Do you want to increase retention and sell more insurance policies this year?

There’s one simple thing you can do to help you achieve both: ensure you have accurate information for all your clients and prospects in your agency management system.

First, you need two crucial pieces of data: their name and a way to contact them.

Start with the name

You’ve probably had people mispronounce or misspell your name. Don’t let that happen to your customers or prospects. Put the first and last name in their appropriate fields and always verify the spelling. Make sure you don’t accidentally add a note about your customer in the name field. After all, no one wants to be addressed as “Dear friend of Jean M.”

Remember that for commercial accounts there is always a person behind the company. Get their name and send communications addressed to them.

If a customer or their partner gets divorced or passes away, remember to remove the person’s name in your management system and anywhere else you keep track of customer information.

Verify the contact information

Ideally, you want to have a customer’s address, their phone number and their email address. If you receive an undelivered email, for example, call them or mail them a card asking for their new email address.

Having several ways to reach a client is great for retention since you can contact them appropriately for the situation. You can call them to discuss coverage and claims, send them a card for their birthday, email them with a cross-sell offer, or text them to see if they need anything after an inclement weather event in their area.

Keep good notes

People are flattered when you remember what they told you about themselves. If a customer shares they are going on a trip soon, make a note of that and where they are headed, and ask how it went next time you talk to them. This small gesture will make a good impression and help you continue building a lasting relationship with this customer.

Keep track of any information that could help you cross-sell in the future. If a client mentions their small business is growing and they’re thinking about hiring several new employees, note that and reach out later to see if they may be ready to consider offering a group health policy.

Use our commercial lines and personal lines checklists to help make sure your customers have the coverage they need.

Get your team members on the same page

Your communications will only be as good as your data. Before you can send successful automations and cross-sell campaigns, you need to make sure client information in the agency management system is accurate and consistent.

Create clear directions on where employees should put the name, email address, phone number, address, policy information, business name and any notes. Make sure to train new employees on the process and don’t let your experienced team members deviate from the rules.

If you know you need to work on your data, set aside some time for your team to go through the management system and clean up the information. It’s a good idea to do this regularly, especially if you know there’s work to do.