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Is it your insurance agency’s goal to grow your business (and in turn, make more money)? If you’re like 99% of agents out there, you’re nodding yes.
If you’re nodding along, I have some news for you: Finding brand new customers isn’t the only way to reach your goal. Yes, investing in marketing and using high-quality leads are proven growth strategies, but you might be overlooking your strategy on customer retention in the insurance industry.
In my experience, there are two parts to a good customer retention strategy: things you must be doing no matter what, and things you should be doing if you’re striving toward becoming a top-tier agent. In this article, I’ll explain both.
Want to keep your customers? Of course you do. Then you need to know what they’re saying about your company.
Download this free guide to get started: Online Reputation Management for Insurance Agents: Why It Matters
Customer Retention In The Insurance Industry: Must-dos & Should-dos
10 Things You Must Be Doing To Retain Customers—No Matter What
- Offer a solid product.
This almost goes without saying, but it’s still absolutely crucial. It all starts with the products you offer. They must be helpful to your customers. Otherwise, there’s little hope of retaining clients in the long term.
- Understand who your customers are and what drives them.
You maximize retention until you know what’s important to your prospects and customers. Customer segmentation is the practice of categorizing customers according to common characteristics—e.g. price-sensitive customers, service-sensitive customers, etc. This is the bedrock of your agency. Your sales and marketing strategies should be built around your customers’ needs and expectations.
- Understand where your referrals come from.
Referrals are an important part of customer retention because if a customer comes to your agency through a referral, they have a much higher likelihood of staying with your agency long-term. This is also true for customers who refer others to you.
Capitalize on this longevity by setting up a referral program that benefits your customers in the long run. (It will also benefit your business, of course!)
This program could be as simple as giving referrers a gift card or a percentage off their premiums. However, it’s important to make sure you abide by your state’s laws regarding cash rewards in exchange for referrals. Some states prohibit paying for referrals, while others place a limit on how much you can give. The most important thing about a referral program is that it should be “in the faces” of customers, so they know how they will benefit from providing referrals. Every communication your agency sends needs to highlight friend and family referrals, so it is always top-of-mind.
- Be an expert communicator.
Stay in front of customers at all times to develop relationships with them. The most important aspect of communication with both customers and prospects is to have a cadence of regular communication through various methods of outreach: via phone, email, mail, text, etc.
In that same vein, one of the biggest mistakes an agent can make in regard to communication is to sign on new customers without having an explicit process in place for contacting them. When this happens, you have no idea whether that customer is happy, dissatisfied, or on the verge of churning. It also gives other agents an opportunity to get in front of your customers, and you risk losing their business. Other recommended methods of communication include:
- Having annual or semi-annual meet-and-greets—this allows and even incentivizes people in the community to stop by your agency in person.
- Surveying customers about your agency’s services and products. There are a number of free survey tools available online, or you can simply have your producers ask customers a few questions over the phone. This will help you address shortcomings and learn more about your customers, including how they feel about your pricing, products, and overall customer service.
- Schedule checkpoints with your customers.
Agents and producers are continually busy, but that doesn’t mean your service stops once you’ve closed a deal. Set up a schedule for checkpoints with your customers; regular interaction (for example every six to eight weeks) is a sustainable way to make sure you stay front-of-mind with them. This type of engagement places a spotlight on you amongst competitors if your customers do decide to start “shopping around.” Just knowing your agency is full of people who care about them puts you ahead.
Insurance is fast-paced, and it’s easy to get burned out if you’re constantly running in every direction to work leads, stay in touch, find new avenues for business, etc. If you have a cadence down for contacting your prospects and customers, providing a personalized touch is much easier. You know exactly which steps to take and when to take them, which means you can build extra “touches” into your systems.
And if you don’t have a proven cadence in place, check out this download:
Binding Inbound Leads: Using Contact Strategy To Bind Up To 128% More Business
- Focus on multi-lining customers signed into multiple products.
People who have only one product offering from your agency are more likely to cancel than those who have multiple products. The more products you can provide them, the more likely they are to stay with you. Have your producers dedicate a specific time block each week to focus on upsell opportunities. This way your agency’s offerings become much more “sticky,” helping increase your overall retention.
- Reduce lapsing cancellations by providing an autopay option.
When customers forget to pay bills, their services/contracts are immediately canceled; it’s a common cause of customer loss. Setting up an automatic payment option can help reduce lapsing. Consider offering discounts to encourage customers to sign up for autopay.
