People have been discussing change ever since I can remember. You have to change. The only constant is change, Thinking that you can’t change is wrong. Thinking that there is no need for change is tragic. I’m sure you get the idea and have heard all of the quotes and clichés so many times that you can’t really hear them anymore. What I have noticed over the years is how easy it is to get caught up in the day-to-day vacuum of my own business and forget to check on what’s happening in the world around me.
Sunday morning I was watching “Meet The Press” and New York Times columnist Tom Friedman was on promoting his new book, “That Used to be Us”. during the explanation of the new book he mentioned using his previous book, “The World is Flat”, as a reference. He said that in 2004 when he wrote “The World is Flat” Facebook was for kids, Twitter was a sound, the cloud was in the sky, 4Gwas a parking spot, LinkedIn was a prison, and Skype was a typo. Think about that for a minute. That really got my attention.
It made me think about my own business and what we have done to change over the last seven years. Was it enough? Will people continue to buy products and services the way they used to? I used to like the experience of going to Blockbuster to rent a movie, or going Borders to buy a book. Both Blockbuster and Borders are gone, replaced by technology. We live in a world that is changing so fast that our likes and dislikes have to be checked and rechecked against what the next generation is doing. I think they view Blockbuster and Borders as former summer jobs and a present day inconvenience. I mean, what would someone go into a store when it can be done on-line.
Take a close look at your agency and start to plan how to sell insurance on-line or at least start the process there. People are looking for you on-line. And by the way, “people” includes everyone. The people who buy home and auto are the same people who run businesses, big and small businesses. People who are referred to you are checking you out on the Internet. Think about your own habits. You Google the guy, you Google his business. Is he on FaceBook or LinkedIn? Does his site come up first for generic search terms? does the site look and feel new? Is it easy to navigate? Check with your friends in business and some of your trusted clients. Ask them how they use the Internet. Take a close look at your Internet marketing strategy