Consider a young couple buying their first home. They needhomeowners' insurance, so they visit a websiteto get a quote. They input the information they think isrelevant — location, home value, and its currentcondition — and receive an initial quote.

Related: Rethinking a digital approach toinsurance

Not wanting to commit to a big decision immediately online, theycontact a local independent agent to compare. The agent asks themadditional questions they never even considered:

What is the condition of the roof?

Does the home have a swimming pool or hot tub?

Will anyone be working from home?

The agent is also familiar with their neighborhood and asks ifthey considered flood insurance because the area hasexperienced severe flooding in the past.

The couples leaves the agency with coverage that fully protectsthem; a comprehensive policy designed for their uniquesituation.

Great service is key

This scenario is not unique. Customer service is the hallmark ofall great agent-client relationships. When purchasing policies andfiling claims, customers want to be able to talk with someone whounderstands their needs. As the industry continues to shift, andmany new insurtech companies enter the market, the personalrelationships agents provide give them an advantage. But in thisera of digital disruption, customer service alone is not enough —independent agencies must evolve their businesses too, and theymust do it quickly.

Related: The customer service dichotomy in the digitalage

Consumers today want the ability to conduct insurance businessanytime, anywhere for simple transactions, while at the same timebe able to have a relationship with a professional to discusscomplex policy questions or walk them through the claims process.Independent agents need to translate their customer relationshipsinto the digital environment. Must-have technologies include clientportals, instant chat, and interactive websites that allowcustomers to access insurance information, resolve simple inquires,make changes, or submit a payment whenever they want. At the sametime, agents need to be available for phone calls and meetings tohandle difficult questions.

For agents just beginning to adopt digital technologies, knowingwhere to start and what tools to implement first can be a dauntingtask. Here are three things all agents should consider whenadvancing their businesses to compete in the digital market.

Related: Here's why fraudsters love digital

No. 1: Recognize that not all technologies are createdequal.

With so many digital tools available, it can beoverwhelming and difficult to know where to start. Agencies firstneed to ensure they have interactive websites that customize theprospects' experiences based on where they are in the buying cycle.This is often the first interaction a consumer has with an agency,and it is important to make a good first impression. Productofferings, request for information forms, and the agency's contactinformation should be clearly listed.

Related: Customer expectations: 4 digital technologyimplications for insurers

It's also important to incorporate technologies that will keepthe agency top-of-mind with prospects. Social media marketingplatforms, and marketing technologies that automate communicationscan ensure that you are at the right place at the right time. Arobust email marketing plan can create a cadence of prospecting,retention and upsell communication to a segmented audience.Finally, an agency can only grow if it manages leads effectively.Implementing lead forms that capture multiple lead sources ensuresno new business opportunities are missed.

Independent agents need to translate their customerrelationships into the digital environment. (Photo:iStock)

No. 2: Understand and embrace best-of-breed InsurTechmodels.

Agents should view insurtechs as virtual research anddevelopment (R&D) departments. Innovating from day one,insurtechs introduce consumers to new ways of conducting businessseamlessly while avoiding the burdens of legacy technologies andprocesses. Their successes and failures are highly publicizedas they rapidly prototype and introduce new products to themarket.  As educated spectators, independent agents havethe opportunity to learn from insurtechs and determine whichwinning formulas can be used in their organizations to createincremental efficiency gains. For example, borrowing frominsurtechs to apply even the most basic artificial intelligence (AI) that automateslow-impact prospecting, sales, and retention touchpoints caneliminate expensive manual entry and allow agents to re-focus theirefforts on margin-rich activities.

No. 3: Getting employees and customers on board, rightfrom the start.

Persuading employees to adopt newtechnologies — especially if the current processes areworking well at the moment— can be difficult. Transparentcommunications and comprehensive training can help everyoneunderstand the need for the change and ensure they becomecomfortable with the new tools.

Describing the benefits of digital adoption is very important.The new technologies will not replace any particular employee, butrather make everyone more efficient. Routine and mundane tasks willbe automated leaving agents with more time to handle complexcustomer needs.

Incentivize producers and customer service representatives withadditional commissions that reward the adoption and utilization ofdigital technologies within the agency.

In addition, it is not just employees that need to be convincedto incorporate new technologies but also current customers. Shareregular announcements and reminders that introduce them to the newtools and explain how they provide a more convenient insuranceexperience.

With a foundation in customer service and buildingclient relationships, agents today have the advantage, butthere is a short window to sustain it. Agents will have to adoptnew tools in order to remain competitive. By leveraging technologyto complete routine tasks, agents can have more time to work withprospects and customers to handle more complex issues. In thedigital age, independent agents that embrace technology whilemaintaining superb customer support will always hold the advantageover pure technology firms that rely solely on robo-agents andalgorithms.

Jason Walker is co-founder and managing partner of Smart Harbor, acompany that provides digital technology solutions for trustedadvisors, empowering them with insurance-specific tools to growtheir businesses. He can be reached by sending emailto [email protected].

See also:

Fully leveraging data analytics ininsurance

BPM and AI team up to revitalize the insuranceindustry

5 advantages of investing in InsurTech fortraditional insurers