016, is described as its “first dedicated digital space in Asia Pacific.” The lab is geared towards developing innovative customer propositions for its 18 million APAC customers and will cover healthcare, mobility, and smart city-living. It took off with 10-man team of technology specialists and data scientists.
Focus on millennials
During its launch, George Sartorel, Allianz APAC regional CEO, emphasized the importance of customers in the company’s existence.
“Customer centricity stands at the heart of everything we do, and technology presents an incredible opportunity to empower the customer experience. The Asia Lab will enable Allianz to redefine our customer proposition and address the evolving need of Asian customers,” he said.
For its part, PNB is training its sights on millennials, as part of its efforts to bring about a younger base of depositors, Rei Abrazaldo, APL brand communications and digital director said. “Any product of Allianz PNB Life must be ?simple, convenient, and accessible,” he said.
Getting millennials — 50 percent of the Philippine population — on board the company’s customer base also requires using data. “Millennials have access to a lot of information and only in understanding them can they be better served,” Martinez said.
As a result, communicating insurance must change from death-centered to life-centered, she said.
