If you’re like most small business owners, you’re constantly struggling to get a handle on how you’re using your time. It seems like there’s never enough to get all your work done. You have numerous areas you want to improve, specifically around serving and gaining customers, if only you could salvage a few hours a week to focus on them.

There are insurance agency software solutions to meet your needs. Enter marketing automation. It can free you to use your time better and wiser. And – bonus! – it’s specifically designed to improve customer retention and outreach. Read on to find out how this frequently discussed but oft-overlooked software can impact your agency’s bottom line.

Get more insurance marketing solutions in our post, “Insurance Marketing You Can Actually Do”

Improve Customer Relationships

The goal of marketing automation is to make it easier for you to connect with your customers and prospects. It’s all about increasing and improving communication between you and your constituents. With marketing automation you can:

• Schedule important milestone messages, like birthday greetings and coverage anniversaries
• Create targeted messaging based on past interactions, such as information on adding lines after they’ve requested quotes
• Share useful content from your existing library, reminding customers of the value you continue to provide
• Add personalization to messages, showing care and establishing trust

A recent Salesforce report showed 52% of consumers said they’d likely switch brands if they didn’t see personalized communications. With a growing multi-generational audience of diverse needs and customer demand for personalized service, the customized messaging marketing automation can produce is a must-have.

Don’t have a content library? See why it’s important to build one in our post on content marketing

Drive More Sales

Marketing automation not only helps you keep the customers you have, but it’s also designed to better your lead conversion. With real-time data on prospective customer engagement and tailored messaging for each point along your pipeline, marketing automation can help you:

• Gauge prospective engagement, helping you place them in the right spot on the customer journey
• Collect more data on prospects, improving your ability to deliver them the right information at the right time
• Send messages at critical points, such as right after quote requests or when it comes time to sign policies
• Stay top of mind with regular scheduled messaging cadences

Time is of the essence when it comes to the customer journey. The quality and timeliness of information provided by marketing automation makes it a game-changer for your sales team.

Are your sales slumping? Find out how to become a winning sales team on the SIS blog

Save Time

At this point, the time-saving aspect of marketing automation seems like an added bonus. Thinking practically, there is no doubt marketing automation will save you hundreds of hours a year. With automation, you’re able to collect and send information faster, with higher accuracy, and better quality.

And, by helping keep customers and generate new ones, marketing automation gives you the freedom to experiment with new ways to gain customers while feeling secure in your base. A win-win-win.

Find out more about other automated systems in our post on creating automated workflows

Find the Right Solution for You

There are dozens of marketing automation offerings out there and it can be tough to judge which is best for you and your agency. Two key items to look for are customization and flexibility.

It’s near impossible to find a system that will have everything you need as is, so it’s important to look for one that will move with and for your agency. You want messaging that sounds like you, and the ability to segment audiences as you need, among other critical tailor-made adjustments.

We kept this personalization in mind when creating our Partner Platform. Our robust Partner XE management system, coupled with integrations like our Marketing Automation Manager, is designed to adapt to each agency’s individual needs. With customizable messaging and tailored user permissions among other areas, Partner Platform is all about serving the needs of each individual agency, molding to fit you.

To find out more about the Partner Platform, including our latest Marketing Automation Manager extension, get in touch with an SIS team member at [email protected] or 800.747.7005, Option 6.