IAN Blog

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been using this blog as a forum to explain to insurance agents out there on how to properly utilize the internet as a means of expanding their business. I am a firm believer in the power of the internet, nevertheless I thought I should take this time to explain to agents what their expectations should be in terms of revenue and costs.

One of the biggest misconceptions out there amongst insurance agents, is their belief that there is a high conversion rate amongst quotes submitted on their websites. Most agents, according to a survey conducted by Plymouth Rock, believe that about 40-50% of all leads who request a quote will end up being their customer.

Unfortunately the data suggests otherwise. In fact, a number that is much more realistic is something along the lines of a 10-20% conversion rate amongst people who request leads. Why? Because while the internet has many shoppers, it has fewer buyers.

Now please do not fall into despair. While I know this may seem like bad news, the reality is that you can improve this conversion rate by optimizing elements of your own online quoting system. In particular, by contacting your lead as soon as possible, there has been an observed increase in the conversion. I know that this is easier said than done, nevertheless it is worthwhile noting.

I hope that most insurance agents out there reading this blog recognize the importance of maintaining a good website. If there are a few skeptical readers out there let me see if I can convince you to think otherwise.

The first reason why it is important to have a good and proper functioning website is because it serves as a good way of getting your name out there. If someone for example has never hear of your agency and went to Google and typed in “Car insurance in Boston” (or whatever) and he clicks on your agency’s site, you could have a new lead.

Another reason why it is important to have a well functioning website is for it to serve as a useful tool for you clients. For example, by posting links to your carriers, you will make it possible for your consumers to both pay bills and file claims from home! Lastly, a good website will serve as a way for you to provide updates on products to your consumers.

Ok, now that we have gotten the “why” out of the way, let’s move onto the “how.” One way to improve your insurance agency’s website is by providing useful tools. Some of the tools were mentioned above, namely, the “make a payment” or “file a claim.” Other useful tools for new leads are  a “Get a Quote” feature and/or “Guides to Insurance.” Lastly, as previously mentioned, a good website allows you to communicate with your customers, and for this reason you should consider establishing a blog. For those who are unaware, a blog is essentially forum where you post articles regarding updates, changes, or topics of interest for your product. Blogs also feature the ability for consumers to voice questions and/or concerns.

One of the more interesting topics that  the typical business owner, particularly of an insurance agency, is now facing is developing the right marketing strategy. Developing the right strategy for your agency really depends on a whole slew of factors: what type of client-el are you targeting, what type of policy you are trying to sell, and what best asset you agency and CSR’s have to offer. While each and every agency is fundamentally different, the principles are still the same.

Fostering Relationships

Staying in Contact: One of the best marketing strategies that an agency can employ is simply staying in contact with their clients. Now just to be clear, what I mean by “staying in contact” is to provide your clients with useful tidbits or information that they can use regarding car insurance. For example you can inform clients about new coverages or endorsements available, or new discounts that are available.

Things of this nature, i.e. valuable information, will in essence strengthen your client-business relationship, maybe to the point that they might even recommend your agency to friends or family. Here are some of the best methods of staying in contact with your consumer base (1)blogging and (2) social media.

Using Social Media and Blogging:

I know most agents get frustrated when they hear the terms blogging and social media, because it can be intimidating at first. Here’s what I mean by blogging. All it is is  online forum where an author writes an article of his or her choice in this case, car insurance. Social media is along the same lines, except in social media you usually just post a link to the article of piece of information that you are trying to convey to your customers. As for setting the entire process up…. Getting a social media account is extremely easy. All you have to do is go to Facebook, Twitter, whatever social media outlet you want to use, and just create an account for your agency. Whereas setting up a blog is a little more complicated. If you have an “I.T. guy,” then you might be better off asking him to create an account for your agency.

Hope this Helps,

Matt

Being an insurance agent can be relatively difficult. Unlike large insurance companies who utilize there access to massive amounts of capital and human resource, local insurance agents’ strength lies in community ties, product service, the ability to adapt, and a diverse range of products. With direct writers trying to increase their share of the market, one way to limit this expansion is to strengthen your client rentention rate. I know, easier said then done, but here are my thoughts about this strategy, as well as other strategies you can implement.

Multiple Policies:

One of the more powerful tools that agents have at their disposal, is their ability to have face to face interaction with their clients. Unlike direct writers who try to sway potential consumers with television ads and their obsession with interacting with consumers over the phone and internet, us agents maintain direct contact. Some of us (I won’t name names…), take for granted this special advantage. So, here are my thoughts on how to capitalize on this reality.

