How Insurance Customer Reviews Can Help You Grow

Insurance customer reviews offer valuable opportunities to grow your business. A BrightLocal survey found that 85% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as recommendations from friends. Read on to learn more about customer reviews and why you should include them in your agency’s marketing strategy.

Why Insurance Customer Reviews Are Important

There are many ways customer reviews can benefit your business. Here are the biggest benefits:

They build credibility

Personal recommendations, including online customer reviews, are widely regarded as the most trustworthy form of advertising. A BrightLocal survey discovered that positive customer reviews make 73% of customers trust a business more. HubSpot also conducted research and found that 60% of consumers regard online customer reviews as trustworthy.

They help customers gauge the quality of your agency

Insurance customer reviews are an important way for prospects to assess the quality of your agency’s services. Imagine you are a CEO who is looking for a new benefits offering or health insurance broker. When researching agencies, are you more likely to contact an agency that has good customer reviews, or one that doesn’t have any at all? Most insurance agencies have very few online reviews, so this is an opportunity for you to stand out from the competition.

They help your agency rank higher on Google

When businesses have online reviews on sites like Google My Business, their websites rank higher on Google. The same is true for insurance agencies. There are many benefits to having a higher Google ranking, including being perceived that you are a leader in the industry and increased likelihood local prospects research your agency first. This helps you fill the top of the funnel.

How to Solicit Feedback from Clients and Create Insurance Customer Reviews

How should your business start asking clients for insurance customer reviews? The good news is that satisfied customers are generally willing to provide feedback on their experiences if you ask them. When asking customers to write a review, there are steps you can take to increase your success rate.

The main guideline is to make the request after they’ve had a positive experience with your agency and are satisfied with the services they received. For insurance agencies, the best time to ask is after a successful open enrollment period or after you secure plan types at a rate that employers were satisfied with.

If asking your customer in person to leave a review, lead into it gradually. Ask them how satisfied they are with the service or product they received. If they are pleased with the service, tell them you value their business and feedback. Then explain that you would appreciate their help in spreading the word and you would like to create insurance customer reviews with their feedback.

When asking for feedback over email, make it as easy as possible for your customers to leave a review. Include a link to your Yelp or Google My Business page in the email so they can simply click the link and see where to leave their feedback. Or, if you want them to leave a review on your agency’s Facebook page, send the request in a Facebook message. Making it easy for your customers shows them that you value their time, and increases the chances that they will leave the review. If your client doesn’t leave the review in a timely manner, don’t hesitate to follow-up with a friendly reminder.

How to Incentivize Customers to Write Reviews

Many companies offer incentives to give their customers a reason to write a review. They might offer a discount, send a gift card, or enter reviewers into a raffle. For example, the software company G2 Crowd sent their feedback request to customers right before National Coffee Day. They asked customers to review their software or services in exchange for a $10 Starbucks gift card. This request was enticing enough to motivate customers to write reviews for them and it can work for you to get insurance customer reviews.

Capterra found that 43% of users will leave a review in exchange for some kind of reward, which makes this a strategy worth considering. As an insurance agency, you might want to offer them a discount on one of your products or services. For example, if you offer any HR tools like time-off tracking, you can offer them a few free months.

If you choose to incentivize your clients to write insurance customer reviews, ensure that it doesn’t come across like you are paying people to write positive reviews. Some companies address this by making it clear that anyone who writes a review will earn the reward — regardless of whether their review is positive or negative.

Responding to Negative Reviews

Though inviting customers to review your agency can work wonders for your marketing, most businesses will also acquire negative reviews. While you may fear that negative reviews will hurt your agency, there are ways to address them effectively.

It’s essential to monitor your customer reviews regularly and to respond thoughtfully to any negative reviewers. Address their concerns calmly, without being defensive, and make it clear that you genuinely want to find a resolution for them. In fact, the Harvard Business Review discovered that businesses that respond to negative reviews have better overall ratings than those who don’t. Taking the time to address negative reviews in a compassionate manner reflects well on your agency, and customers will take notice.

Showcasing Your Agency’s Best Insurance Customer Reviews

When your agency receives positive insurance customer reviews, publicize them to boost your agency’s credibility and to encourage leads to contact you.

Make sure to showcase your best reviews where your prospects and leads can see them to enhance your agency’s reputation. Post them in a prominent spot on your agency’s website, preferably with each reviewer’s name and photo. You might also dedicate a page on your website to reviews and testimonials. These reviews will give prospects more confidence to contact your agency.

Social media networks also provide excellent opportunities to publicize your best reviews. On social media, people freely share their experiences with a brand, company, or agency. Many people like to leave feedback on LinkedIn and Facebook business pages as well. Your social media accounts are ideal places for you to promote and share positive customer reviews.

Final Thoughts About Insurance Customer Reviews

Given the importance of insurance customer reviews, it’s definitely worthwhile for you to use them in their marketing plan. They can increase your agency’s credibility, entice leads to contact you, and improve your website’s ranking on Google. If you haven’t been soliciting customer reviews, now is the time to get started. These reviews are powerful marketing tools that can greatly benefit your agency in the long run.