John and Stacey just moved to your town due to John’s promotion within his company. It was a quick move and neither John nor Stacey had any real opportunity to research their new location and who they would choose to handle their various needs. They just put a purchase offer on a house and now the have to handle the task of choosing an insurance agent to handle their homeowners’ insurance.

How will John and Stacey choose their new insurance agent?

What measures have you taken to make sure that they know about your agency and the “exceptional service” you offer? Will they ask their real estate agent for a referral? If so, do you work with the various real estate agents in your community and/or would they know about your agency? Will they go on the internet in search of an agent? If so do you have a website that is attractive, informative and up to date? Have you worked on doing what is necessary with search engine optimization (SEO) so that your website will come early in their search? Maybe they will ask a new co-worker or neighbor for a referral. If they are into social media they might use Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for recommendations. The point is there are a number of ways that a prospective client might search out an agent or agency to handle their insurance needs. The ultimate question is how successful have you and your agency been in getting your name and reputation out in the community? Do you have a marketing and public relations plan that is meant to make your agency stand out as one of the top insurance agencies locally? Does your community know who your staff is and the level of knowledge and experience they represent? Do they know about all the social and community activities your agency and staff are involved in? Are you known in your community as the insurance experts? Do you insure important people and personalities in your community and will they allow you to make that public? Are there testimonials from various clients on your website speaking to the professionalism and quality service your agency provides?

Previously I made mention of the “exceptional service” your agency provides and in the last sentence of the previous paragraph I mention the quality service your agency provides. What is the exceptional or quality service you provide? Can you quantify it, describe what it is and show clients and prospects why it is important to them? All agencies should take the time to do this as this is your “value proposition”. It’s what makes you unique and briefly outlines the important service(s) you provide your clients. You need to make sure that whatever you promise in your value proposition is provided as promised. It’s also important that each and every one of your employees know and understands the value proposition and mentions it to all your clients and prospects. The younger consumers, the Gen Xers and the Millennials, are comfortable with the internet and use it to both research products they buy as well as researching the companies that offer those products. They also many times tend to make buying decisions outside of traditional business hours. That is why they like and will purchase products and services over the internet. These consumers are important to the successful growth of your insurance agency. Have you made changes and innovations to acknowledge and provide for their desire to use the internet? How available is your agency outside normal business hours (9 AM to 5 PM, Monday thru Friday)? Does your agency have a strong presence on the internet and is it tied to any brand that is active on the internet and on various social media? Do you participate in any social media that might draw some potential clients to your agency? There is no shortage of competitors out there looking to write insurance on your clients and prospects. Some of them are spending as much as $800 million in advertising to get their message out to consumers. Even though you may not have $800 million to advertise you can still strongly compete with any competitor for new business and to retain your existing clients. You have the distinct advantage of offering local knowledge, expertise and personal service to consumers. You’re not only a website on the internet you’re a real live personal who is active in the community and available to work with a consumer face to face.

The key to successfully competing for prospects and clients is to make sure you have a plan for creating a positive image of your agency. You need to put that plan into motion and aggressively pursue it every day. You and your staff need to know what makes you different and unique (your value proposition) and make sure everyone knows what it is. You need to get out your message in every way possible including over the internet. You need to make arrangements to be available outside of “normal business hours” so that consumers who want to can reach you. You need to make sure all your staff is on board with the program you establish, knows and understand your value proposition and is providing the very best customer service possible. You need to capitalize on your relationships with your clients and ask them to be referral sources for new business. These plans need to be followed each and every day and monitored to guarantee participation and success.

Our business has become very competitive and only those agencies that are smart, proactive and aggressive will survive and prosper.