No One Wants a Satisfied Customer!

No One Wants a Satisfied Customer!

Years ago I read a wonderful book by legendary author Jeffery Gitomer, titled: “Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless: How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know” …and how true this is!

Whenever I speak with an agency, one of the first questions that I ask them is “What makes you different than the agency across the street?” and guess what I immediately hear almost every time: “Our customer service is the best, and our customers are all satisfied!” Well, that’s great, as I am sure that your customers are very “satisfied”, but is purely being satisfied going to keep them renewing with you every year, and more importantly are they going to tell a friend about your firm? Most likely not… so what do you need to do in order to make this happen? Let’s take a look…

Keep in mind that it costs your agency about seven times more to acquire a new customer than it costs to retain what you currently have… and speaking of retention, most agents with whom I speak also brag about having a 90% retention rate. Well that’s all well and good, except that you now have to work 10% harder just to break even from last year, which you worked harder than the year before, and the year before that. In addition, that’s assuming that none of your carriers have cut or restructured your commission plan…and we all know how often that “never” happens!

Having a “satisfied” customer means exactly that: that they have just what they need to not go out and talk poorly about your organization. Statistics indicate that a “satisfied” customer will tell 1 person about your business, where an unsatisfied person will tell five. With the difference between satisfied and unsatisfied being about the length of a chip shot on a par three, there isn’t much room for forgiveness in the event of an errant shot. I can walk into a fast food restaurant, in need of a meal, eat till I’m bursting, and walk out “satisfied”…even though the value of that meal may not be what I need from a nutritional standpoint. However, I can walk into a five star restaurant, be treated so special that I feel like I’m a VIP, have a conversation about my choices to see which entrée best fits my needs, and walk out feeling like that was the best meal I ever ate. Chances are I will share that wonderful experience with quite a few folks, versus the meal that I had at the fast food restaurant. Both gave me what I need…but the latter made me “feel special’.

So how do you take a satisfied customer and bring them over to a loyal customer? Easy! In all the years that I have facilitated and managed sales teams, as a leader there is one thing that I have stressed with my team members more than anything: and that is “owning the relationship” with our customer.

That’s how you convert a client from a “satisfied customer” to a “loyal customer”. It’s simply all about “owning the relationship”… and we all know that the business of insurance is all about relationships…or else everyone might as well make a 15 minute phone call and not even bother to visit your agency. How do you own the relationship? Very simple: make them feel special, especially in front of their friends and relatives. THAT’S how you get a referral…THAT’S how you increase retention… THAT’S how you impact your bottom line in a positive fashion!

So, how do you make someone feel special, and “own the relationship?” There are many ways that you can do this, so let’s touch upon just a few “personal tips” this time, and we will revisit this once again at a later date.

1) Everyone wants to feel like “they’re known”. So call folks by their name, and know how to pronounce it. Know their family members’ names. Remember your clients, and recognize them when they walk in the door. It worked at “Cheers”, and we all know that show was on the air for quite some time!

2) Remember that commercial that said “Reach out and touch someone”? Don’t wait until it’s time to deliver a claim check, or remind them about a premium that is due. Give a call to say, “Hello, how’s it going?” Take note of life events that may be pending, or past, and call to congratulate or offer assistance. Through the use of your EZLynx Management System, you can easily manage this process….give us a call and we will explain how.

3) Be genuinely warm and gracious to folks, and be appreciative that they came to visit you. Walk around from behind the desk to greet a visitor. Welcome them by offering a beverage, and perhaps if your office environment permits sit in the seat adjacent to them…as opposed to across the desk. Upon their departure, genuinely thank them, and advise them where the restroom is. Make them feel at home when they come to visit.

4) Nowadays everyone is texting and emailing, as opposed to calling…or even writing. Something that I try to do is to send a handwritten note to everyone that I meet with. Sure, it takes a few minutes, and there are costs involved…but think of the last time that you gave someone a gift at a party, and a week later you received a simple handwritten note thanking you by name for the lovely gift. I’ll bet that you picked up the phone to call and thank them for the thank you note! It makes a difference.

5) Ask for a referral. Think about what makes someone feel good about themself: helping others. Did you ever see someone you know in a situation, and you knew someone who could help? What did you do? You gave them the name of your buddy who could assist in the predicament. Everyone wants to feel like they are the person whom others go to when they need advice…the “I know a guy” feeling. If you helped out your customer, and they are “loyal” to you, by simply asking if they know of anyone who you may also be of assistance to, you will get referrals. Try it!

One last note certainly worth discussing, is that what I mentioned above isnot difficult, and eventually it will make a difference in your bottom line. Perhaps you are already doing some of the what I have mentioned, or maybe you do something else to own the relationship. If so, please share these suggestions with me as I would love to hear from you!

So until next time when we will be talking about the PIA of NY and NJ conference in Atlantic City, NJ, thanks for visiting… and “it’s the last door on the right!”

Ciao for now!