A recent agency Web site evaluation reveals several reasons why one agency site is not producing the results hoped for.
by Steven Brightbill
When is the last time you took a long hard look at your agency Web site? What did you find? Is the site living up to your expectations? Is it generating the traffic you hoped for? Are you disappointed with the results? Do you know which pages are viewed the most? Is it time to update or modify the content or design of your Web site?
Regardless of what you answered, a related question is, "How do you know?" What processes or tools have you used to determine whether or not your Web site is doing its intended job? Gut feelings may provide some clues, but if you're really interested in learning how well your Web site is measures up, you'll have to do more than simply rely on intuition.
One agent's Web experience
Quite likely, many agency Web sites fail to meet their owners' expectations. One particular owner, Ron Jamieson II, was paying attention to his Web site's performance and came to the realization that his site was not producing the results he hoped for. Though he had a clear idea of why he developed his agency's Web site, he wasn't sure why the site wasn't meeting expectations. To get some ideas, Jamieson contacted Sounding Line for help.
Our evaluation of the Jamieson Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. Web site (www.insurance-policy.com) began with a detailed interview. Before studying his site, we wanted to find out why Jamieson built the Web site in the first place and what he hoped to accomplish with it. In addition, we wanted to learn something about his agency, its goals and strategy, market area, and a number of other business, management, and marketing-related issues. Then, we took a detailed look at the Web site (every page, every link, source code, etc.) and scrutinized its elements, content, design, performance, and more.
Ascertaining intent
Jamieson has several good reasons for building his Web. As he looks ahead to retirement, his overall business goal is to sell the agency in about ten years. To that end, Jamieson wants to make the agency more attractive to a potential buyer. His plan is to build up the agency's book of business with accounts from within his four-county service area and solidify the agency's personality and reputation in the community. He figures that an evolving Web strategy can be useful in that effort. In the meantime, Jamieson's more immediate objective is to also use the Web site as a data collection tool, which would free up staff time for other activities.
Jamieson did not offer a timetable for when he expects particular Web-related results to develop, but he is aware that executing the agency's business plan, supplemented with a Web strategy, is an ongoing work in progress. Like many in the insurance industry, Jamieson believes that most consumers use the Internet as an insurance shopping and information gathering tool, but prefer to buy from a local agent in whom they develop a measure of confidence and trust.
When Jamieson first launched his Web site in June 2000, his was the first insurance agency Web site in town. Since then, the town's other two agencies have posted sites as well.
Jamieson's agency is located in Hackettstown, a small community of about 8,200 people in the Delaware Valley region of northwestern New Jersey. The region is generally picturesque, rural, comprised of many small towns, and is quite a contrast to the metropolitan Patterson/ Newark/New York City area about 40 to 50 miles east. The six-person agency focuses on personal auto, homeowners, life, health, and business insurance, and is licensed to do business in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Jamieson also reported that customer and prospect feedback indicates that his agency is perceived as "customer-oriented" and "willing to listen."
Problem identified
During the interview phase of the evaluation, Jamieson expressed concern that his Web site was not attracting the customers he had hoped for; namely, those who reside within his service area. Instead, his site tracking statistics indicated that most of the site's visitors were coming from the metropolitan Newark and New York City area - despite explicit mentions of the four-county service area throughout the site. In essence, Jamieson's Web site is attracting the wrong market - people who live outside of his service area.
When identifying and defining a Web site's problems and shortcomings, they must be viewed in the context of the Web strategy. In this case, the problem is not one of attracting visitors (an imprecise objective), but a problem of attracting the right visitors - specifically, potential customers within Jamieson's four-county service area.
Site review
Overall, Jamieson's agency Web site appears fairly typical of first effort Web sites developed by smaller agencies. In many ways the present site represents a good start and foundation from which future iterations can evolve. Visually, the overall design is simple and easy to understand. Except for a few minor linking problems, the site is functionally sound, generally well designed and constructed, and avoids most of the mistakes commonly seen in first time efforts.
