May
31

By CommenceCRM

How Do Small Insurance Agencies Benefit From CRM?

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Technology has always been a significant factor in helping small-scale businesses grow and expand. Customer relationship management (CRM) software has been one of the best ways to help expand different businesses such as insurance agencies. The benefits of CRM are able to help the insurance sector with different industry needs. 

So how do small insurance agencies benefit from CRM? With small insurance agencies facing several challenges, using insurance CRM can help a small insurance business organize workflow, increase mobility, manage leads, generate sales, enhance customer loyalty, and handle data. 

Challenges Small Insurance Agencies Face

Before looking at how small insurance agencies can benefit from CRM, let’s first determine the challenges they usually face compared to bigger agencies. This can help agencies analyze what they can improve on and adapt the necessary solutions to help their businesses grow. Some of the challenges small insurance agencies face are the following:

1. Finances

Since most small insurance agencies are just starting out, one of the challenges they face is their finances. It’s important that they utilize their money and capital to the best of their abilities to ensure the growth of their company. When a business doesn’t have enough funds, it’s more difficult for them to take more risks. They can’t afford to invest in more products without the promise of a return on investment. This way, small insurance agencies aren’t able to experiment with adapting different products or services that can help them expand their businesses. 

Moreover, knowing where to place their revenue can also be a challenge that small agencies face. Once a company has enough money to spare, financial management becomes more important since their finances become more complex and difficult to organize. 

2. Client Dependence

While it’s no doubt that clients are the main source of income for businesses, an independent agent or small insurance agencies are the first ones to be affected once a client shortage arises. If the agency only has a few clients, then they become heavily dependent on this pool. Having a diverse client base is important to keep the business going, so this means that an agency needs to have as many referrals as possible. 

Keep in mind that loyal clients go hand in hand with providing excellent customer service. Just like with any other business, existing customers must be satisfied with the products and service they receive to guarantee that they continue purchasing them. Great customer service can also help increase a small agency’s number of clients since existing clients can recommend them to their peers. 

3. Utilizing and Improving Data

To guarantee growth as an insurance agency, it’s important to utilize the data they have on hand. However, a small insurance business may have a difficult time doing this since they don’t have enough data to analyze. In some cases, they may even forget to record critical information that can help them improve their agencies. 

Small insurance agencies that only have a limited number of employees may have a difficult time tracking data. And even if employees are able to record data, it can be a struggle to efficiently record data without it being so time-consuming. Simply recording data isn’t enough, agents need to learn how to utilize and analyze these to their advantage. However, only having a few employees to analyze data can also be a challenge for these small agencies.  

4. Technology Changes and Cybersecurity

Small insurance agencies should also keep up with the changing technology trends and the risks that come with these changes. Without the budget of big insurance agencies, they usually have a difficult time adapting to all the changes so that they’re up to date with the best tools in the insurance sector. 

These changes in technology also come with risks, and small insurance agencies should be prepared to face these in case they happen. An example of a digital challenge that’s present in the current technological landscape is cybersecurity. With insurance agencies keeping vital information about their clients, they should make sure that this information is kept safe. It’s important that they adapt to changes in technology so they can provide the best service while ensuring their security.  

5. Big Competitors

One of the biggest challenges small insurance companies face is to determine their edge over their competitors — both big and small. They may have a difficult time pointing out their competitors and staying unique in the insurance sector. It’s important to prove that they have something unique to offer their clients. With established names in the insurance industry, this is one of the biggest challenges they have to overcome. Small insurance companies have to guarantee policyholders that they are receiving the best product possible. 

Benefits of CRM for Small Insurance Agencies

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To help small insurance agencies overcome the challenges stated above, CRM provides a variety of features to help agents and reps work easier. Keep in mind that there are different kinds of insurance CRM available on the market which means that it’s important to look at whether their features are applicable to the needs of your business. When insurance agencies are able to choose a suitable CRM, here are the benefits they can receive: 

1. Organizes Workflow

Using CRM software to store data and other significant information ensures that an insurance agent easily has access to all his/her data. The software solution allows insurance brokers smooth workflows since they can easily look up information they need whenever they need it. Most CRM software is now cloud-based, which means that everything is stored in one place and an insurance agent can access important information and multiple policies from any device, no matter where they are located. 

A centralized pool of information allows for a more simplified collaboration among employees. Since they have a platform that they can all access, communications and interactions are easier. Other insurance CRM software also provides built-in collaboration tools so that multiple agents can work on a file simultaneously. This feature can also enable insurance brokers to help each other and improve their work. 

