“Allstate, and the insurance industry in general does not traditionally talk to customers in a direct way,” says Richard Long, strategic marketing leader & advisor for Allstate Rewards. When there is contact, he surmises, it’s often a negative interaction. “It’s about, perhaps, a premium or a claim and generally not a great experience.”
 
The Allstate Rewards program was designed to turn that model upside down and provide more frequent rewarding, and positive interactions and experiences with customers. In turn, this enhances customer relationships while also staying true to the Allstate brand.
 
“Voice of the Customer is very important at Allstate and Allstate Rewards and it’s really a critical piece of the evolution of our brand,” Long explains. “We really don’t have the budget, the resources, or really the need for a more traditional technology-driven marketing solution around Voice of the Customer.”
 
In his presentation at Loyalty Expo 2017, “In-House VoC: How Allstate Rewards Eschews Traditional Technology Solutions to Cut Costs and Affect Positive Change,” Long will discuss the simplistic yet holistic strategy that Allstate developed to achieve results that have affected positive cultural and organizational change.
 
The platform for this engagement, the uniquely designed Allstate Rewards, rethinks the insurance customer relationship, encouraging frequent positive interactions & experiences and combats the stigma or limitations that have traditionally come with the territory.  
 
“Anyone in any organization and any industry could benefit from my presentation,” Long states, “because it’s really not specific to Allstate or even the insurance industry. It’s really about a person’s particular business situation and their need for Voice of the Customer. I’m not taking a more resource-heavy driven approach using a technology solution--- not that there’s anything wrong with that but instead I’m offering a different approach.”
 
Loyalty Expo, the true Voice of the Customer-driven and best practice-focused customer loyalty conference, will be held May 2nd through the 4th at the Caribe Royale Hotel & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
 
Allstate’s innovative approach to modern customer engagement will provide the foundation for a session that will show attendees why it is imperative that you design a loyalty program that is consistent with your brand yet not limited by its tradition or that of its industry.
 
Attendees will also learn about enacting change by first understanding who you are as a company (what needs to be changed and how is that best impacted) while ensuring organizational alignment. Managing consumer feedback in a holistic manner in an industry that also includes unique touch points cadences, both in frequency and in tone will also be discussed.
 
Rich Long is a marketing leader who has always been passionate about customers and providing them the best possible experience across all channels, touch points and interactions to more effectively acquire, engage and retain them while increasing loyalty and customer value.  He has a unique career perspective from having served in various roles in client, consulting, and ad agency environments, where he has supported many different well-known B2B and B2C brands covering multiple industries over a 20-year career.