Last month, Applied Client Network hosted a webinar on “Using Applied CSR24 and Applied MobileInsured to Save Time and Retain Clients” that featured insight from Philip Witzig, automation systems specialist at Kuhl Insurance.

Since launching Kuhl SERVICE²⁴, Witzig and his team have found that the document feature of Applied CSR24 and Applied MobileInsured — which gives you the ability to go into your Applied Epic or Applied TAM attachment links and click a button to make documents client accessible — has supplanted the certificate functionality as the single-most important new development in helping to save time and retain clients.

Now that things are more readily available to clients, though, the process of training both staff and clients to use the resources at their fingertips did not happen overnight.

Screenshots of mobile app (left) and online portal (right) interface. Courtesy Kuhl Insurance

With Kuhl SERVICE²⁴, customers have two main methods of access: the online portal (via a web browser) and the mobile app (via Android or iPhone versions). Given that times are changing, and success with initial customers was encouraging, the team at Kuhl decided to roll out self-signup to its customers. Read on to discover the steps they took to implement this feature.

Enabling Self-signup

In order allow customers the opportunity to sign themselves up for access, Kuhl first needed to enable the feature in the back-end of Applied CSR24. To do this, navigate to “Service Admin” > “Agency Information,” then check the box for “Allow New Users to Self-Create an Account.”

Sample self-signup page. Courtesy Kuhl Insurance.

The purpose of offering self-signup was and has always been centered on the Kuhl team’s hope that offering this option would eliminate staff effort by decreasing time spent on manual user setup. Before the team could get there, though, they first had to raise awareness among customers.

Marketing Self-signup

In order to eliminate internal troubleshooting and coach customers on how to set up their accounts, Kuhl created a letter that they mail-merged, printed on Kuhl letterhead and sent to customers via direct mail (example below). Using the mail merge function allowed Kuhl to personalize each send by autofilling policy information for customers, which helped to troubleshoot against some of the case sensitivity of the portal signup. The letter also educated customers that web signup was critical for app access. Included in the envelope, along with the letter, was a custom flyer printed on glossy paper.

Sample personalized letter template. Courtesy Kuhl Insurance.

In addition to the direct mail, the Kuhl team also recorded a “how to” webinar for sharing with customers. Executing something like a recorded webinar ensures you have guiding content readily available as you are working to get customers used to the system. For Kuhl, this was especially helpful for those customers who use the Applied CSR24 portal for certificates.

Reporting and Results

In Applied Epic, the report that worked best for Kuhl to measure the success of their efforts was the Basic Policy List report, as it allowed the team to pull out data for policy/expiration for the mail merge. They could then compare this to accounts they were signed up. Though the initial mailing yielded just 107 signups, a rate of approximately 5.4 percent, that number was still more than they had had in the system before.

Closing Thoughts

Before launching its “Create Your Own Account” campaign, there was a disconnect between what Kuhl’s customers saw in the portal and what Kuhl’s staff saw. One of the best things this campaign brought to light was helping staff to better navigate and understand the system back-end, which in turn improved customer service. For example, one of the key new features of Applied CSR24 is the ability to view the system as a portal user. Not sure how to do this? Navigate to Links > CSR24 > Customers > Contact. Once there, you should see a check box that says “Portal User.” If checked, when you click on a portal user, you will get a screen that shows the portal as that customer sees it.

Don’t miss the next Applied Client Network webinar or visit our store to access Webinar Replays, which includes the February 2019 session on “Using Applied CSR24 and Applied MobileInsured to Save Time and Retain Clients.”