In the competitive industry of insurance sales, agents strive to find a way to stand out above the rest, providing superior customer relationships. Insurance CRM software is a tool designed to give you just the advance you are looking for. But what is CRM for insurance and why should you use CRM within your insurance agency? Customer relationship management software, or CRM, designed for the insurance industry is a specialized tool designed to help you better manage your customer data and improve your customer relationships which, will, in turn, help boost your productivity and bottom line.
Challenges insurance agents and brokers face regularly
The insurance industry is a competitive market, and agents are always looking for tools that help them better manage the challenges they face and help set them apart from the competition. As an insurance professional, you may face many of these challenges on a regular basis.
Competition
In today’s internet-dominated world, customers expect to receive information, including insurance quotes, at the touch of a button. If you are unable to respond to their inquiries immediately or offer immediate AI-backed information, they are likely to move on to your competition before you even get a chance to make a return phone call. With a quality insurance CRM that offers automation and AI, you can position yourself ahead of the competition.
Inefficient workflow
Inefficient workflow can be the downfall of many insurance agents. Manually handling every stage of the process takes up a lot of time and opens the door to missed opportunities. In addition, spending all this time on tasks that could be automated, you lose crucial hours you could spend working directly with clients and nurturing relationships. In this case, a quality insurance CRM helps to automate many of your daily tasks, freeing up time to focus on other areas of your business.
Fragmented sales process
When you are relying on spreadsheets to maintain data, it is very easy to misplace data, and generating reports or analyses from this data can be very time-consuming. Storing all this crucial data within your CRM allows for better management and, through analytics, a better way to see what your data is really showing.
Lead generation
Lead generation is the bread and butter of an insurance agency and, these days, lead generation can be a challenge with everyone wanting their information as soon as they present an inquiry. Through a CRM, you can utilize automation and AI in order to provide leads with the information they are looking for immediately, helping to boost your lead generation.
Client retention
Client retention is essential to maintaining your insurance business. When customers do not feel valued, they are often more likely to turn to your competition. Unfortunately, one of the main reasons for a decrease in client retention is clients feeling left out or as if they are falling through the cracks. This is often common with busy insurance agencies that are focused on new leads and clients while often running out of time to nurture existing relationships. Implementing a CRM allows you to automate many tasks and help ensure that no client falls through the cracks and that everyone feels as though their needs are being met.
CRM features and how they help
So, what are some of the features that a quality insurance CRM can offer your business? Here we take a closer look at some of the top features and how a CRM can benefit your agency.
Contact management
With contact management, a CRM allows for better client data management, including the ability to see the details of all interactions across all teams within your agency. With this in place, you can help ensure that no client falls through the cracks and that everyone receives the attention they need.
Superior customer service
Insurance is a personalized service, and it is essential that, as an agent, you understand your client and their needs. With a CRM, you can input customer data which is organized and analyzed to give you a more in-depth picture of what your clients need and when they need it. By implementing AI, you can trigger tasks based on this data which will prompt you to contact and advise clients on potential policy changes or additions that can benefit them.
Email marketing
Sending out individual email marketing campaigns can be time-consuming and challenging. With a CRM, you can batch clients based on needs and schedule automated email marketing campaigns sent out based on date or internal triggers within the CRM. Through data analysis, you can also see how your email marketing is working and what changes you may need to implement to be more successful.
Sales process automation
A quality insurance CRM can combine many of the current programs or tools your team uses to manage a sales process, keeping all the data and information in one centralized location. This makes it easier to prepare documents and gather necessary data to better serve your customers. By tracking your sales pipeline, agents are better able to see where they need to focus their energy in the sales pipeline to make the sales.
Choosing the right Insurance CRM software
A quality CRM can make a dramatic difference in the way your insurance agency functions, how you interact with your clients, and how well you build customer loyalty. Once you see the benefits of adding a CRM to your agency, you must choose which CRM will work best for you. When deciding on the right CRM, there are a few things to consider.
Customizable features
Every insurance agency is unique, so what may work for one business may not be necessary for your business. Many CRMs offer the ability to customize certain features and adjust different things based on your specific needs. This customization allows you to create software that works best for your business.
Cost
Cost is often a determining factor when it comes to choosing the right CRM for your business. When trying new software, you may be tempted to go with the cheaper option, however, as we mentioned above, you want to have a CRM that is capable of growing with your agency over time, so choosing a less expensive option is not always your best course of action. In many cases, CRM platforms may also offer a free trial period in order to help you evaluate how well the system will work for your business. It is a good idea to take advantage of these free trials and see what really works for you and your team.
Scalability
When choosing a CRM, you want to find one that will grow as your agency grows. While some CRMs are designed for smaller businesses and may be more cost-effective at the time, they may not have the ability to grow and manage all the necessary data you will need as your business grows.
A holistic view of clients
You want to find a CRM platform that offers you a complete and holistic view of all your clients and leads through comprehensive data management and interaction tracking that allows you to keep up to date on everything going on between your agency and each client.
Effective and efficient customer support
We all know how technology can be challenging at times. The last thing you want is to implement a CRM only to find that when you have a question, there is no one to contact for support when needed. Ask about their support platforms, when support is available, how regular preventative maintenance occurs within the platforms, and if you can expect dependable support.
Powerful integrations
If you currently have different software tools that play an essential role in your business, it is important to find a CRM that integrates with your existing tools. For example, if you utilize tools such as Outlook or Slack, finding a CRM that integrates with these platforms allows your team members to access all this information together in one centralized location.
Detailed reports and analytics
With a CRM, you can expect tools that help you better manage your data and automate many of your daily tasks, helping to improve your customer relationships. However, in addition to these tools, a quality CRM will offer a wide selection of data analytics that give you a window into your agency. This detailed and comprehensive information is essential to business growth and a necessary component you want to find when choosing a quality CRM.
The right CRM can make all the difference
CRM is an invaluable tool and can make a big difference to you as an insurance agent, as well as to your agency as a whole. With automated tools and analytical services, a quality insurance CRM allows you to improve customer relationships, boost productivity and efficiency, and gain greater insight into what really works for your business.
Better Agency offers a unique, CRM for insurance agents designed to meet the needs of insurance agents everywhere. For more information about our CRM software and its benefits, schedule a call with Better Agency today.
