Growth Strategies You Should Be Using In Your Agency

It's rare to meet a business owner who is satiated with the level of success their agency has reached and insurance agency owners are no different. There are always more clients and better ways to serve them so your job as an agent, or especially as an agency owner, is to always be finding new ways to grow your business and it just turns out that you're in luck! These days it's easier than ever to get access to prospects and to find ways to make your clients happy so they keep coming back. Check out some of our ideas below!

ALL ABOUT THAT CUSTOMER BASE
For a small agency, the customer base is everything. You have to continually be treating each client as your most important for more than one reason. When a clients needs are met the right way, they're likely to stay with you. They're also more likely to refer you to friends or family, which not only keeps your client base steady, but helps you grow at the same time. Being present, answering questions in a timely manner and making calls to check in on clients, whether it's you personally or an agency staff member, will mean a lot to a customer when it comes time to renew.

Personalized service is always a huge factor in growing your customers, but these days you CAN NOT ignore social media as a way of connecting with new people. It's crucial that your agency has, at the very least, a website (mentioned above), a Facebook page, an Instagram account and a Twitter account. If you aren't going to use your social media accounts for creating and sharing content, at least be sure to have all of your agency contact info up to date so potential new clients can reach you.

STEP UP YOUR MARKETING GAME
There are a lot of options in terms of prices and products when it comes to buying insurance. Finding the right way to put your agency front and center in a sea of other agencies is tricky, but doable.  Step one is to make sure your agency appears accessible and professional and the best way to do that is with a sharp, up-to-date website. When a client finds you on Google or responds to an ad, they want to see that your agency is operating at a level that they'd want to do business with. A slow or absent web presence is an immediate turn off.

Step two is to make sure you're making the right marketing and lead gen moves. Whether a client is reaching out to you because they've been targeted via a Facebook ad campaign or it's someone you met at your nephew's baseball game, you want to make sure all of your interactions are authentic and fruitful. Career Agent Concepts is a great tool for agents looking to up their marketing and lead generation game. Check it out!

ALWAYS BE  BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Any and all businesses thrive on networking and insurance is no different. If you and the other agents in your agency aren't heading to networking events, conferences, or interacting in circles where other people who sell and people who need insurance are gathering, you're missing out. BIG TIME. Once you put yourself in a position to work with other local businesses like mortgage lenders, and financial advisors, you're instantly expanding opportunity in your agency. It may seem old school, but there's a reason it worked back in the day and a reason it still works today. Combining common interests and having the chance to draw in other business's customer base goes a long, long way.

NEVER STOP LEARNING
Of course you're educated. You have to be licensed to sell insurance to begin with. But seeking out continuing education related to your field, things that you can apply to everyday agency practices, will only assist you in growing your business. College degrees in business and/or marketing will give an agent an excellent background in operating a small business but once you've launched your own agency, you're going to want some more specific education related to the insurance industry. 

HAVE BETTER PRODUCTS
​The truth is, your prospects are NOT afraid to shop around. Your customer service may be on point, but if you can't deliver what your client is looking for, and at a price that works for them, they're gone. It's important to be sure that you have a variety of products to offer your clientele and at a range of prices. Be open to selling more than just one type of insurance so that you can service clients across the board. And always be sure that you have the right kind of policies specific to where you live and what the people in your area are likely to be in need of. Having a variety of products to offer prospects and existing clients is a sure fire way to keep your agency in a state of success.