How old is your agency website? Do you have a
website at all?
If your answers are anything besides “Not very” and “Yes!” then it’s time for you to get working on updating or creating an insurance agency website. And one that works. Close to 40% of individuals surveyed said they would stop engaging with a site they found unattractive. Studies show it takes less than half a second for users to form an opinion about a website, so you have little time to make the critical impression that will get peopleto stay.
Agency Websites Professional secure websites designed for the independent agency If you’re looking for a trusted partner to manage your website too, talk with us. Your agency will get a secure professional-looking site that gives your clients powerful tools and...
How to Make Your Independent Agency Website A Great Sales and Service Resource Demos Guides Blog Carriers FAQs Events A website is a beautiful thing. It is the storefront to your online clients and prospects, and it can do a lot for your independent insurance agency....
5 Signs Your Agency Website is Outdated Demos Guides Blog Carriers FAQs Events We are living in the digital age—an era where technology is advancing at breakneck speeds, and where yesterday’s perk is now today’s expectation. This holds especially true with all things...
As an independent agency owner, where do you devote most of your time and energy? Perhaps you answered “talking to customers” or “tracking new business.” Maybe you even said “marketing.” But, chances are you didn’t say “working on my agency website.”
Though your agency website may not be top of the list, it should at least be on the list. No matter how great your service or value, if no one knows your agency exists it’s all meaningless.
How can your agency website serve as an effective mouthpiece? It must attract – and keep – attention. It must be engaging to both prospects and customers alike. An engaging agency website does the following:
1. It draws people in
Your site should catch the surfer’s eye, no matter what device they’re using. This means it’s responsive: adaptable to laptops, desktops, tablets and phones alike. The content on your homepage needs to be dynamic and easy to digest (more images than text!). Use your agency social media platforms to pull in ever-changing content, keeping your site fresh.
The content on your site should speak to viewers. Talk about what your audience wants to hear. Blogs are a great way to convey audience-friendly content. And, if you’re unsure what to write about, other agency blogs are a great source of inspiration. You can spread the work around, too. Have individuals from different departments take a stab at creating content. Multiple contributors keep your site interesting, and the different points of view draw in a larger variety of people.
3. It’s easy to navigate
One of the biggest website bounce factors is clunky navigation. If it takes users too long to find what they’re looking for, they leave. Make the most relevant info easy to find. Such info includes requesting a quote, listing your services, showing staff bios, and displaying agency contact information.
Learn more about how a client portal can benefit your agency and customers alike
4. It’s easy to find
Getting users to your website may be one of your largest hurdles. Ensure your website is included in all promotional material, business cards, and staff email signatures. Additionally, focus on boosting your rank in search. Create and execute a keyword strategy, including relevant search terms in page titles and image descriptions in your site’s metadata. Focus on local terms to decrease competition and increase impact.
Finally, make sure your agency website is uniquely you. It’s the independent nature of your agency that attracts and keeps loyal customers. Display who you are proudly and use that to your advantage.
It’s this uniqueness that draws us at SIS to serving independent agencies. We see each Partner XE agency as an individual and take pride in building and maintaining a distinct partnership. See how those partnerships take shape in our client stories or get in touch with us to find out more in person. You can reach us at [email protected] or 800.747.7005, Option 6.
Your insurance agency marketing goal is to stand out among the noise. Identifying and investing in serving a niche market is one of the most efficient and effective ways to achieve this challenging goal.
When you serve a niche market, you have less competition, making it easier to gain new customers in a specific arena. Your agency is set apart as providing “X” type of insurance, making you distinctive. PIA National’s 2022 Independent Agent Survey found that respondents devoted more than 20% of their book of business to a niche market. You, too, can capitalize on this valuable strategy.
Over the past few years, there has been a surge in insurance agency management transitions. Mergers and acquisitions specifically are on the rise, with an estimated 550 deals, up 12% from the previous year, in the first quarter of 2021. While these transitions can be profitable for owners, they can come with significant trepidation and worry from employees and customers.
As an owner, you need to start thinking ahead about how to prepare your agency for its eventual ownership transition. Whether you plan to perpetuate internally or externally, it’s essential that you prepare. That preparation includes setting your agency up for its highest valuation, prepping your team, and investing in tools and processes to bring your agency into the future.
Good partners and partnerships are critical to success in any business, but it’s crucial in technology where the pace of change and breadth of innovation is high. Insurance tech is growing fast, and it’s critical to look to progressive partners to keep up with the pace.
Why Partnerships Matter
Innovations happen everywhere, every day. Things like electric cars, an increase in IoT, the interconnectedness of tech systems in healthcare and our own homes, and other innovations significantly impact our industry. These tech advances inform how insurers can gain data to inform policies and process claims.
