I still remember the radio ad jingle. Growing up in central New Jersey and raised on AM radio, I repeatedly heard this commercial for a Philadelphia newspaper, which featured a consumer hotline dubbed “Call For Action!” (Using a word like “GReenwood” in the phone number followed by the numbers was a trick for making telephone numbers memorable.)

In those days of the 1960s and 1970s, lemon laws were not yet on the books, malls were just being invented, and the “vigilante consumer” (more on that term later) was a slumbering giant. So the local newspaper had a consumer action helpline where people could call if they had a problem with a consumer product or service. The Star-Ledger, a newspaper in New Jersey, recently reintroduced a similar column.The way it worked was: The reader called to describe their problem. The newspaper would then contact the business/professional with which the consumer was having a problem and ask for a better resolution for the consumer. The motivating factor often was that the newspaper would state that it was going to cover the situation in its “Action Line” weekly newspaper column.

Guess what happened? Results.

I recalled this catchy jingle the other week when I was disappointed in the performance of a consumer product (replacement windows) in my home. I called the store where we bought the windows, was told to phone a service number, and was informed that parts were still under warranty after seven years but labor was not. To replace the warranted parts on the window would cost $120 per hour in labor. (This is after we paid more than twice that per window.)

At that moment, recalling the thousands of dollars spent for the windows, I was irritated that I would have to spend $120 minimum (prepaid by credit card, of course, before the window manufacturer would schedule a technician’s service call) to fix a few window gaskets.

This consumer wanted to lash out and let a few people know not to buy this brand of windows.

I’m not proud of that. But I’m guessing many people have felt this surge of consumer-ish anger at some point or another. Faith Popcorn, futurist, called people exhibiting this type of reaction the “vigilante consumer” (Popcorn’s definition: “The consumer manipulates marketers and the marketplace through pressure, protest and politics.”)

Today, unlike my childhood 1970s, I can lash out on Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter or a blog or a replacement windows review site.

The question for insurance brands is: How will you handle this type of situation the next time it happens?

One of the people I admire most in social networking is insurance professional Nibby Priest, who from a Kentucky riverfront town Tweets and Yammers, gives us peeks into life, and mentions insurance now and again. When Nibby and I did an Insurance Journal Webcast for independent agents a couple years ago, an interesting question came up on this very topic. Here’s what we talked about:

“Question: In opening up your business to a Facebook fan page, you are obviously opening up your business to negative feedback. How do handle negative comments?

Nibby Priest: That’s a great question. Sometimes people don’t want to be a part of social media because they don’t want somebody to say something negative. You know bad things are not always bad; sometimes you need to know about them. So many times a client will leave you and you don’t even know what you did wrong. So, at least this gives an avenue and gives you, as business owners, the opportunity to go in there and correct it.

Social media is all about transparency. An example: Yesterday, Google messed up with Gmail. And what have they done today and late last night? They put out exactly what went wrong, what they learned from the experience, and they were transparent.

We need to listen to what clients have to say about us. So have I had any negative feedback? No. Can I get some? Yes. And whenever I do, I want to respond back positively and make a correction to it. That’s how I would handle it.”

When people call for action, how do you respond?

The Driskill Hotel's marble floor features its 'D' logo

Walking in to The Driskill Hotel in Austin for Brand Camp 2010 in October, I admired the high ceilings, the 1880s southwestern architecture and the quick attention from the staff.

And the marble floors.

Like many distinctive hotels, The Driskill spends a lot of money on its floors. They’re marble, distinctly colored, and clean as can be. Placed in the middle of the floor in the center of the hotel’s meeting space is the hotel’s logo (see photo to the right).

The floors and the logo were easy to notice as I was walking from meeting room to lunch and back.

I bet consumers notice these same things about your brand. Except for an insurance agency, the ‘marble floor’ might be something different: Good service; a pleasant working relationship; fast quoting; the ability to diagnose and prescribe insurance prescriptions for risk management.

Do you strategically place your brand identity in the midst of your “marble floor”?

If you do, it’ll give people (prospects and customers) the chance to notice and remember your brand.

For Aartrijk’s new series of guest bloggers

About Nibby: Nibby began his insurance career in August 1983 as a part-time employee in his father’s business, then joined the agency full-time in 1986 after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University. Nibby is known nationally for his insurance agency automation consulting work with the AGENA Corporation and National Users of AGENA Systems. He has also worked extensively with Henderson Community College as an instructor in various computer-related classes.

1. What has happened in the past year with your agency/firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on? What is the top challenge right now for companies like yours?

We are trying to brand more with our online name GoVaughn.com Insurance, instead of our old, long name Vaughn Insurance Agency Co.

We have dropped our Yellow Pages, TV, radio and newspaper advertisements. Our biggest challenge is making sense out of it all, even though we know that the time we are spending in social media and new media (online advertising) is really the right way to go.

