Just a few years ago marketing your independent insurance agency meant putting an ad on TV or in the newspaper. Though TV, radio, and print media are still vital ways to market your business, they are not the only outlets available promote your agency, nor are they the most cost efficient. Social media sites (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn) and local search sites (i.e. Yelp, Poynt, and Kudzu) spread the message like never before!
Social Media
With so many social media marketing tools available, have you ever wondered which ones you should use and how you can do so successfully? Here are a few tips on how to use these tools to help you get more out of your social media marketing campaigns.
Talk About More Than Yourself: You will quickly lose your audience’s attention if all you talk about is yourself. While it is appropriate to share your blog posts and landing pages on social media, you should also aim to be helpful to viewers as well. A good rule of thumb is to post relevant and interesting content from other sources, such as business press, trade journals, and industry specialists.
Make it Easy to Follow Your Company: Since social media is all about sharing, make sure you have “Follow Us” links on your website, email signature, and any additional electronic media you send to your clients. Take advantage of the share and follow modules that most email marketing and internet marketing software have to offer.
Review Your Material Monthly: Look at key performance indicators (KPI) each month to see what is working well and what is not. These include (but are not limited to) monitoring leads generated by your social media network, social media mentions, and views, chares, and comments on blog posts. Also, remember to update your information regularly so information does not become stagnant.
Local Search
Did you know that over 2.2 billion unique local searches are performed each month by US individuals? Local search engines optimize results to include the audience your marketing strategy is attempting to reach. Here is a high-level list of some of the more popular options that may work for you.
Yelp: Yelp is a fun and easy way to find, recommend, and talk about what’s great and not so great in a local area. It is an online city guide that helps people find the preferred places to eat, shop, and relax. Business Yelp accounts allow businesses to share information with the Yelp community such as deals, messages, and business trends.
Poynt: An application that individuals download on their mobile devices that enables them to connect with local businesses and events. Poynt allows you to search for businesses and events close to your current location.
Kudzu: Available for mobile devices, Kudzu helps consumers find the best service providers for their home and family. It provides detailed business profiles including address and contact information, reviews, and valuable coupons or special offers.
Foursquare: Foursquare is a free application that helps users make the most of where they are. It enables users to mark locations that they visit, rank them, share them, and rate them. Founded in 2007, Foursquare is used by over 40 million people worldwide and currently houses 1.5 million merchant platforms.
When used wisely, social media can be an excellent way to create positive brand impressions and get in touch with the wide number of people who are interfacing online. . While the older generations are gradually getting used to managing their personal business online and on their phones and other mobile devices, the younger generation is already there—and has been for quite some time. Since your goal is to find customers and keep them for life, it only makes sense to make it as easy as possible for the younger generation to find you.
While some social media pundits say you need to go “all in” and post several times per day, our suggestion is to take it gradually and work in chunks you can manage. Leverage a tool such as HootSuite that allow you to manage all of your social networks from one interface. HootSuite, which offers both free and paid versions, advertises itself as a “dashboard designed for you and your team to listen, engage and measure all from one simple interface.”
In addition to cutting back on time spent posting, using an interface tool is a much simpler way to monitor activity on your social media sites than logging into each and every individual account. This is important because it is critical to monitor the social media sites that you become part of and maintain a consistent presence. Not all posts made to your social media site will be positive ones. How you react can either diffuse a negative situation or ignite it. It is important to always respond in a timely and professional manner that will promote your brand in a positive way.
Aside from providing a solid software platform to help agencies run better, we aim to provide assistance to our agency partners in every way we can. For that reason, we have taken the time to research and write about areas such as this that we feel would be of benefit to independent agents. In cases such as this we are able to draw from the knowledge of the marketing team at NuGrowth Solutions, our parent company, and Agency Marketing Partners, the insurance marketing arm of our business.
If you would like to find out more about our core competence – our Partner XE agency management system – and how it can help you as you strive to streamline workflow and build your books of business, please contact us at 800-747-9273 or [email protected].
As an independent insurance agent, finding a cost-efficient marketing strategy that fits your style, budget, and business needs can be quite a challenging feat. In our previous blog titled “An Introduction to Effective Insurance Marketing on a Limited Budget” we discussed the importance of selecting a marketing strategy that will optimize what you have and focus on capturing the customers that will provide a return on your investment. We provided various website, social media, email, and direct marketing strategies to capture the customers you need on a marketing budget you can afford.
In this blog, the three main facets of marketing that we are going to explore are Networking, Community Events, and Referrals. Each of these marketing approaches will enable you to build a strong presence in both the insurance industry and your community.
Networking
Traditionally, when one thinks of networking, the first thing that comes to mind is the local Rotary ro Chamber of Commerce meeting and “Business After Hours” events. These days, however, networking can be done in any number of ways – from traditional functions to speed networking events, to online communities.