- Set expectations when onboarding customers.
From the day a customer signs up, explain the benefits of sticking with you for the long-term. For example, set the expectation during onboarding that customers will be incentivized when renewal time comes—such as a $100 discount in their premium after the first year, and perhaps a larger reward every year after. This way you’re greatly improving your chances that a customer will remain loyal, and potentially heading off rate shopping when that policy comes up for renewal. Another thing to mention when onboarding customers is to share that, when it comes to claims, a more tenured customer may have an easier time through the claims process because they have a longer track record.
- Brand your agency.
You want your agency—and perhaps even your name—to be recognizable within your community on sight. Ideally, when someone in your area thinks of insurance, they should think of you.
Branding can be accomplished in a number of ways, but the most powerful and cost-efficient method is to develop a presence on social media. However, your technique will require some finesse.
Most people use social media to stay in touch with family and friends and share content that they enjoy. They don’t want to be bombarded with advertisements. This means you’ll need to get creative with how you share information about your agency.
Here are a handful of outside-the-box ideas to get you started:
- Use memes! Think insurance can’t be funny? Think again.
Get your audience laughing with you, and they’ll be more likely to stay with your agency for the long haul.
- Create video content. You don’t have to be Spielberg, but if you can make short, useful, and engaging videos, it can go a long way toward boosting your customer retention. People want to know more about who they’re doing business with, and showcasing your team’s faces and personalities is a great way to make that happen.
- Be helpful. Consider using some common questions—”What is a deductible?”—as the basis for a series of quick tips you can publish. You can make this strategy even more effective if you tie each helpful tip to a short story of how you helped a customer with a related problem.
- Use memes! Think insurance can’t be funny? Think again.
- Track your retention numbers frequently.
There’s a saying that goes, “The checker gets what the checker checks.” Essentially, that means that when you track something, you’re far more likely to improve your numbers. If you don’t keep track of your customer retention, you won’t know if your strategies are successful or a waste of time.
It’s a good idea to track retention reports at least monthly, if not weekly. Yes, some of these numbers will be influenced by market conditions, rates, and other factors beyond your control. But those agencies that take accountability and look for innovative ways to improve their retention numbers will get better results than those that don’t.
5 Things You Should Be Doing That Will Help You Stand Out
Whether you’re a captive or an independent agent, the ability to provide special services can set your agency apart. Here are some things that will help boost your service offerings within your community.
- Personalize your services and products.
As new customers partner with you, share with them what you can offer that your online, price-based competitors won’t or can’t provide. These are the intangibles. They include things like regular, annual coverage reviews, and being able to speak to the same people they already know (and are comfortable with) instead of dialing a corporate 800 number and waiting 10 minutes to get a randomly assigned customer service rep.
What To Say
“We’ll sit down with you and review your coverage to ensure you have the best package that fits your needs at this point in your life.” This shows the personal side of your service, and ensures your customers they won’t be forgotten once you’ve won their business.
- Compare and shop rates for your price-sensitive customers.
Most agencies simply hand over a product option with X demographics and X risk—and ask customers to sign on the dotted line. However, it makes a world of difference to price-sensitive customers when you show how you landed on that specific product.
What To Say
A line as simple as “We’ve compared a bunch of different providers, and here’s how we arrived at this solution; if you’re concerned about paying more, we’ll help you look at what’s in the local area and do a pricing comparison.”
- Be proactive about changing premiums.
Share any anticipated premium changes as a part of the expectation-setting process when a customer signs a contract.
What To Say
“As part of our service, we will let you know ahead of time if your premiums are going to change. We’ll also talk with you about whether this will work for you, or if you’ll begin to shop for a different product—because we’ll help guide you through that shopping process.”
- Provide rewards for renewals.
Know that retention means renewals, and reward it. For example, each time a customer renews their contract, send them to a baseball game, give them a restaurant gift card, bring them in for a customer appreciation dinner, etc.—whatever fits their personalities. This goes back to customer segmentation: If you know what your customers’ interests are, you can provide incentives for things they like.
- Gift anniversary presents.
Every year, send something to customers who are still with you. Gifts don’t have to be big, but they should show appreciation and help you stay in front of your customers.
In Conclusion
Show your dedication to customers with these proven customer retention strategies and you’ll be a standout in the insurance industry. See which ones you can implement at your agency today.
