Building a strong client base is the goal of every business, and providing good customer service is key to accomplishing it. The insurance industry has traditionally believed that good service means providing the human touch, with agents and office staff readily available to answer questions, make policy changes and process payments. But is this what your clients want and need?
As stated in Parature’s 2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, 90% of consumers expect a brand or an organization to offer a self-service consumer support portal. In fact, according to Gartner Predicts, today’s customers manage 85% of the relationship with an enterprise without interacting with a human. How does this compare with your organization? If you aren’t providing your clients top-quality digital service, here’s why you need to do it now.
Saving Customers Time
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of all consumers say that valuing their time is the most important thing companies can do to provide them with good customer service, as reported by Forrester. Why? Because people are busy, and small business owners are no exception. That’s why they look for and expect the ability to manage their policy when it’s convenient for them. This means they always want easy access to their policy and billing documents and from any place. Business owners’ needs don’t stop at 5 p.m. when your office closes. Customers expect and want to be able to manage their policy, obtain proof of insurance, make payments and more, 24/7. With digital service, they can.
Promoting Customer Satisfaction
Clients who feel in control of their policies tend to be more satisfied with their purchases, which can improve retention.
When you save your clients time and effort and give them the information and easy access to their accounts when they want and need it, you reinforce your value to them, as well as differentiate yourself from the competition. That’s good customer service!
But we all know that not all digital experiences are the same. At Insureon, for instance, we aim to partner with carriers with digital service centers to reinforce value and increase ROI.
See also: Building a Digital Field of Dreams
Increasing Your ROI
When your clients use a digital app to manage their policies and make payments, you have more time to spend on activities that can help you build your business or work on more complex service needs. So, digital services are a win for you, too.
Changes in technology affect the way we live, and the buyers of insurance are no different than anyone else. As business owners, we need to meet our customers where they are and give them what they want.
