Customer reviews are a response of customers to services delivered to them by, in this case, car insurers. You will see in the following text how important it is to approach such reviews with certain criteria in mind, in order to ensure objectivity and accuracy. Equally important is how car insurance companies choose to respond to such reviews.
Buying car insurance has many aspects to it and, for this reason, it is recommended that the following text must not be regarded as advice, but as general information on car insurance. However, if you want to have professional advice on any car insurance product, rather consult a certified, financial advisor.
WHAT IS A CAR INSURANCE CUSTOMER REVIEW?
A customer review is feedback given by a customer on the quality of a service or product that was provided by a service provider.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS MUST BE UNBIASED AND CLEAR
According to Wikipedia, reviews can be assessed by other users for their efficacy and accuracy. Some have doubted the reliability of customer review sites, and in fact, these sites can be ranked by other users according to their degree of bias and clarity.
WHAT ABOUT POLICING CUSTOMER REVIEW SITES?
Wikipedia recommends that the host of a customer review site should police the site to ensure that all submitted complaints are bona fide. Algorithms are used by customer sites to eliminate any fraudulent or computer-generated reviews.
HOW DOES CAR INSURANCE BUSINESS BENEFIT FROM ONLINE CUSTOMER REVIEWS?
Let us examine how online customer reviews can boost car insurance business.
FREE ADVERTISING
What a pleasure for your car insurance business to enjoy free advertising when a good customer review appears online. This is one way of creating brand awareness, when the company’s name is exposed to thousands of viewers. So states ‘Business Queensland.’ This large exposure would be too costly via traditional marketing routes.
TRUSTING IN CUSTOMERS’ OPINIONS
According to a 2015 survey, 70% of a group of online customers trusted in customers’ views posted online. So online reviews that recommend using a particular car insurance company constitute a most powerful marketing tool.
WHAT ABOUT CUSTOMER SUGGESTIONS AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM?
Car insurance companies can learn from comments, or suggestions given by customers. This may mean that the company will have to improve various aspects of service delivery or resolve a customer complaint. Customers will complain regardless of whether they post their views in a review. At least, constructive criticism seen in a review will alert a car insurance company to some issues that require urgent attention. The company can also reply to some of the customer’s views, providing a balance. After all, there are always two sides to the story.
CUSTOMER IDEAS CAN BE INNOVATIVE
Customer suggestions and constructive criticism can provide new ideas to the company on how a specific process should best operate.
HOW SHOULD COMPANIES RESPOND TO COMPLAINTS?
Here is a golden opportunity for a company to either connect with its customers or not. Responding in a positive and transparent manner will enhance the credibility of the company. Admitting online that a certain process will be reviewed thanks to the many customer views and complaints shows customers that the company is serious about achieving excellence.
Conversely, online denial by a company that various valid complaints are not an issue could damage the integrity of the company.
Finally, a company also needs to defend itself in the face of groundless accusations. A good example would be when a customer complains their claim was unfairly rejected. The car insurance company responds by reminding the online audience that the claimant had actually agreed to a specific exclusion at the time of the signing of the contract.
After reading the foregoing, we have come to understand the outstanding value of customer reviews, and that they can either work for or against the success of a car insurance company. Equally important is the correct company response to customer views. Ongoing customer-company interaction via reviews should spur on any company to strive for the best in servicing its customers.
Disclaimer:
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Prime Meridian Direct (Pty) Ltd, FSP41040 (car insurance and life cover products). The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.