We asked Frank to help us use the association’s new Flip Video, and he was happy to oblige. Happy Thanksgiving from Frank Mancini, the MAIA staff, and our Board of Directors.
MAIA’s office will be closed at 3pm Wednesday and will reopen Monday November 30th. Have a great long weekend!
Hello!
I just wanted to say a friendly Hello to anyone visiting because they saw the link in the Number One Agency Newsletter. Thanks for stopping by! Please drop me a line at mmurphy@massagent.com with any questions or thoughts about the blog.
Oh, and you can also connect with me on Twitter, too @maia_melissa.
Have a great day!
This article from Marketing Profs is about the trend in marketing processed foods as simple. It seems there’s something very appealing about simple in our very busy, overloaded, everyday lives. Simplicity rules in many markets. Real Simple Magazine, for example, seems to be one of the only monthly glossies that’s still thick with advertisements. And then of course there’s Apple, with the minimalist design of the iPod. Even blogging has become streamlined with the introduction of sites like Postereous. Simplicity is in the forefront. Simply put: Simplicity Rules.
Think about consumers for a minuet.
Which bike sounds more appealing? The one from Walmart that is assembled at home, or the bike from LL Bean that will arrive at your door ready to ride? Which recipe will get tried first, the Julia Child masterpiece or the Five-Ingredient wonder?
One of the barriers people face when buying insurance and financial products is that they lack confidence in their understanding of the product. How could you make insurance more simple (and consequently more appealing) to potential customers?
A few years back when we launched our GAP Insurance product, we were lucky to have been provided with a video clip of a news story that did an excellent job of clearly explaining the product and the reasons people buy it. At the time agents weren’t used to offering the product, and felt uneasy about delving into uncharted territory. But the video clip was a great way to educate the membership about the product and instill the confidence needed to sell. And I’ll admit, it helped me too, because when we took this on, it was new to me as well.
I think there is something lurking in the ability to create some bite-sized video clips that provide simple explanations of your insurance products and instill confidence in your potential clients that you are the insurance professional to get the job done. Have you thought about utilizing video lately?
In case you missed it in the November 6th edition of the Massachusetts Agent, MAIA’s Monthly member newsletter…
The Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulations (OCABR) filed the final version of 201 CMR 17.00 Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents with the Secretary of State on October 30th. The much anticipated regulations will take effect March 1, 2010.
The final revision remained largely unchanged since the OCABR hearing, which took place on September 22nd. However, a clarification was made regarding third-party service provider contracts (see 17.03 (2)(f)(2)) and the grace period was extended until March 31, 2012.
Hopefully, you have gotten a chance to attend one of the panels or webniars that MAIA has hosted in the last few months which focused on helping agents prepare for this upcoming change. We too, have to look at how this affects our day to day operations and are in the process of starting compliance. Making the effort to comply with these regulations is a must. MAIA invites you to look at the resources available in the Info Online Center at massgent.com.
Specific questions regarding the Data Security Regulations can be directed to Dan Foley at the MAIA offices by phone at 800.972.9312 or 508.634.2900, or by email at dfoley@massagent.com.
After writing the post about the Complaint Department, I’ve been thinking about how powerful this can be.
As a member of our Five Star team, I have the privilege to go into agencies and ask them directly, “How do you handle complaints?” Most often, we hear that complaints are handled differently based on the issue at hand, but typically, comsumer complaints are few and far between. Furthermore, issues are rarely with the agency, and instead lie with the carrier –how a claim was paid, how long it took, ect.
To me this says two things. 1. Agents are doing their jobs well and 2. Their reputation is in the hands of their carrier. This is not a slight on insurance carriers, but the age old disconnect is there. You, as the independent agent have the client relationship, you place the business for the client, but now your client is upset at the carrier. When will the consumer tell you that they are upset? Now? At renewal? When they ask someone else to quote it?
A lot of attention is paid to social media as a platform to promote your business and expand your relationships, but social media is foremost a place for listening. (Okay, reading the conversation.) When you start to follow people on Twitter, or read updates on Facebook, you start to see people’s frustrations over all types of things- credit card companies, water bill payments, banks…insurance companies. Like it or not your carriers have relationships with insureds also. By actively listening to clients on social networks you get the opportunity to see these frustrations as they occur and respond in the caring manner that befits your business.
Imagine you’re on Facebook and you see a few status updates about a certain carrier’s claim payout time after an ice storm. What could you do with that information?
In the Facing Fears Series we’re tackling the things that make independent insurance agents nervous about using social media. Feel free to chime in: What are your fears about opening the agency up to social media? What makes you nervous?
No one wants to see complaints or negative comments about their business in a public space, but increasingly people are bringing their word of mouth marketing out of the grocery store and on to the web. We used to think about word of mouth as the exchanges that happened between people at PTO meetings, or chatting in line at the coffee shop, or neighbors talking over the fence a la Home Improvement, but word of mouth marketing now includes Facebook statuses, Twitter updates and personal blogs. And for better or worse our friend Google indexes this stuff. Gary Vaynerchuck, business owner and social media star, describes it as word of mouth on steroids.
It’s easy to see the scary side of this. What if a mistake happens at the agency, but before you have a chance to rectify this with the insured, a negative comment goes up on the web? Everyone who logs in that day sees it. Damage done. But there is a difference. The power is now with you – you now have the ability to see exactly what has been said and you can respond. You missed that opportunity when the comment was made at the PTO meeting.
Sure, you still want to respond appropriately in a private setting with that individual but you can do it in public as well. And it’s funny, the more organizations are transparent, honest and real about their mistakes, the more consumers are willing to respond reasonably and understand that mistakes happen. (Bear in mind that I’m not suggesting that you push this theory. I’m talking about owning up to honest to goodness mistakes here).
