Good People = Success, Progressive Study Finds

May 23, 2001

A new survey by Progressive Insurance revealed that independent agents feel an agency’s employees are the key factor to its success. The survey, which polled 702 of Progressive’s authorized independent agents countrywide, aimed to uncover which factors contribute most to the success of an independent agency.

Forty-six percent of the respondents said that the agency’s employees factor most in its success, while 22 percent said word of mouth or referrals was the key contributing factor. Twenty-one percent of the respondents said the companies they represent are the key to success, while 19 percent cited agency management as the driving factor.

Additional responses included the agency’s experience and length of time in business (16 percent), marketing efforts (12 percent) and customer service or personalized service (10 percent).

The survey also found differences in the responses based on agency location. The agency’s employees was most often stated as having the biggest impact on success in several regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Gulf, and Northeast regions. Agents in the Great Plains and Gulf regions were more likely than agents from other parts of the country to cite the companies they represent and marketing as key factors for driving business. Agents in the Great Plains and Mid-Atlantic regions were more likely than agents from other parts of the country to cite the agency’s experience and length of time in business as a determining factor for success.

In addition, agents in the Gulf region and in New York State were more likely than agents in other areas to say that customer service is the key to agency success.

Topics Agencies

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