We also are looking more to referrals for new business. We really feel high-touch relationships (referrals) are where some of our best business is coming from.

With Internet leads, the good news is that consumers are ready and willing to talk insurance, but their eagerness to share information and buy gives us pause about writing the business.

2. It seems like 2008-2009 was a watershed time for social networking for consumers, while a few insurance practitioners were getting ramped up on social networking. But by and large, there was fear and loathing of it. What do you see as the status (of opportunity and implementation) at the moment for independent insurance agents and social networking?

Agents are seeing the benefits. Just this week I downloaded and installed Microsoft’s add in for Outlook that meshes my Outlook Contacts with Facebook and LinkedIn. I created a separate contacts list for my clients. I couldn’t believe how many of my existing clients are on Facebook and LinkedIn. This is just another way we can reach out and touch and be real to these people.

Many agents are educating themselves about SM [social media] and just a sense of awareness leads them to acknowledge how productive and interesting social networking can be. I don’t see as many totally ‘dissing’ the idea as were 12 months ago — which is good since many were dishing because they simply didn’t understand or know about SM.

3. The insurance industry has long been known for collaboration and idea-sharing among peers, especially independent agents. What are your best sources and inspirations for branding, marketing communications, social networking, etc. within the industry?

My Twitter friends! Peeps like Pat Alexander, Steve Anderson and Laura Toops. The quick little tidbits of information and links that they and many other insurance agents share, specifically on Twitter, are most helpful to me.

4. Now a word from our sponsor. Tell us one thing that you learned at Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, and how you have implemented it or changed your branding since then.

Collaboration needs to not only be between likes (agents to agents) — but also company people, brand marketing people, large agents, small agents, new agents, old agents.

I have been trying to network more and be more open to those who might do business differently from me. I have a lot to learn from my perceived competition. I’m paying more attention to trends and reading more about the insurance-buying public and trying to adjust our agency to catering more to the different age groups and how they want to do business.

Being able to meet in person many of the relationships that I have created by using Twitter and other social media tools was really worth the entire [Brand Camp 2009] conference. The synergy that was going on during the conference was fresh and new unlike any insurance trade conference that I have been to in over 15 years. I felt like I was attending my very first insurance systems users group meeting — which I did in 1987 when we started NUAS (National Users of AGENA Systems).

Listen to agency owner Claudia McClain explain why even in today’s social media world success involves more than just putting up a Facebook Fan Page. Claudia explains how her agency has continued to grow and prosper even in this difficult economic time. Her secret – an agency culture built around strong customer service and a blend of traditional marketing and social networking. While the agency has a blog (two actually), a Facebook Fan Page, a LinkedIn account and is on Twitter, it also touches each customer 12 times a year with traditional print media.

The message Claudia drives home is that social networking is not a Silver Bullet to success. Rather, she sees social networking as providing her with a new set of tools that has enabled her to expand the way she communicates with prospects and customers. Yet, the foundation of her success is rooted in traditional marketing principals and practices, and the understanding that building long-lasting trusted relationships not only takes time, but is hard work.

The podcast was published Monday, July 26, 2010. Run time is 27 minutes 26 seconds.

Pat Alexander, founder of InsuranceEcosystem.com

The Aartrijk team is pleased to welcome — for the first time — guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, starting this month.

To kick off this occasional series, we welcome Pat Alexander, founder of industry blog InsuranceEcosystem.com and a Brand Camp 2009 alumna.

About Pat: In 2009, she launched InsuranceEcosystem.com as a resource for the insurance industry and a way to spark more conversation about her areas of expertise in independent agencies, coaching and technology. She describes Insurance Ecosystem as a blog that “provide[s] you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals … [has] so much to contribute in their area of expertise.”

1. What has happened in the past year with your firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on?

After Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, I developed a plan to redesign my primary Web site, PatAlexander.com, and give it a fresh look and to develop a blog where individuals of interest to insurance agents could blog regularly or at their whim. Developing this blog included developing a brand for it as well as an audience.

Often watching and listening is a great way to learn how the various social networking tools can work for you. I also follow a number of non-insurance industry social networking “gurus.” One of my favorite is Amber Naslund of Brass Tack Thinking. Amber is director of community for Radian6. Smart young lady providing great thoughts and tools.

4. Now a word from our sponsor. Tell us one thing that you learned at Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, and how you have implemented it or changed your branding since then.

At Brand Camp 2009, I learned so much about the importance of brand. I have always told agencies that I work with it is important that everyone in the agency delivers the same message about the agency.

I now believe that the brand and message are inseparable. I developed a presentation, specific to insurance agents, on the importance of brand and social media. From this presentation, I have gained a couple of clients, and I am assisting them in developing and implementing their social media plan.

