The ability to capture and use customer insights to shape the buying experience can offer insurers a strategic advantage, but most companies are using only a fraction of the data in their possession, says a recent McKinsey & Co. article.

McKinsey offers the following tips to help companies make the most of their customer data:

• Enrich customer data by incorporating digital profiles, life events, community information, transaction-based insights, customer preferences, sentiment scoring and so forth to get a full picture of the customer. Digital profiles can be created by linking web, mobile and social-presence data. McKinsey cites a P/C insurer that linked customer-footprint data from an online real-estate site to identify customers who might be considering moving. Agents could see that information on the customer’s profile and send potential customers a prepackaged quote for relevant ZIP codes.

• Make the data shareable and accessible. Using “two speed” IT, where specialist business and IT teams fast-track digital development, businesses can get a jump on high-value customer initiatives as they build out their longer-term transformation. Software overlays can link data among different lines of business, and semantic layers can funnel information into a user-friendly interface. Integrating pertinent customer data and making it accessible across the business not only cuts down on duplicate information gathering and manual data entry but can also lead to offering customers lower prices, greater convenience and improved experiences.

See the full McKinsey & Co. article: “Capturing value from your customer data.“