Tag Archives: marketing

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Are you Still Buying Space in Yellow Pages?

Still not convinced your insurance agency should cease advertising in the Yellow Pages, YellowPages.com, and other paper directories? As we travel and speak with agents around the country, I still hear that many continue to cling to Yellow Pages advertising. Recent moves by former Yellow Pages giant AT&T should convince remaining skeptics who still buy Yellow Pages directory ads.

using yellow pages

According to an USA Today article, nearly 32% of U.S. households are wireless only, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, up from 10.5% in 2006. The article also stated, “First it was street corner phone booths and home delivery of telephone books. Now, landlines are on their way to becoming part of American telecommunications history.”

AT&T agreed to sell a majority stake of YellowPages.com to a private equity firm. Revenue from the Yellow Pages unit has shrunk 30% in two years, as consumers continue to shun phone books in favor of the Web. Verizon also spun off its directory business to shareholders in 2006, only to see it file for bankruptcy three years later.

There are a few remaining pockets of Yellow Pages usage, e.g., the elderly and certain rural areas. Deals can be had if you decide to continue advertising in the Yellow Pages. But if you do, make sure you create a way to track business that comes to your agency via this channel.

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IT Plays Vital Role in Agency Success

Technology has always played a major role in marketing, but a recent report reveals that organizations will seek greater input from IT departments to achieve better sales and customer performance. IBM’s The State of Marketing 2012 indicates that marketing professionals are aware that they’re falling short in reporting and analyzing online visitor data. They’re overwhelmed with the amount of data and systems they have to manage. The vast majority say improved integration and metrics tools would provide a tremendous benefit. They also admit that their social media efforts lack a unified, integrated vision that greater collaboration with the tech side could provide. Ultimately, marketers hope that progress in this area will help them make better decisions about product and service offers and campaigns.

IT department

Don’t make the mistake of thinking these comments only apply to large organizations. Your agency, regardless of its size, should be looking to your IT department for sales and customer service support.

IT’s role has changed

In the past, most insurance organizations looked at their IT department as a necessary expense. IT made sure your computer network was up and running, secured your organization from external security threats, performed software maintenance and updates, and generally became the “fix it” department. In today’s environment that’s no longer enough.

Today, your IT department should be looked at as a profit center for the organization. IT staff should be involved in agency strategic business planning. They need to be viewed as the innovator in the agency, searching for new technologies and processes that will increase revenue. IT needs to work hand-in-hand with the marketing department, providing informed ideas as well as the technical support necessary to maximize the agency’s Internet presence.

Social platforms continue to increase in importance. IT staff should be leading the organization and exploring how you can best use these new platforms to facilitate better relationships with your existing clients, as well as develop new relationships with prospects.

How can your IT department be a profit center? By developing platforms and processes that create revenue for the organization.

For example, the CIO at a medium-size agency in Florida began experimenting last year with a marketing website specifically designed for the agency’s marine insurance niche. It was his pet project. After a year of experimenting and testing search engine optimization and Internet marketing techniques, the website is currently generating over $40,000 a year in commission income. Based on the information learned, the agency is now creating multiple additional niche marketing websites.

It’s time for IT to stop being the fix-it department and become a strategic asset for your agency.

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A Balanced Approach to Marketing

Balanced marketingJust like you, each week I receive e-mails and read articles from many different business and marketing experts. A common theme I’ve noticed is experts (either in their own e-mails or in articles from respected trade journals) proclaiming one marketing method as the only way that insurance agents should market. It goes something like this:

“Video marketing clobbers all other types of marketing; ignore it at your own peril.”

“Facebook is the only way to market; old-school methods are useless or dead.”

“Direct mail is mounting a major comeback; forget about online marketing.”

“Mobile is the future of marketing – get on board now or you’ll be left behind.”

Partial truth

This kind of information is starting to drive me crazy! Why? Because it’s only partially true.

All of the statements above, if stripped of their hyperbole, are good advice. All of the above marketing methods (and others) can work well for your agency. So from that standpoint, the statements are all partially true.

The part that I have a hard time with is the claim that one marketing method is any better than the other, or that it’s on the verge of rendering all other marketing methods useless. That’s simply false. It could be very damaging for you to buy into this type of thinking.

Full truth

The full truth is this: different marketing methods work better than others for different types of prospects and clients. This naturally leads to the question, “How am I supposed to know which marketing methods really work best for my agency?”

It’s really quite simple. The best way to determine the marketing methods that will work for you is to go where your prospects and customers already gather. If you’re selling to established businesses, direct mail and ads in local trade journals might be the most likely places where your prospects “gather.”

If you’re trying to increase your personal lines book, Facebook ads for demographically selected groups might be the best “gathering spots.” Selling to senior citizens? For the most part, online marketing is not where you want to go, as seniors still tend to be less technically savvy. Direct mail might be a better option for this group.

The bottom line is that you must know your customers. Get to know their habits, their likes and dislikes, the most critical problems they want to solve, and the goals they want to achieve. Once you know these things, it’s reasonably easy to figure out where your customers “gather” and use the appropriate marketing methods to reach out to them.

Remember to “check” what any expert tells you (including me) against your common sense. It’s easy to take what someone has written (or what a trade journal has published) as the unvarnished truth. But if your gut is telling you something is off, 99% of the time, you’re going to be right. Dig a bit deeper, ask people whose opinions you respect, and learn to be a bit skeptical. Doing so will help you avoid costly mistakes that could prevent you from achieving your marketing goals.

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7 Reasons to Join me on the HIGH-TECC Caribbean Cruise

1) It is affordable! For less than the cost of a typical night’s stay in a hotel, you get deluxe accommodations, sumptuous food 24 hours a day, myriad amenities, and exotic ports of call.

2) It is tax deductible! The cruise will have pleasure time, for sure, but it really is about your business and features several conference sessions, so it is a deductible and truly is a genuine business expense.

3) It will give your business a formidable “edge up” on your competition. The theme of “Making the Most of your Internet Presence” will give your agency the extra life it needs to pull ahead of the crowded field of competitors.

4) It provides camaraderie with like-minded people. The participants at this year’s HIGH-TECC will be those people who, like you, want to make both strategic and tactical changes that impact their agencies and have true impact on their bottom line.

5) It is the perfect mini-conference. The HIGH-TECC cruise is a perfect place to combine the latest up to date information that will benefit your agency with travel and fun, all without taking too much time away from the office.

6) Great price. Steve Anderson routinely charges $2000 a day plus expenses for his consultation — and agents are happily paying that because of the real world impact this advice brings to their agency. For dramatically less than that, you get a world-class cruise AND get to spend quality time in a small, intimate setting working on your business with Steve as your personal guide.

7) Great activities! No matter if you prefer a wine tasting, swimming, or simply relaxing around the pool all day talking to fellow travelers, it is YOUR choice. There is an activity for any taste and any age! Now, join Steve on the HIGH-TECC 2011 cruise today!

In less than one month we will be together on the high seas enjoying sun, salt air, and extraordinary conversation on how your agency can be among the elite few who are making money by effectively (and strategically) leveraging their Internet presence.

I look forward to seeing you at HIGH-TECC!

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Who Owns What?

I spend a lot of time talking about generational differences. This infographic from the Pew Research Center is very interesting. It shows the results of a survey they conducted looking at generations and the gadgets they own. Click on the graphic to get the full details…

generations-and-gadgets

Click on the graphic to get the full details…