The importance of post-sales support

Insurance Insights | June 2, 2017

The importance of post-sales support

One of the foundations of superior customer service is the after-sale care. Getting post-sales support right boosts customer loyalty, making them more likely to do business with you in the future, all while meeting their needs. It’s a win-win for everyone.But not all businesses get it right. Some continue to prioritize making the sale and see their post-sale customer interactions as a “transaction” without developing a deeper connection with them. Unfortunately, for an industry that prides itself on customer service as its primary value add, this is not good enough.Instead, brokers should be thinking of a “connection” and “pipeline” based insurance experience. They can envision customers moving through a series of customized service steps. At designated stages in the pipeline, brokers engage with customers to proactively identify and address any issues and develop deeper individual relationships.The best thing is that following up is as easy as getting on the phone. Emails are easy to ignore and while social media is becoming a big deal for the insurance industry as it seeks to modernize itself, tools remain merely tools. Anyone can learn to use a tool, but if your business isn’t thinking the right way or doesn’t have the right people to bring the tools to life, your performance will remain unimpressive.Resolving to take care of your customers ensures you will fix problems before they fester and drives them away. Problems can become opportunities if you handle them correctly, but you can only identify these hidden opportunities if you have a chance to face customer complaints and troubles in the eye. You can only do this if you have the wherewithal to take care of customers well after their initial contact with your company.Moreover, dedicating yourself to after-sales support helps you avoid wasting your customers’ time. Constant communication can reveal problems and help solve them, but if not, it can also be a sign for the parties to move on. Whatever the case, the persistent communication you implement with post-sales support brings all manner of benefits.So if a seemingly simple (perhaps even quaint) tool is good enough to meet your wildest customer service goals, what’s the trick? It’s what’s between your ears. Your mindset dictates how far you get. If your business is dedicated to communicating consistently with all of your customers, many opportunities will open for you. Most importantly, get away from the mindset of treating customers as an afterthought after they purchase.We may not always be able to visit or speak to every single customer, but it’s amazing what a phone call every now and then can achieve. At the end of the day, a good business can sell a product, but a great one will keep customers happy and coming back long after the initial buy.For everyone in sales out there — how are you treating your customers? Customers, tell us if your broker’s taking care of you. Comment below or tweet us @TheShepherdGroup