Delivering Value and Individualized Customer Service
By: Ray Whitehouse, Co-Owner & Agent at Johnson-Pohlmann Insurance
When it comes to delivering the best customer service and value for your customers, you always want to put your best foot forward. Every interaction you have with a customer gives them an impression of your company. Are your customers happy with their decision to give you their business? Are they having some regrets? Check in from time to time to see how clients are doing and gauge how satisfied they are with your agency.
At Johnson Pohlmann, we try to ensure that our customer service representatives know as much information as possible about the customers that are calling to ask about their policy. Many of our local Kentucky residents will call in with questions about their policy. We believe that our CSRs should be able to answer any questions our clients may have regarding their Kentucky auto insurance, home owners, boat, life or any other policy that a customer may have.
If you are not already, you should be using these tactics to improve the service you are offering your customers.
Take the Temperature of Your Customers:
Say Ahh! When you have established a relationship with your customers ask them to fill out a customer survey to give you direct feedback on how they perceive their individual level of customer service. Take the information and find out where you can improve. As an independent insurance agency, your customers do business with you because you can offer them a better customer service experience than large carriers. Make sure you are delivering what your customers are looking for on your end. A short survey with numerical values rating your performance is a simple way to get some informative feedback.
Use Metrics to Drive Your Service:
You are spending time gathering information from your customers so why not use it to improve your overall customer service strategies? Collecting data is an aimless task if you do not ultimately apply it to improving your business. Keep statistical data on everything from the average time spent with a customer on the phone, common questions and concerns, and the overall customer satisfaction numbers. How many customers gave you high service ratings?
Try Harder to Understand Your Customers:
Many times it can be easy to forget where a customer is coming from when they call you to ask a question regarding their policy. Typically when someone calls customer service they are looking for a brief to the point answer to their question. The last thing they want to do is sit on hold for 10 minutes to get a simple answer to their question. Ask yourself, how can you streamline this process? Do you notice any bottlenecks in the process? If several customers contact your CSRs with very similar questions, maybe you should add something to your Facebook page, or website answering the question on a Frequently Asked Questions page.
Things to do to help you get the best from your Leaflets and Pamphlets
Here is a Top ten checklist of ‘do’s’ to help you get the best from your leaflets and pamphlets.
– Objective & Audience
– Know what your leaflet is for. List your goals and check them throughout the design to make sure you’re on track. Understand your audience to make sure you’re speaking clearly to them – in both copy and pictures. If it’s useful, write a short paragraph explaining who they are. Headline
– Your brochure is competing with other brochures so make sure your headline draws attention to what you’re selling. Keep in mind that in some distribution racks, only the top third can be seen. Keep your headline short and to the point. Reinforcing Pictures
– Understand that copy carries your sales message but pictures reinforce it. Make sure they’re right for your target audience and remember that when your customer scans a rack of leaflets, there’s a lot of information competing for their eye so keep your images simple and uncluttered as this will help them understand your leaflet. Also, make sure you include a map if you’re wanting your customers to visit you. Concise Copy
– A leaflet can’t contain everything you probably want to say – so be selective. Make sure your copy is easy to read and is ‘skimmable’. Keep sentences short and break up blocks of copy by using small paragraphs. Use headings to help they eye find what it’s looking for more easily. Use a serif typeface as it’s easier to read. Full Colour
– There’s a reason most leaflets are full colour – research shows a 50-70% increase in retention of full colour leaflets over black and white. Perceived value is higher in your customer’s minds so they tend to keep hold of them longer. Get the Correct Size
– It depends on what you’re using your leaflet for and where it’s going to be displayed, but conventionally, most leaflets tend to be A5 (folded down from A4 or A3 size) or DL size (1/3 A4 folded). Producing leaflets this size should make them fit in nicely with most distribution racks and are a convenient size for most readers. Paper
– Floppy leaflets hide your message, slip from racks and might even get removed if they interfere with other leaflets. Make sure you print your leaflet on the right paper weight and cutting is done down, not across the grain. Don’t make your leaflets too tall and fold them down the left hand side. Vouchers
– Incentivise customers to pick up your leaflet by adding in offers or vouchers. Make sure you advertise them prominently on the front cover and it might be an idea to use the whole leaflet as the voucher as that keeps it lying around at home, reminding customers you’re there! Track response rates of your leaflet (to calculate a basic ROI) by adding in voucher codes and leaflet codes. Clear Call-To-Action
– Check over your leaflet, make sure you’re clearly asking readers to take an action – then run through everything that they’ll want to see to take that action. Phone numbers, addresses, maps, opening times, email addresses, website addresses – can all be easily missed off. Checking before Printing
Check your copy again and again – and get someone else to have a look too. Spelling mistakes and bad sentence structure can put off readers and reduce comprehension of your sales message. If you’re self-checking, leave a good night’s sleep before you re-check; It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes will spot that you missed before. Similarly, before you print, make sure you see at least a pdf proof before you push the button – mistakes are cheap to rectify before they’re printed, but costly afterward.
