by 
I find that all too often, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers are always focusing on how to get more leads or build a bigger book of business. While these things are clearly important, sometimes we need to take a step back and think about who’s putting money in our pockets and food on our tables, and that’s our pre-existing customers. Think about this for a moment, if you didn’t have your ongoing, loyal customers who stick around with your agency during your renewals, where would your agency stand financially?
Of course, that is a bit of an extreme, but it’s meant to be an eye opener. Instead of focusing all of our energy and efforts on developing new business, we have to put aside time as well to nourish our existing relationships, so that our client retention rate can go up, thus maximizing agency profits at the end of the day. This is why capitalizing on the customer experience journey is so important for our insurance agencies, and by showing your customers that you truly care, you can separate yourself from the competition. That being said, one important piece of the puzzle is to regularly thank your customers, so that they know your agency and your staff truly appreciate their business.
Now think about this, what about your staff? Are you thanking them on a frequent basis? Yes, your staff deserves to be thanked regularly too, because people that feel appreciated are more motivated in their work, which will increase their production, which helps your agency as a whole. Additionally, if you remind your staff frequently that you appreciate their efforts, they will be more inclined to remain loyal to your agency, and you can start to develop a stronger bond or relationship with them at the end of the day. Let’s go over ten creative ways that you can thank your customers, clients, staff, or anyone else for that matter, this way we can see higher retention rates and a happier work environment overall.
8 Creative “Thank You’s”
- Be compassionate – by expressing sympathy or showing that you really care, your message will be able to reside with those that you thank.
- Be authentic – never fake a “thank you,” because it’s easy to tell when someone is just sweet talking for their own benefit; it needs to come from the heart.
- Tell people they did a job well done – when your staff gets recognized for their hard work, they will appreciate that you took the time to notice.
- Write a note – this is something that we do frequently with our clients. Whenever someone comes into the agency as a new customer or answers one of our surveys, we send them a handwritten thank you note because it makes a world of difference.
- Listen, and carefully – your customers have real problems that you have to be able to sympathize with. If you thank them for their business but they felt you didn’t listen properly in your interactions, you may lose their business regardless.
- Be in the moment – if one of your staff or customers goes out of their way for you, be sure to recognize it immediately. Immediate responses make positivity contagious.
- Get personable – sometimes, if it’s a private matter that you discuss with someone on a personal level, it can be best to bring them aside and sincerely thank them while no one else is around.
- Make time for people – even if you appreciate someone, they might not get the message if you don’t take even a little bit of time out of your schedule for them.
If there are any more ways you can think of that we didn’t mention above, let us know in the comments section below! Happy marketing everyone.
