July 29, 2008 by Steve.

Google is by far the most used search engine. The biggest drawback is that it is text-based. Enter Viewzi, (www.viewzi.com), a new type of search site that offers results as visual images. The company is hoping to radically change how people find information on the Web.

Viewzi draws its flexibility from its “views,” each of which is essentially a customized search aggregator. After entering a search term, Viewzi tries to figure out what you’re looking for, and presents the results in an appropriate view. At launch there are 16 views, including MP3 Search View, Celebrity Photo View, Video View, Album View, 3D Photo Cloud, and the curious Weather View. Each view draws results from different sources, ranging from Flickr to Amazon to Weather.com.

These views help you focus your search on sites that are most relevant. If you enter a search for a song title, you will get the MP3 search view, which lists links to the song. One of the benefits of this search engine is that results are displayed visually. And the Web Screenshot View thumbnail images of relevant Web sites are displayed. You simply flip through the results provided and click on the image to go to the actual Web site.

In practice, Viewzi does a pretty good job at determining which view corresponds to a search term, though it isn’t perfect. The biggest problem is that many of the views are pure eye candy, offering little in the way of useful information.

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July 18, 2008 by Steve.

Kurt Turner is an independent agent in Shelbyville, Ky. He noticed that the best part of company meetings is talking with other agents during breaks. So, he started an insurance community forum site called InsuranceGossip.com, where agents and others in the insurance business can exchange ideas, get marketing sales ideas and tips, and ask/answer questions.

The site is agent-focused and not currently designed for others in the industry. Anyone can browse the site and read the questions and answers. Once you register, you can post (or answer) comments or questions. Different categories have been created to focus discussions on certain topic areas. Access to the site is free and there is currently no advertising.

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July 14, 2008 by Steve.

I’ve been reading quite a bit lately about how to create a customer experience that will WOW clients and keep them coming back for more. When I ask agents what they do to create these types of experiences for their clients, most have a difficult time answering. While most agents say they provide “good customer service,” many can’t define what that actually means for their agency.

For whom should you try to create these exceptional experiences? In my view, you should try to create WOW experiences for a small subset of your current clients.

Take the airline industry as an example. Most airlines have received a lot of “heat” lately due to increased fees, delays, and the hassle of traveling. Because I travel quite a bit, I follow what’s happening in that industry. I’ve noticed that many people are complaining because they’ve had difficult experiences with one airline or another. By contrast, when I started thinking about my travel experiences, I realized that they are generally pretty good. I normally fly American Airlines or Southwest out of Nashville. Both of these airlines treat me differently than they treat the occasional traveler. Let me give you one example.

Last December, my family and I went to Costa Rica for a vacation. We flew on American Airlines. The afternoon before we were scheduled to leave, I received a call from Carol at the Admirals Club in Nashville. She informed me that our morning flight to Dallas had been cancelled. Taking a later flight would cause us to miss our connection to Costa Rica. She told me that she had already rebooked the entire family on a flight connecting through Miami in first class (our original class of service). We ended up arriving in Costa Rica an hour earlier than originally scheduled.

Carol monitored the situation and was proactive in helping a good customer (me) get to the destination with the least amount of travel interruption. I could provide you with several other examples of times American Airlines personnel went out of their way to help me in difficult situations.

Does American treat all customers this way? No, and they can’t. American (and Southwest) has learned that they should focus additional attention on their very best customers. Agents need to do the same. Just like the airlines (or any business for that matter), agents need to identify their very best clients and then create customer experiences that will continue to WOW them.

For airlines, it is very easy to segment their customers by number of miles flown. The more you fly, the more personal attention you receive. For agents, it’s harder to determine your best clients. Revenue is one indicator but, in my opinion, only one indicator. Your measure probably should be a combination of revenue, number of policies (the more policies the better), who they know, and any other indicator that makes sense in your organization.

The next step is to design experiences that are appropriate for each level or type of client. If Pareto’s 80/20 rule is true, the top 20% of your existing clients generate 80% of your revenue. What are you doing to make sure they know you appreciate them?

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July 3, 2008 by Steve.

Search Engine Optimization—getting your agency to show up on a Google search result—is more of an art than a science. While there are many complicated and time-consuming steps an agency can take to improve their search result placement, using Google’s Local Business Center (www.google.com/local/add) is a simple step anyone can take. Doing so will help customers find you using Google Maps.

If you already have a Google account, sign in with your e-mail and password. If you don’t have a Google account, sign up for one and follow the instructions to create a free listing for your agency.

The street address you enter will be shown in the Google and Google Maps search results. Once you’ve submitted your business information, you’ll need to verify the listing before it goes live. A post office box can be used to register. You can verify using a touch-tone phone, SMS, or a PIN that will be sent via regular mail to your business address. Once the listing is verified, your information will normally appear in the Google results. There’s no charge for Local Business Center listings. Google doesn’t accept payment to include listings or sites in their search results.

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