Taking the Long Road
Nationwide Agent Doug Marquette traveled an extensive path with Nationwide
before his stop in the Mountain State
Customers of the Marquette Agencies in
Bridgeport and Philippi, West Virginia know
that they will be treated with first-class service
whenever they call. But what they don’t know
is that agency owner Doug Marquette has worn
many different hats working for Nationwide
before becoming an agent, giving him a unique
perspective that serves his customers well.
Marquette started his career with Nationwide in
1981, after selling life insurance for a competitor.
He started in claims - and learned that role directly
affects how the customer feels about the company.
If customers believe they’ve been treated fairly,
that’s a win for both parties. A year later, he was
promoted to field adjuster, and says both positions
provided him with great training. It also helped
him see the “big picture.”
Other promotions followed, and then in 1993
he came to Charleston, WV as a claims manager.
Still more promotions took him to the Eastern
Panhandle, where he eventually became a sales
manager for Nationwide. “Sales managers are
like a coach,” said Marquette. “The better job a
sales manager does, the better the agents do. But
after a while, I didn’t want to coach anymore. I
wanted to play.” And so it was ten years ago Doug
Marquette found himself merging two separate
agencies in Bridgeport and Philippi into the
Marquette Agency.
Marquette has found great satisfaction in caring
for his customers, and takes the responsibility
seriously. He recalls in the middle of a
Mountaineer game, a policyholder called - he’d
had an accident, and his car was not driveable.
The customer didn’t know what to do. Marquette
dropped everything on the spot and made some
calls to arrange for repairs and a rental car.
“Stuff happens,” he says. But he takes pride in
knowing his customers can count on him to be
available when he’s needed - 24/7. “They get my
personal service, not some 800 number. That’s
what we sell.” And he says Farm Bureau helps
his value proposition: “If you give me $48 (for a
FB membership) and I give you $150 (savings on
your Nationwide policy), wouldn’t you think that’s
good?”
Marquette tries to instill his sense of hard
work and personal responsibility in area students.
“I’ve never been the smartest or best looking in
anything I’ve done, but I made my career from
see Long Road, page 20
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 19