This post, written by Justin Goodman, originally ran on IAMagazine.com.

Brand awareness is a critical component for insurance agencies' success and for the success of the agents who work in them. Access to the right marketing can be the difference between reaching your target audience and missing the mark altogether. 

For the marketing to be effective, agencies need to dedicate time, money and effort. However, a marketing plan that lacks design and planning will fall flat with little generation of sales, which is a big waste of your resources. 

Here are three questions to ask when developing a marketing plan: 

1) What is the ideal audience and where do they hang out?
Selecting and understanding an audience is vital to the mission. Without this information, the only option is to start throwing different marketing at the wall and seeing what sticks. 

One of the problems you'll quickly discover is that it's impossible to track what is working and why and replicating the most effective parts becomes nearly impossible. This approach is ineffective and expenses can start to add up very quickly with no direction or clarity gained from the outcome. 

Instead, choose a focus. Decide on your target client. If it's personal lines, start narrowing prospects down to a specific demographic. If you're working on business accounts, start looking at specific classes or types of businesses, an ideal premium size and other characteristics that help create a meaningful marketing plan for that type of client's specific needs. 

2) What cost is involved and what is the desired return?
Marketing can be costly. Even items that seem minor can come with a hefty price tag. Without parameters, it can quickly start to eat into the agency budget. 

Agencies must be focused and intentional with marketing spending. Understanding who you want to reach and where to find them will help reduce waste in marketing efforts, be it time or money. 

During the client research phase, it is essential to figure out the best way to reach them. If most of your audience is located outside of your community, taking out billboard ads will not generate much activity. It would be much better to invest in a digital strategy. Knowing how and where you can get your audience's attention is critical to ensuring you get the most bang for your buck. 

A marketing plan also needs to include the expected return to understand its level of success. The expected return could be an estimated number of leads and the percentage of closed sales desired. But failing to define these parameters will leave an agency guessing what is useful and what is not. 

Taking time to specify anticipated outcome means agencies have a marker for measuring results. It also means agencies can identify what methods are working, where adjustments are needed, and any marketing efforts generating little to no return. Once this happens, future campaigns can be more focused, further reducing wasted time and money invested. 

3) How much is the agency willing to invest and how should expenses be handled?
Knowing how expensive marketing can be, there must be budgetary guidelines set by the agency. Unmonitored marketing will start to eat at company resources very quickly. 

Agencies can allocate budgets in several different ways, but anyone relying on marketing to grow the business must know the structure, including producers.

Providing support for a marketing campaign is essential, but there should be controls. Producers do not necessarily know what will or will not be effective. Guidance from an individual with marketing expertise paired with a spending limit is necessary. Whether an agent is joining associations, attending meetings, taking out digital or paper ads—all of this is part of marketing. Setting a budget will help keep the producer in check and protect the agency's bottom line.
 
If a producer feels the budget is too low to fit their needs, consider negotiating this with a reduced commission, or allow them to invest their own money. When producers add their own money to the pot, they have an increased interest in seeing their investment pay off. It provides flexibility in the budget and allows the agency to maintain necessary control, which protects the interest of the agency and the agent. 

Marketing is an essential element of agency growth. Developing a marketing plan with appropriate guidelines can help agencies and their agents work together to identify and achieve common goals.

With the holidays behind us, many states in the U.S. are preparing for a long, cold, snowy and potentially dangerous winter season. Whether you have clients who celebrate the drop in temps and take advantage of the snow or you have clients who retreat from the snow, only to emerge in spring when the thaw starts to melt, there are hidden dangers for homeowners that should be prepared for when living in colder climates. Here are a few helpful suggestions to pass along to any of your homeowner clients if you live in a winter wonderland state!

MAKE SURE YOU'RE COVERED
Most people don't think about checking their policies regularly to make sure they're still covered but this is a prime time of year to do so. Encourage your clients to examine their insurance policies so they know what’s covered and what isn’t. Also suggest that they review their limits to make sure they have ENOUGH coverage.

