As begin to close out 2021, we wanted to take a closer look at what’s to come in 2022. Here are 5 Problems Facing Agents in 2022:
- Shifting consumer trends
- Managing new technology
- Hybrid business models
- Handling the threat of cyber attacks
- Wasteful management of time
Shifting consumer trends
In the past decade, most industries have seen buying power shift into the hands of consumers. Businesses no longer control the consumer’s access to information to compare and inform themselves on purchase decisions.
To better understand your customers’ experiences, your agency needs to be conducting research and gathering client feedback. Your agency should also work to discover its niche by analyzing unique attributes to set it apart from rest.
The experiences people have with your business may be just a quick tap away for new potential clients. It’s important to prioritize the management of your company’s online presence and image. Consider the agency feedback found relating to your costumers’ experience throughout the buying process.
Managing new technology
It’s important to remain up to date with tech. Your agency should allocate resources to stay up to date with technology innovations such to reduce resource waste within your agency.
With new technology comes new process and increased access to client data. The key to managing all that comes with new technology is to make sure training is available for you or your staff for all new systems. The best way to do that is by asking your technology partners directly if they offer training (odds are… they do!)
Successful utilization of new technology and client data will allow your agency to engage new customers and expand its client base.
Hybrid business models
According to a study done by Forbes, 63% of high-revenue-growth companies have already adopted a hybrid model while 69% of no growth companies are focusing on either completely remote or on site models.
While the growth statistics are impressive, adapting to a hybrid model is easier said than done. It takes time and coordination to figure out how a hybrid model will work for your agency.
Along with handling your own business’ hybrid model, companies must learn how to adapt to other business’ hybrid models as well. Increased video calls and flexible scheduling are not going away in 2022.
Handling the threat of cyber attacks
Keep your company, employees, and customers safe in changing cyber security landscape. 2021 was a time of unprecedented cyber security attacks and the threat continues to grow in 2022.
It is important for your agency to investigate different security protocols and audits. It can be difficult to make the decision to invest resources into cyber security but the return on your investment for security and peace of mind is immeasurable.
Wasteful management of time
In 2020, we discussed issues facing agencies. One of the biggest issues was wasted time and not much has changed. An excessive amount of time is wasted on duplicate entry, dealing with handwritten ACORD forms, switching between different carrier sites, etc. It is something we see year after year within agencies.
The solution is to audit the tools you in your stack to ensure they are functioning for your agency. If those tools are causing more headaches than help, consider adding additional technology tools to replace or supplement your current tech stack.
Adopting tech solutions, like the Bridge, will speed up process and eliminate wasted time. Allocating time to review areas of inefficiencies will bring guidance to the process of identifying tech solutions.