Local Networking Events: Your local Chambers of Commerce and many additional professional organizations host networking events that enable business people to meet. Attend these events and make as many contacts a possible. Many of the individuals that attend these events are salespeople; focus on how you can help everyone that you meet and have fun! Don’t forget to follow-up with a “Nice meeting you…” email or letter. If you really want to gain exposure for your agency, consider a leadership position. While everyone involved in the group will not know every member, you can rest assured that they will all know the President and other members of the leadership committee.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great resource for building your network online. It provides you with an opportunity to network with not only the people you know, but the people they know as well. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is primarily a professional social networking site, and many groups and organizations that meet in traditional settings offer LinkedIn groups as well. Extend your traditional Rotary, Kiwanis or Chamber membership by joining the affiliated LinkedIn group. Become an active participant in group discussions. Post links to blogs you’ve written. Comment on others’ blogs. Don’t comment just for the sake of commenting, however. Be sure you have something valuable to add to the conversation.
Community Events
Volunteer: There are many opportunities for growing your business while volunteering. Not only will you get great PR in the newspaper and meet other local business owners and community members, you will also have the opportunity to educate people about their insurance options. Here are a few suggestions:
Sponsor a police or fire department event.
Host Seminars coving information such as Insurance Basics, Baby Car Seat Safety, or Financial Planning.
Step up when local organizations are looking for speakers for their monthly meetings.
Volunteer to coach or sponsor a youth sports team
Take a leadership position at the local Chamber of Commerce
Set up educational booths at community events.
Get Creative: Unless you do something memorable, very few people will really remember the insurance agent he or she met while attending the county fair. So get creative. One trick is to use smoke detector batteries as hand-outs. Don’t just count on foot traffic either. Promote the event via community boards and Facebook to get the message out in a cost-effective way. Get even more leverage by pulling the promotion back into the office as well. Invite current and potential clients to stop by the office for free batteries. Charge America and your client-base one battery at a time!
Referrals
Referral Marketing Program: Provide a reward to existing policyholders for sending new clients to your agency, such as movie passes or a gift card. Promote your referral program on billing statements and/or via your website page and make mention of the program during each interaction you have with your members.
Referral Marketing Exchange: There are many successful agencies that offer incentives to car salesman, local real estate firms, and mortgage brokers who refer their agency to individuals they conduct business with. Some of these incentives include cash, shared expense in publications, or assistance with the distribution of marketing material. (Please check the laws in your area as this is not legal in all locations.)
Referral Specialist: Designate a referral specialist in your office and assign them to develop and support a referral process. Ensure that you track referred business and provide a greater commission to the individual responsible. Not only will this enable a specific person to take ownership of the program, but it will also spark other employees in the agency to see how they could benefit from referrals as well.
Through the many discussions we have had with clients over the years, we understand how challenging it can be to effectively grow and market an insurance agency. Strong referrals, consistent community involvement, and wise business networking, though time consuming, can be very beneficial to your business. Volunteering for the American Red Cross and attending a city council meeting will not only promote your company brand, but will show current and potential clients that you take pride in those communities you insurer as well.
Aside from providing a solid software platform to help agencies run better, we aim to provide assistance to our agency partners in every way we can. For that reason, we have taken the time to research and write about areas such as this that we feel would be of benefit to independent agents. In cases such as this we are able to draw from the knowledge of the marketing team at NuGrowth Solutions, our parent company, and Agency Marketing Partners, the insurance marketing arm of our business.
If you would like to find out more about our core competence – our Partner XE agency management system – and how it can help you as you strive to streamline workflow and build your books of business, please contact us at 800-747-9273 or [email protected].
Did you know that your target customers need to hear your marketing message at least seven times to influence a buying decision? The best marketing programs provide high volume exposure and repeat touches in the market. This poses no problem for the big insurance giants who appear to have unlimited funds. For the independent insurance agent, however, it requires careful planning and creative thinking.
Unfortunately, many independent agencies, strapped for time and resources, focus on having prime office space, state-of-the-art computer equipment, and expensive office furnishings, but neglect to allocate the funds necessary to market their agency. In fact, when push comes to shove, the marketing budget is often the one that gets cut.
It is important to note, however, that you don’t need to break the bank in order to effectively market your agency. The fundamental secret to creating a high-impact marketing plan on a limited budget is to optimize what you have and focus on capturing the customers that will provide a return on your investment. Instead of hiring an expensive advertising agency that is incapable of cost-effective marketing tactics, use some of these low-budget marketing initiatives instead.
Website Strategies:
Have an easy to remember website address that relates to who your insurance company is or what you do. Also, make sure you list your website address in all of your agency materials.
