Reclaiming Leadership in a Transforming Industry
Situation
Property & Casualty (P/C) Insurance is a $3 Trillion global market, and critical to stability in business and society. Guidewire, a software provider to P/C Insurance companies around the world, had successfully helped the traditionally conservative industry transition from 30-year old mainframe-based systems to more modern software for managing underwriting, processing and claims.
As cloud computing has made software innovation and delivery even more efficient, new competitors, large and small, began to challenge Guidewire’s leadership. Many of these competitors merely copied Guidewire’s approach, touting their cloud and hybrid capabilities. As the market leader, Guidewire needed to re-assert its vision and innovation to the industry.
Strategy
Through interviews with Guidewire executives and customers, we discovered that the company has both the technology purpose-built for the industry and a culture strongly aligned with the interests of P/C Insurers. They are more than another software “vendor,” they aspire to be partners in bringing an entire industry forward. Rather than focus on the vague process of “business transformation,” an overused term, we worked with the Guidewire team to elevate the “why” it is in business, highlight the meaningful outcomes it enables for its customers, and the exclusive focus it has on the P/C industry. The resulting positioning statement was straightforward and powerful:
“We exist to deliver the software that P/C insurers need to adapt and succeed in a time of rapid industry change, and to ensure that every customer succeeds in the journey.”
The ability to “adapt and succeed” among major disruptive forces such as changing market dynamics, evolving consumers’ needs, and the immediacy of mobile technology gives insurers a reason to believe in and trust Guidewire to help them evolve with the times. We supported the positioning statement above with specific audience messages, and a guide for rolling those messages out across the globe.
Results
The Guidewire culture is highly inclusive. We worked closely with the CEO, CMO and other executives to ensure the entire team believed in, and could carry out the positioning statement and key messages. We collaborated with design firm Sagehaus to develop a new identity for the company that suggests modernity and progress. Guidewire launched the new identity, brand promise and messaging on a new global web site to positive response around the world. Armed with this new story and renewed sense of purpose, the company has increased its market momentum. Gartner recently named Guidewire the sole leader in its 2016 Magic Quadrant for Property and Casualty Claims Management Modules, highlighting their vision and ability to execute.
