If your insurance agency is struggling with how to get a return on your marketing dollars, this is the blog to start with. Rather than bedazzle you with SEO, CRM tools, video analytics and more, we are going to keep it nice and simple. (And yes, all those things do work and you should consider them!) The best bang for your marketing buck is actually apparel. Yes, the clothes you put on day in and day out can get you an ROI.
Many insurance agencies have seen the value in converting their entire team into walking, talking and approachable billboards. When you think of the billions of dollars some of the direct writers are spending, can you make the simple investment of a golf shirt to get your name out in your community? Seems brilliantly simple, right? It is, but we have a few key steps that you can take to maximize the bang for your buck.
It All Starts with Your Brand
Your branding is how you can turn a golf shirt into an advertisement. Branding has everything to do with your agency’s swagger, but it also includes colors, fonts, slogans and patterns. In order to get the most from an apparel order, you will want to nail down your branding first and foremost. For example, if your agency deals more with white collar professionals, you may want to invest in button downs. If your agency deals with growing families, cardigans may be more appropriate. By going through the branding process with you, we can determine what colors you should focus on to make you stand out from every other agency in the community.
Men Vs. Women
If you want your team to wear the shirts, they have to be comfortable in them. This means you will want to give the team some flexibility (within the brand) to select clothing that makes them comfortable. For example, men’s shirts often don’t fit females, and well, I’m not sure many males would enjoy a v-neck! Select clothing colors and styles that match your brand and allow the team to select the clothing that makes sense for them.
Clothing Budget
Many agencies tackle this by giving all new team members a few shirts to get started with when they first join the agency. From there it’s common to give each team member a $100 clothing budget each year so they can pick a new article of clothing to wear.
Uniform or Optional
We know several agencies that make wearing the apparel mandatory. If you do this, you may need to up the clothing budget a bit. Several agencies also make it optional, but you would be surprised how often people do wear them to work. You can raffle off some additional apparel bucks for team morale or incentive plans. Remember that you are not only investing in your team but also getting the word out.
Team Pride
One secondary impact to your insurance agency is that when your team wears the brand apparel, they will actually be showing pride in where they work. When they are wearing your company’s logo they are representing you and their team. It can often be a sense of pride and opportunity for them to share with their community what they do each and every day, and show how they can help new potential customers. Using a simple shirt can spark a conversation that often otherwise would not happen.
Agency Experience
As you think about how to tackle enhancing your customer experience and agency experience, imagine walking into an agency where you see everyone in bright colors all matching (with no chance for the accidental wardrobe mishap). Or when you are taking pictures of the team and posting them on your website and social media, you can easily see how people wearing matching, in-brand apparel offers a different experience.
While you may be thinking apparel is not always the answer, it certainly is a starting point – after you have a brand guide of course!
Kelly Donahue-Piro is the Co-Founder of Agency Appeal and President of Agency Performance Partners.