Reputation Management for Insurance Providers: Why It’s So Important

The industry you’re in as an insurance company owner is not a niche but a crowded one. It’s fundamental to manage brand reputation because your reputation could be the only thing that sets you apart from your competitors.

So, what is online reputation management (ORM)?

What Is Online Reputation Management for Insurance Providers?

Online brand reputation management is the process of monitoring and shaping an insurance provider’s brand image to create deeper connections with clients founded on trust. When insurance experts manage online reputation, it involves review response management, where you proactively engage with customers not only through good reviews but also negative ones, preventing further damage.

Why an Insurance Company Should Manage Online Reputation

Business reputation management involves securing your listings on top directories and ensuring your listed business information is accurate and updated. With any business, but particularly for newcomers, online visibility is crucial for potential clients to discover you. Online visibility is only one of many aspects insurance professionals can target with ORM.

The Benefits of Business Reputation Management for Insurance Professionals

To further enlighten you on the importance of business reputation management for insurance professionals, let’s briefly go over what you can expect when you manage brand reputation.

• Better brand image. When you improve online reputation, you define how the public may see your brand as a whole, including individual key insurance experts in your team.
• Higher search rankings. Another major aspect of ORM is local search engine optimization (SEO). Local SEO involves listing management, link building and content production.
• Collect more good reviews. ORM also involves review generation. Reviews are user-generated content (UGC) that serves as a strong trust signal for your prospective clients.
• Attract new clients. When you combine a strong brand image with high visibility in search, you consequently attract new clients searching for relevant services to yours.
• Appeal to potential investors. Insurance providers and investment companies are closely linked since investment is crucial to such a business model.
• Stronger talent acquisition capabilities. Similarly, your reputable brand image translates into your employer branding, giving you better talent acquisition power.
• Improve customer satisfaction. To invest in ORM is to improve customer satisfaction. Clients will be proud to associate with your brand if you have a favorable reputation.

So how can you start to manage online reputation and reap the benefits above?

How To Improve Online Reputation: Brand Reputation Management Tips for Insurance Providers

Considering you have full confidence in the insurance coverage you’re providing, here are some steps you can take to promote your brand and its offerings.

1. Analyze your online presence. Do an audit of your current standing and find out what people say about your brand online.
2. Secure all your business listings. Claim any listing you discover in your audit and provide accurate business information.
3. Add a review widget to your website. Review widgets allow potential clients to see highlighted reviews on your website.
4. Monitor your brand mentions regularly. Monitor your brand mentions daily and set up alerts to proactively address issues.
5. Respond to client feedback. Responding to client reviews communicates that you welcome and value their feedback.
6. Invest in professional online reputation management services. For convenience, expertise and results, call in the experts.

Top Insurance Company Review Sites To Manage Brand Reputation

Here are the top business directories your insurance company should be on. As with any insurance provider, account managers and sales agents are associated with the brand. You also want to establish all your key team members’ online presence, especially on LinkedIn.

1. Google. When you claim your listing here, you control how your business appears on Google Search and Maps.
2. Facebook. Aside from claiming your listing to manage your reputation, you can also explore paid ads on the platform.
3. Yelp. Aside from your insurance company itself, some insurance experts individually list themselves on the platform.
4. LinkedIn. If your target clients are working professionals, you should highly consider managing your listing here.

How To Respond to Negative Reviews

As mentioned, responding to reviews, particularly negative ones, is essential to improve online reputation. So here are some review response management tips to guide you.

1. Ask any staff involved. You’ll likely have an idea which insurance expert or agent from your team is engaged with the disappointed client. Talk to them and get a better context of what happened. Having a clear understanding of the situation allows you to respond better.
2. Respond in a timely manner. You don’t have to conduct a full investigation before you respond to the review. If you need more time to understand what happened, you can simply let the client know what initial steps you’re taking to look into the complaint they raised.
3. Do not send a vague canned response. As much as responding with a generic apology and brushing off the review is convenient, you should avoid sending obviously canned responses. Instead, make your messages as personal as possible, addressing the client by name.
4. Stay professional and well-mannered. While it can be tempting to take things personally, be thoughtful and avoid being reactive to the client’s feedback, no matter how harsh it may be. It’s okay to take some reasonable time away from the screen if you have to.
5. Apologize for any fault. Take ownership of the situation by apologizing to your client emphatically. Straightforwardly saying “I’m sorry” without beating around the bush of excuses will convey that you’re genuine. Remember not to follow your apology with the word “but.”
6. Remedy the situation. In a few cases, there’s nothing much you can do but apologize. But in most cases, you can offer a solution and address any complaint your clients have. For instance, if they say their insurance agent is being unresponsive, work on that.
7. Offer to continue the conversation offline. When dealing with a disgruntled client about a sensitive matter, it’s wiser to continue the conversation offline, but only once you’ve initially replied. In your initial reply, provide contact information on where they can reach you.
8. Flag false or inappropriate reviews. Sadly, fake and inappropriate reviews can be a reality for any business, whichever industry. But fortunately, web review platforms are strictly against such reviews. So whenever necessary, flag them so they can be reviewed for removal.

Still, you also want to pay attention to the good reviews you receive. While you don’t have to respond to every single positive feedback, extending a simple “thank you” won’t hurt but rather be very much appreciated by your clients. But avoid turning it into a sales pitch, as you’re already dealing with a satisfied client.

Get More Good Reviews From Your Clients

A stellar reputation contributes to your brand because your clients will be proud to promote their association with you, and likewise, potential clients will want to engage with you. But for this to happen, you must collect more good reviews. When you have a collection of ringing client reviews, you can showcase them across your channels to improve customer satisfaction and attract more clients.

Rize Reviews offers professional online reputation management services to insurance companies. Our services include listing management, mention monitoring, review response and white-label solutions. Essentially, we offer everything you need to build a reputable brand.

Learn more about how we can help – talk to an ORM specialist.