Nationwide Uses Design Thinking to Become a Better Insurance Provider
As we move ever deeper into a more digital and connected world, new methodologies and processes must inevitably be conceived to best take advantage of its opportunities and avoid its pitfalls.
One such methodology, Design Thinking, has been on the rise in recent years. And while it may not be the most obvious pairing, Nationwide is applying the practice to the insurance industry.
Design Thinking?
The Interaction Design Forum defines Design Thinking as, "a design methodology that provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It's extremely useful in tackling complex problems that are ill-defined or unknown, by understanding the human needs involved, by re-framing the problem in human-centric ways, by creating many ideas in brainstorming sessions, and by adopting a hands-on approach in prototyping and testing. Understanding the five stages of Design Thinking will empower anyone to apply its methods in order to solve complex problems that occur around us."
So, what are the five stages of Design Thinking, and what are the challenges they seek to overcome?
#1 Empathy
The first step of the Design Thinking process can also be the most challenging from a business perspective, especially in the digital insurance business. It can be difficult to put yourself in the shoes of your customers and see the world from their perspective.
Empathy means putting aside your assumptions about your customers and instead trying to understand their lives. What are the challenges they face every day? What are their hopes and fears? It means consulting with experts in the field as well as engaging with and listening to your customers.
In years past, the world of insurance can come across as very cold and detached. This first stage is about breaking down those preconceptions and connecting with your audience in new ways.
#2 Definition
Now it's time to take everything you've learned during the first stage and use that data to clearly define the core challenges your customers face.
Problems should always be defined from the human perspective - not in dry business terms, but in a manner that highlights the real emotional, financial, and sociological challenges those problems cause for real people.
"I was at a customer's house, and we wanted to talk 401ks and retirement," said Nationwide's Chief Innovation Officer, Scott Sanchez. "And he said, 'What I really want to do is open a bed and breakfast [upon retirement.]' Well, how can we help him with that? It's about reframing and thinking of the industry and people in a different way."
#3 Ideate
This is the stage where you get your creative brains engaged and come up with solutions to the problems you've identified - again, always keeping the human element in mind. There are many different ideation strategies, from "brainstorming" to "worst possible idea", so choose the one/s which work best for your teams.
#4 Prototype
Once you think you've come up with the perfect solution, it's time to build a prototype. This could be a scaled-down version of the product or service you want to implement to address the problem identified in the Definition stage. Or, it could be a draft of a new policy which will help your company better deliver these products and/or services.
#5 Testing
Now that your prototype is ready to go, you can take a small sample of customers and carry out a beta test.
Once enough time has passed for the testers to feel the effects of the innovation, solicit their opinions. Ask how they feel about it. Does it address the challenges it was intended to? Is it affordable? Does it create more problems than it solves?
All this feedback will help you refine the new idea until it's perfect and ready for general release, such as when Nationwide was designing a new ad campaign.
"We're using musicians to drive home messaging that centers around solutions and life events," said CMO and President of Emerging Businesses, Terrance Williams. "If you look at vignettes, they're trying to tell a specific story to connect emotionally with the consumer. The short video spots, and other marketing materials are inspired by real-life financial situations of customers. Incorporating design thinking into product marketing is an important marker of a shift in the way companies see their product maps."
Final Thoughts
Nationwide is so committed to Design Thinking that it has partnered with Capgemini, IBM, and Cisco to create a new Emerging Talent community. With Design Thinking at its core, this learning community is dedicated to training tomorrow's innovators in these exciting new principles.
Design Thinking is set to be a hot topic at Digital Insurance Summit 2019, taking place in July at the Westin Chicago River North.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.