Inbound insurance calling customers are great, they come to you and are usually ready to buy, but once you get them you need to retain them. The more customers you retain, the more they will use you in the future and most likely refer you to friends and family. So, how do you retain customers? I recommend having a retention plan or strategy. By having a strategy, you already have a plan in action for current agents and for those who join your agency in the future. Here are 5 of my tips for getting started with your new retention plan.
- Learn to be a cross-selling master
So, you have already sold them auto insurance, great, now what? Now see how they live; do they own or rent, do they have a boat or motorcycle, what about life insurance, any new drivers on the horizon? Once you are in with the auto insurance sale, don’t stop there. Now is your chance to establish a relationship with your client and sell them on more of what they will need, now or in the future. Remember what we like to say, the best way to the home is through the garage.
- Call before their policy changes
No one likes being caught off guard, so when a client’s policy is ending let them know beforehand. By doing this you are instilling trust in yourself and the client will be more likely to stay with you if you let them know their plan is ending and what can be done about it. Whereas if you don’t let them know, and they get in an accident, they will not only be uninsured, but certainly angry with you and definitely not going to recommend you.
- Set up annual reviews
As I’ve said in a previous post, you are in the insurance business, your clients are not and probably do not understand their policies or coverage as much as they should. By providing your customer with an annual review of their policy it will keep your client communication open. It will also make it so you can offer risk management advice and continue to instill client trust in you. Insurancethoughtleadership.com, says by providing your client with an annual review it helps position you as an advisor and not just a service provider. It could also help in future cross selling.
- Go beyond being just an agent
A huge part of your customers trusting you is creating a relationship with them. They need to see you more as a trusted advisor and less of a corporate cog just trying to sell them something. Building a relationship with your clients should be an incredibly important part of your retention strategy. Take your clients out to lunch, send them cards on their birthdays, if they have been in an accident call or visit right after you find out, if something happened to their house, be one of the first ones over figuring out what the next step will be. You need to find ways to build a trusted, lasting relationship or your clients may probably move on to another agent that will.
- Reward loyalty
Most customers will not leave an insurer unless pricing has changed. Ways to ensure against this happening include the addition of a rewards program. Clients love rewards. Rewards can be used to encourage positive behavior from the customer. Markandspencerforbusiness.com have found rewards work as part of the wider offering for customers. They say, most people when shopping for insurance have a price on their mind, but when they are offered better service with added benefits their decisions can be influenced. Rewards can also be used for recommending new customers.
Retention strategies are key to any business, but especially important to insurance. These are obviously just a few ways I have found helpful for retaining clients and when worked into what your agency is already doing could be incredibly helpful in the long run for keeping customers.
