AdvanceCare, in collaboration with Noesis, optimized the management and customization of content that the provider's portal makes available to customers. ECOseguros interviewed Bruno Freitas (BF), Marketing and Strategy Director at AdvanceCare, and Rodolfo Pereira (RP), Enterprise Solutions Director at Noesis.
How did the AdvanceCare-Noesis collaboration come about?
RP - Noesis was part of the project since its beginning, working closely with AdvanceCare's team in the definition and survey of requirements, as well as in the design of the solution, both in the technological perspective and in the UX Design and strategic definition components. Nowadays, content customization and user experience (UX) issues are unavoidable, and Sitecore technology is a powerful ally for brands, businesses, and Marketing departments. That was our vision four years ago when we established this partnership and introduced this solution in the market.
BF - This project started with an evaluation of the old site, both from the user experience and our business needs. So listening to all parties was a fundamental point to know what we needed to improve. Then we defined goals that helped us prioritize and clarified the path we had to follow.
Is the solution adopted by AdvanceCare unique to the insurance industry?
RP - The solution for AdvanceCare was developed according to the specific requirements of its business, designed and discussed in the initial phase of the project, and taking into account its specificities and the objectives it wanted to achieve. Still, despite being a customized solution, Sitecore technology is not exclusive to this industry. The main advantage of these DXP (Digital Experience Platforms) platforms is precisely their high level of customization, which allows websites or portals to be developed for any sector of activity, making them a very powerful solution for both the B2C and B2B segments. It's a fact that in Portugal, and specifically in the case of the projects developed by Noesis, there has been a higher incidence in the Banking and Insurance sector, and we've already developed several projects for different banks and the leading insurance companies operating in our market.
What did those specifics consist of at AdvanceCare?
RP - The solution consisted in the development of a new Web Portal for the B2C channel able to offer relevant content to website visitors in different themes related to medical information, clinical articles, as well as commercial information related to the products/services provided by AdvanceCare, and other features such as a contact area and a simulator. The goal was to create an excellent digital experience for the user, improving the navigation experience, better usability, and design, as well as providing AdvanceCare's teams with greater versatility in managing its contents. With Sitecore's solution, it is also possible to perform a better analytical analysis of user behavior and preferences in content consumption, thus allowing a better adaptation of that content and an improvement of conversion rates on the website.
BF - What we sought with this project was to create a site that would respond to the needs of our business and our clients. And also that it would provide better tools and greater autonomy in content management, reducing dependence on other tools and computer developments. Today, more than ever, we need to be agile and have tools that allow us to be efficient in implementing ideas, testing, and having data to support our decisions. We also need to know our clients better and better and make their experiences unique and impactful. Therefore, this new site is a fundamental tool for us to achieve our goals.
At AdvanceCare, what were the needs identified, and how does the new website answer them?
BF - The first step was listening to our customers and understanding how they navigated the site, what they most looked for, and the features they used the most. Based on this feedback, along with our business goals, we defined three areas that needed to be improved with this project: site navigation experience (usability), the design of the pages, and the way the information was available.
Did the change in the portal also introduce new applications?
BF - Yes, this site has a set of new functionalities that came to provide a better experience to our clients today. Examples are a more versatile price simulator, a more robust contact area, and a more user-friendly content area. It also provides the content management team with many features that help us in the day-to-day management, such as creating campaigns or personalization and segmentation.
What specific advantages result from the new applications and functionalities?
BF - One of our goals is to create an AdvanceCare Digital Ecosystem. We want all of our platforms to have an attractive design and be customer-centric. The website was the first piece of that ecosystem. Today we are more agile in the creation of content, we can follow our clients on the site in a more straightforward way (and know what interests them), and we can create more points of engagement to add more value for the client.
What improvements does the Sitecore solution offer in the user experience, including the interface?
