How to Provide the Best Customer Service this AEP
One of the most crucial things that influence your agency’s client retention is customer service. Your ability to provide stellar customer service to beneficiaries and prospects weighs heavily on if they will continue to work with you (and if they will refer their friends to you). As any good insurance agent knows, good customer service is about building solid relationships with your clients, rather than just selling to them. Here are some tips that will help you ensure your customer service is on point for the rest of the Medicare Advantage Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) and beyond:
Tips for Providing Great Customer Service to Medicare Clients
Be Friendly
This goes almost without saying, but friendliness is an essential rule for customer service for insurance agents or anyone providing customer service. Greet customers with a smile and be courteous and respectful. Be proactive about paying attention to clients’ needs and remain kind and empathetic, even when they appear disappointed or angry. This matters more than you know.
Give Timely Responses
Another major factor in customer service is the speed of your responses. You are not expected to respond to all clients at all hours, but it is vital to make sure you respond to clients promptly. For good practice, try to respond to all calls or emails within 24 hours and let clients know your current response time if anything changes. One effective way to manage replies is to set aside an hour or so every day to respond to emails and calls you have missed in the last day or so.
Be Knowledgeable About Your Products
To effectively match your clients with a plan that meets their needs, you need to have a good understanding of the products you can offer and the differences between them. Ideally, you will be able to discuss the features of each product and how that will benefit the client, etc. When meeting with a client, it is not a bad idea to brush up on the fine details about a few products that you think would meet their needs. Do not limit them to only those options if it is not what is best, but it is always beneficial to go into detail about a product that you think would meet their needs.
Listen
Listening is such a simple but essential part of customer service. When listening to a client or prospect rather than just asking questions, you may learn more than you would have when fact-finding. Through listening attentively, the client may tell you precisely what you need to know to meet their needs without you even asking.
Say Thank You
As they say, thank you can go a long way – this is also true in the customer service world. Clients will remember sincere gratitude, and it reminds them why they chose you as their insurance agent. Simply saying thank you after enrollment is essential, but there are some additional ways you can step up your game. For example, you can send handwritten thank-you notes or thank you cards to clients.
Get to Know Them
Getting to know your clients goes a long way. Through this, you learn so much about them, and you build trust and rapport. The better you understand who they are, the better you can meet their needs. Focusing on the relationship between you and your clients is crucial because it is how you treat them beyond the sale that often matters the most regarding retention and referrals. It is always a good idea to send birthday and holiday cards to existing clients to let them know you care.
Ask for Feedback
Always provide the clients the options to give you feedback, be it verbally or through a link to Google reviews or a survey. This helps clients let you know how you are doing. Make sure you take this information and implement what your clients think that you can improve.
Follow Up with Clients
To go above and beyond, follow up with clients later to see how they like their new coverage. Taking the time out of your day to connect with these clients makes them feel appreciated and special, and less just like a number.
Conclusion
As you can see, excellent customer service is crucial, and the rewards you reap from providing the best customer service you can are intangible. Implementing these tips with your insurance agency will easily improve your client relationships and retention; for more information on how you can provide better customer service, contact Agent Pipeline at 800.962.4693.
