the leading authority on insurance agency productivity, technology & profits
Mobile devices and the apps people use with them are changing how consumers interact with information. The programming and development trend of creating small apps that accomplish a specific function will also change how business programs are developed. Why aren't our agency systems more like Facebook? Facebook is easy to use, and it's a robust tool. Grandparents can browse pictures of their grandchildren in a matter of minutes, while … [Read more...]
Understanding consumer behavior is a key to making sure your agency will continue to prosper. In this TED talk by John Gerzema, co-author of the book The Brand Bubble, he says there's an upside to the recent financial crisis -- the opportunity for positive change. Speaking at TEDxKC, he identifies four major cultural shifts driving new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending. How is your … [Read more...]
A recent article in National Underwriter listed the top 10 technology trends for insurance companies. One of the trends was “Web Services and SOA Tools.” Here is how this trend was described: “P/C insurers operate a large ecosystem of systems and applications that integrate for seamless processing. In the past, companies had to hard-code integration between systems, which was costly, time-consuming, created challenges when applications … [Read more...]
In a case of modern technology meets the traditional courtroom, a small but increasing number of jury trials are being declared mistrials as a result of jurors doing research on Google and using their mobile phones to send text messages and to Twitter. An article by John Schwartz in the New York Times published March 17, 2009, details some of the problems arising because of jurors' use of modern technology. In one example, the judge in a … [Read more...]
Recently I had a conversation with Will Richard, an education consultant for The Society of CIC. We were discussing what agents need to do in order to be effective marketers. It seems that many agencies are having a hard time understanding how to best use the Internet as a marketing tool. During our conversation, Will made a comment that got me thinking. He said that he believes the role of the traditional sales manager is going to change. For … [Read more...]
One way to maximize your Web site’s visibility on Google is to understand what words people use to search for information. That’s just what the Google Trends tool does. It shows you the most popular searches on Google in any given hour, plus a list of related news articles and blog posts that support the rise and fall of the traffic surges. If any of them affects your business, you'll see it first here and will be able to react faster. You … [Read more...]