Provide helpful insurance information to website visitors. Answer common coverage questions or offer helpful home/auto maintenance suggestions.
Don’t over-do it! There are ways to create an impressive site using less-complex template or open source approaches.
Don’t let your site stay stagnant. Refresh your content and add new material as often as you can.
Social Media Strategies:
Use social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to share relevant, educational, informational or entertaining content – not to self promote.
Join and actively participate in local online groups on LinkedIn
Locate a niche/ group where you can be an expert and offer helpful insurance hints and suggestions.
Here are a few quick links we stumbled upon with additional information on using LinkedIn for insurance:
Include a promotional message and your website address as part of your standard email signature. If you have social media accounts, invite people to “Like,” “Follow,” or “Join” you.
Run your email copy through a spam detection tool (i.e. EmailExam, Acxiom Digital, or Lyris Content Checker) to ensure your emails will not be caught in a spam filter.
Send email reminders when policy renewal dates are coming up.
Send monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly client newsletters.
If sending bulk mail, provide clients and potential clients with an easy opt-out email process. Sending email to people who want themselves to be removed from your list projects a poor business image.
Direct Marketing Strategies:
Create a more effective list by using demographics, psychographics, and some of the other list segment tools available.
Before committing large sums of money to full-blown programs, test your mailing and telemarketing in small quantities first. Also, use the information you learn on every program to make the next work better.
Postcard mailers have a low production cost, the first-class postage is more cost efficient, and work very well. Drive interested parties to a web form or a toll-free phone number.
Use two color printing instead of four-color printing. This will save money and pull as much response as would a four-color mailing.
We here at SIS understand the challenges of our clients and the importance of budgeting wisely when owning a small business. Through our experiences, we have noticed some additional cost saving marketing techniques include sending handwritten personal notes to prospects and customers, creating content that can be used in multiple marketing scenarios, and partnering with larger insurance businesses to increase credibility. Also, build a successful co-op relationship with your insurance carriers enabling you to offer competitive products and pricing.
Aside from providing a solid software platform to help agencies run better, we aim to provide assistance to our agency partners in every way we can. For that reason, we have taken the time to research and write about areas such as this that we feel would be of benefit to independent agents. In cases such as this we are able to draw from the knowledge of the marketing team at NuGrowth Solutions, our parent company, and Agency Marketing Partners, the insurance marketing arm of our business.
If you would like to find out more about our core competence – our Partner XE agency management system – and how it can help you as you strive to streamline workflow and build your books of business, please contact us at 800-747-9273 or [email protected].
Stop Whining: Embrace Google+ was recently published by the Executive Editor of The Steve Anderson Report (TAAR) Steve Anderson. In this article, Anderson explains that though you may currently be using Facebook for your personal lines and LinkedIn for your business lines, you are more apt to make a stronger digital marketing presence if you embrace Google+ as well.
Anderson explains that though you may be using Facebook and LinkedIn, to master your internet presence you must use Google+ in some capacity. As mentioned in Part I of this article, Google+ currently hosts more than 500 million users worldwide. Also, according to Business Insider, Google+ is adding 750,000 users everyday. Image the digital marketing opportunities you would have with a daily user increase such as that!
Anderson wraps up the article by providing readers with helpful step and links on how to get started with setting up a Google+ account. Here are some of the suggestions that he makes:
Fill out your profile in its entirety. This will provide you with a better chance of showing up when someone is searching for information that you may be able to provide.
Link your website to increase your internet presence. Since information added to Google+ is used by Google in the search results, this is one of the main benefits of a Google+ account. To learn more about doing this step click here.
Start using circles to organize contacts and connections. Some circles included are topics, industries, family, and friends.
Post information on Google+ similar to what you would post on Facebook or LinkedIn. You can even post the same information on all three sites.
Add interesting people to your circles by sharing each other’s posts with links to the original author embedded. Anderson suggests posting comments under the posts to engage with the network and bring new and interesting people to your attention.
Finally, explore the newer addition to Google+, Communities. These are similar to groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.
This post is part of a series on Insurance Marketing Strategies brought to you by SIS. At SIS we view it as our job to make all the behind the scenes tasks that go into running an independent insurance agency simpler, so you can focus on growing your book of business.
We do this by doing what we do best – listening to our clients’ needs, constantly working to build a better agency management system, providing outstanding ongoing customer support and looking for the next “best way” we can help you out.
If you are interested in learning more about SIS or our Partner XE agency management system please give us a call at 800-747-9273 or fill out a short contact form and one of our representatives will be in touch soon.
In today’s insurance environment, agencies are experiencing rapid change like never before. Globalization and the constant innovation of technology have resulted in a continuously evolving business environment. Change management, the approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state, is a structured approach in an agency for ensuring that changes are smoothly and successfully implement to achieve lasting benefits.
