So, which tools help highly digital agencies grow?
The Agent for the Future Index analyzed more than 20 digital capabilities. Among the digital tools and tactics analyzed, there were seven capabilities that were highly correlated with revenue growth. These opportunities span the range of complexity from fundamentals, to modernizations, to innovations.
7 revenue-driving digital capabilities
Innovations
- 7 Chatbots and AI
- 6 Video quotes and policy reviews
- 5 Paid social media advertising
Modernizations
- 4 Live online chat
- 3 Self-service portal
Fundamentals
- 2 Online quotes
- 1 Social media
Where are you in the digital adoption journey?
These seven capabilities provide a path forward for what agencies should prioritize on their journey to becoming an Agent for the Future.
However, as agents look at which capabilities to invest in, they should first think through where they are in their digital adoption journey. The tools build on each other, forming a hierarchy of digital capabilities.
Want to learn where your agency falls on this spectrum? Take our quick assessment and get personalized results of which tools to explore next.
Fundamentals
Fundamentals are easier to implement and have been widely adopted across the independent agent channel – by both high and low adopters. These include tools such as email, e-signature and texting, which have become table stakes for doing business.
Modernizations
Modernizations are slightly more advanced and may require more time and money to implement. These tools allow agencies to reach a wider audience of prospects and communicate with their customers in more personalized ways. In the modernizations section, there is a growing gap between high and low adopters. For example, 76% of high adopters used search engine optimization (SEO), compared with only 15% of low adopters.
Innovations
Innovations include the most complex, highest investment tools. Many of these tools build off other digital capabilities and may require some expertise to implement. For example, to effectively use paid social platform ads, an agency would need to have a strong social media presence and the tools to know how to create and target advertisements on each social channel. The tools in this category represent the most significant room for growth in the independent agent channel.
As the complexity increases, there is a larger gap between high and low adopters.
Digital tools used by high vs. low digital adopters
The sheer number of digital capabilities available can feel intimidating, but the seven revenue-driving capabilities, coupled with the digital hierarchy, are a good starting point for agencies that want to improve their digital presence.
Taking your agency digital may seem complicated,
but I wholeheartedly believe in keeping things simple and running on a lean budget … Once you have the core tools in place, the first step toward becoming more digital is simple: Stop putting it off. Customers will do business with you how you ask them to do business if you set the expectation and communicate the change.
Click here to read more of Erin’s tips for getting digital.