Next Insurance found out firsthand just how effectively Getwizer boosts results, cuts costs, and streamlines performance

Embedding research at the heart of the decision-making process required a different approach for Next Insurance. It needed a fast, innovative solution that would provide a centralized consumer research function that could cascade insights throughout Next to drive product development.

Next Insurance provides small business insurance coverage across the US, offering tailored-made, easy-to-understand policies. It is the most successful start-up to emerge from the Insurtech sector and is now valued at $4 billion. 

However, to continue to succeed as an agile, innovative disruptor in an industry known for its formal and traditional structure, Next knew it had to create a culture of continuous learning that would place the customer at the heart of its decision-making process.  

Goal: Use constant flow of consumer insights to drive decision making

Like most start-ups, the problem was that Next was so busy focusing on building its business that research tended to be carried out ad hoc without the necessary focused strategy and constant flow of results.

“Not unlike other startups, there wasn’t a lot of time to do research,” says Suzanne DuFore, who was hired in early 2020 to take on the role of Corporate Head of Research at Next Insurance. “But they recognized that if you know your customer well you have a competitive advantage.”

Challenge: To make research easy, accessible and repeatable

Suzanne knew to embed research into the day-to-day decision-making processes within the organization she needed to create what she describes as “a continuous learning culture”.

“It’s really about putting the customer in the center of everything you do, and making research part of your DNA,” she says. “So, research becomes something that you don’t have to stop to think about, but just something that you will automatically do.”

Through her experience of working in lots of different industries, Suzanne knew this was not something that was easily achieved. 

“Too often research is used really as a reaction to something rather than an impetus for direction or decisions,” she says. “I feel really passionate about research being kind of the glue that pulls marketing and product together. So, I’m really positioning research to be a thought starter for everything that we do.”

To achieve this Suzanne was searching for an innovative solution that would provide a centralized research function that could cascade insights throughout Next. Getwizer proved to be a perfect match. 

Results: faster, frequent, flexible research with less budget

Getwizer’s automated consumer insights platform now provides Suzanne and her team with research as quickly as needed, ensuring rapid insights into Next’s customer base. She knew traditional consumer research was not a good match for Next, mainly because it would be too slow to respond to constantly changing needs. Getwizer allows Suzanne and her small team to do more, faster, with less budget.

For every research project Next needs to undertake, Getwizer provides the automated building blocks to get the job done. Each required research tool can be combined and added using this ‘building blocks’ approach to develop the required bespoke research program.  

“With Getwizer there was a lot of synergy with what we do — it’s fast, it’s tech forward and affordable,” she says. “And those are the reasons why I chose it. I have a Getwizer tab open on my computer at all times, because that’s how often I go to my data. I’m constantly looking at and sharing it. And so I have this amazing tool that I can use, but I also have this partnership.”

This partnership is key and flows from the hybrid nature of Getwizer, which integrates the very best of tech and human expertise to deliver a custom, quick and efficient research experience. This allows Next to utilize Getwizer’s AI and automation where they make the most sense, and rely upon Getwizer’s human expertise for the more difficult, involved tasks.

“So we have the tech and people that connect us,” says. Suzanne. “The result is that now I get results, literally in minutes. I can share a digestible document with my stakeholders. I can share that data fast, and really make sure that the research becomes part of decision-making and does not just sit on the shelf. So, Getwizer has allowed us to bring research front and center in Next.”

Want to learn more how you can leverage the hybrid approach to do better research? Book a demo.