2. Increases Mobility

Mobility is also important for small insurance agencies since they can use their time wisely and efficiently. With insurance CRM, agents don’t have to deal with tons of paperwork just to find the information that they need. The software provides them with an all-in-one platform to access all the important data about their clients. As a result, agents and employees can use their time to do other things that can also benefit their company. 

The platform stores all the important information about a client including their email address, contact numbers, order history, and personality traits — which are all information that’s difficult to record on paper or remember by memory. 

3. Improves Lead Management

CRM is also great for small insurance agencies to manage leads. The software helps segment the market efficiently so that a company can create marketing materials that are effective. When an insurance agency knows what kind of marketing materials work well, they don’t have to shell out money for ineffective campaigns.  

For example, a great advantage of a CRM system is that it has marketing automation so that an insurance agent doesn’t have to deal with sending individual emails to all their clients. Aside from doing this, the software also alerts and emails employees when they have to send certain information. Improving lead management can also result in small insurance agencies generating more sales and fostering better client relationships. 

4. Heps Interpret and Analyze Data

As mentioned above, it’s not enough that small insurance agencies track and record data. They should learn how to interpret and analyze these data so they can use the analyses to grow their businesses. Insurance agency software helps small insurance agencies interpret and analyze the data they have on hand. As a result, they’re able to anticipate what customers want and what the agency needs.  

A good example of how insurance management software helps with data management is that it can record what kind of concerns clients usually complain or comment about. This can provide small insurance agencies with an idea of areas to improve on. It’s their chance to redeem themselves and eventually offer clients a better customer experience. Agents can become experts in helping policyholders using quantifiable data provided on the database.  

5. Enhances Customer Loyalty

The greatest benefit of CRM software is that it enhances customer loyalty for small insurance agencies. One way to stand out from other insurance agencies is to provide them with a customer service experience that their clients can’t find anywhere else. Creating more personalized relationships with clients builds their trust and improves communication between the two parties. 

With a CRM solution, insurance agents are able to treat each client individually and cater to their unique needs. For example, a CRM system usually has a set of email templates employees can use to urgently respond to client inquiries. The platform can help insurers set up a live chat option so that clients can quickly learn about an insurance product. This keeps customers happy since it shows that you prioritize them and are always ready to help. 

6. Generates More Insurance Sales

When customer loyalty and satisfaction are guaranteed, then agents will have an easier time generating more insurance sales. For small insurance agencies, this helps overcome their challenge of being too client dependent especially when they only have a small pool of policyholders. By looking at customer behavior, an insurance broker can identify what kind of insurance product or financial services to upsell. 

Through a CRM solution, agents can also follow a step-by-step process to increase sales and productivity. It can also help them figure out what kind of sales strategies work well, so they can train other agents to use these strategies. And when issues arise during the sales process, it’s easier for the agency to tweak details. 

Insurance CRM Vs. Other Insurance Tracking Tools

Though there are other ways insurance agency employees can track and organize their workflow, insurance CRM offers more advantages. Most software are general CRM software and don’t provide an insurance business with features they actually need. Some agencies may spend more money on these additional features, but end up wasting their finances on something they don’t use. 

Insurance CRM is industry-specific and provides an all-in-one platform for their employees. The platform is specifically created for insurance agencies, so it offers the best tools both agents and clients can use. Unlike other insurance tracking tools, companies who use insurance CRM don’t have to worry about switching through different software to work efficiently. The platform provides them a simple yet functional tool to manage and organize all the work they have to do. 

Moreover, the main goal of insurance CRM is to ensure an excellent customer journey. Other insurance tracking tools aren’t created with customers in mind, rather, they are designed to help with an employee’s workflow. There isn’t much room to analyze the specific wants and needs of their clients to support the growth of small insurance agencies. 

Improve Your Business With Commence

For small insurance agencies, CRM is the path forward. Using an excellent CRM software that meets all your business needs can help guarantee growth, no matter where you start from. With Commence CRM, small insurance agencies now have a platform they can use to organize their workflow and enhance customer relationships. Commence CRM software is web-based and has a variety of functional and flexible features. 

Our CRM is specifically ideal for small businesses since it doesn’t have the cost and complexity of other insurance industry giants. To know more about Commence CRM and our other products, you may check out our website or give us a call today. Our team members are more than happy to answer any questions or inquiries about us. 

Learn more: What’s The Best CRM For Financial Advisors And Insurance Agents?

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