The online reputation insurance agencies earn sticks with them for a very long time—what you see on Google is hard to erase, or even alter, especially if you aren’t paying attention to what’s being said about you. With that in mind, it’s imperative that you are consistently working to get reviews from your satisfied clients—these reviews often turn out to be some of the most impactful testimonials for your agency. When “insurance seekers” see tangible evidence in the form of testimonials that your agency really does what you say you do, they are more likely to trust you.
7 Ways To Get More Reviews For Your Insurance Agency
- Thank happy customers when they leave reviews for you. This could be anything from sending them a short note to local restaurant or retail gift cards to movie tickets, etc. However, per Google's terms of service, you can not directly pay customers for reviews, so make sure to avoid framing a thank you gift as a quid pro quo.
- Include links prompting customers to leave a review everywhere you can. This includes your email signature, your website, your social media profiles, your business card—there’s no limit! You can ask customers to submit reviews, but Google review guidelines forbid “soliciting reviews from customers in bulk" so, for example, make sure to not send out mass emails to your customers asking for reviews.
- Ask for Google reviews after positive support phone calls, email exchanges, or face-to-face communication. Encourage colleagues to leave positive reviews and experiences, too.
- Monitor your profiles weekly (at minimum), and be sure to respond to all reviews, even if they’re negative. Bonus: Responding to negative reviews is actually a good action to take in Google—it shows that you’re active and care enough about your reputation, which can help increase your visibility. It also shows the people leaving reviews that you’re paying close attention to the customer experience you provide.
- Track your competitors’ and other local agents' online reputations and strategies.
- Deliver on your promises—consistency is key. Living up to your word and being consistent in all areas of communication with your customers is fundamental to building a great online reputation. Did you offer a customer a discount as an apology for bad service? Did you promise to “speak to that employee” about an issue brought up by a customer on Facebook? Following through on the changes you’re committed to is central to maintaining your agency's online reputation.
- Space out reviews. Google is known to flag suspicious reviews/activity, for example, when your agency receives too many reviews within a brief period of time. The best strategy would be to build reviews consistently over time.
How To Optimize Positive Reviews & Boost Your Reputation
Once you’ve done the work of seeking out positive reviews, you need to make sure you’re managing and monitoring your online presence. That’s where Google My Business comes in.
Google My Business is a free tool for insurance agents and agencies to manage their online presence across Google, in both Google Search and Google Maps. By creating a profile and verifying your business information, you’ll help more customers find your business—as well as keep tabs on what people are saying about your agency. You can use this valuable information to better target your agency’s offerings toward ideal customers, publicize agency events, and ultimately, bring in new clients.
We have created a free guide that walks you through exactly how to set up your Google My Business account, from claiming your business on the platform to adding photos and content to responding to the reviews left for you. You can check it out here.