Do you have annual goals tied to the number of clients that you’re expected to retain? Is that goal getting harder and harder to hit each year? In 2021, employers are facing a lot of complicated challenges. Healthcare costs are rising, compliance is getting more complicated, and the labor market is tighter than ever. The key to retaining your clients is being proactive on all of these fronts. Here are four things that you can do to help your clients, and ensure that they’ll remain loyal clients for years to come.
- Break the Cycle
Employers expect to hear from their insurance broker during renewal season. But what else are you doing to stay in front of your clients? According to Zywave’s annual employer survey, a majority of employers want to hear from their brokers on either a weekly or monthly basis.
But it’s not just about answering questions when clients reach out – you have to be proactive when it comes to communication.
Consider sending communications to employers on a regular basis. That doesn’t mean sending a generic newsletter to all of your clients at the same time. You may want to figure out how to provide some customized information that is timely and relevant. Using a resource such as Zywave’s Content Cloud can help you find specific and insightful content related to your client’s specific industries. You can help educate your clients in a way that’s meaningful and impactful to their business.
Also, brokers also don’t have to stick to sending information that’s about insurance. Consider sending applicable information that can help employers in other aspects of their business, including talent retention or compliance. This will show that you understand their pain points and can serve as a consultant on a variety of issues.
- Differentiate Yourself
How do you make your agency stand out from the competition? Every agency offers insurance, but if you start acting as a partner and consultant to your client’s HR department, you’ll make yourself indispensable.
This includes offering additional services to your clients including HR department support, employee training, compliance information and more. For example, using something like Zywave’s Client Cloud makes it easy to expand your services, allowing agencies to offer a technology experience with tools and content they need to solve their business’s unique pain points.
- Improve the Client Experience
We’ve already discussed how offering technology can help you differentiate yourself against other agencies. But, ensuring that you’re using technology the right way is key. Consider the option of a client portal.
By offering your clients a centralized portal that provides a comprehensive offering will eliminate the need for clients to log into multiple platforms, thus reducing portal fatigue and confusion. The goal should be to create a great and unified experience, showing that you can shine as a business consultant.
- Save Your Clients Money
Every employer wants to save money – but how can you do that when renewals get pricier every year? You have to get a little creative and step out of the traditional idea of what an insurance agency is by finding additional or new ways to help employers boost their bottom line.
Here’s a case to consider: Most employers have to offer some type of employee trainings to remain compliant, especially those in states like New York or California that require specific trainings, including sexual harassment. Those trainings can cost employers thousands and thousands of dollars each year. Could you help clients by providing access to those training? For example, Zywave offers a host of classes as part of Client Cloud’s Learning Management System that could easily be implemented. By offering just a few of these trainings that are relevant to your clients, you can quickly impact your client’s bottom line.
You can even impact your own bottom line, by offering these classes as an additional paid service to your partners. While some agencies choose to offer these classes for free, you could choose to charge clients a flat fee or per head. As long as you’re charging less than their current vendor, you can impact your bottom line and your client’s bottom line at the same time.
Want to Learn More?
Retaining clients isn’t going to get any easier. But by following these four steps, you’ll ensure that you are indispensable to your clients, making it that much harder for them to reach out to the competition.
If you’d like to know more about this topic and learn more tips for retaining clients check out Zywave’s on-demand webinar, 4 Ways to Retain Clients This Year.