Reviews play a very important role in the growth of any business, especially the insurance industry, which needs to be very personalized to every individual's needs. According to a study, 91% of 18-34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. While positive reviews are always welcomed, there are instances when you will receive a negative review. You might not be able to stop these reviews, but you can minimize their effects by responding to them quickly and resolving the issues.
To respond to such reviews, many companies are using automated bots. However, there could be a hidden downside to using premade templates to generate responses for customer reviews. Insurance agencies need to reevaluate their review management strategy to ensure they are authentic. As much as consumers like to use online reviews to make quick purchasing decisions, there's also a backlash against fake reviews.
Here's a look at using predefined review response templates vs. the power of personalizing the automated review response to influence consumer decisions.
Why Is Responding to Online Reviews of Your Insurance Company Important?
Personalization surged in importance during the pandemic. The crisis led to three-quarters of consumers altering their purchasing behavior, such as choosing new stores or purchasing methods. Many consumers began ordering online more often to avoid driving to physical destinations, leading to greater dependence on the internet. Personalization has ultimately led to better customer service and outcomes.
Responding to online reviews as soon as possible is important for insurance companies to show concern for the consumer. These days it's easy for prospects shopping online for insurance to just click on a competitor's website if they don't get a response right away. Recent data on trends in personalization shows that consumers enjoy engaging with the brands in which they have an interest. Over half of the consumers want offers for targeted promotions and post-purchase communication.
Meanwhile, data on automated review responses show it can have a negative impact on consumer behavior. A recent study by McKinsey reveals that 78 percent of consumers get frustrated when they have to deal with a service that lacks personalization. The problem with automation is that it doesn't necessarily resolve a problem. It serves a good purpose by letting consumers know their problem is being addressed, but sending too many automated responses make it appear the company treats customers more like statistics.
Engaging with customers regularly should be based on what you've learned about them through interactions such as surveys. Find out which customers want to engage with your brand regularly, then put them on your schedule for regular feeds. For customers that don't want to be bombarded with promotional emails, reduce interaction with them with a greater emphasis on what they've revealed are their main interests in your brand.
Why Do You Need to Personalize Automated Review Response?
Consumers increasingly expect personalization from the brands and businesses they choose. The McKinsey study shows that 71 percent of consumers expect personalization. An even greater margin of consumers, 75 percent, want stores to make it easy for them to navigate shopping, whether it's in-store or online. Personalization is a good ingredient to a modern business model, whether it's a traditional establishment or an online storefront.
One of the reasons for the cultural and business shifts toward personalization is that before online searches, many consumers got burned by the one-size-fits-all business model. Technology, however, has propelled consumers toward an empowering position of being able to make online decisions at their fingertips.
Generic responses are out of sync with the times now that consumers place such a high value on personalization. Evidence from the McKinsey study shows that consumers not only care about relevant service recommendations, but they also want messaging to be tailored toward their personalized needs. The more the interaction between the brand and the consumer is personalized, the more likely the consumer will develop an emotional attachment to the brand.
Tips & Strategies to Personalize Your Automated Review Responses
Every business now has an online reputation for managing in the age of customer review websites helping point consumers toward purchasing decisions. Personalization has become a technique to make customers feel special, whereas a lack of personalization sends a signal that the customer is not special. Here are essential tips and strategies for personalization to keep in mind:
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Start with templates for customized responses
It helps to pre-design templates for different types of responses to reviews, whether they are positive, negative, or neutral. A restaurant, for example, can prepare responses that thank patrons for their loyalty and positive comments about good food and service. A template for negative reviews can start with thanking them for sharing their honest opinion, then explaining how the management cares about what their customers think. A response to a neutral review might simply invite the customer to come again soon.
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Fight to keep dissatisfied customers
Just because a customer has a bad experience with your brand doesn't mean you should write them off and forget about them. It's better to let them know you want to fix the situation so that they come away as a winner and don't continue to spread negative reviews. You can either give them a refund or find a way to better serve their needs. Whatever you do, don't just give up on the customer. If you don't give them an opportunity to rethink your brand, it could mean lost sales.
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Identify negative feedback and address it
Whenever you come across a negative online review, use it as an indicator that you may need to improve your product or service. First, determine if the complaint has any merit. Perhaps the sales agent was new on the job and didn't know the correct answers to their questions. Once you determine the root of the customer's dissatisfaction, offer a way to resolve the problem. When you use personal interaction to resolve problems, it creates memorable moments that can shift a negative experience to a positive one.
Benefits of Our Reputation Management Service for Insurance Agencies
The value of a customer review response has become integral to insurance agencies. If your team doesn't have time to write personalized responses for online critiques, you need to consider using a reputation management service for your insurance agency. Here are the key benefits of seasoned online reputation management services for insurance agencies or agents:
- Monitor the progress of your insurance agency's online reputation.
- Identify your company's weaknesses from a customer perspective.
- Get insights from customers about what they like about your brand.
- Receive notifications when negative reviews of your company appear online.
- Learn how to resolve customer problems faster.
- Protect your online reputation by sending responses that attempt to convert the experience from negative to positive.
- Consistently collect and post authentic reviews from your customers to establish a trustworthy online reputation.
- Use online tools such as referral programs, e-blasts, and eCards to engage with customers in real-time.
- Take steps toward getting a 5-star online rating.
- Use our automated Agency Management System integration to connect with your customers in real-time.
Explore Our Online Reputation Management Service for Insurance Agencies
You can resolve online reputational issues quickly when you make reputation management part of your business ecosystem. Don't ignore what people are saying about your brand online. Use this solution to refine your brand's quality and gain a competitive edge. If you are a budding insurance company and want to streamline your review response system, contact us today. At Stratosphere, we provide insurance marketing and reputation management solutions specially created for insurance companies. Get in touch with us for more information on improving your personalization and reputation with your target market.
