Author: Joyce Sigler
In my day, a handshake sealed the deal. In our day, an e-signature seals the deal. We live in a time when you can achieve almost anything with the click of a button or a swipe on your smartphone. Click … your household supplies appear at your door. Click … the bills are paid. Click … dinner is on its way. Convenience governs not only our personal lives but also our business lives. Think of your own personal life: what places do you frequent to allow you to fit more into your busy schedule. We have a great tendency to try to separate our personal and business lives so that we can "turn off" from our mad daily dashes and change life's tempo.
When you think about your personal life and how convenience drives you, that is a mirror of your customers. They, just like you, are striving to control the reins of the rat race, and their expectation is that their business partners will cooperate with that.
The in my day handshake and business over the kitchen table or office visit is now being replaced by a different customer expectation of convenience. Customer experience is replacing customer service.
A quick Internet search reveals statics from 2013, 2014, 2015 and forward regarding the advances e-signature has brought about in turnaround times, cost/profitability, and customer loyalty as well as usage increases that indicate amazing e-signature footprints across industries and document type. The train has left the station—are you on it? If not, it's time to get aboard. Customers are looking for an insurance agent who is cognizant of their time, convenience and privacy. E-signature offers all of these.
The volunteers who are hard at work on projects for the Agents Council for Technology keep their eyes focused on convenience, compliance and the need to supply the insurance industry with up-to-date, relevant resources. The ACT eSignature work group offers a full complement of resources to help your leadership and staff understand how e-signature can improve your business: Benefits Guide, Training & Troubleshooting Guide, Workflow Comparisons, and Advocacy to Independent Agents' Carriers to Accept E-Signature. In our day, you can't afford not to evaluate e-signature's value. Its implementation enables you and your agency to meet your customers' expectations where they not only want but demand to be met.
Joyce Sigler is VP of Aministration and Corporate Secretary at Jones & Wenner and co-chair of the ACT E-Signature Work Group.