There are companies doing a great job of allowing their complaint department to be public. Here are some great examples of this power in motion:
Comcast’s use of Twitter.
Forbes.com explains the controversial Dooce vs. Whirlpool debacle.
Hannaford Supermarket uses twitter, too, and responds to customer service inquires.
Domino’s, issued a public apology after rouge employees make a PR nightmare.
In the Facing Fears Series we’re tackling the things that make independent insurance agents nervous about using social media. Feel free to chime in: What are your fears about opening the agency up to social media? What makes you nervous?
The fear of a Personal Information leak or breach is nerve-racking for an independent agency. Massachusetts is still wrestling with the Data Security Regs that will affect all businesses soon. No one wants their name in lights over a personal information breach. I get that.
When talking about social media in insurance agencies there seems to be a two-pronged fear about security issues. One side is worried about the IT-related aspects of computers viruses, firewall breaches and phishing attacks, but the other side is worried about the interactions exposing sensitive personal data on a publicly viewed page. Both are valid concerns. Both can be dealt with in part by educating users about the platforms themselves.
I am not an IT guru (I bow down to those who can successfully explain this stuff to me) so I can’t get heavily into that aspect. I would love to be able to find and point our membership to some helpful resources in that area. However, this idea that agencies are too afraid to start using these tools because someone might post something sensitive is a little bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
People hold their personal data pretty close these days and most of the social media interactions you’ll have don’t or won’t involve it. And remember, you are connecting with people who use these 3rd party sites already. A moderately savvy Facebook user understands to some degree, that anything posted there is public. I doubt you plan to release quotes through Twitter or obtain health underwriting information on a Facebook wall. You’ll be doing all those things via your regular channels on the phone, through your email system, or in person. The difference is that you might make a first connection via Twitter or use Facebook to invite people to an Agency Open House or charitable function.
How to ease the fear? Before opening the social media floodgates, the job of the agency will be to set some written guidelines for use. (And in this case I don’t mean hire a lawyer to write your policy – as much as I like them). Write in plain language and clearly spell out what types of communications are acceptable and how they should be responded to. Make sure the users know that personal info is off limits. Be clear about what constitutes general v. personal. Create a spot on profile pages that reminds people never to share personal info over in “public spaces” and to never share password information. Utilize the security settings on each site you use, maintain strong passwords and change them regularly (just like you do with your email). In this area, a little education goes a long way.
Are you breathing easier, or do you disagree?
Some Resources to creating a Social Media Policy:
In the Facing Fears Series we’re tackling the things that make independent insurance agents nervous about using social media in the agency. Feel free to chime in: What are your fears about opening the agency up to social media? What makes you nervous about social media?
Let’s say for today, that YOU are the owner of your agency. (Hey, that may be true for some of you!) Please answer me this: in a service industry, such as insurance, who do you let talk to customers?
Pretty much everyone, right?
From the receptionist to the most elite producer, all agency service staff needs to interact with customers on a regular basis. Whether that interaction is through phone calls, in person, or by email doesn’t matter. Sure, some staff may hold job functions that leave them little opportunity to interact with clients directly, but be honest: would you hire someone to work in your agency if you didn’t trust them enough to interact with clients?
It seems to me, that interacting with customers is not much different in any medium – there are expectations that include professionalism, timely responses, and appropriate topics, but interaction is interaction. Would you chastise an employee for asking a client if they had a nice weekend while they were on the phone? Or chatting for a few minutes about the most recent school play in town, new restaurant or latest movie release? Pretty doubtful. This is what makes your agency great! You are part of the community at large and agency staff-people build client relationships at a personal level.
Is that not the point of social media? What makes social media interaction so different?
During the Big Event, a few agents mentioned to me that they are nervous about letting anyone in their agency interact with customers through social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. There are fears about personal information being released, losing control of the message and combating negative comments. Valid concerns, especially for owners and managers whose name hangs on the sign outside.
Starting next week, my plan is to explore some of these fears over a series of posts as a way to break up this topic. In the mean time, please tell me…what are some of your fears about opening your agency up to social media? What makes you nervous about Social Media?
Please tell me someone else has noticed this trend?
In July, before I even left for summer vacation, the back to school sales had already started. By the end of August back-packs and pencils were finally moving off the shelves, but the stores were already displaying Halloween Candy. (Who buys bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in August – So melty!) Then, the big-box home stores moved the Christmas décor into aisles at the beginning of October. Retailers were having Christmas well before Halloween! (Halloween? Who cares? That happened in August!) Thanksgiving apparently means little to anyone unless you sell turkey…and Christmas? Well, pipe in that music on November 1st because apparently, it’s never too early to start holiday shopping.
Either someone has their calendar pages out of sync, or retailers are pushing people to think about the Holidays earlier and earlier. But its November now, the air is cold, the leaves are falling, The Big Event is over, and the Holidays, along with those Holiday Parties, are actually right around the corner.
Now that we can all officially enter the “celebration mode” that happens as the year winds down, towns, local businesses, and people everywhere are planning Fall Festivals, Holiday Open Houses, church wine-tasting fundraisers, catered private parties and New Year’s Eve weddings. This is a great time to remind clients that they may need the protection of a Liquor Liability Policy.
Number One Agency now has a program available through Hospitality Mutual that is easy, affordable, and perfect for these types of one-day events…and it will work, even if your insured is celebrating Easter in December.
I’d love to know…what month did you start to see Holiday Decorations come out this year?