The focus is on providing their clients and prospects with useful and informative information. We develop what they want their brand and message to be — and carry that through the tools that they choose to use.

Pat Alexander’s Web site also has a great resource: a list of industry blogs and other relevant blogs. Follow Pat on Twitter.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Texas agent David Berry has used the marketing lessons he learned from his experiences in the captive agency system to find success as an independent agent. Listen as Berry discusses how he uses traditional marketing practices, combined with the new tools of social media, to grow his business.

Berry understands the importance of investing in technology; but more importantly he understands the need to make sure it’s used wisely. He’s committed to building strong relationships and providing great service as he builds his new business, and credits social media as a powerful tool to help him contain costs and expand his reach. Peter and Rick particularly enjoyed listening to Berry speak passionately about the advantages and value of the Independent Agency System.

The podcast was published Monday, July 12, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 41 seconds.

Peter and Rick discuss the renewed energy and engagement they are seeing across the industry. For example, at the recent ACORD conference they noticed many new vendors and lots of younger folks in attendance. The exhibit hall was filled with activity and a renewed energy that had not been in evidence for several years.

Clearly, there is a realization that in spite of value of social social networking — face-to-face networking is still a critically important component in a successful business strategy. Perhaps associations, user groups, and others who hold conferences can learn from this. More than education and keynote speakers, it is the networking opportunity that may drive the events of the future.

More than their experience at several recent events, Peter and Rick are seeing a resurgence in confidence and a commitment to the independent agency system by agents, brokers and carriers alike. Yes, part of that is technology based. The growing implementation of Real Time is helping agents do business in a more efficient and effective way and social networking is giving them a whole new set of tools to help them build and strengthen relationships and more effective way to communicate with their community.

The podcast was published Monday, June 21, 2010. Run time is 15 minutes 6 seconds.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

This podcast is an interview with Sharon Emek, President and CEO of WAHVE.

Listen to Sharon as she shares here vision for this new company with Rick and Peter.

“The definition of retirement has changed. Consider two trends:

1) People who are “retired” from the insurance industry in the traditional sense (no longer going to an agency or a carrier to work in a management or professional position) still want to work, but under different working arrangements.

2) Those who are hiring in our industry now consider “retirees” as a prime market to fulfill their demand for a quality workforce for their businesses.

Matching up vintage workers (those people who have left the traditional workforce but want to work from their homes) with hiring managers is what this innovative new company is all about. The acronym “WAHVE” reflects the focus in placing “Work-At-Home Vintage Employees” with insurance organizations such as independent agencies.

As an insurance producer, I came to learn how vital agency staff people are to selling and servicing insurance clients. As an agency principal, I came to appreciate how precious quality performers are to running an insurance agency. Now, as the founder and CEO of WAHVE, I’m pleased that we can offer employees and principals the only remote domestic staffing option for insurance agents and brokers.” – Sharon Emek

The podcast was published Friday, June 4, 2010. Run time is 22 minutes 6 seconds.

Movie lovers may remember Mel Gibson’s gaining the ability to read women’s minds in “What Women Want.” And we market researchers sometimes wish for this kind of direct insight. Living in the real world, when we want to know what people want, we turn to our research tools: surveys, interviews and focus groups.

And in a recent survey of 1,498 independent insurance agents, we validated what many industry leaders already know: among all the important factors that agents consider when choosing their “go-to” carriers for personal lines, claims service quality matters most. Not technology, not their own agency compensation – but the service their clients get from insurance carriers.

But carriers want to know what “great claims service quality” means. So we asked more detailed questions.

We found that the speed of the first call to the insured matters more than anything else – even more than getting the claim paid quickly. Carriers can use this information to prioritize their efforts to improve so that they deliver on what agents really want.

You can read more about a few initial findings in “Agents’ Top Rated Carriers Make Fast Claims Adjuster Contacts,” an  article in the Insurance Journal, which sponsored the research study. The full report of this survey, conducted by Channel Harvest, is available as of early June.

For more information on purchasing the survey report, contact Peter van Aartrijk at peter@Aartrijk.com.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Ryan Hanley, is an independent agent with the Guilderland Agency in Albany, NY.

Just two short years ago Ryan started his insurance career and at the same time started to “dabble” with the social Web. While the agency wasn’t yet ready to jump “head first” into social networking they gave Ryan the freedom to do so.

Being new to the industry he started researching insurance issues, and then writing about his experience on his new blog, Albany Insurance Professional. Ryan also set up Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts.

Has it been a valuable and profitable experience? According to Ryan, “social networking is how he builds and strengthens relationships and generates new business – it is no longer an experiment.”

Listen to Ryan as he shares his experiences with Rick and Peter.

The podcast was published Monday, May 24, 2010. Run time is 24 minutes 7 seconds.