As I write this blog I’m sitting in a 2,500 person town 40 miles from Dallas, Texas. It’s a small Texas town with a lot of heart and that “small town feel” (I’ll get to why this is in quotes in a minute). The agency owners own other businesses, and they indicated that for their other business the goal is to be closer and louder than the competition. So my question is: is your agency louder than the competition?
But let’s get back to the “small town” comment first. In almost every agency I go to I get the same question — have you ever worked with xyz before? Insert small town, metropolitan city, all female, all male, agencies with pets, agencies that are in medium-sized towns. I always giggle! Having worked with over 700 agencies, yes, I have been in all the different demographics. What’s more important is how we hold onto stereotypes for our business.
In a small town we must treat everyone like our neighbor, right? But we close at lunch, we aren’t proactive on renewals, and when a customer has a claim we give them the claims number. Our execution doesn’t match the stereotype. As your insurance agency develops a marketing strategy, it’s ok to think outside of the small town box.
The case for many agencies is they already have the “closer” portion of the “louder and closer” goal covered. This means they serve their communities and do it just fine. It’s the louder part that concerns us at Agency Appeal. If your agency is barely whispering, it’s time to give your marketing a kick in the pants. And if your whole community is whispering, guess what? — an indoor voice may be the tipping point!
Now, don’t confuse the word “loud” with negativity. The entire point of marketing is to get your message out there. Your marketing should be a little loud, a little fun and something that speaks to who you are trying to insure. Here is a big tip. Your marketing doesn’t have to appeal to you as long as it appeals to your target market.
So how do you make your marketing go from a whisper to a megaphone? It all starts by nailing down who your agency is and making that message clear and replicable. What is louder — a single voice or a stadium chanting the same thing? Stadium, right? Getting your team in line with the same message helps amplify your statement. For us that starts with your very own Brand Guide. A brand guide is what gives consistency and clarity to your message.
Once you have your brand and message down pat, go to the best platform to get the word out — the internet. You should focus on having the best and most user-friendly website that quickly engages with your key consumers and explains who you are. From there you can create blog posts to share on social media, email blasts that drive customers back to your site, and even award-winning insurance videos. (Well, there aren’t any insurance video awards…yet. But here’s to hoping!)
If your insurance agency’s brand has been whispering, you may think that an inside voice is more than enough, and you can get away with a nice, soft tone. But you can’t! In order to really grow and take over your community you have to get your word out on a megaphone! There is no trying to be loud — you either are or you’re faking it! Go ahead and be loud as a culture! This way your insurance agency can be closer and louder than your most pesky competition.
Kelly Donahue-Piro is the Co-Founder of Agency Appeal and President of Agency Performance Partners.