Like any agency owner, you’re always on the lookout for ways to bring in more business. Whether it’s referrals, renewals, or adding lines, the goal is to have more people engaged in more ways with you and your agency.
A good first step to gaining business is looking at your current insurance marketing strategies. Who are you speaking to with your marketing? Your existing client base and prospect pipeline will give you your answer.
Though there are dozens of ways to dissect your audience, generational is one of the most obvious. If you’re like many independent agencies, you’re probably hitting one of the two largest generations today: millennials (86 million) and baby boomers (77 million)1.
Looking to jump-start your insurance marketing? Start here
Millennial Marketing: Online and Immediate
The millennial market is important. According to recent estimates, millennials will account for 75% of the global market by 20251. So, how do you reach this rapidly expanding market?
It’s no surprise that millennials prefer online interactions over phone calls or in-person meetings. Raised on technology, this demographic is looking to access almost all elements online: policy info, ID cards, claim filing, billing inquiries – you name it, millennials want it digitally. Millennials are the perfect candidate for a self-service portal.
Read more on self-service portals and how they can benefit your agency on our blog
As part of their preference for digital, millennials expect quick responses. That doesn’t mean quick resolutions; millennials are simply looking for continual information updates. Online chats or quick email responses are ideal for this group. Essentially, millennials are looking to take care of things themselves – until they can’t. Then they want some feedback.
One of the greatest benefits of millennials is they’re loyal and vocal. Once they’re with you, they are eager to share their positive experiences with others. Give millennials the opportunity to share feedback. Set up opportunities at the end of customer service interactions to rate their experience, then direct them to share via social media. They’ll be more than willing to refer their friends and family to a business they love.
Baby Boomers: Relational and Educational
Baby Boomers fall on the other end of service interaction preferences, favoring talking to a person. It can be a little more challenging to reach this demographic as they’re not as easy to track online. They’re more likely to call when they have a question and prefer to talk to someone they know. When marketing to Boomers, emphasize personalized service. Let them know they’ll talk to a person, not a machine, and that your goal is to find an answer or solution together.
Get more tips on improving insurance customer relationships here
But, don’t be fooled – Baby Boomers are still online! Boomer online usage is growing. Between 2010 and 2014, there was on 80% increase in Boomers on Facebook1. Most Boomers are using tools like Facebook to do research, gathering information from personal reviews to inform their decisions. Make sure you’re present online, interacting with those posting their views about your agency. Your feedback could sway a prospect towards investigating your agency.
Increased online usage is a sign of something else typical of Boomers: a willingness to learn and grow. Individuals in this demographic are focused on keeping their mind and bodies sharp. They are aware the world is changing and make efforts to keep up. Give Boomers the tools they need to keep learning and engaging to build the personalized relationship they value.
Marketing for All Ages
Fortunately, some marketing moves span age demographics. All ages benefit from:
- A quality website that draws people in and gives them what they need
Make your agency website a great sales and service resource
- Marketing automation to target prospect groups
- Lead nurturing to ensure prospects turn to clients
- Personalized sales and service to build lasting relationships
The last is perhaps the most important. All people appreciate genuine care from their service providers, especially when it comes to something as impactful as their insurance agency. But, it can be hard to build those relationships when you’re busy focusing on other things.
Make more time to build those vital customer relationships by automating what you can in your agency operations. Utilize your agency management system to bring automation to tracking clients and prospects through email integration, mobile access, and marketing automation.
That’s why we’ve added all these elements and more to our cloud-based, all-in-one Partner XE agency management system. Find out more about Partner XE and how it can help you grow and manage your pipeline. Contact us and view a demo today by going to sispartnerplatform.com.
1http://www.v12data.com/blog/insurance-generations-marketing-boomers-and-millennials/
Sarah Deak has been contributing to the SIS team since 2013, covering topics like agency perpetuation, workflow improvements, data security, and marketing. She has a background in small business, working with organizations to improve their online presence and client engagement. Sarah also writes for the SIS newsletters and website, and counts herself lucky to hear from our many passionate, hard-working clients for our client stories. Her favorite part about working for SIS are the dedicated, service-minded people.