Is This Still Your Father's Agency?

There's no right or wrong answer, just your answer. If the agency handled all payment issues 25 years ago, do you still feel this is required to provide personal service to your clients? If you have direct bill policies but still call any insured that's late or handle all their billing questions, is it from your definition of service or from a fear that you're not giving the same level of service that was provided 25 years ago?

The fact is that every agency is unique. Sell the uniqueness of your agency. In order to do that you have to define it first. Perhaps you're the agency with totally personal service. You handle all transactions as though technology was a passing fad. Do your clients understand and appreciate the unique personal services that only you provide? Have you chosen to do business this way, or is it happening by default?

Perhaps you're trying to move from providing labor-intensive service to some combination of automation and personal attention. Maybe you're concerned that your clients will think you're too busy to care for their needs. Communication is the key.

Customers expect the ultimate in service. They want individualized attention. Some want response on demand, 24/7; others want telephone contact. Some want a single contact person, and others want you to handle their insurance needs so they can spend time on other things. It's a tremendous challenge to balance all these demands. Today's world is one of many promises given, and few actually kept. Determine what you do well, communicate it, and deliver it. Accept that you can't make everyone happy all the time. If you can make your chosen market happy most of the time, you'll have achieved a very high standard of success.

Whether it's run like Dad's agency of 25 years ago or the agency of the future, your decision must be based on what you can afford to do. Make the decision, become the best in the class, and thrive!