CSR’s primarily deal with claims, policy updates, additions/deletions, and etc. Truth be told, they’re more administrative functionaries than “service providers.” Clients are often intrusions on the flow of their clerical duties. Here are seven steps you can take to solve this conundrum....
My old friend Noah Webster defines conundrum as “an intricate or difficult problem.” Within our insurance industry, the conundrum consists of the “difficulty” in the perception of “service” and the “intricacy” of defining service.
Unfortunately, the terminology of the insurance industry includes a customer service department (staffed by CSR’s - customer service reps). This misnomer has compartmentalized “service” to be something that occurs after the fact. CSR’s primarily deal with claims, policy updates, additions/deletions, and etc. Truth be told, they’re more administrative functionaries than “service providers.” Clients are often intrusions on the flow of their clerical duties.
Nordstrom’s has carved a profitable niche by providing exceptional service in a very generic industry. (Every department store offers basically the same merchandise at fairly comparable prices.) No one argues that the prices at Nordstrom’s are at the higher end of the scale, but service adds the esoteric value in the competition formula. Is Nordstrom’s service built upon their returns policy (service after the fact)? Absolutely not! It is merely one piece to a complex totality.
Service must be an exercise in totality if an agency or company is to grow
and thrive. It must be inculcated into every fiber of an organization. Only through a corporate tapestry of service does a company ever develop a nexus with their clients -- a true binding connection. Once this nexus is developed, the aspect of selling is merely a step in the process of serving the client. The value is in the service that surrounds it.
In my book, Creating Customer Connections, I explain how it all begins with an understanding of your corporate culture. To do this, to know who you are as a business, requires a hard, objective look at the entire organization and the willingness to take action on needed changes. Since this short article cannot encompass the entire process, I’ve developed a list of questions to ask yourself. The answers, in terms of customer service, are self-evident. Actions, if you choose to take them, can clarify your position in the marketplace.
1. How friendly are your telephones? The telephone is the electronic lobby of your company. Is it inviting? Do the voices have smiles? Are calls answered quickly? Does hold time reinforce the values of your firm? Are your callers placed in an automated maze of computerized instructions? Do your callers feel that they are valued?
2. How friendly is your database? Is invoicing the primary function of your database? How frequently are the names on your database contacted? Do you use your database to send love letters to your clients? Does your database incorporate a contact management program? Are the contacts offering valuable information to your clients? Does your database, and what you do with it, make your clients feel valued?
3. How friendly is your invoicing? Is your invoice “receiver friendly”, or does it read like a collection letter? Do you invoices include additional information of value? If you clients are direct-billed by the carrier, have you checked into the friendliness of their billings? Do the recipients of your invoices feel that they are valued?
4. How friendly is your prospecting? Do you position yourself as a valuable resource, or a purveyor of insurance? Is your prospected price-centered or value-centered? Do you prospect to x-dates, or to potential clients? Do your prospects feel that they are valued?
5. How effective is your marketing material? Is your marketing material corporate “puffery”, or does it provide needed information to a prospect’s decision making process? Does your marketing material really tell your story? Does your marketing material include testimonials and endorsements? Does your marketing material make the recipient feel that they are and would continue to be valued by your organization?
6. Do your producers add value to the relationship? Are your producers serving as risk management consultants to their clients? How frequently does your staff conduct informative seminars? Are your producers committed to the success of their clients? Would your producers forfeit a commission in the best interest of the client? Do your producers know the business of the clients they serve? Do their (your) clients feel valued?
7. Is your customer service department client-centered, or function-centered? Are client calls eagerly welcomed, or an intrusion? Have your CSR’s and the clients ever met face-to-face? Do your CSR’s know to what extent they are empowered to solve client problems? Do your CSR’s go beyond the task at hand to keep the overall best interests of the client in mind? Do your CSR’s make the clients feel valued?
I could continue this series of questions into how the employees (your first customers) are treated -- because that foretells how they will treat your customers and prospects; your company relationships; your vendor relationships; your community relationships; your commitment to education (both employee and client); your accounts receivable and payable policies; and so on throughout every facet of your business operations.
Every question centers on your service to the client and their perception of the value of that service to them.
Successful agencies, brokerages, and companies know one simple fact: You don’t sell insurance, you provide service!
Jack Burke is the president of Sound Marketing, Inc., host/producer of Audio Insurance Outlook, editor of ProgramBusiness.com newsletter, and author of both Relationship Aspect Marketing and Creating Customer Connections. For more information, please visit http://www.soundmarketing.com, call 1-800-451-8273, or e-mail jack@soundmarketing.com.
Copyright 2001 by Jack Burke. Used with permission.