RP - The Sitecore platform allows us to personalize the digital journey of AdvanceCare's clients or potential clients. It makes the search, the resolution, the clarification, and purchase or subscription more efficient, even if performed at different times, at the client's taste and pace. It is thus possible to target the most relevant content to the customer at any time, increasing degrees of satisfaction, retention, and conversion, whatever the business channel, with the same quality and effectiveness. At the end of the day, this will represent a happy customer.
BF - With this new technology, we are able to create more engagement points with our customers and the way they interact with our content. We can also know their areas of interest and what topics they would like to learn more about. We created even more areas of interaction through simple mechanisms where the customer gives us feedback about what they are seeing/ reading. Having access to what the client likes/wants (in real-time) is fundamental. On the other hand, we are more agile in the customer contact area: we created a more robust contact area that helps us quickly respond to the customer by collecting fundamental data for our analysis. This was built organically, with fields that appear as the user indicates his needs.
What is the amount needed for a similar project?
RP - For contractual confidentiality reasons, I cannot reveal the amounts invested in this project. Still, it is essential to mention that Sitecore technology, being a "Digital Experience Platform," offers a set of functionalities that are not limited to the "traditional" content management that can be provided by a CMS (Content Manager System). This is not a platform for developing a simple website, which is just a content repository, but rather a tool designed for medium/large organizations that rely heavily on the digital channel as relevant, where analytics, personalization, and automation are fundamental to business development. Also, in terms of technology, infrastructure, and even security, we are talking about a world leader tool that guarantees very high levels of reliability, service, and support.
How long did it take to implement?
RP - The Sitecore platform allows a speedy delivery, using its multiple integration connectors, the fast way to "feed" new contents and their organization, personalization rules, and multichannel conception. The project was thus accomplished in a concise space of time, from the moment of requirements gathering to its availability in productivity, through the different phases, integrations with existing systems in AdvanceCare, to its entry into productivity.
Is it a turnkey project?
RP - Yes, it was a turnkey project because Noesis ensured its development and implementation from end to end. However, as it is fundamental in these projects, with the strong involvement of different teams and areas of AdvanceCare, from business, marketing, and IT. A project of this dimension, due to its strategic and structuring component in the digital positioning of an organization, cannot be simply "outsourced" in the logic of ordering to an external partner and delivering a closed final product.
Will Noesis remain as a partner for maintenance and improvement?
RP - Noesis is AdvanceCare's partner in several projects, based on the strategic value and added value relationship that all our portfolio allows to address the several challenges of the company, in total alignment with its ambition of modernizing and providing new features to clients.
BF - We are focused on improving our digital ecosystem and want to take advantage of everything that Sitecore technology can provide us. So we will continue to create new features and improve the performance of our website.
Is Noesis Sitecore's exclusive representative for the Portuguese market?
RP - Noesis was one of the first Sitecore's partners in Portugal, introducing this technology in the Portuguese market in late 2017 and currently holds the status of Gold Partner of this market-leading technology in Gartner's Digital Experience Platforms (DXP) segment. Today, this bet has proven to be quite right, enhanced even by this pandemic context that we are going through, and that put the topic on the agenda of the leading companies operating in our market. AdvanceCare's new website was also recently awarded at the 2021 edition of these awards in the "Best Digital Experience Transformation" category.
The company offers other services in Portugal. How many people does it employ?
RP - We bet on a transversal and complete offer in several themes related to Digital Transformation. We work under the motto: "Helping your business grow faster," in distinct technology areas that allow us to have this offer and end2end performance in Customer Experience related themes, which include web and mobile application development, chatbots, electronic signature, CRM, but also areas such as Cloud, IT Operations, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, low-code development. Altogether there are nine business areas, with specialized teams and partnerships with the world's leading technologies. We currently have over 950 employees who provide and develop services in these areas, with a local presence in 6 countries - Portugal, Spain, Holland, Ireland, Brazil, and the United States.
Published (in Portuguese) in ECOseguros
