The world has been changing at a breakneck pace for decades now. It has been difficult for many different businesses to keep up and stay relevant in these times. In this ever-changing landscape, the insurance industry, in particular, has found itself at a crossroads.
With everything becoming digital, the insurance industry customer experience is more vital than ever. But how do you know what customers want from their insurance companies? And how do you attract more customers?
That's where we come in. We've carefully analyzed the situation and want to provide insight into the trends and movements. So keep reading to find out everything you need to know about the importance of customers in the insurance industry!
What Do Customers Want from Their Insurance Companies?
One of the biggest things insurance companies need to understand in this modern age is that customers have choices. And they know what they want. Gone are the days of choosing the local option because that's the only option.
Anyone can go on the Internet and find reviews, policy information, and your insurance website. So how do you go the extra mile to appeal to potential customers? Studies have shown that knowledgeable personalities are some of the most important ways to maintain customer loyalty.
It's vital to stay smart in this industry. Brand name recognition is one of the least important factors people care about when choosing an insurance provider.
But one thing you may not have considered that is quickly becoming useful to insurance companies is providing non-insurance products. Think financial planning, home security - things that are tangentially related to insurance. This can be a way to help you and your customers.
Consider an insurance company that provides insurance for motorhomes. You might already have a discount for people that have security systems or improved tires or any number of things.
Consider partnering with specific companies that provide those quality products. Perhaps offer your customers discounts on those products that will then lead to a slightly reduced premium. Customers will be happier to have the chance to improve their vehicle, and you will have potentially gained a new customer and money for advertising the product.
And, it helps you if your customers have the tools they need to prevent situations that would result in them filing a claim. If they have access to a rewards system for exercise, they are less likely to fall prey to bad health situations, and consequentially will not be filing claims in the future.
How Do Insurance Companies Attract Customers?
When it comes to attracting customers, insurance companies have a lot of avenues to explore. Especially given there are customer experience trends in insurance - what works one year may not work as well the next. But let's look at some of the main universal areas for attracting customers.
Find Your Niche
This can be one of the most difficult parts of the process, but in this day and age, finding your niche is one of the most important parts of promoting yourself. You can't be like everyone else. There has to be something that makes your company special, and perfect for different types of customers.
This is where research comes in. Are you specialized in specific types of insurance? Are you a small company that can offer personalized service? Is your base in a tightly knit community? Maybe you have a personality your company is known for, like being funny or supportive of various charities.
All of these options are possibilities for you to consider. For help on identifying your niche, check out this article.
Partner with Other Professionals
One thing that builds confidence in customers is knowing they can trust you. One of the easiest ways to build that trust is to partner with someone they already trust. Creating programs that work with a trusted tire company, or providing rewards to big-name companies can help you.
Prospect Everyday
There are many ways to get leads. In fact, this can be how you retain clients at the same time. Many of your existing customers can provide reviews of your services so you can see what could be important to change or improve.
Additionally, you can offer a referral rewards program. Essentially, you can get your customers to do your prospecting for you. Embracing technology can make life easier for you and your clients by providing quick leads you can follow up on.
Network in Your Community
There are two words you need to know to make this easy: social media. What do customers want from their insurance companies? For them to feel accessible.
And the easiest way to do that is to make yourself available across many platforms. Setting up Facebook, Twitter, and the like will help you focus on your relationship with the community.
Nurture Your Leads
We talked about prospecting, but you actually have to use the leads you find. This is how insurance companies know how and where to promote their products.
Every lead you get should be treated with care - after all, it probably took a fair amount of effort to get it in the first place. Leads tend to be something to build on and if you can get the ball rolling you can grow your company as you've dreamed.
What Challenges Is the Insurance Industry Facing in Client Satisfaction?
Now that we've discussed the positives and the quick changes to make to help you, let's talk about some of the challenges. There are a lot of challenges, unfortunately, as the world gets wider in terms of culture and market. In order to stay abreast of the constant changes, there are three key areas that insurance companies should focus on to stay the course.
Understanding the Customer Better
Again, it's important to think about the modern age. Everything is more diverse now, and it might be difficult to appeal to and understand everyone. One way you can do this is to try to offer resources for everyone.
Maybe you know you have pregnant customers, you can write a guide like this and post it on your website. Putting yourself in your customers' shoes can help you understand how you can appeal to them. Most of all, customers want to know that you care about them.
Gaining Customer Loyalty
Customers have a lot of options these days, and they're all going to be shopping with other companies that offer the same services. This is why valuing the customers you have - and showing it - is important. In a way, this is the most important factor in the customer experience.
In order to achieve this, you need good services and good communication - people hate being blindsided and love quality. Employees who are well-trained in communication are vital, the personal experience is what gets customers to want to stay. Additionally, people hate headaches, as much can be automated should be and such automated services should be promoted as it shows you are with the times.
Achieving and Delivering a Consistent Customer Experience
Have you ever looked up reviews for a place and found that it vacillates between five stars and one star? That's what you're looking to avoid. Even one person or experience in the chain can cause complications.
We just discussed automation and that's an easy way of developing consistency. The more consistent you are, the more consistent your results will be too. Have a script (but don't make it too obvious!), have consistent training, and have a continually updated website.
How Will Digital Innovation Improve the Client Experience for Insurance Companies?
Insurance digitization is the new name of the game in developing customer service strategies for the insurance industry. The digital client experience can sometimes be more important than in-person experiences. Nothing is more frustrating than a clunky or uninformative website.
Digitalization is a way of changing your business and re-shaping your insurance products to match modern business models. But don't think of this as a downside, think of it as an opportunity to spread your wings to find customers from even wider areas. Digitization techniques include those already discussed, but also building online infrastructure and utilizing specifically online sales technologies.
Having options, even to use your website chat room or to call you directly, are ways to digitize and appeal to your customers. And they can frequently save you money through outsourcing and less need for traditional advertising methods.
Understanding the Insurance Industry Customer Experience
Now that you know everything you could ever want to know about the insurance industry customer experience it's time to go out and use that information! Remember how we mentioned prospecting? Well, one way to start is to go to a site that helps individuals shop for insurance providers.
And at Insurdinary, we provide exactly that! So, check out how we compare insurance across a variety of areas today.
