You want to make your client experience as seamless as possible right from the start. By offering a smooth onboarding process, you will be on your way to improving your insurance agency’s retention rates. Of course, mastering the onboarding process will also ensure that you have all the documentation and information you need to properly serve your new customers.
Why Onboarding Matters
You cannot overstate just how important onboarding is, as it lets you take care of the following.
The Paperwork
Remember that your onboarding process allows you to ensure you have all of your paperwork in order. You will ensure you have all of the relevant documents signed. You also get the opportunity to confirm the contact information of your clients.
The Customer Journey
Onboarding is your chance to reinforce your client’s initial impression of your insurance agency. Use it to start your agency-client relationship off on the right foot and build loyalty.
Create a Process
The most important task in mastering client onboarding is to create a process. That process needs to be client-centric yet meet all of your agency’s requirements. It should give clients all of the information they need and give them an opportunity to ask questions. It should also ensure that you have all of the documentation you need. A well-prepared onboarding process will get your agency-client relationship started off right.
Make sure that your onboarding process includes multiple channels of communication. This will help you appeal to clients with varying communication preferences. With the following tips, for example, you will communicate with new clients over both email and the phone.
Give New Clients a Welcome Packet
Even in the digital age, you still want to welcome your new clients to your agency with a packet of information. The only difference is that now that welcome packet will likely be digital instead of in a folder.
This packet should have all of the information that clients need in a single place. It will have their policy information, their policy ID cards, and answers to FAQs. Maybe there will be an eBook or two. If you have a mobile app, give them instructions for registering. If you use Jenesis, give them instructions for accessing the client portal.
Send this welcome packet in a welcome email. For the best onboarding experience, personalize the email and send it right away. Include the welcome packet as a link to a secure location that will allow them to download it.
What Else to Do in the Welcome Email
In addition to sending the welcome packet in that first email, there are a few other important things to do. Reiterate all of your contact information, including a link to your insurance agency’s website. These should be in both the body of the email and the welcome packet.
The welcome email is also a great opportunity to ask new clients about their communication preferences if you haven’t already done so. Do they prefer snail mail, email, or phone calls? What are the best times of the day to reach them? Do they want you to notify them about new coverage options that you think would be relevant?
You can also take the opportunity to gather valuable data and insights, including potential cross-selling opportunities in the future. This can be as simple as asking them to share what types of insurance they would be interested in learning more about.
Make a Welcome Call a Few Weeks After Signup
After about two weeks or so, follow up with your new client using a welcome call. This is your chance to remind clients about any missing paperwork. It also gives them an opportunity to ask any questions they have.
Another important aspect of the welcome call is that it lets you establish a relationship with the client and separate yourself from other agencies. Remember that this will build customer loyalty by showing clients that you truly appreciate them.
It is also worth mentioning that a welcome call is a great way to minimize the need to call your new client multiple times in the future. They won’t have to contact you multiple times about questions and you won’t have to reach out about forms.
Before the Call
Before you call the new client, confirm that you have all of the signed documents you need. You also want to confirm that clients are registered on the client portal. This way, you know if you need to ask about documents or walk them through the registration process during the call.
On the Call
During the call, start by thanking the client for deciding to work with your insurance agency. This will help them feel appreciated. Right from the start, ask them if they have any questions for you.
Use this as an opportunity to confirm that you have accurate contact information and other details for them. You can also ask for a referral or review at this point. Ideally, you will also tell the new client that you will be sending a short survey and would greatly appreciate a response.
Get Feedback from New Clients
As mentioned, you should let your new clients know that you will be sending a survey during their welcome call. Don’t forget to follow through with this. Surveys give you an excellent opportunity to glean insights from clients. They will help you pinpoint parts of the onboarding process that work well and what parts could be improved.
Confirm Your Process is Compliant
Part of running an insurance agency is staying up-to-date with industry regulations and ensuring you are always compliant with them. For example, make sure that your process is compliant with privacy laws and fraud-prevention measures.
As regulatory changes occur, adapt your onboarding process if possible.
Conclusion
Mastering the onboarding process is crucial for any insurance agency. It ensures that both you and your clients have all of the information you need. With the above tips, you should find it easier to onboard clients. The result should be fewer errors, higher client satisfaction, and improved client retention.