Is It Better Buy or Rent?
Buy as they say, is not the oven for cakes and going to throw rent month to month an amount of money that could pay off or put together to buy a house. Well here we try to show what are the pros and cons and you decide what is best for your budget and individual economic conditions, of course if we can help solving any questions, please let us know.
Advantages to Buy
The first is that property prices have dropped to levels only compared to previous years and some properties have become truly a bargain.
Another and equally important is that interest rates are also in historical records. What makes a whole than the price of these properties can be affordable and available to pay for it, month to month.
A more accurate at this time of crisis, executions or better known as real estate foreclosures are providing in most cases very good buying opportunities, prices often are really tender.
Now with the new stimulus package President Obama is offering a tax credit of $ 7,500 for buying a house for the first time and be in force until the first of July. Question which gives support to the down payment or down payment, down payment and opens huge opportunities for many people who looked unlikely to save a deposit amount for start up.
Advantages for Rent
Now seeing the other side of the coin, renting the first and probably the most important is that to rent a house or apartment does not have to be responsible for paying maintenance.
This daily has become more of a headache for those with a deparamento or condominium because every day the maintenance in these areas are higher, and this because many residents have abandoned their properties. The worst thing is that it seems to go in Crecente or whether continuing to rise simply because every day more people having mortgage problems of some kind.
Another disadvantage is that we do not know where the market goes. Later the amount to invest in a purchase could decrease or to lower prices over the houses and with it many other things as entry or payment, interest rates, insurance, etc.
Rents have not yet reached the monthly mortgage payments are still cheaper in many cases simply because they do not have to pay taxes or insurance or taxes. But that place will never be owned, can not make changes and always be on the lookout for any change of contract.
Please be sure to write and give your opinions on this and other topics of interest to note that the advice of our financial specialists is absolutely free.
How To Get Cheap Online Home Insurance In New York
When most people think of homeowners insurance never consider going online to find it. Residents of New York can actually research homeowner insurance rates and even purchase a policy online. To do this all you need is some basic information about your property, along with some personal data standard. Price quotations for the home owner’s insurance policies can be easily purchased online. New York Most insurance companies have websites that provide not only free access to quotes, but a large amount of information pertaining to all aspects of the homeowner’s insurance. This is incredibly useful for anyone who wants to find a home insurance policy, but does not fully understand what it includes.
To find cheap online home insurance in New York consumers should be aware of all are eligible for discounts. These often include multiple policy discounts, discounts for being claim free, and security discounts. It is important to take into account all discounts available in each insurer’s website so you can determine that apply to your situation.
If you are retired or you work from home can also benefit from a discount for that. When the house is occupied much of the time, insurance companies see a strong benefit. This means there is less of a risk of breaking and entering and is also seen as a positive in terms of fire prevention.
Once you have gone through the process of gathering quotes, it’s time to take a final decision on which company to work with them. A good idea, before finalizing the purchase of a policy is to ensure that the company is authorized to do business in the state of New York. You can do so by contacting the Division of Consumer Services, Office of New York insurance. Once confirmed, the policy of purchase either online or by mail, in person or by telephone.
