It is important Aetna remain one step ahead of the game by employing staff to maintain and update the site. This can be costly over time. Still the type of dedicated 24/7 services that is expected is also typical of the insurance industry with respect to size, position and customer base. Aetna has done a good job in utilizing e-commerce to its advantage. On the other hand, while not being too flashy, it is also possible that Aetna could slowly introduce other services to the web site. In this way, they remain on the cutting edge of the technology and set the Internet presence for another companies within the industry.
Aetna has many traditional offices throughout the United States to better serve the public. These offices encompass a wide range of corporate operations and training facilities but as it is typical of most insurance companies, much of the traditional store is found within the communities Aetna wants to serve. Meaning that rather than establish a retail headquarters in every city in the nation, like most insurance companies, its product becomes a tool for many insurance brokers that work within their own office. These offices many provide a gamete of services from multiple insurance companies as a means to offer the most product to almost over serve the public. In many ways, this tactic is a strong one because by licensing brokers throughout the country to sell their product, the company is getting maximum exposure without the overhead...
On the flipside, Aetna's product must remain unique among other insurance company products. This creates stiff competition for the industry. Therefore, this makes the Internet presence all the more important as it has the means to create customer relationships through seamless services. This in turn, creates opportunities for not only profit but also growth within different demographics. The company will track how sales are made to find out how effective the Internet presence is for them and make changes to the strategy as feedback is provided. At this time, the e-commerce strategy remains separate from the traditional business of brick and mortar but as customers become more Internet educated that will be instances of greater overlap. This allows a company like Aetna to have multiple channels of communication with the customer that continues to build on the relationship regardless of how the initial connection was made. Still with these technologies come concerns of identity theft, information corruption and brand integrity. It is important that Aetna continue to protect itself from e-commerce pirates but to also apply the same principles to protecting their customer base.
References
Aetna Insurance Company. Retrieved April 29, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.aetna.com.
SWOT Analysis. Retrieved April 29, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/SWOT/.
