You are an extension of your online customers serviceexperience. How your company communicates and facilitates theprocess will greatly impact your ability to close business. Itsimportant to leverage your current business practices, and combinethem with new components without compromising the speed at whichyou serve your customer. Anything short of this may erode youronline customers expectations and result in a significantly smallerclose rate for the division of your operation that is focused onWeb-influenced sales.

To enhance your ability to succeed online, consider these fourimportant factors: responsiveness, expectation management,online-messaging, and effective selling.

The Internet has redefined access to information, and customerservice is now measured in hours and seconds. Since the onlineconsumer wants instant gratification, its critical that responsemechanisms are in place to distribute information quickly.

Whether youre quoting or simply acknowledging requests forcoverage, responding within seconds is critical to meeting yourcustomers expectation that your service is fast and interactive.Unless otherwise specified, the successful, physical-world practiceof initiating your response during evening hours is not aneffective tactic with your online customer. In fact, many areonline from late morning to early afternoon.

On the technology side, enable your system to fully accept customerdata so that inbound sales calls and real-time e-mail responses canbe easily performed. Also, avoid having to recapture data by makingsure that all current and historical records are accessible to youragents. Redundant conversations about previously submittedinformation can frustrate your online customer.

In your online communications, set clear expectations and statespecifically what your customer needs to do to complete thepolicy-buying process. Buying insurance online is new for manyconsumers, and, due to the offline components of the process, itsimportant to explain precisely what needs to happen to complete thetransaction.

This may include a reminder to retrieve essential information--suchas VIN, drivers license number, odometer reading, lien holderrecords, and credit-card number--to expedite an upcoming salescall. Help your customer anticipate and be prepared for eachstep.

E-mail is efficient and productive, but no one wants to read toomuch text. So keep your instructions simple and to the point, anduse a subject line that clearly identifies your purpose.

Comparable to communicating to your customer by phone, be proactiveand take the opportunity to briefly write about additionalproducts, coverage options or other topics that address yourcustomers specific needs. You are the insurance expert; be sure toconvey your personal value in writing.

Be sure to include your companys toll-free telephone number,operating hours, and other fundamental information in all mail yousend electronically. Just as you do with traditional form lettersthat you may use, create and save a core of e-mail templates.

Responsiveness, expectation management and online messaging allcontribute to the sales process. Through guidance you have alreadyprovided, your customer knows what to expect, and now you have achance to close the sale.

Agents are experienced sales professionals who can demystify thecomplexity of insurance. With your customers information alreadyprovided, leverage your product knowledge and sales skills toeducate and deliver the right coverage, and to complete thetransaction.

A number of solutions can make inbound calling more efficient andsimple for your customer. Overall, your phone system must feel likean extension of the process your customer began online. Moreadvanced agency operations may automate customer-tracking androuting to ensure that leads are sent to the right agent. They mayalso automatically direct calls to the next available agent toreduce wait time, and establish lead-routing rules that matchonline customers with specially trained agents.

Applying the same level of technology for outbound calls will helpyou to effectively reach your online customer. Develop a queuingmechanism to track customer contacts, and prioritize outbound callsbased on your companys success profile, such as leads submitted orpolicy expiration date. Also, develop a contact "tickler" systemthat prompts agents to follow up on outstanding information, andmake calls during optimal time periods--which are not necessarilyevening hours.

Outbound phone calls are not your only option. Using e-mail as afollow-up to non-responsive customers can be a time-efficientalternative or additional method for stimulating interest. Usee-mail management technology to trigger personalized outboundletters based on defined rules. Write templates that address lackof contact, incorrect contact information, and upcoming policyexpirations. Here, too, incorporate advice on coverage options andother matters as you might do by phone.

One of the most important benefits of integrating all your onlineand offline technologies is the ability to measure your performancefrom the time you originate an online lead to the time you close asale. By tracking lead submissions and origin, reasons fordeclinations, inbound and outbound calling activity, and metricswithin a range of other categories, youll be able to moreaccurately assess specific areas of your operations and furtherimprove your online customers experience.

Technology alone will not propel your online business efforts.While it is important to leverage your online customers informationthrough technology integration, the keys to success are servicequality and value-added agent support, which appreciates thebehavioral differences between customers who approach you onlineand offline.

By being responsive, successful in setting proper expectations,clear in your communications, selling effectively, andcomprehensively measuring your integrated operations, you arestrengthening your companys position for continued success in thephysical world and for strategic, cost-effective growth on theInternet as it continues to evolve.

Scott Stevens is senior vice president, insurance operations,and Thomas Gebhart is manager, consulting services, for InsWeb,based in Gold River, Calif.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, August 20, 2001.Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.

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