Agency Marketing Technology
A conversation with young agents
Gen X agents discuss how technology is impacting customer expectations and how the industry needs to respond
By Steve Anderson
The Agents Council for Technology (ACT) created the Strategic/Future Issues Work Group in 2006 to identify and attempt to understand the trends that will have a significant impact on how independent agencies and brokers, carriers, and their vendors will do business in the coming years. As part of their analysis, the group looked ahead to the 2010 to 2015 period. In presenting these trends, the group is trying to help the industry peer into the future so that agencies, carriers and vendors can plan with a higher degree of certainty. The first report identifying the major trends was published in 2006 and is available on the ACT Web site at www.independentagent.com/act.
Once the trends were identified, the group began the process of coming to a better understanding of the trends themselves, as well as the impact of the trends on the industry, and, finally, providing recommendations as to what the various stakeholders in the industry can do to prepare for and take advantage of the identified trends. As part of this process, ACT held a focus group with 10 Generation X independent agents attending the Big “I” Young Agents Leadership Institute in San Diego in September 2007.
The purpose was to explore how these younger agents see their customers’ expectations changing and how they believe their agencies will need to respond. In addition to the young agents, representatives from various insurance companies, state and national associations, vendors and other agents attended so they could listen to the conversation. I had the privilege of facilitating the meeting. I want to thank Dave Willis for taking such careful notes during the meeting and providing much of the material that follows.
Questions posed to these young agents provided the format for the meeting. There was a wide range of topics. A number of the questions and the answers are listed below. While the answers are not direct quotations, they are taken from notes made during the meeting and are an accurate reporting of the information.
What are your buying habits?
Young agents’ responses. Online. Amazon. Clothes. Furniture. Cars. Everything. They are products we understand. We can do all the research about the products from many different angles. Bought Q-tips online from drugstore.com. I can do the laundry, put sheets on the bed, and buy Q-tips all at once. With drugstore.com, I’m not waiting at all. I know it’s coming. They send me toothpaste every four weeks. They send an e-mail warning me that I’m about to run out. We have so much packed into our days, it’s good to not have to think about these sorts of things.
Any fears about buying on the Web? Using your credit card?
Young agents’ responses. No. If I become a victim of identity theft, I’ll probably think about it then. Shopping online is a whole different world in terms of shopping satisfaction.
What does your day look like?
Young agents’ responses. The generations are different. We don’t devote all day, every day to our employers, like previous generations did. I’m looking for any opportunity to free up time because all of that free time gets funneled to my family.
The technology available to me in the insurance portion of my life frustrates me. It needs to be as easy to use as drugstore.com is—and it isn’t. Industry solutions aren’t as dependable as consumer solutions are—like drugstore.com. If you try to explain to co-workers how technology will make their work life easier, and they try to use an industry solution, it freezes up.
Can you identify a business with really good customer service?
Young agents’ responses. Southwest Airlines. They seem to know what I want. They anticipate how I want to do business. They differentiate themselves from competitors because they don’t ‘stick it’ to their business customers. Not just technology. Southwest employees have a positive attitude and, as a result, passengers have a good attitude. Other airlines have employees with a bad attitude and their passengers have a bad attitude as well.
Smartbargains.com because of their customer service. They give me anything I want.
Progressive.
What media do you use to read your general and industry news?
Young agents’ responses. I subscribe to the local daily newspaper and then read three others online. Sometimes I download a podcast of an executive summary of the Wall Street Journal. I listen to podcasts while flying—mostly sports shows. I go online for insurance news—the Big “I” site or state association sites. I get newsletters from carriers. I receive the Advisen synopsis. I do read print versions of some insurance magazines. If I want to sit down and read something, I take it home.
I’ll stack up magazines. I don’t get around to reading all the print version magazines. It’s the time factor. When I go home at night, that’s tough … but having a printed magazine is good when the computers go down.
I use Google Alerts to get information on competitors as well as myself. I once got an alert about someone with my name who had a DUI. Searches can be performed automatically. The results go to my Gmail account.
What new technologies, communications methods, etc., are your customers starting to use that you are going to need to respond to?
Young agents’ responses. Clients want to use their credit card to get miles.
Agency Web sites need to provide answers to consumer questions.
I am so ingrained with Chase [Bank] I can’t leave them—even though there’s a WAMU [Bank] at every corner. If I want to leave my bank, it’s a process. They’ve created exit barriers. As an agency, we should have that type of relationship with our customers. I don’t have a problem with it being too difficult for my customers to leave me.
We need to interact with clients however they want. The consumer is begging for us to become more online friendly. My cell phone company sends me an e-mail when the bill is due. Our customers should be able to click a link and pay a late bill any way they want. We’re behind on how we handle things like that.
If I can’t pay for something with a credit card, I won’t buy the product. I want everything on my credit card. We hate to write checks.
We went through a process to assess what service costs our agency. We looked at commercial and personal lines. We noticed that certificates of insurance were eating us alive. We decided to allow customers to issue them online. The older producers were against it. They said their clients who are set up for online certificates are angry. They think the agency doesn’t want to service them.
So we’re struggling with that on the sales side. We tend to focus too much on the transaction. Completing the transaction is what we’re supposed to do—it’s a given. Customers want to know: What else are you going to do for me?
Have you expanded your market-ing territory for your niches?
Young agents’ responses. Yes, thanks to Webinars and the ability to Web conference. We use GoToMeeting.com and do quite a bit more with our customers. The process to set up is a simple, quick download. You could spend 30 to 45 minutes driving just to review their experience mod. If you can interact with GoToMeeting or WebEx, it saves time. Beforehand, you need to set the expectation for the client. The value is not in my driving out there to meet them. It’s the information I provide. But some clients are not going to be open to that. That’s part of my due diligence in bringing on a new customer. Do I have the walk-away power to not do business with customers who don’t want to use that type of communication option? I am also doing video conferencing with one of the consultants I use, instead of my going there.
What is your biggest pain point?
Young agents’ responses. Training. Training staff. Training agency owners. They say they want to grow, but it’s like beating your head against the wall to get them to try new ideas.
We share data with the carrier to issue a policy, but the carrier does not share with us the data they get during their interaction with customers.
Conclusion
As you can see, the conversation was wide ranging with great comments and insights from these younger agents. These are the trends that every agency owner, manager, producer and staff person needs to be looking at as they plan for the next 10 years of profitable growth. If we don’t pay attention, the biggest problem in the industry may be what one agent described: What scares me is the model that has not been created yet. Someone who figures out how to assess risk and deliver superior customer service will be our biggest competitor. *
The author
Steve Anderson has been a licensed insurance agent for more than 25 years and is executive editor of The Anderson Agency Report (www.taareport.com). He helps agents maximize productivity and profits using practical technology. He can be reached at (615) 599-0085; e-mails are welcome at Steve@taareport.com. Visit his Web site at www.SteveAnderson.com for additional information.