The Myth of 24/7
January 24, 2012 by Rick Morgan · 2 Comments
When I speak with insurance agents and brokers, I hear a common belief that in today’s world, 24/7 availability is required to be competitive. And who can blame them? In our instant gratification society there is an expectation that consumers want full access to all information whenever they want it.
But what exactly does “24/7” mean and is it really necessary?
If you believe the argument that auto insurance is a commodity, then the 24/7 expectation is justified. Yet, what your customers are buying from you, the agent, is more than a quote or a policy—they also are getting a personalized service built on a trusted relationship. Perhaps geckos don’t sleep but living, breathing insurance agents need their rest. Read more
“This technology has people in it.”
September 27, 2011 by Dave Willis · Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks ago, I sat in on a presentation by James McQuivey, Ph.D., vice president and principal analyst for Forrester, held in conjunction with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers Education Convocation and Young Agents and Agents Council for Technology (ACT) meetings. In the session, titled “Market Effectively to Today’s Consumers,” he addressed the need to adapt to a hybrid digital/personal customer relationship.
As part of the ACT meeting held later that day, McQuivey answered audience questions for an hour or so. One line he shared during this follow-up Q&A exchange caught my attention. He said, “You need to show this technology has people in it.”
“Online search” is one way to do this. Independent agents need to find ways to increase their ranking in search results. The Consumer Access Portal initiative unveiled at the IIABA meetings should help agents do this. Incorporating local presence will, as McQuivey said, “add the trust to the web experience.”
The hybrid digital/personal customer relationship plays an important role after the sale is made—and not just 10 or 11 months after, either. Ongoing communication and interaction, online and in person, reinforces the connection, leads to new sales opportunities, and builds customer loyalty.
This hybrid relationship can actually start before the sale. Social networking—Facebook and YouTube, in particular—is ready-made for such connections. “Introduce your business on Facebook, ask people to like it, and tell them if they do you’ll periodically post things about how to handle a car accident or other issues when you learn them,” McQuivey suggested. “At least the customer will have your contact info.” This is especially important with younger customers, many of whom prefer Facebook communication over other forms—including email.
McQuivey cited our friend, Lisa Parry Becker, who chose not to attend the meeting so she could stay home and help customers with flood claims, as a prime example of how to tie digital and personal. “Share the news of Lisa staying away from this meeting to help clients,” he said. “You as agents have always been personal. You’re connecting to human beings who live in your community. You just need to let people know that.”
Have you found success building out hybrid digital/personal customer relationships? Are you too focused on one or the other? How do you find balance? Are some agents or other businesses doing a really good job of combing the technology and people? If so, what’s making a difference?
#Irene #Insurance
August 30, 2011 by Rick Morgan · 2 Comments
I had intended to write about the importance of staying true to yourself when creating an online presence. But as I write this post, Hurricane Irene is barreling down on North Carolina and then heading toward New York City. So, instead I decided to write about how our industry has been using social networking to communicate valuable disaster-related information to their customers.
Often, I hear agents who are not yet actively participating in social networking question its value and/or its return on investment (ROI).Clearly, the use of social networking by our industry during the past couple of weeks has demonstrated that “social” is not just about ROI. During the earthquake and now the hurricane many East Coast agents, carriers and associations effectively used social networking to connect with their followers and communicate valuable information. Some examples include:
- New York agent, Ryan Hanley who created a video blog offering, “6 Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Homeowners”
- Connecticut agency The Founders Group blog posting, “Hurricane Irene is on her way – Tips for protecting your home!”
- Many Facebook posts and status updates by Connecticut agent V.F. McNeil Insurance including links to the town’s emergency preparation and a request by the governor to sign up for CT Alert Emergency Notification.
Innovation vs. Improvement
August 8, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
I have been thinking a lot lately about a blog post I read a couple of months ago. The post was by Amber Naslund and she clearly articulated the distinction between improvement and innovation and makes the case for needing both. She states, “Some things we do will be rooted in long time, sound practice, but will need to be modernized or reworked a bit to adapt to the speed, culture, and communication realities that are implied by a more social business. But because social media and social business aren’t just “better marketing,” (this applies to other technologies as well) some things we do will need to be utterly and completely abandoned, reinvented, or established anew.”
To help drive home the importance of innovation, she quoted Henry Ford as saying, “If he’d asked the American people what they really wanted, they’d have said faster horses.”
I have been thinking a lot about it lately because I think our industry has a tough time making the distinction—let alone acting—on situations when innovation rather than improvement is needed. Sometimes, improvement simply is not good enough. We fail if we apply new technology to old processes. New technologies give us the chance to innovate and create new processes. Read more
Social Networking – Its Impact on Your Brand
June 21, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
While it is common for people to think of their logo as their brand – it is so much more than that. Brand is everything and everything is brand. Your brand is the impression or feeling someone has about your firm and is formed and evolves from every customer touch point or interaction with your company. Brand is your storefront, your reception area, your employees, and your voicemail system. Brand includes all of your communication tools. In the digital age your brand is the user interface, content, and functionality of your website. Brand is also your Linkedin profile, your Twitter activity, and your Facebook page.
Today more than ever brand is being defined by consumers and what they think is more important or has more influence than your brand messaging. Interestingly enough, even if you are not engaged in social networking it is having an impact on your brand. In fact, not engaging in social networking may be doing great harm to your brand. Read more
What Are You Fighting For?
February 28, 2011 by Charles Wasilewski · Leave a Comment
Back in high school I was a big fan of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, a rock band from Gainesville, Florida that hit it big on the rock charts with the album “Damn the Torpedoes,” released in 1979. Their music covered themes perfect for adolescence (and beyond): The dreams and conflicts of relationships, rebellion against authority, and the search for something better.
Petty (who, coincidentally, was introduced to new generations by his performance at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2008) earned acclaim not just for his music but for two other things:
- First was the outreach he made to his fans in interviews, unusual at a time of rock star excesses (as tragically glorified by Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall,” which kept his breakthrough album from reaching #1 on the Billboard album charts; “Damn the Torpedoes” was behind it at #2 for seven weeks in 1979). In interviews, Petty made a point of thanking fans for listening to his band’s music and paying for their concerts. He was rumored to have used car stereo speakers to listen to the production mixes of his albums, because that was how most people would listen to it. This was in the days of vinyl albums and 8-track tapes and before the dawn of the Sony Walkman. Read more
We’ve Seen the Sizzle. Now Give Us the Steak.
February 1, 2011 by Rick Morgan · 2 Comments
As insurance firms jump into the social fray by becoming active on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other channels, some get caught up in the hype and flash, the bright lights of the social Web. Some make a mad dash to get as many friends, fans and likes as possible. A flurry of blog posts, tweets and status updates fly off the keyboard, many of them talking about you or your company.
If this sounds familiar, maybe it is time to slow down and reconsider:
- Are you providing substance?
- Are you engaged in the conversation?
- What is the right balance between quality and quantity of contacts?
After you begin to engage in social networking for your business, it is the quality of the contant that will keep your followers coming back. Substance can come in many flavors. But any way it comes, it should be good, interesting, valuable content. And that content should come from the heart, mind and soul of you and your company. Read more