The insurance industry, at its heart, is a customer service industry. One way or another, we’re all listening to people and helping solve their problems. So whether you’re just starting out or have been in the career for a while, getting better at customer service is a great way to stand out in your job. In this article, I’ll touch on our 10 best tips for delivering great customer service…but stay tuned!
Unfortunately, the insurance industry isn’t usually known for excelling at customer service. But one might argue there’s an upside to that stereotype because it offers a lot of opportunity to improve. Great support can be your winning strategy. Delivering great customer service can be what sets you apart and above your competition!
We’ve all experienced bad customer service. Sometimes, it feels more like the norm than an outlier. However, when we DO receive unexpectedly amazing customer service, we’re almost shocked. We’re delighted. And, perhaps most importantly, we remember it.
Yes, it’s hard to deliver this kind of service. Well, it’s hard in some ways. It’s not overly complicated and it doesn’t cost anything, but you DO have to think differently. If you can make your customers’ problems your own, get excited about the value that you bring to them, and are committed to clear and open communication, you can shine in customer service.
We’ve been supporting our customers for almost twenty years. Our founder, Dan Kerr, remembers when “customer service” was just him in a garage with his cell phone (and a little help from co-founder Adam.) Our systems and processes have changed quite a bit since then, but Dan’s original vision is still at the heart of what we do.
Put simply, our goal is to surprise and delight every customer. We aren’t perfect, but this is truly the goal of every interaction we have when someone reaches out to us.
How do we do this?
I asked Mary, Maureen, Teresa, Kim, Francesca, Thomas, and Ignacio (the whole Customer Engagement team) for their insights. From their deep philosophical takes to their very practical tips, here are our 10 tips for delivering great customer service:
- Answer the phone with a smile.
- This is your friend.
- Every question is a new question.
- Be knowledgeable.
- Respond quickly.
- Give the one-sentence answer, then expand.
- Don’t deal with the outrageous.
- Engineer around the customer.
- Empathize, but focus on solutions.
- Laugh.
In the individual articles, I expand on exactly what we mean by each of these tips and how you can help your team integrate them into daily practice. I’d love for you to follow along and let us know your own tips and tricks as well!
