Last week while researching business liability insurance (I know, I live an exciting life) I came across a Web site called NetQuote.com. NetQuote captures leads from potential customers and then sells those leads to participating insurance agents in the customer’s area. Anxious to get this critical component of my emerging business off the ground, I requested a quote and provided my email address as well as my office and cell phone numbers. It has now been 5 days and I have received just 1 call from an agent who doesn’t even offer liability insurance! Does this make any sense to you?
By all accounts (well, except for maybe the energy sector) the economy is sluggish and you’d think that agents would value any lead they could get their hands on; especially one that they have paid for. Unfortunately, this overall lack of response is not isolated to the insurance agency.
Not long ago, I submitted email inquiries to more than 100 boat dealerships (big and small) nationwide. I only received a response from 41% of those dealerships.
In its annual study of Internet buyers and sellers, the California Association of Realtors™ reported that 48% of email leads go ignored. The article goes on to say that 68% of Web leads interviewed only one agent, implying that the first to tag has the best chance to win the client.
A 2008 Sterling Commerce study revealed that 81% of “High Value” consumers, those with annual household income exceeding $75,000, went on-line to conduct research before making an in-store purchase. 32% of those customers used a coupon or incentive found on-line to complete the off-line purchase.
Clearly more and more of today’s consumers are turning to the Web as an initial touch-point and desire an integrated on- and off-line retail experience. Recognizing these increasing consumer expectations, why do we continue to struggle with responding to Internet requests?
I used to think this was a lead routing issue; then I thought maybe it was a system issue; then a fear of change; then incompetence; and finally a general laziness on the part of the sales rep. But after studying the problem for more than 7 years, I have come to the following conclusion. If you look at the industries listed above, you’ll find businesses that have not completely migrated to an email culture. Sales reps in these industries are not sitting behind a computer screen all day waiting for the next email to arrive. Yet, we now live in a society that relies on email as a primary means of communication.
So when are we going to align the way we sell with the way the customer prefers to buy? Read today’s headlines and you’ll quickly realize that the time is now!
Posts
