The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to change many
elements of our lives. For businesses, it created a quickening effect on plans
to increase tech use and move to digital. With those changes, many agencies
turned to their insurance websites as hubs for their business, whether or not
their site was optimized to take on that level of responsibility.
As your agency evaluates how to shift to the “new normal,” consider these insurance website statistics and what they mean for your agency.
Connect with Marketing Automation
Marketing automation sends messaging to interested
prospects and clients when they take a particular action, like clicking
“request a quote,” or at a specific time such as when they’re up for renewal. When
integrated with your website, you can set up marketing automation to send
messaging at the ideal times to engage prospects and customers. Research shows
the personalization
that marketing automation provides works:
Close to 90% of customers now demand more
personalization from businesses, much of which can be done through marketing
automation (Accenture)
Insurance companies that leverage marketing
automation sell 20% more policies per producer (Velocify)
Pay Attention to Your Site’s SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to your
site’s success. Your SEO status dictates how easy it is for your target
prospect group to find you in an online search. Independent agencies that specialize
in serving their local community benefit from quality SEO by targeting localized
search phrases like “Ashville NC auto insurance.” Your search ranking is
important as statistics show more people are turning to online searches to find
coverage:
Almost 70% of insurance customers run
online searches before making a purchase (LSA)
Online searches for “insurance near me” have
grown by 100% in the past two years, making it more critical than ever to
have your SEO locally targeted (Google)
Optimize for Mobile
More people are accessing the web via mobile than
ever, and your website needs to adjust. Ensure you’ve optimized your website
design so it can be easily viewed on any device. Mobile access is taking over
as the most popular way to view online content:
Mobile searches make up 59% of all organic
search visits (Broadband
Search)
Mobile devices (excluding tablets) accounted for
almost 55% of global website traffic in the first quarter of 2021 (Statistica)
Highlight Customer Reviews
Whether it’s from social media, a review site, or
an email message, show off the feedback you get from happy customers. If you
don’t have many examples yet, encourage customers to go to places like Google Reviews
or Yelp and comment about your service. Integrating your social media feed and
these review site comments into your site gives a boost, too. We know authentic
reviews make a huge impact:
Close to 60% of consumers say they go to social
media to influence their purchasing decisions (Marketing
Drive)
People are up to four times more likely to
purchase a product or service with at least five reviews (Review24)
Get the Custom Website You Need
If you’re looking to upgrade your site to bring
better service and higher-quality insurance leads, look no further than the
experts at Partner Platform. Our latest agency website
offerings are personalized sites custom-designed, thanks to our trusted
Partner Allies. Each site offers integration with marketing automation, customer
service tools like our Client Portal, and secure infrastructure to keep you
and your customers safe.
Have you properly equipped your insurance website
for sales? Almost
three-quarters of insurance shoppers go online to do research and obtain
quotes, so you need a quality website to attract those sales.
This shift to online prompted our Partner Platform team to think more about agency websites and how to optimize them for sales and service. We now work with agencies to help them create a custom site to grow their business after seeing several common mistakes. Here are some of the ways we saw agency websites missing the mark – and how we helped them correct their missteps.
Yes, you want your site to give visitors an idea of
who you are and what you do, but there is such a thing as too much information
online. Your site should focus on the essentials: your agency brand, the
services you offer, and how to get in touch. Too much text is overwhelming and
can turn away a potential customer.
What to do: If you’re having trouble being
concise, use videos as an alternative to provide deeper descriptions of your brand
and service.
Complicating Design
There is a lot that can be done with a website
these days, but you want to be careful about going overboard. Too many dynamic
elements can cause your site to render differently on mobile devices and even
from browser to browser. More
than half of internet users said they wouldn’t recommend a business with
poor mobile design, so you need to ensure your site renders well no matter what
device visitors use.
What to do: To ensure your site will render
well on any device, begin with the mobile design or design both mobile and
desktop versions concurrently.
While pricing and service offerings are certainly
important, you don’t want visitors to lose sight of who they’re researching or
doing business with. Your brand is the most valuable element you have to offer,
and you want people to associate the positive experience they have with your
name.
What to do: Use your branding colors
throughout the site and have your agency name, logo, and (if short enough)
motto on a sticky menu that users will see no matter where they are on your
site.
Confusing Navigation
The last thing you want is for users to get lost when
they’re on your site. If they came there to see your auto offerings or request
a quote, it should take them only a few seconds to find what they need. If your
navigation isn’t properly organized or seems confusing, it will be difficult
for visitors to find what they need, and they may abandon your site.
What to do: Use sticky drop-down menus so
users can navigate to any part of the site no matter what page they’re viewing.
Decentralizing Data
The prospect and customer information you gain from
your site’s interactions needs to be stored in your management system. When all
your prospect and customer data is in one place, it’s easier to see what certain
groupings or individuals need and the best ways to serve those needs. When your
data is decentralized, or you enter it manually, you lose efficiency and sales
opportunities.
We’ve crafted our agency
website offerings to address all these common errors, including the
critical system integration that brings agency efficiency and effectiveness to
a new level.
See samples of our
website offerings and hear from Partner
Platform agencies about how the Partner Platform system and team can
help you do more for your prospects and customers.
Research shows almost 70% of insurance consumers
do an online search before making their purchase. That means 70% of your
prospects are looking for you online. Are you one of the insurance websites
that will keep them engaged?
With “insurance near me” online searches growing by over 100% in the last two years, you need to be one of the stand-out insurance agency websites to make an impression. To stay competitive, be sure your site includes:
1. Clear branding elements
Your agency website should clearly state: “This is
us. This is what we do. This is what we value.” That means giving your agency
name and logo prominence and using your branding (logos, colors, and text)
throughout the site. Have your mission or value statement front and center and
include photos of your community to show your personalized approach.
2. Succinct messaging and minimal text
There’s no doubt a lot you can say about your
agency and why you’re the best choice in town, but your website isn’t the place
for too much detail. Focus on getting across the services you offer, the value
you bring, and how people can get in touch with you.
Despite the high volume of online searches, close to
80% of insurance consumers call an agency before closing the deal. You can fill
in all the details and personal stories on the phone, but your website should
get right to the point to get you connected.
To foster that connection, you need a consistent, prominent
call to action throughout your site. This could be a “Contact Us” or “Get a
Quote” button or another action-oriented callout. Prospects shouldn’t need to
search to figure out how to get in touch – make it obvious.
4. Mobile access
More than half of online insurance searches take place via a
mobile device. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile access, it can get
scrambled when viewed on such devices, frustrating prospects and turning them
away. Ensure your site can adapt so it looks its best no matter how someone
finds it.
As we have cited before, Microsoft
found 90% of consumers worldwide expect organizations to offer a self-service
portal. Insurance agencies are no exception. Besides providing an online
self-service portal, you need to ensure your client portal integrates with your
management system, CRM, and other customer data-driven software. The more your
agency tools connect, the smoother your operations.
Get All Your Agency Website Must-Haves in One Place
If you’re looking for an experienced partner to
help you craft an engaging, professional agency website, the Partner Platform
team has you covered. We now offer custom, agency-branded sites to help
agencies promote their brand and better serve their customers.
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.
Websites for the “non-insurance” Insurance Agency As an independent insurance agency, how do you choose a website partner that will help you fill the gap between: Looking like every other insurance agency Using an expensive marketing agency We can help you...
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.
