Finding and acquiring new policy holders is a long and expensive process. Ultimately, though, it is worth every moment invested. Once a new client has been introduced, small and medium-sized businesses are laser-focused on keeping them. Losing clients and repeating the acquisition process can prove to be costly, so client retention is key.
Research done by the U.S. Small Business Administration and U.S. Chamber of Commerce has shown that it can cost as much as seven times more to bring in new clients than to simply retain current clients. If your clients stay, your profitability is much higher, providing more than ample incentive to go above and beyond in your customer service.
Why Clients Leave and How to Keep Them
The simple fact is that there are three reasons your clients will leave:
- They are unhappy with the service (68% as shown by studies).
- Clients are unsatisfied with the product/service (14%).
- A small percentage decide to go to a competitor (9%).
These numbers speak volumes. You can retain almost 70% of your clients by ensuring that your customer service is unrivaled. As an independent agent, you are more empowered. Here are some tips on keeping clients:
1. Build Trust Through Credibility
In a small or medium-sized business, your best plan of attack is to become an expert in your field. Any holes or uncertainties should be dealt with immediately so you can be the ultimate advisor for your clients. If they ask you anything, and we mean anything, about the industry, you should be able to immediately provide quality advice.
This will build a loyalty and trust with your clients. They will see you as the one and only person to ask when they have an insurance related question.
2. Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Stay up-to-date on the various options available to your clients. If you see something changing for the better, or for the worse, provide them with a courtesy call and some recommendations on how to tackle the upcoming issue. Don’t let problems come to you. Always be on the lookout for anything that could negatively affect your client, and provide them answers before they ever ask the question.
Consistently protecting and informing the client will strengthen the bond of loyalty you have with them. This will also build that all-important trust that you need.
3. Use Technology to Increase Efficiency
There are numerous tasks that insurance agents encounter on a daily basis that are a chore to do by hand, and take them away from focusing on clients. For this, and for the previous two items, we present QQCatalyst, our cloud-based insurance agency management system.
With our software, things like ACORD forms and other time-consuming items become simple and streamlined as they are automatically filled out. In addition, our tools empower you to always be in contact with your clients, and give you access to information that you can wield to build that trust with them.
Our software is designed to give you the power to increase your efficiency and maximize your policy holders through incredible customer service. Today is the day. Sign up now for a 30-day free trial of QQCatalyst.
