Tech Tools Can Bolster Customer Service

If you ask almost any independent agent what makes their agency different–and better–chances are you'll hear the phrase “customer service.”

Yet many agents don't use the connectivity tools we have available today, while others reject any concept of customer self-fulfillment or any new way of providing 24/7 contact.

“We're different,” these agents say. “If our customers have a problem after hours, they can call one of our owners' cell phones. That's the way our customers like it.”

Or do they?

The fact is, today the words customer service are so overused that their meaning has become vague.

I contend that customer service and technology are not two disparate terms–and that agencies providing the best customer service are also diligent in offering customers the benefits of the latest technology. After all, what is customer service but giving people the opportunity to do business with you the way they want–whether it be face-to-face, or at 2 a.m. by logging in to your Web site?

Think about the best customer service experience you've had in recent times. Chances are you got what you needed without feeling like you wasted your time.

The real-time rating tools now available enable you to give both personal service and speed to your customers. In literally minutes, while that person is on the phone or sitting in front of you, you can give them their quotes. If that person wants to shop around, you'll be able to offer those quotes as well–immediately.

That's customer service, and also a smart way to prevent your business from literally walking out the door.

By providing your customers with self-fulfillment options on your Web site, you enable them to find the information they need or generate their own certificates when it's the most convenient to them.

“But our business is built on relationships,” the skeptical agent says. I ask you, when have you ever built a relationship by printing out a certificate or giving out your mailing address?

For smart agents, technology gives them more time to build relationships by freeing them and their staffs from having to spend time performing mundane, mechanical tasks.

Instead of doing everything the way you've always done it, find new ways to reach out to the community and your customers. Taking advantage of all the technological tools in play will give you the time to do it.

For some reason, many agents define customer service as “doing things the old-fashioned way.” I believe customer service starts with giving your customers both speed and options.

You will always have customers who want to get their answers by phone, or even coming into the office, but there's a sizeable group out there who equate service with speed, simplicity and choices.

When we talk about technology, we so often focus on how it can make agents more productive or reduce cost. I'd like you to redirect that thinking. Take a new look at the connectivity and automation tools available today, and think of how these can help you provide outstanding customer service.

Keep your old-fashioned values, and keep building your customer intelligence (technology can help with that as well), but take a look at how technology can truly help you differentiate the way your agency serves customers. You–and they–will be pleasantly surprised.