Cognitive Dissonance: The Time to Invest in Digital is Yesterday

The majority of independent agents—60%—believe consumer demand for online services will have a major effect on their agency by 2020, according to a new survey from Safeco.

Yet not even half say they’re comfortable embracing online account management—and nearly a quarter are either not comfortable or don’t want to offer it at all.

“Historically, agents have really excelled at providing great customer service. But that customer service has always been done one way,” says Tyler Asher, president of Safeco. “Agents are at a disadvantage if they’re not willing to think about how they should offer service differently over time.”

Safeco’s “Agent for the Future Survey” asked 600 independent agents to share how their roles will evolve in response to changing customer demands and technology. It found that over the next few years, most agents want to reduce the time they spend retaining clients and responding to service needs, while shifting their focus to quoting new business and prospecting.

But that shift won’t be possible without embracing digital capabilities like online quoting, mobile and chat. Consider simple transactions like paying a bill or printing an ID card—“customers actually prefer to do that kind of thing on their own,” Asher says. “Not every transaction is one where you’re going to add value.”

Rather than removing the agent from the picture, embracing self-service technology enables you to “focus on those interactions where you really are building loyalty,” Asher explains.

Digital, then, enables the customer to choose how they want their simple problems solved, “but it still keeps the human side of the agent as a trusted adviser very much in play,” Asher says.

And many agents are already making efforts to strike that balance. According to the survey, 67% of agents are very comfortable with e-signing documents, 61% currently provide quotes online and 60% text message with clients.

“Certainly, there’s work to do,” Asher says. “Agents should think long and hard about meeting customer expectations in terms of online functionality, and be willing to take a strategic view of which touches really matter for adding value over time.”

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.