While you might think of insurance agency marketing as a way to send out your best face to the world and promote your agency, keeping your existing clients happy is actually the best way to maintain and grow your client base. Happy clients tell other prospects about your business. Unfortunately, unhappy clients do the same. How can you determine what your clients are really thinking?
Ask Specific Questions
Talking with your clients allows you to build on the good points about your agency and address the issues that challenge your clients. However, not all of your clients will have concerns that spring immediately to mind. For instance, if you've started a new online portal specifically for your clients, some might ignore it and others will muddle through. If you ask them for feedback about it, as long as it's not disastrous, they'll likely state that it's pretty good. Asking specific questions will yield more specific answers that you need to improve the product. Hearing that a client wasn't sure where to click next will help you address this issue before prospects or current clients get confused by the system.
Listen to the Answers
If you have clients who complain or you've asked clients for their opinion, you need to listen to the answers they give. They are giving you valuable feedback that can help change your business for the better. According to Inc, "while somebody else is talking, it's deceptively easy for your mind to take control by mentally finishing the customer's sentences and deciding what you're going to say next." If you find yourself wanting to take control of the dialogue or tell clients why your processes or website are that way, catch yourself. Focus on listening first, and you'll be better prepared to address your clients' needs.
Work With Clients Individually and In Groups
There are many ways to receive feedback about your agency. You can:
Talk with clients casually and individually before, during, and after they sign up for your insurance products.
Survey your clients online or by mail.
Hold focus groups to get feedback on a specific topic.
Listen to the buzz on your social media and connect with clients individually about their comments.
Engage in social listening online. According to Media Toolkit, "customers are now talking about your brand with their friends on social media." By scanning social media for conversations that mention your name or insurance needs as a whole, you can get a far better idea of what people are saying about their insurance needs.
Host an online chat or a webinar with a question and answer period.
Listen to what your sales team has to say about how clients are reacting; they talk with clients all of the time.
The more you can incorporate feedback into your everyday interactions with clients, the better. If clients need to go out of their way to participate, you may not get a representative group of clients. Adding a two-question survey onto the end of a transaction is quick and easy.
Some people are not ready to reflect on a transaction until they have had time to think about that transaction. Reaching out to ongoing clients or people who have left your agency can help you determine what people think about you when they're not in the midst of a transaction with your company. This gives you feedback that's more reflective in nature and less specific to a certain transaction.
Are you ready to take your insurance agency marketing to a new place this year? At American Agents Alliance, we help you develop the tools you need to improve your insurance agency. Connect with us about our many membership benefits today.