Content-wise, the bulk of the site focuses on providing customers with quotes. Two forms, an auto and a homeowner application, are detailed and lengthy. After the online visitor fills in the information and "sends" it, agency personnel review the information and provide quotes via a follow-up telephone call.
Another form, "Personal Auto Profile," is a quick questionnaire that enables a visitor to see whether or not he or she qualifies for discounts as "a preferred auto prospect."
A fourth form, "Quick-Quote" for Homeowners Insurance, guides visitors through a series of seven questions that can be completed in fewer than 15 seconds. The form provides an immediate estimate of the homeowner's insurance premium. In our view, this particular feature is one of the site's highlights, and it fits nicely within the site's overall objectives.
Despite the customer-oriented features, the site includes very little information about the agency itself - quite a departure from the many agency sites that are little more than electronic brochures.
Analysis and recommendations
Keep in mind Jamieson's overall Web goals: 1) to build up the agency's book of business with accounts from within his four-county service area, and 2) solidify the agency's personality and reputation in the community. With that in mind, here are several areas that strike us as opportunities to correct the problem Jamieson identified.
Domain name: Jamieson's URL or domain name, www.insurance-policy.com is relatively obvious, benign, easy to remember, and is most definitely insurance-related. But considering that his agency has been doing business since 1947 and that Jamieson wants to solidify its reputation in the community, the name may be too generic and impersonal. Actually, the present name seems much more appropriate for attracting customers far and wide, where local identity is not an issue or concern.
If the agency wants to attract the interest of its local service area, the present name appears questionable. We suggested changing the domain name to one that incorporates the Jamieson name. While www.jamiesoninsurance.com is already taken by an agency in Vermont, www.jamieson-ins.com and several other variations are available, according to the domain name registrar Network Solutions. This name, coupled with a more aggressive and coordinated self-promotion campaign, could help to raise awareness and better position the Jamieson name within his service area.
Agency information: As mentioned above, the site includes very little information about the agency itself. Despite the mention of being a family-owned agency doing business since 1947, surely more illuminating and noteworthy detail could be added. The "company profile" page does discuss several current insurance-related issues, but in a somewhat matter of fact tone. The point here is to try to humanize and personalize the agency and use language that endears it to the local service area. The people of Jamieson's service area appear to be "down-home" folks who appreciate and expect the niceties of small town, rural life - things that may not even concern the bulk of the site's current visitors.
Insurance content: Other than the forms and small amount of explanation that goes with them, there is very little actual "educational" information describing the types of insurance, their benefits, how they work, etc. In fact, one might get the impression that people who use this site already know enough about insurance and merely want quote information. We believe that insurance-related content is a necessary ingredient. Consumers want - and need - information to help them understand the insurance product, services, and processes. Insurance-related content is one factor that builds confidence in the agent as a "trusted advisor."
Look and feel: "Look and feel" speaks to the issue of agency identity, image, personality, and branding - important elements in a business' overall marketing efforts. We believe that the agency's culture, personality, identity, and perception in the community should be reflected in the agency's Web site. The Internet is an international medium, but many agencies want to direct their Web efforts toward a smaller locale and audience - something that is particularly true in Jamieson's case.
Assuming Jamieson wants to capitalize on the agency's existing image - "customer-oriented" and "willing to listen" - it would be advisable to find ways that incorporate those elements into the "look and feel" of the Web site. The appropriate and effective use of relevant graphics, positioning statements, taglines, and the general use of language can be used to enhance personality and identity as well as to fortify customer perceptions.
Rethink search engine strategy: Jamieson pays for a preferred listing with the Yahoo! search engine. If he can determine that a significant number of hits are coming from the Newark-NYC area via Yahoo!, Jamieson might consider dropping the Yahoo! listing and redirect those resources elsewhere. There's no point in paying for a service that attracts the wrong audience.
