Author: Peter Van Aartrijk
How can you distinguish innovative, dynamic independent insurance agencies from those that are stuck in status-quo thinking?
There are several indicators, and one is how they approach technology. Namely, it’s an attitude that begins with funding for technology.
Innovative firms approach tech spend in a strategic way. They view it as an investment, not an expense. What’s the difference? Vast.
Agency principals grumble about the complexity and cost of the necessary, albeit aged, management system to organize client information and handle carrier real-time communications. We’re not talking about a few bucks here. For most firms, the technology budget line is second only to that of compensating employees. Most of the money goes toward the management system.
I’ve observed that innovator agency brands have a strategy in these areas:
Proactive: They maximize their investments in the agency management system—using more features than other firms; calling the help desks instead of flailing about; actively interacting with their technology user groups; challenging their vendors to improve; talking with their carrier partners about business processing improvements; and encouraging employees to come up with easier ways to utilize technology to reduce keystrokes and time.
Recruit: They proudly feature their technology in conversations with prospective hires. Young people want to work at firms with modern hardware and software.
Promote: They promote their ease of doing business (such as real-time rating and processing capabilities) with customers and prospects. People want to buy from tech-savvy firms.
Pioneer: They’re willing to try new things. They experiment with solutions that could be appealing alternatives or add-ons to their current software. They even experiment with technology from outside the insurance industry that could be applied to their teams.
Perspective: They make their websites and social media platforms—their most important “offices”—a priority from the perspective of the customer. When you see those sites and outposts, you just know they are innovative firms.
@Agency.com: Back in 1998, they gave up their @aol or @juno or even @compuserve e-addresses as their official agency e-mail accounts. (OK, sorry, that’s a cheap shot, but I still see them.)
Are you differentiating your agency? What is your strategy? Is it time to hit the reboot key on your attitude about technology?
Peter van Aartrijk (peter@Aartrijk.com) is CEO of Aartrijk, a specialist in insurance industry brand strategy and content marketing.