The Situation
To AXA, strengthening the value of their web presence was a key strategic lever in getting closer to their customers. Their existing 10 year-old bespoke site was dry, dusty and very product focused, falling well short of the simple and supportive customer experience that AXA wanted to impart.
The Pain
Old technology. Old brand values. AXA's existing website had met its retirement date. Now the door was open to engage with customers in a simpler, friendlier and fresher online environment.
Part of the AXA global family, the AXA team in New Zealand were primed to act on the global repositioning standard that AXA had just delivered which encapsulated new customer centric values, to be available, attentive and reliable. In the New Zealand context, the AXA team intuitively knew they had a strong point of difference the difference between knowing they are in the business of life, and to let others be in the business of insurance or wealth management products.
Intergen is in the people business too.
AXA's Marketing Director, Mark Ennis, went to respected colleagues in the market for an IT partner recommendation. He comments on how feedback about Intergen had consistently hit the mark for price, people and their approach. "Their previous experience stood out, and their approach to relationship management was excellent. We had a lot of faith that if something didn't work, they would stand behind their name and solve any issues in any scenario. Having the right people in place gave us a lot of confidence that they could deliver on the fairly tight timeframe we had set."
The decision to build with EPiServer had the weight of 35 successful projects behind it.
EPiServer technology had proven its worth in over 35 successful website builds for Intergen clients. Out of the box functionality, easy and intuitive templates, and the ability for onward future phase development once an EPiServer platform was established, spoke volumes and AXA were confident in going forward with the latest release of EPiServer CMS 5. Mark Ennis comments, "We believe we have a result that is clear, crisp, engaging and right on the mark for how we want to relate to people. Intergen provided the technology behind a website whose look and feel is all about real people, real life and it really stands out from the crowd. They also helped us clarify our design vision to work even better."
A foundation for the future.
Now that AXA has established a strong web presence, Mark Ennis believes they have set a baseline for moving forward. "Customer communication can only get better and better. We now have the ability to deliver a much more personalised experience."
"We're keen to leverage a number of strategies on our wish list, including MY AXA - the idea of a customer being able to view their details and investments, when and where they want to. We're exploring calculators on the site, and EPiMail is another avenue we're looking at to personalise our communication with customers."
The Gain
AXA is all about people, not products. Getting expert financial advice has never been easier, as the new website brings customers closer to the help and advice available from AXA's dedicated adviser network and staff.