Next time a client comes into the office to either complete an endorsement or pay a bill, inform them about multi-policy discounts. Time and again studies have clearly demonstrated that if your clients maintain more than one policy with your agency, your rentention rate will increase. And this does make sense, wouldnt you feel less comfortable about moving your auto and home policy to a direct writer and/or agency. In addition to this, by providing your client with a signficant multi-policy discount your clients will be happy that they are saving money.

Create or Enhance Your Agency’s Website:

While many agents maybe resistant to change, this step will also enhance your client retention rate, especially for younger consumers. One of the greatest appealing facets of direct writers is their ability to process payments over the web. What this translates into is less time wasted for consumers, who often lack the motivation or desire to physically drive to a location. So, to counter such ploys used by companies, I would highly encourage your local agency to at least establish hyperlinks on your website to allow clients to make payments (if you are confused by what I mean, please post a question). Thus, by reducing the work your clients have to do, they will be more inclined to stay with your agency.

Sell The Benefit  of Having Access to Multiple Markets:

One of the best selling points that independent agents have at their disposal is to sell the fact that they represent more than one company. Unlike direct writers who are in the process of selling themselves, independent agents are in the process of selling multiple products. By explaining this idea, whether on your website or directly with your clients, you will notice that more people will feel safe with what you offer.

Hope this Helps,

Cheers,

Matt

I came across an interesting discussion online a few days ago. In this discussion board, various insurance agents across the state and country were discussing what is the best way to sell an insurance policy. In particular, the agents were arguing about whether your strategy should be to sell  the product based on how low the price is, or whether you should sell the fact that you are providing an excellent product. To me, this was a highly interesting multi-faceted debate. My answer: it depends on who you are selling it to.

The problem with the debate that I mentioned above, is that it blankets consumers under one huge, well… blanket. Consumers come from all walks of life. For certain segments of the market, price is simply the bottom line, whereas for other groups they prefer a reliable and trustworthy product. Here is some of my advice on how to distinguish between these two groups.

Image Source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=982

Ok, please don’t be mad at me, but I will try to stereotype here a little. For most young consumers, price is the bottom line. Young people usually carry debt from either college, mortgage payments, etc, and cannot simply afford either (1) a fancy car and (2) a fancy insurance policy to go with it. For this reason, most young drivers, in my opinion, price will be the bottom line. For them, saving money any way they can (even if it includes a lapse in coverage) is of the utmost priority. To young drivers, car insurance is simply a mandate required by law, and nothing more. This, of course, is a hyper-generalization, nevertheless, I believe that it is a good rule of thumb.

People who are usually well-established, meaning that they are in the middle class, tend to be more conservative. By this I mean that they will voice more concern about the quality of the product. To this group, in my opinion, getting the right coverage is a little bit of a higher priority than getting the absolutely cheapest price. This of course doesn’t mean that they don’t care about price. What I mean, however, is that they more willing to sacrifice a few bucks to buy the right product.

Ok, I hope you guys found my 2 cents useful. Feel free to post comments agreeing or disagreeing with my analysis.

Cheers,

Matt

Hello Everyone. Yesterday I came across an excellent insurance blog by a fellow insurance agent. In this blog, the blog poster (that’s a word right?), talks about his experience in reading an article by the Wall Street Journal. The article in question goes onto bash independent insurance agents as inefficient, more expensive, and overall worse quality to direct writers or sponsored agents (Blasphemy!)

Image Source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499

As my fellow independent agents know, nothing could be from the truth. Because we are fighting an uphill battle against this popular misconception we must be willing to convey to all consumers out there, the inaccuracies flying around. If we do not convey to people that being an independent agent yields more competition and lower prices, than we will constantly have to deal with the stigma of being called “more expensive,” which of course is not true. So, if you write blogs for your own clients or are attempting to sell your products, be willing to talk about your independence.

Lastly, there is some good news to this story. The Wall Street Journal, ultimately retracted parts of its previous story and acknowledged that their article presented inaccuracies about independent agents (hooorah!).

Over the past 20 years, whether you are an insurance agent or car salesman, the scope and philosophy of marketing and advertising has drastically changed.  Marketing 20 years ago usually involved agents and companies targeting potential leads and clients with hard-mail campaigns, television, and things of this nature.

With the advent of the internet revolution, the entire way we think about advertising and marketing has been changed. It’s done a total 180. [Enter Your Own Analogy Here]. One of the more important lessons that you need to take note of is that the internet has allowed individuals to engage with one another in real time, meaning they are in constant contact with one another. Whether you think this is a good thing, is kind of a separate issue.

Image Source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1152

So what? Why should you care that individuals are in constant contact with one another on the web? Well, frankly anyone wanting to expand their business should care. Why? Because this notion has completely altered the fundamental principles of marketing and advertising. Instead of techniques in the past where advertising was mainly a way of TELLING consumers of your products, the internet has allowed businesses a method of COMMUNICATING with them! This is a huge deal! With social media such as Facebook and Twitter, businesses and clients have the ability to interact amongst each other. THIS IS THE NEW FORM OF MARKETING. Thus, if you are looking for a new and sleek way of advertising, you should become acquainted with these new technologies.

