Every insurance agency needs to focus on growing its client list. Part of this involves maintaining a strong online reputation. Reviews play a key role in this.
Most people will read reviews before signing up for any service or making a major purchase. This is especially true for insurance agencies, due to the finances at stake, both in terms of premiums and in paying out claims.
The bottom line is that generating more reviews lets you maximize your online reputation and bring in new clients. But how can you get more reviews?
Start by Asking
If you aren’t already explicitly asking your clients for reviews, you should start doing so. Just remember not to pester them. Maybe ask for a review once or twice a year. Consider asking for a review right after your initial consultation when you first sign them for insurance. Or maybe ask for a review around the time of renewals. It’s best to ask for reviews right after you’ve had a positive interaction with your client.
Asking for a review can be a separate text or email message to clients, or you can include it in one you already plan on sending. Jenesis makes sending these messages easy, as you can do so right from our insurance agency management system.
If the opportunity arises, it is even better to ask for reviews in person.
Start With an Open-ended Question
Instead of just directly asking for a review, consider asking clients an open-ended question about their experience. Then, if it seems positive, you can encourage them to leave a review.
This will help prevent negative reviews and will also give you valuable customer feedback.
Give Them a Reason to Want to Review You
Clients are more likely to want to go out of their way to review your insurance agency, with or without prompting, if they have a reason to do so. One example would be offering exceptional service. If your clients feel that you truly had their best interests in mind or were patient when explaining their insurance options, they are more likely to leave a review.
Send a Thank You Note
Improve customers’ overall client experience by sending thank you notes. This can be a thank you note for signing up for insurance via your agency or a thank you note for renewals. You can also send thank you notes for milestones, such as when they have been with your agency for a year, or on holidays, or birthdays.
Incentivize Reviews With Rewards
An excellent way to get reviews is to provide an incentive of some sort. Just some of the potential rewards you could offer for reviews include:
- A discount on one month’s insurance premium
- A contribution to a local charity
- A free eBook with detailed information on insurance
Or Use a Contest
You can also use a contest as a way to generate reviews. In this case, you would offer a grand prize of some sort, and to enter, clients would have to leave a review.
This will work even better if the prize is somehow relevant to the types of insurance you offer. An example would be offering a gift card to a home improvement store if you sell home insurance.
Make It Easy to Review Your Agency
Of course, you should also do your best to make it easy for clients to review your insurance agency. Ideally, you want to give them a couple of options of which platform to review you on. Keep it simple it sticks to Google and Facebook to start.
You should always include a direct link so they can just click on it to review. You may even want to give them a prompt of some sort.
You can also highlight how little time the review will take to complete.
Follow Up With Negative Reviews
You always hope that your clients will leave positive reviews, but there will be some negative ones. Do not just ignore these reviews, as that won’t make them go away.
Instead, take the time to respond and follow up. Do your best to address the reviewer’s concerns. They can be a valuable source of feedback to help you improve your insurance agency. Remember that the goal here isn’t to open up an argument, but instead, to show the public that you’re willing to handle your customer’s concerns in a professional manner.
They may even decide to update or change their review if you follow up with a positive experience. In some ways, a previously negative review that becomes positive can be even better for your company than a positive one. It shows potential clients that if there is ever an issue, you will go out of your way to resolve it.
Conclusion
Gathering reviews is a crucial part of your insurance agency marketing strategy. It lets you develop a strong online reputation and encourages potential clients to give you a chance. With the above tips, you should be on your way to generating more reviews and reaping the benefits of doing so.