Brokers need to adapt to changes in behaviour, expectations and technology

There is a decided shift in the behaviour of Millennials compared to the youngest generation, a shift that those in business, including insurance brokers, will need to address, John Spence, an executive consultant, trainer and author of four books suggested Wednesday.

“The Millennials were all about me, me, me – conspicuous consumption,” Spence told attendees at the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s 94^th Annual Convention in Ottawa.

That differs considerably from the generation that some have called “digital natives,” who are far more concerned about being able to afford things.

“They are not conspicuous consumers at all,” Spence said. “They have one area of their life that they’re very passionate about, and they spend heavily there,” he said, but tend to be frugal elsewhere.

“These are completely different trends when these guys become your customers and your employees,” he suggested.

Having grown up amidst technology, though, digital natives do have high expectations. “Everything is measured in download speed; they expect an app for everything,” Spence said.

Brokers will need to adapt not only to customer expectations, but also to the speed of technology. “In the next 10 years, by 2024, computer speeds will increase by 1 million per cent,” Spence said.

“The technology that I spend $300 on today – and it’s the size of an iPhone – to buy that (in 2024), it will be $5 and the size of a blood cell. That’s not an if; it’s a when,” he said. “I think it’s going to change business, the way we do business, the way we interact with people and your business radically,” he noted.

“With technology, a lot of the information you give advice on now will be free, ubiquitous, on the Internet,” Spence said. Despite the parody on accessing information, though, he emphasized that customers do not have the time to go through everything and figure out how it applies to them.

The way for brokers to best position themselves as trusted advisors is to raise solutions and ideas and information before customers know they need them.

“In order to be successful moving forward, you’re going to have to be a true expert, you’re going to have to be a craftsperson, you’re going to have to be really, really good, very focused and understand your customers better than anyone else does,” Spence told attendees.