Insurance agent marketing is a tricky business. You want to be honest and polite, yet you need positive online reviews to ensure that people continue to come to your business. How can you manage your online reviews and reputation to ensure that you have positive reviews online?
Know Where Your Reviews Are
When you’re running an insurance agency, it’s important to know exactly where people will review you online. Unfortunately, there is not a single online review site that everyone uses, but there are a few popular websites that many people use to find out more about your business.
- Google My Business: This often shows up on Google if people search for you on the search engine. Your business shows up in a sidebar with a star rating and highlighted reviews. You can add information about your business here as well.
- Yelp: Yelp may be known for activities such as restaurant reviews, but it features other business reviews as well. It operates on a star system and has space for sponsored results. It also publishes top 10 lists of businesses.
- The Better Business Bureau: It collects information on different companies in your community, and people can see reviews and post them online as well. It operates with a star rating system.
- Angie’s List: This site focuses on locally-oriented reviews. It shows prospects the number of reviews you have and gives your business a grade. Leads can click to see more information.
- Social media sites: Sites such as Facebook give people opportunities to write a review about your business. Also, people can post individually or in groups about your business as well.
Managing Your Reviews On Social Media
How can you manage the sometimes scary world of online reviews?
Sadly, dissatisfied customers are more likely to post reviews online. Be proactive and collect reviews before angry customers storm over to review sites. According to Tech Republic, there are platforms that ask current clients to recommend the business to their networks and direct them to review sites as well. “If the feedback is negative, then the program will redirect the customer to another place to voice their grief, and allow the business owner to deal with the issue.”
Ask influencers in your community or well-networked clients to speak about your agency online. This helps create a positive buzz about your company.
Respond to every review. Yes, it takes time, but it is worth it. Responding to reviews shows that you care about your insurance clients and act quickly to remedy the situation if there is a negative review. Be empathetic, and respond quickly, ideally within a day or two.
Show Your Growth as a Business
While negative reviews can feel overwhelming and threatening to your business, you can use them as an opportunity as well. Hubspot points out that “negative or neutral reviews provide your company with an opportunity to learn and develop.” While some people may simply want to complain, often there are a few grains of truth in each negative review. You could learn something about your products, your service, and the clarity of your communication with your clients. You can also learn about clients’ pain points and learn more about how to sell insurance and how to make your clients happy in the long term.
You can share these learnings online with your clients and leads. If you respond to an online review, make sure that you do so clearly and professionally. You don’t need to give a lot of details about the situation, but let your customer know that you will contact them promptly and that you will address issues that arise.
At American Agents Alliance, we help you find the tools that you need to excel as an insurance agency. Contact us today to learn more about how our membership benefits can help your business grow.
