Yu provides an in-depth look into the CCC Moments of Truth study on the key drivers of customer satisfaction.
In October, CCC Intelligent Solutions (NASDAQ:CCCS) released findings from its Moments of Truth study identifying the key drivers of customer satisfaction and retention in the auto claims and collision repair process. The study identified the critical points in the customer journey that influence satisfaction and how insurer and repairer performance is linked.
In our video interview embedded below, Maryling Yu, vice president of marketing at CCC, details how the Moments of Truth were identified, which moments have the biggest impact on satisfaction and the critical moments for both insurers and repairers and how they can be improved.
“A moment of truth is actually a concept that originated in the service industry and the idea is that a customer journey is made up of many moments that are strung together from beginning to end. And a moment of truth is one that is really important to win. So, that moment has to go well, and if it goes well, you’re headed towards a great outcome. You may even get a customer for life,” said Yu. “If it doesn’t go well, you’re headed towards a not so good outcome and you might lose that customer or get a poor satisfaction score from them. And so, this idea of the moments of truth are those moments that really matter to that satisfaction rating, and the ones that are not moments of truth really don’t impact that satisfaction rating so much.”
One of the key findings of the research was that the performance of repairers and insurers are interrelated and how they can support consumer perceptions of the other party.
“What we were seeing was that things that the repairer did well actually boosted the insurer’s satisfaction score and vice versa. When the insurer did certain things well, the repairer’s satisfaction score was boosted. And this was a very interesting thing to see,” said Yu.
Asked about the key moments of truth for insurers and repairers, Yu explained, “When we were examining the insurer model, the most important moment for insurers was if the customer felt that they received clear communication about the claims process. And then, on the repairer model, the most important moment was, did the customer feel they got a transparent and detailed explanation of the vehicle’s repair needs? Now, we saw in the repairer model also, that clear communication about the claims process impacted the repairer’s satisfaction score. So, that is what was interesting, is that normally it’s the insurer that does that, and yet it’s boosting the repairer’s satisfaction score.”
“Another moment that impacts the repairer’s satisfaction score from an insurer is, if the customer felt they had a satisfying initial first contact with that insurer after the accident, the repairer’s score got boosted. Now, repairers also help insurers score points by performing a high-quality repair. And if the customer perceives a high quality of repair, that actually scores points in the insurer model,” Yu continued.
A key moment for repairers that was identified in the study was transparent explanation of the vehicle repair needs and clear communication about the claims process from the insurer also bolstered repairer satisfaction.
“On the repairer side, we saw that doing a transparent and detailed explanation of repair needs was going to add a little over a point to the repairer satisfaction score, and that was the single biggest moment that we saw” Yu explained. “Now, we also said that when the insurer does clearly communicate about the claims process, they are also adding to the repairer satisfaction score, which they are. They’re adding about half a point out of five.”
“So, for a repairer specifically, I think finding a way to add transparency, inject transparency into the process. What’s great about these moments is there are certain things that it prescribes. One, pay attention to the explanation of the vehicle’s repair needs that you provide to a customer. Think about what a satisfying drop-off experience means for you. That depends on your brand and your positioning in the marketplace. We have a point of view, but obviously the repairer has to tailor it to how they want to show up for their customers in the marketplace,” Yu continued. “Making sure that you are able to stand in for the insurer if they haven’t gotten clear communication about the claims process, making sure that the customer does understand what’s going to happen to them. Making sure that the frequency of contact is just right. According to our study, that just right is every two to three days during the repair process.”