Whether you’re just starting up your insurance agency, or you’ve had one that’s been around for quite a while, I still always have insurance agencies calling me up for some marketing tips and suggestions. Insurance agencies are a fairly specific niche, so they require different marketing tactics than, say, a retail store. When you think about it, people only use insurance agencies at specific times during the year, such as:
- When they need travel insurance
- When they want to renew or change their home insurance
- When they need to renew or change their auto insurance
- When they need to make adjustments or buy into a life insurance policy
It’s rare for someone to need the services of an insurance agency on a regular basis. So what does this mean for those who have insurance agencies? That you’ve got to continually try to draw in a new flow of customers every single month if you want to keep your business afloat.
So what do I recommend insurance agencies do to boost their business? Let’s start from the beginning.
To learn about how Inbound Marketing can help your business generate leads and sales, be sure to check out our FREE eBook, “10 Reasons to Hire an Inbound Marketing Agency.”
Tip 1: Understand your Geographic Market Area
Before you start any sort of marketing campaign, it’s important that you identify exactly who your geographic market area is by neighborhood, county, ZIP code, country, etc. Once you have a good understanding of “where” your target market is, then you can get a better idea of “who” your target market is. Think about who these people are and what sort of “life triggers” and other events are happening.
For example, do you live in an area where there are a lot of new developments going up? Then there may be a lot of first time home buyers coming through that will need home insurance. This is one way in which you can entice new clients in to your agency.
Tip 2: Have a Great Website
Understanding your geographic location will also help you (or an inbound marketing agency that you hire) tailor your website so that it is optimized for local SEO. What does that mean, exactly? It means that an inbound marketing agency can tailor your site so that it will show up in the top ranking spots in any local Google or Yahoo! search that someone in your area performs.
But local SEO and specific keywords that are popular in your area and with your target market aren’t the only things that will make your website great. One thing that I always recommend that insurance agencies include on their site is a “request form” section. Many people have many questions about insurance; after all, it’s not the easiest thing to understand, and people rarely want to read through all of the fine print of their policy. By having a form on your site where someone can quickly select the type of insurance they want and ask for a quote, you are already going a long way in getting yourself a new customer.
Tip 3: Have a Social Media Presence
Social media isn’t just some way for you to keep in touch with family members and friends, but it’s also a great way for businesses to keep in touch with their potential customers and clients.
Having a Facebook and Twitter account will particularly help you gain more customers. Why? Because you are providing yet another outlet for people who have questions to contact you to ask their pressing questions. Not surprisingly, the insurance company who answers the questions the quickest and in the most understandable and human-friendly way tends to almost always get the customer. Apart from meeting face to face or receiving a phone call, nothing gets more “human” than using Facebook or Twitter to speak to someone directly.
As mentioned in our free eBook “Social Media Tune Up”, here’s another way that social media can be used to boost your business: you can post articles or blog entries that you write (and post to your website) that are helpful or useful to your clients. Let’s go back to the example that there are a lot of new home buyers in your area. Why not post an article on your social media sites about the top 10 things that they should look for when buying a home? Why not write an article on “Home Insurance: Explained”? The more helpful you are, the more business you’ll get. So take some time to write and share your knowledge! Your clients and your pocketbook will thank you.
For more on maximizing your presence on Facebook, check out our FREE eBook, “Mastering Facebook Marketing.”
Key Takeaways:
Insurance agencies really have to know their target market when creating promotional materials. As you may have already found, having just a general “we provide insurance for everything!” message isn’t going to bring you in a ton of business. Make it easy for people to contact you, and be helpful. Customer service is what will win over your clients.
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