Feel free to post comments and question.

Cheers,

Matt

We are excited to announce that Insurance Agency Network will be hosting its first webinar for insurance agents in Massachusetts. The webinar will cover agent’s use of social media, blogging, and the internet. Please stay tuned for the time and date of this webinar.

Let me start by saying that the economy is still in a rough patch. Most economists agree that the near-term future does not look to pleasant, and the road forward will be tough to say the least. Most insurance agents, whether in Massachusetts or Arizona are feeling their wallets becoming lighter,  large Direct Writers trying to break into the market is certainly not helping your business. Okay, I don’t want you to feel too depressed because believe me there are options. Here is what you can start doing to compete with these large companies.

1.) Life Insurance: I know most agents are already probably aware of this, but life insurance is a critical offer that you can make to your clients. Why? Because time and again studies have proven that clients who purchase life insurance and auto insurance with the same agencies, are statistically less likely to switch agencies. It makes sense doesn’t it? Frankly, I personally would feel uncomfortable about moving both of these policies to another company and/or agency, even it they could offer me a better price.

Image Source:http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2026

2.) Online Presence: I know, I know, I know… I am making a big fuss about this, but to tell you the truth it is going to be a critical part of you agency’s future. Most consumers now use the internet as means of finding a place to get insurance or even research insurance. So, this means it is important for you to start getting ahead of the curve. This can be done through a process known as “Search Engine Optimization” or SEO for short. So how do you improve your SEO? Well primarily about blogging. What blogging does, is it gives you the opportunity to communicate directly to the internet world and inform them about whatever you wish. What you can do, is use your blog, essentially, as a forum and express advice to consumers about your product or the product in general.

3.) More Companies: Ok, this point is also obvious, but nevertheless let me go ahead. The more companies you can secure contracts with, the more diversity you can offer your customers. This of course leads to more competitive prices and so on. That’s the easy part. The true feat in the point is acquiring contracts. Now I know many agents reading this blog will recognize that the difficulty to getting new companies to represent. One potential option is of course through insurance networks. Insurance networks, whether in Massachusetts or New York, offer their member agents access to more companies and therefore lead to all the benefits mentioned above.

Hello everyone. If there is one thing that you need to know about the face of Massachusetts auto insurance it is that technology is playing a greater and greater role. Like it or hate it, it is a fundamental reality. With technology improving each and every year, there is a constant stream of new software to enhance efficiency and save time. Here are some tips on what expect and potential advice that you can take advantage of:

1.) Online Quoting: One trend that I have been observing is the massive increase in real-time online quoting. Yep, most insurance companies and the best agents within the next 10 years will invest heavily in this idea. Why? Because consumers are looking for everything instant. Unlike previous generations, this upcoming market is fundamentally set in the notion of everything being real-time. So, to cater to this group, most companies and agents alike will be working hard to improve their software and technology on this front.

2.) Social Media and Blogs: If you have read my previous blogs in regards to this topic you can feel free to skip this section. However new-comers listen up! Social media and blogs are the new way to communicate to clients and consumers. Through social media groups such as Facebook or Twitter you can be in constant contact with your customers and inform them of new discounts, laws, product information, or anything of interest.  I know some of you may think Social media is “for children and teens,” however new reports from these social media groups indicate this is no longer the case.

3.) Email vs Hard-Mail Campaigns: As you can probably deduce from my comments above, guess which of these two is going to obsolete over the next 5-10 years. Yup, you guessed right. Unfortunately hard-mail campaigns are a thing of the past. Why? Because research has indicated that hard-mail campaigns are (1) ineffective and (2) hard to track data. Alright, let’s all be brutally honest. If you’ve ever received a mail from an agent or company that you never heard of and threw it away, I would like for you to raise your hand. I see 1 hand, 2 hands, 4 hands, 7 hands, see way too many hands to count. Consumers have grown weary of receiving junk mail from companies and unfortunately usually will throw most of the mail away.

For hard-mail it is also relatively hard to track data. This is not the case for email campaigns, as their are a whole slew of technologies out there that specialize in tracking leads via emails.

I know for many people out there this information maybe hard to swallow, but do not despair as their are options. While many of us simply do not have the no how to write blogs, social media, etc., the Insurance Agency Network LLC specializes in this type of technology and could help your agency in acquiring multiple markets as well as developing critical technologies for your agency.

I hope you found this blog helpful and don’t worry technology can actually be your ally. Do not listen to the guy below!

Cheers,

Matt