Overall, Jamieson's site contains a number of elements that, if developed further, could provide basic sales and service functions. These are things that will take time and resources and require a level of technical expertise. When implemented, his site could be well on its way to building up the agency's book of business. A more pressing need, however, has to do with beefing up his agency's (and Web site) visibility within and connection to its local service area. Our report to Jamieson included a variety of marketing-related suggestions to enhance that effort. By making adjustments to his site that include "look and feel" elements that are more specific to his service area, Jamieson may discourage the traffic he doesn't want, while being more attractive to his true target market.
Factors for consideration
Why evaluate: The overall reason why an agency should evaluate its Web site periodically is to make sure it is performing to expectations and generating the results hoped for. Admittedly, that may sound vague and nebulous, if you never really developed a Web strategy and thought about such things. But even if you only have some general idea of why your agency built its Web site, you still need to know something about its performance.
Site performance: Generally, performance issues involve some of the routine technical maintenance your Webmaster or IT staff does to make sure things work properly. It may also include the use of diagnostic tools that can uncover potential problems, such as faulty HTML code, non-optimized graphics, broken links, etc. We've previously reported on a number of these tools in the June 2001 issue of Sounding Line.
Site traffic: While site performance issues will likely be of more interest to the "techies," managers want to know how many people are visiting the site and what kind of traffic the site generates. That kind of information is easy to obtain, but there's more to it than simply adding the cliché visitor counters seen at the bottom of many home pages, a practice we frown upon. Instead, we strongly advocate the use of site tracking and traffic analysis tools discussed in this issue. Such tools can provide valuable information that may cause management to re-think the agency's Web presence.
Frequency: Monitoring site performance and traffic should be part of the routine of maintaining your Web site. At a minimum, we'd recommend weekly basic performance checks, depending on the size, scope, and volume of your Web site. Of course, you should fix performance problems as soon as they are discovered. And, if your site makes use of e-commerce tools and generates a high volume of interactive servicing activity, performance monitoring and maintenance will need to be ongoing.
Site purpose: Beyond the routine of maintaining the site and tracking site usage, there is a need to periodically assess how well your site is performing its intended job. Web sites are not created in a vacuum, but presumably for a purpose. Hopefully that purpose is more than "we thought we should have one." Your Web site is (or should be) a marketing communications and customer service tool, an extension of your marketing plan and business strategy. If you've never really thought about your Web site in those terms, now might be a good time to re-think your Web presence.
Include in business planning: Even if your agency developed a Web strategy and planned your Web site with purpose, periodic reviews can be useful. Good business management typically involves annual planning, quarterly and/or annual reviews, and other practices that help managers monitor the agency's progress. Your Web presence ought to be subjected to a similar analysis and review schedule. If your agency has an automation committee or other entity that planned your Web presence, the evaluation process might start there.
What kinds of things should you look for? Your overall goal is to determine how well your site is performing its intended purpose. Thus, analyzing the raw data collected by your traffic monitoring software is a logical starting point. But there are other things to evaluate, including how well your site addresses marketing, sales, and service issues, and how the site enhances your agency's image or brand. Some of these concerns can be objectively analyzed in-house, but others could likely benefit from a third-party appraisal.
Finally…
If you thought that once you got your Web site up and running you could more or less let it coast on auto-pilot, you are mistaken. Your Web site is too important to simply reside in cyberspace without your regular attention. Assuming you developed your Web presence to satisfy certain agency business objectives, it behooves you to make sure that your Web site is doing the job you want it to. We've said it before, and we'll say it again - your Web site is an ongoing project. If your site has been up and running for a while, but not generating the results you hoped for, maybe it's time to re-think your Web presence.
Note: Beginning in the next issue of Sounding Line, a new regular feature, "Evaluating Your Web Site" will spotlight specific Web site development, management, content, and design topics that factor into the process of re-thinking an agency's Web presence.
Steven Brightbill is creative director and co-owner of Betagraph Integrated Information Solutions, a company that provides creative and technical services for marketing communication and publishing. He can be contacted at steve@betagraph.com or at 720-283-2660.
© Copyright 2001 by Sound Internet Strategy. All rights reserved