For many people, January is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and gaze into a crystal ball to try and determine what’s coming. For the past several years, I’ve used the January editorial to talk about my view of the important trends on the horizon and to help you understand how you should plan.
Last year, I identified social media as the big trend for 2009. While this was somewhat of a safe prediction, it has certainly come true. A growing number of insurance agents, insurance companies, and vendors began experimenting with how to utilize the Social Web.
The Social Web—continued
The first trend that will be important for 2010 continues to be social media. Experimenting began in 2009 and will continue into 2010. Additionally, agencies and insurance companies will get on the bandwagon. Many of the things that we’ve talked about in TAAR, including how to use social media effectively, will move from the experimenting stage to the practical application stage. The importance of starting an agency blog, using Facebook to build friends and fans, and understanding Facebook advertising options, are just a few of the new skills that will be necessary to help agencies increase their chances of success in acquiring new business and retaining existing clients.
I will be expanding the social Web presence of TAAR by adding the ability for you to create your own reviews of the products and services that you utilize in your organization. User-generated reviews are at the heart of creating a community where useful information can be shared among members. I plan to have this up and running soon. Go to www.taareport.com to participate.
Mobile computing
The other trend that will have significant impact this year is mobile computing. Consumers today are surrounded by more information, with more immediate access to that information, than ever before. Traditional cell phones have morphed into mobile computing platforms.
Smart phones—cell phones with a big screen, a keyboard (physical or virtual), and the ability to run add-on programs—are not just phones for the people who use them. Versatility allows these phones to impersonate other handheld devices you might otherwise carry around. In reality, any given smart phone may be a calendar, a Web browser, an e-mail client, or an MP3 player that happens to place the occasional phone call.
Mobile Internet access (but also mobile e-mail and SMS text messages) provides access to information wherever you’re physically located. New mobile applications can get access to your location, a camera, your identity, your phone number, and SMS messages. Nationwide, USAA, and a growing number of other insurance companies are creating free applications for clients to use in order to tap into their personal insurance information and to streamline the claims process. This changes things.
The iPhone is perhaps the best example of this trend. However, there are many other smart phones that provide similar capabilities such as the BlackBerry, Android (Google), Treo, and Windows Mobile.
To tap into this trend, your best option is to provide your mobile customers as much information as possible, as instantaneously as possible. The more you are able to empower your customers with instant access to information, the more likely they will see you as a valued provider—and want to continue as a client. These are the trends I see for this year. Let me know what you see coming!
