An assumed goal of most websites is to be attractive, interesting and sticky for as many prospects and clients as possible. Toward that end, we’re now seeing something on the occasional insurance agency website which is called a virtual agent. A virtual agent, as defined by Whatis.com, is a chatterbot program that serves as an online customer service representative… Because virtual agents have a human appearance and respond appropriately to customer questions, they lend automated interactions a semblance of personal service.” This seems to be a good definition, though it is important to note that some virtual agents do not respond to questions, they merely “talk”, delivering an audio pitch which is topically related to the then current web page, though on occasion eerily analogous to a high tech rendition of the old circus barker.
When it comes to insurance agents, the virtual agent offers a seemingly compelling double entendre (a real insurance agent versus a virtual insurance agent). However, that is about all that I find compelling about the virtual agent. For whatever perceived benefit which might be gleaned, there are numerous pitfalls to virtual agents which many website visitors may find problematic. For example, though the agent might be interesting the first time a new user visits a site, the agent can become increasing annoying on follow-up visits. Of course, the virtual agent can be turned off, but this requires interaction by the user. And, if the user visits from a different PC, voila, the annoying agent is back again. On some sites, the agent appears on every single page. If a user navigates away from the home page specifically to avoid the clamor on their computer speakers or headset for example, they will be disappointed to find the agent has reappeared, at the same volume level, on the new page. The only way to remedy the issue is to find the off button, or to navigate away from the site. The latter is exactly the opposite effect the virtual agent is supposed to embrace, namely insurance agency website stickiness.
For those users who frequently converse by Skype or via VoIP based web meetings, or for those who listen to music while working on their PCs, the virtual agent can be highly frustrating. Let’s say that a website visitor is on a Skype call (or simply on a conference room speaker phone) and they arrive at an insurance agency website with a virtual agent. As soon as website appears, the agent is talking, often at an unacceptably loud volume, and in some cases playing background music at the same time. If this is happening while the website visitor is trying to listen to a live person on the “phone” or is using their headset; this is unlikely to be a positive experience at this agency website. Further, many virtual agent sites have the volume turned up, which to some will seem similar to the volume of a TV commercial, overpowering and annoying. In fact, legislation has now been introduced to force TV commercials to be lowered to a similar volume to TV programs, perhaps an ominous lesson offered for chatterbot website infomercials. A virtual agent is in many ways like a TV commercial, an example of interruption marketing, imposing information on a web visitor that the visitor may not want, and in a way they may not like. Some of these appear like a loud late night, used car television commercial, an effect anathema to most if not all insurance agency marketing plans. How do you feel about loud television commercials which blast out their sales pitch during a commercial break from your favorite television show? What do you think about the circus or midway barker shouting at you to enter their side show? Is the virtual agent something that consistently conveys professionalism, or is it perceived as a gimmick at best and interruption at worst?
There may be those who like virtual agents, and obviously there are those who do not. The net result is a polarization effect, which would seemingly mitigate, or at least act as a governor to the overall success of an agency website. The last thing a website wants is to polarize attendance, resulting in a reduction of website stickiness. I’ve noticed that some sites have now silenced their virtual agents. He or she has been demoted to a quiet corner, typically at the bottom left or right of a website, peering out wistfully at the newly arrived web visitor, perhaps in hope of a random click to animate them. In these cases, users likely appreciate the silence. Unfortunately valuable website real estate is taken up by a doll like figure suspended on the screen, or a talking head floating on the page in a dormant state. Some insurance agency websites have banished the virtual agent to virtual non-existence. In these cases, the virtual agent has been transformed into an innocuous button which asks the user if they would like to activate the chatterbot, offering silence for the majority who might prefer it, and reanimation for those who actually understand what the button infers.
This brings us full circle to the key goal of an insurance agency website, or almost any business oriented website, which simply stated, is to engage as many people as possible in a positive and professional manner, providing informative content in an attractive and “sticky” way. And for some CRM (Customer Resource Management) applications, where the agent is an actual on demand guide which can seemingly respond intelligently to user questions, it might make sense to use a virtual agent. For most agencies, our advice is to skip the gimmicks, refrain from a doll like virtual agent, and avoid website music. Instead, an insurance agency should attract visitors by offering an up to date website, high quality content, current and informative blog and vlog, newsletters, epublished articles, and quality video library. These content oriented insurance agency websites optimize their websites to keep both prospects and clients coming back for new information.
