What should you do this coming year? The question is a key one in November and December, as the new year looms large and plans brew for insurance agency successes. How can you improve your insurance agency's success? What better strategies are out there for 2019?
Explore Your Employees' Talents
Next year, make sure that you're thoroughly exploring the talents that your employees have to offer. If your administrator is skilled in graphic design, are you making use of this in that individual's position? Does one of your agents have a particular skill for writing ad copy that could be honed through some extra training? Next year, look for the untapped skills that your employees have and consider how you can cultivate them.
Focus on Customer Service
What is frustrating about your insurance agency? As you listen to your employees and your customers, decide what is hard about your business and consider how you can make small changes to try and fix these difficulties. For instance, if those who want to get through on the phone have to navigate through a maze of company directories, could you change this? Listening to your customers and responding to them is the best way to improve your insurance agency marketing.
Create a Culture of Feedback
In the best workplaces, people strive to grow. Your job is to help your employees do this. As an employer, you can create ways of connecting with your employees to develop strong communication about the positions you have, the expectations for those positions, and the ways that your employees can fulfill them. Turn challenges into opportunities for training your employees, supporting them to learn, or finding other positions that might be a better fit for them.
Evaluate Your Website
Like it or not, today your website is a key sales tool for your business. Make this the year that you evaluate this insurance agency marketing tool. According to Insurance Splash, your site should be "clean, professional, and easy to use." Create a plan for adding ongoing blog content as well, so that you continue to rank highly in the searches for your specific type of insurance and your specific geographic area.
Cultivate Referrals
One of the best ways to market your business is by asking your customers to talk about you. Make sure that you have a plan in place to reward customers who make referrals. Encourage them to write positive reviews about you by sending them the links to do so in your follow up emails, and make sure that they have your number easily on hand so that they can give it to their friends. You can also create referral cards to hand out. Perhaps you can consider developing a referral reward program in 2019 to thank clients who refer others to your agency.
At American Agents Alliance, we're here to help you achieve your insurance agency's goals. Talk with us about the possibilities for your business in the new year, and take a look at the many membership benefits that we can offer your independent insurance agency.
