We’ve cracked the insurance sales code – and the key is your independent agency website. Your agency’s website is the endpoint for your insurance marketing strategies. All channels funnel prospects to your site, making it the critical piece to move them to customers. So, it’s time to take a good look at your website and ask yourself: are we making a good impression?
Upgrading your website improves more than just sales: see these 5 Reasons Why Your Website Needs to Be Replaced
5 Website Elements for a Positive First Impression
There are a few key elements you need to ensure your insurance agency website moves prospects to customers.
- It responds well
Responsive design – meaning a site adapts depending on the devices used to view it – is critical. If your site renders poorly for mobile devices, it can turn prospective away faster than you can type “TTYL.” A study from the University of Missouri Science and Technology found it takes less than a 2/10ths of a second to form an impression of a website. That, coupled with stats that more than 50% of web traffic comes from mobile, means you need to make an immediate good impression on whatever device prospects use.
Read more on how to make your website an effective sales tool
- It’s easy to navigate
You may know where to go for information on your site, but do viewers know? If prospects don’t know where to go to get what they need, you’ll lose them – fast. According to a Neilson Norman Group study, you need to grab a viewer’s attention in 10 seconds. Good navigation starts with understanding why prospects are visiting your site and what they’re looking for when they get there. Once you understand the “what” and “why,” use that knowledge to name pages and organize your navigation appropriately.
- It looks good
Another important factor for drawing prospects in is your site’s look. Start by eliminating as much text as you can; get to the point without cluttering the page. Most viewers respond well to a sleek design and a “sticky menu” that stays glued to the top or side of the screen (especially mobile users).
- It has something to say
The content, or information, on your site should say something to viewers. It should not only communicate what they’re looking for (requests for quotes, carriers, etc.) but also who you are as an agency. Show off your stand-out customer support, your hands-on service, and your unique agency culture to give a picture of who you are and what you can provide potential clients. Photos, blog posts, and links to social accounts can help convey this important message.
- It has direction
Once you’ve gotten visitors to stay, you need somewhere for them to go. Whether it’s filling out a request for a quote or signing up for your newsletter, you need a call to action. On top of that, you need to make that call to action obvious. Use text size, shape, color, placement, and wording to make the call to action big and bold on each page (without it taking over).
Check out how to design your website for a great user experience
Any help you can get to boost sales and keep your customers happy is a win-win. Besides these elements, adding a Client Portal that customers can access right from your website makes your site and agency more attractive to prospects. At SIS, we recently introduced a Client Portal to the Partner XE system, helping our partner agencies serve their customers faster, and better.
Read more about the Client Portal and other Partner XE capabilities at sispartnerplatform.com. Or, contact us at [email protected] or 800.747.7005, Option 6.
Sarah Deak has been contributing to the SIS team since 2013, covering topics like agency perpetuation, workflow improvements, data security, and marketing. She has a background in small business, working with organizations to improve their online presence and client engagement. Sarah also writes for the SIS newsletters and website, and counts herself lucky to hear from our many passionate, hard-working clients for our client stories. Her favorite part about working for SIS are the dedicated, service-minded people.