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Unless you've become a cave-dweller in the last year (which we're totally not blaming you for AT ALL) you're familiar with the rise of the KAREN. If you're not familiar, let us enlighten you. A KAREN is typically a middle-aged woman who enters a retail situation like she's entering the octagon - she's ready to fight and she's got a purse full of coupons to prove it. You have to be careful with KARENS because they're able to smell fear, they're likely to complain about EVERYTHING and they're NOT afraid to get loud or be filmed on social media doing so.
As the old adage says, when it comes to KARENS or any unhappy customer really, "The best defense is a good offense." And in insurance OR any field for that matter, a "good offense" is top notch customer service.
Here are 10 customer service tips you can use the keep the KARENS at bay in your insurance business:
1. REMEMBER FACES AND NAMES AND THEN SOME
This is good business 101. Your customer does NOT want to feel like just another number to you. They want to know that YOU KNOW who they are. This means remembering their names (because they aren't all actually named KAREN), their family names, their pet's names, etc... It means remembering what college football team you were talking about on the last call and where they said they were headed for summer vacation. It means connecting with your customers in a way that they feel you're ACTUALLY connected.
2. ROLL OUT THE WELCOME MAT
I look forward to going to my accountant because I know he always has complimentary coffee and snacks in his waiting area. I can bypass the coffee shop on the way because I know he has it there waiting for me. This is a tiny detail that can sooth even the most savage KAREN. Have room in your waiting area for a TV? Pop on some game shows. Maybe some cool, free merchandise? Keep a few branded reusable shopping bags or some beer doozies out. KARENS love free shit.
3. DON'T GHOST AFTER A SALE
You know what's going to make a customer believe they're more than an invoice to you? Calling to check in when you're not trying to sell them. It's on thing to turn on the charm when there's a deal to be made, but it's quite another thing to be charming when you have nothing to gain. This is a very small, simple customer service tip that has a huge ROI. KARENS love to know that you're thinking about them 24/7/365. If you're just reaching out to say hello and make sure all's good on the homefront when there's no money on the table, your client will remember that when it comes time to renew.
4. PIMP OUT YOUR COWORKERS
Any new customer wants to know that they're going to receive the same level of competence and service regardless of who they're dealing with on your team. Talk your coworkers up. Pimp them out. Talk about what they bring to the table. Everyone from the receptionist to the CEO to cleaning lady AND ESPECIALLY your office manager. KARENS love talking to the manager! If your customers feel like they know and can trust everyone in your office, it's going to bring them in more often.
5. TELL PEOPLE WHAT'S HAPPENING
While I don't identify as a KAREN, I can contend that THIS is a detail that gets me every time. Customers love not having to ask questions because you've already given them such clear and concise information regarding their policy or their claim. Insurance is a Q & A landscape. When you're walking a client through something, always take them through the whole process and make sure they know what's happened and what comes next. Feeling informed is a hell of a drug and KARENS love being in the know.
6. MIND YOUR Ps & Qs
Didn't your mother teach you to say Thank You? Then act like it BOI! Whether your client is walking out of your office with a courtesy travel size hand sanitizer, a hat with your agency's name on it or they're receiving a hand written note to tell them you appreciate their business, they're going to know their business matters to you. It's another easy attention to detail that will quench even the thirstiest KAREN.
There are tons of creative and fun ways to step up your customer service game. Make the details custom to you, your staff and your business. Make sure everyone who walks through your door is treated like royalty and you're sure to keep some of the KARENS at bay.
