Detailed marketing and advertising strategies go a long way toward attracting clients. However, nothing beats good old-fashioned customer referrals. While most customers only make one referral, 34% make up to 10 referrals. If you know how to encourage your clients to recommend your insurance agency, you will benefit from the referral trend.
Build Your Service Offering Around Your Clients
Without happy clients, you’ll never get a referral system going. So, make your clients your number one priority. Excellent service is sure to get you a handful of referrals. This cycle will continue as long as you keep your service levels up.
Follow these tips to shake up your client service:
- Show compassion when dealing with clients. People deal with difficult situations daily, and when they come to you to process a claim, they’ll appreciate kindness and understanding.
- Take the time to understand what your clients need, and try to meet their needs the first time you contact them.
- Take the concept of “under-promise and over-deliver” and run with it.
Don’t Only Contact Your Clients to Sell Them Something
If your clients hear from you only once a year, they will forget about you and never think of referring others to your business. Instead of ignoring your loyal clients for months, reach out every second month to find out how they are.
Wish them a happy birthday, and ask how their business is going. When clients associate you with being the solution to their insurance requirements, and even a friend, they won’t hesitate to recommend your agency to friends and family.
Put Your Insurance Agency Management System to Good Use
Insurance agency management systems are lifesavers for insurance agencies. These tools streamline policyholder data, provide analytics and metrics, and help sales reps stay on top of leads and renewals.
A management system also helps collect essential information about clients. For instance, some clients may own several businesses while others are starting families. Having this information can help you connect with their insurance requirements, and you can suggest products before your clients even realize they need them.
When you do this, you show that you understand your clients, and they will reward you with referrals.
List Your Most Popular Products on Your Website
Create a product list on your website, and refer your clients to the page. Explain the benefits of each product to them. Doing this will make cross-selling a breeze. And the best part of having your products on display in one place is that your clients may notice something a friend or family member needs. Having this process in place will lead to even more referrals.
Simplify the Referral Process
Don’t wait for the referrals to start coming in before you do something to simplify the referral process. Make it easy for your clients to refer someone to you. You can do this by handing out referral cards or adding links to your email signature. You can also add referral links to promotional emails and online marketing brochures.
Lead By Example
There is no reason you can’t set the referral chain in motion yourself. Start giving out referrals for businesses related to your niche. For instance, if you sell home insurance, you should connect with and refer real estate agents. The same goes for selling car and life insurance, and even travel insurance. Building relationships with other businesses will lead to more referrals and sales.
While you’re building relationships, you should take time to network with others. The bigger your network, the more referrals you’ll get. You can even network within your client base, especially if some of your clients own businesses that cater to people who may have unique insurance needs.
Always remember to close the networking loop. Whether you receive a referral from a business or a client, let them know how much you appreciate it.
Consider a Rewards Program
Extend your appreciation to a referral rewards program that offers your clients a small gift or reward for every successful referral they give you. Promote your rewards program to your long-standing clients first before rolling it out to the rest of your client database.
Don’t forget to check the different laws relating to rewards programs in your state. If you can’t find sufficient information online, ask a legal expert for advice.
Ask for Referrals
Sometimes all you need to do is ask. If you have a good rapport with your clients and consistently provide them with good service, ask them if they would consider referring your business to family and friends. You can do this in person or via email; just make sure that your tone is friendly and warm.
Conclusion
Referrals are a great way to build trust in your insurance agency and spread the word about your products and services. As long as you keep up the good work and excellent service with your existing clients, the referrals will keep coming in.