Applied Systems adds horsepower to marketing thrust The Mobile Demonstration Unit will bring vendor's technology as well as its message of increased profitability almost to your doorstep By Dave Willis Applied Systems is on a roll. Literally. Late last summer, the University Park, Illinois-based insurance technology firm decided to mobilize its message. So it shifted some of its marketing budget and wound up owning a 38-foot-long mobile demonstration unit (MDU)—a retrofitted recreational vehicle—designed to showcase the firm’s technology and how it can help agents and brokers prosper. Not the same old same old According to Mike Hernandez, Applied Systems’ marketing director, the insurance industry was primed for something a little different. “You go to trade shows or other industry events, and see the same pipe and drape booths, maybe a demonstration area that’s slightly different from the rest, but it’s basically ho-hum.” Hernandez says it was Applied Systems’ Chairman and CEO Jim Kellner who first suggested the idea of a rolling demo. “He was looking for something a little more creative,” Hernandez recalls. Kellner says his idea started to take shape after the Applied Systems user group, ASCnet, returned from its annual bus tour to carrier locations. “They talked about how their bus was parked next to a Microsoft truck,” he says. The truck was part of Microsoft’s Across America tour, which has tractor-trailers criss-crossing the country with demonstrations and product information. He coupled that with the observation that North America is becoming more connected. “When you think about all the towns that are becoming Internet enabled, and in many cases that includes wireless connectivity, that’s exciting,” he says. “You can be connected almost everywhere. No satellite. All wireless.” Kellner envisions more small towns going wireless. Kellner put the two together, and came up with the idea to take his company to the people. “Much of our customer base is small businesses, and they are not all in urban areas,” he says. “I thought a grassroots approach, coming to your town, and having everything available, could be pretty effective.” So Kellner sent Hernandez RV shopping, concentrating at first only on pre-owned units. Just about that time, gas prices were approaching record highs. RV dealers, who suddenly were beginning to worry about evaporating leisure markets, started sharpening their pencils. And they kept sharpening. For around the same amount a used unit would have cost, Applied bought a new RV outfitted with custom wood finishes and plush carpeting just like that in the company’s own conference rooms. From RV to MDU With a brand-spanking-new RV in hand, or at least in the parking lot, Hernandez set about getting the vehicle ready to put into service. He didn’t have to look far. “Within our own maintenance staff, we have a master craftsman who does a lot of woodworking for us,” Hernandez says. The craftsman matched the look and feel of what was already in the RV as he built custom cabinets and other MDU furnishings. For the outside, Hernandez searched the Internet to find a graphics company to provide a custom paint job on the unit and found a couple of candidates—several hours away. By chance, though, through a word-of-mouth referral, he ended up tapping a local firm—the company that customized John Madden’s “Madden Cruiser”—to wrap the RV with a vinyl covering bearing Applied’s message. Even closer to home, it was Applied’s own internal creative team, the folks who design company brochures and other materials, who came up with the final scheme that now adorns the unit. But it’s the technology inside that actually sets the MDU apart. The unit is divided into two sections. In the front, the main area is designed to allow Applied salespeople to do presentations for up to six people comfortably. The section contains a 42-inch Sony plasma High-Definition TV, which is connected to two high-powered work stations—one equipped with Applied’s The Agency Manager® (TAM) product, the other with The Agency Manager Vision Series™ product. “We can show both products, TAM and Vision, and even bounce back and forth between the two,” says Tim Sander, senior manager of IT for Applied, who was responsible for putting all of the MDU technology together. “We can let people experience the difference in workflows for either product.” Further back in the unit is a hands-on workspace, set up with three workstations. According to Sander, each is capable of displaying TAM or Vision. Two are equipped with 19-inch flat panel monitors and one has a dual-monitor display. “This area is designed so, after a demonstration up front, if somebody wants a more hands-on experience with the product, perhaps to go through some workflows on their own, they can try it out first-hand,” Sander says. All of the PCs—those up front and those in the back—are connected via a network that also includes a multi-function printer and Internet gateway. The multi-function printer allows output demonstrations, as well as demonstration of scanning and imaging workflows. The wireless access point lets a cellular-card-equipped laptop serve as an Internet gateway for the rest of the MDU machines. “This lets us do live demonstrations of Transformation Station™ and other transactions, plus access other features of our Web site,” Sander says. Meant to be driven In addition to the Applied Systems logo and a front-end proclamation that reads, “Our Software is Just the Beginning,” the vehicle’s exterior carries in bold lettering the phrase, “Insurance technology driven.” And driven the unit will be, according to Jeff Purdy, Applied Systems’ senior vice president of sales and national sales manager. Purdy has four key uses in mind for the MDU. The first, he says, involves general industry events. “We are present at so many conventions across the country each year,” he says. “We think the MDU will differentiate us, especially at some of the regional gatherings.” Purdy says national technology events represent one type of opportunity. State and regional agent association meetings, both those that focus broadly on general agency management issues as well as those that deal more specifically with technology topics, represent another possible venue for the unit. A second area where Purdy sees the unit being useful is with Applied Systems Client Network, or ASCnet, the official Applied Systems user group. “We have 70-plus local chapters across the United States and Canada,” he says. “The MDU will give us an opportunity to have a larger presence within the user group.” He believes the unit will provide a new opportunity for Applied to show what it calls a model office concept. “Being able to present all of the latest workflows and the technology, without having to ship equipment back and forth, will be a big help,” he says. Carrier meetings and interface meetings present a third opportunity to deploy the unit, Purdy says. “The user group historically does an interface road show each year, traveling to carrier offices within a certain region,” he says. “We can use the MDU to go visit carriers for the same purpose to show the efficiencies of interface, how it can save carriers as well as agencies money, and how it can take some of the expense out of transactions.” Last, Purdy says, Applied plans to use the mobile unit for agency product demonstrations. “We’ll be able to go into a community with a relatively small number of agencies, notify everyone we are coming, get them all into the MDU and present true workflows and true automation.” That’s better than trying to get everyone to hover around a laptop or encountering disruptions when demonstrating software in an office, he says. “It will allow us to get agency owners and principals out of their environment, and see the software and its benefits in action,” he adds. Purdy envisions scheduling such meetings and demonstrations in conjunction with other trips. So when the unit is heading to Las Vegas for a trade show, for instance, it might arrange stops in rural areas of Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, or Utah along the way. “Clearly, when we are going from point A to point B, we intend to maximize the touch points with the vehicle,” Purdy says. Mobility is the future Just a few years ago, it would not have made much sense to own a mobile demonstration unit like the one Applied has deployed. But with advances in technology and connectivity, it’s possible now. It’s even rather easy. Wireless access is increasingly prevalent, in large cities and small towns, supporting the use of a mobile unit. At the same time, it highlights the potential for increased mobility among insurance agents and other insurance professionals. The similarities aren’t lost on Kellner. “The unit definitely demonstrates that our product itself can be mobile,” he says. “You don’t need to be tied to the office.” Kellner expects heightened interest in Applied’s products—whether or not they’re designed to support a mobile workforce—as the MDU makes its rounds. He also sees strong demand for the unit itself, both from the Applied Systems sales force, which he is looking to grow, and from folks outside, such as trade associations and user group chapters, now that it is up and rolling. * The author |
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