Do agency Web sites pay?
Only one in four agencies have Web sites and the Web sites they do have are
mostly low-value template brochure sites. On the other hand, a few agencies
are getting great benefit from their Web sites as a channel for customer self-service,
information gathering, e-mail newsletters, cross selling, and expanded and
special product selling.
- Are agents failing to adopt Web sites because they don't properly appreciate
their value? Or, have they made the right calculation, realizing intuitively
that Web sites don't really matter? Or, is the process of creating and maintaining
a site just too hard given everything else that agencies need to do? But,
if good, useful agency Web sites were easy to come by, would agents pick
them up in a heartbeat?
- What specific things are some agents doing to make their Web sites really
useful, e.g., reducing costs, building revenue, improving retention, and
making happy customers?
- Should independent agents have a national Web site locator to lead traffic
to their sites?
- Might direct Internet sales from major carriers eventually disintermediate
agents? What can agents do about it?
We welcome your participation in this forum. Please
us with your comments, questions, and your own point-of-view!