Managing change successfully is not an easy task, nor should the efforts to do so be taken lightly. Companies that refuse to change get left behind by those who embrace it. Successful agency owners need not question whether or not change is necessary, but focus on how to successfully manage change to ensure the success of the business.
Jeff Yates, the Executive Director of the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) recently published a thought-provoking article entitled Agency Strategies to Manage Change Successfully. In his article, he provides six perceptive ways for an agency to successfully manage change and in turn grow their business.
Yates emphasizes that “Agencies can position themselves to prosper in this rapidly changing environment by creating a culture that embraces innovation and implementing a defined change management process.”
Management Sets the Tone
It is the agency management team that plays a pivotal role in building a culture where “innovation is prized as a core value of the business.” Encouraging ideas on how the agency can do things better from employees and clients, surveying clients regularly, and setting up client advisory councils will provide the ability to test new ideas and generate fresh thinking.
Keeping up with Innovation in Other Industries
Keeping up with the innovations occurring in other industries is essential to success. Though agility is important in reacting to competition, being “anticipatory” will allow agencies to become the competition instead of simply trying to keep up with it. In order to be the “anticipatory” firm, changes need to be made immediately enabling themselves to be where consumers and competitors will be in the future.
Employee Involvement & Training are Key
Encouraging employee involvement in the shaping of necessary changes will also enable agencies to successfully implement change. Empowering and rewarding employees that are innovative will encourage employees to work through any issues and pursue problems until they are fixed. An innovative agency has the right employees in the correct spots, such as those willing to embrace change and ask the right questions to get their jobs done correctly. Many agencies encourage diverse thinking and a deeper understanding of the various client segments by maintaining a staff that reveals multiple generations and ethnic groups. Providing employees with the training necessary for them to become more effective and increase overall job satisfaction is important as well.
Slow Down in order to Speed Up”
Coined by Paul Fuller from here at SIS, this phrase emphasizes the importance of taking the time to ensure the change being considered is worth pursuing. This applies to many facets of the business, from technology to workflows. Opposed to automating a previous workflow that was created for a paper environment, agencies need to rethink these workflows and how they might need to be reworked in a paperless environment.
Willingness to Experiment
In order to successfully manage change, agencies must be willing to experiment and tweak new technologies while listen to the feedback from clients and others. Great examples of these technologies are mobile friendly websites and mobile apps. “There is no question mobility and the ‘connected’ consumer are both ‘hard’ trends that will increasingly affect us.” Internet marketing is also a new technology that many agencies are “experimenting” with. The necessary steps to becoming an innovative agency are experimentation, measurement of the effectiveness of any changes made, and refine implementations when needed.
Innovations Save Time & Money
Let’s discuss time and money, which many of us know can make or break an agencies based upon utilization of each. Efficacious innovations often save time by decreasing the time needed to accomplish certain tasks. By implementing certain innovations, what once took an average of 23 days to complete can be reduced to 2-3 days.
Yates’ closing statement emphasizes that though there are many available technologies that will enhance your competitive position, there are four key steps agencies must take to manage change successfully. Agencies that embrace innovation, keep up with trends and opportunities, empower their employees, and implement a defined change management process “will continue to experience rapid and profound change.”
Partner Effectively
At SIS, our agency partners’ success is our success and we are committed to helping them grow and expand. Understanding that innovations save both time and money, and contribute significantly to growth potential, we view it as our responsibility to stay ahead of the curve.
To that end, we build our goals and expectations on continuous improvement and adaptation to provide the best service possible. We listen to what clients want and incorporate their feedback into product enhancements. We have a strong user group that helps drive productive innovation. Clients benefit from a management system partner vested in their success and we benefit from the exceptional insight we gain from the people who use the system day in and day out.
We welcome a partnership with you and would like to talk about how we can work together to develop innovative solutions. Our goal is to make our agency partners’ job simpler by consistently working to build a better agency management system, providing exceptional training, and always looking for the next “best way” we can help you succeed. Contact us at 800-747-9273 or fill out a quick contact form and we will be in touch.
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As an independent insurance agent, finding a cost-efficient marketing strategy that fits your style, budget, and business needs can be quite a challenging feat. In our previous blog titled 
Did you know that your target customers need to hear your marketing message at least seven times to influence a buying decision? The best marketing programs provide high volume exposure and repeat touches in the market. This poses no problem for the big insurance giants who appear to have unlimited funds. For the independent insurance agent, however, it requires careful planning and creative thinking.
Stop Whining: Embrace Google+
In today’s insurance environment, agencies are experiencing rapid change like never before. Globalization and the constant innovation of technology have resulted in a continuously evolving business environment. Change management, the approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state, is a structured approach in an agency for ensuring that changes are smoothly and successfully implement to achieve lasting benefits.