In the second part of his two-part series on insurance marketing tips, Jim Brandt of Sun Insurance Services, continues with his top five tips on what it takes to successfully market to today’s customer.
Last week, I introduced Jim Brandt, Founder & President of Sun Insurance Services, Inc., as my guest blogger. In this post, Jim concludes with his top five tips. BTW, in case you missed Part 1, read it here.
As told to QQ Solutions by Jim Brandt:
No. 5: Be prepared, but flexible.
Six months before we opened in 2003, I had a business plan. Within that business plan, I accounted for contingencies. These included scenarios that could change the course of action for our agency, and how we would react to those scenarios. Then, in 2005, I was diagnosed with cancer. For six months, I was completely out of commission. For 45 days of that time period, I couldn’t even speak. I dare you to try and run an insurance agency when you can’t talk. We hand-wrote notes back and forth; some of which I’ve kept as a reminder of what truly matters in life. Cancer was not in my business plan. It wasn’t even in my Plan B. To survive, we had to be extremely flexible. The same goes for your marketing strategy: your plan needs to be comprehensive, yet fluid enough to account for the unexpected.
No. 4: Stay on top of the insurance industry.
Read industry publications for the latest news. Follow what your competitors are doing in social media, especially those who are doing it well. For example, if you notice that a competitor is posting on Twitter about overlooked auto insurance discounts, and dozens of users are retweeting it, consider writing a blog post with a more in-depth perspective on the topic. Make your agency the go-to source for the most up-to-date information regarding your insurance specialty. If customers trust your expertise when you’re just sharing unsolicited information, they’re more likely to trust you for other things, like insurance coverage. There is a wealth of information available to us online, but we have to actively seek it out to stay ahead.
No. 3: Embrace technology.
At Sun Insurance, we don’t have a filing cabinet; and, if we did, we wouldn’t know what to do with it. We’ve always been a paperless agency. Today, we utilize QQ Catalyst by QQ Solutions, a Web-based agency management system, to keep us organized. We use it to update client records, create new policies and to identify opportunities to sell more. In fact, we were part of the Beta test group that tested the system before it even launched. Our reaction: can we start using it now? At the time, we were also switching from PCs to Macs and we wanted to implement Catalyst simultaneously. Once we did, it allowed us to use one centralized system to access and update clients’ policies in real-time, from anywhere. It also runs on any device with a modern browser, including mobile phones or tablets. I have a commercial producer who now uses it as a part of his presentation to customers on his iPad. That wasn’t possible months ago. As new products get introduced or old products get refined, we make sure we’re aware of these changes and how they impact our clients.
No. 2: Establish a brand.
What is a brand? Glad you asked. It’s the identity and characteristics that define you as an insurance agency. Your logo is an instrumental part of your brand, but it’s not the only part. Say it with me: “Our insurance agency’s business name is not our logo.” You need a professionally designed logo, as well as a clear agency message and a unified vision in order to lay the groundwork for a successful brand. What characteristics define your agency? Why makes you different than any other insurance agency? Before prospects and customers can answer that question, your agency needs to decide for itself. When you think of the brand Coco-Cola, you feel a sense of happiness, because that’s the message the brand conveys to its audience. Time and again, Coco-Cola’s advertisements drive home the fact that to drink one of their sodas is to enjoy one of life’s simplest pleasures. Determine who you are as an agency internally, how you want to be perceived publically, and then hire a professional to develop a brand based on that foundation.
No. 1: Put people first.
Before we make a recommendation to a customer, we look at their lifestyle and potential changes to that lifestyle. We’re not just focused on the sale. We take a more consultative approach that starts from the minute we get on the phone with a client. When you talk to clients, make it a conversation, not a sales pitch. Ask them questions before selling them anything. Learn who they are and what they need. Before we put together a quote or policy for our clients, we do a lot of information gathering and fact-checking. That level of service doesn’t stop after they sign on the dotted line. While how you treat prospects initially determines whether or not they become a customer, your agency’s actions over time determine whether or not you’ve developed a long-term relationship.
By following these ten insurance marketing tips, you’re likely to create more of the latter.