It's also helpful to be mindful of the new year. Changes that happened over the past year might not be reflected on your client's insurance policies. Suggest that your clients make an annual review of their policies to make sure everything is correct and up-to-date will be helpful in the case of a claim.

​STAY WARM
We know that when it's cold enough for the water outside to freeze, there can also be problems with the water freezing inside our homes. Burst pipes are no joke for a homeowner. The results of a frozen and burst pipe can go from bad to worse FAST. Let your clients know that keeping their house at a minimum of 65˚ helps prevent pipes freezing. If you have clients who leave their residence for warmer weather in the winter, suggest that they leave a faucet dripping. This also helps to prevent pipes from freezing when the temps drop drastically.

​CAR CARE
For most clients, cars are a major asset and there are a few preventative measures they can easily take to try to protect that asset. If your clients live in a very cold and snowy region, suggest keeping their cars in a garage when available. In addition, clients should always let their cars warm up when it's been in freezing temps for a long period of time. And keeping the gas tank full will help prevent lines inside the car from freezing and causing damage.

BOAT CARE
Same as cars, boats are a huge expense that your clients are likely very willing to keep protected. Many people choose to store their boats in the off-season for various reasons, but even still, it's wise to peek in on them every few weeks to be sure nothing weather-related has taken place. Most boat owners take great pains to winterize their boats properly, but some damage from freezing may not be covered. It's wise to check this time of year!

​As with anything, you'll want to be sure to encourage clients to keep their policy and claims info handy in case of any type of emergency, but as they say, the best defense is a good offense. Remind your clients that being proactive with winter prep can save them a lot of money and potential heartache. 

This post originally ran on InsuranceHub.com.

If you are the manager or leader of a business, it’s important to have a great team of people to work with. But it’s also essential to provide them with a positive, happy work environment. That means being on the lookout for employee burnout. If your employees get overwhelmed or start feeling burned out, that can lead to lowered productivity and more tension in the workplace. Your employees should feel engaged and energized as they work. Here are a few tips for preventing employee burnout at your business.

1. Be alert for signs of burnout
You need to be aware of some of the signs of burnout as you interact with your employees. Some of these things can be fatigue and not being engaged or interested in the work. If someone who’s normally very communicative all of a sudden becomes very quiet, something could be up. Likewise if one of your team members isn’t completing the work they normally would. Getting to know your employees is important so that you can tell if they’re happy and satisfied with their jobs.

2. Let your employees know that they can always talk to you
It’s essential that you keep communication open. Let your team know that they can always drop by and talk to you. Your employees need to know they can talk to you if something’s wrong. So, if you have a meeting, be sure to let the team know that they can stop by and see you if they need anything afterwards. And then when people do come by to talk to you, be sure that you take a break from whatever you’re doing and give your full attention to your employee. You need to help them work through whatever issue is happening. It’s also important to communicate that you truly value and care about them, so give them your attention. Come up with a plan that suits both of you and talk through the situation. And then afterwards be sure to follow up afterwards to see how things are going.

3. Make sure employees have the resources they need
Your employees need to have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs. Make sure they know they can tell you if there’s a software, for example, that would be helpful to them. Or maybe there’s a training that would be beneficial for them, a good opportunity to learn something new and something that could help them with their job. Or perhaps you need to hire a new team member to help your current employees feel less overwhelmed. The team members you have need to have the equipment they need in order to succeed at their jobs. That can help them avoid a lot of frustration.

4. Designate job responsibilities
It’s really important to have clear job responsibilities at your business. Your expectations have to be made clear to your team. That way no one gets blamed for something not getting done. Everyone should know what they need to do and get done – and that they can talk to you if they feel their responsibilities need to change. Anyways, just remember that it can be really frustrating to chase a target that you don’t know or haven’t had defined for you.

5. Give plenty of feedback
There also has to be plenty of opportunity for feedback. If you’re making decisions about a project someone has been working on, be sure to let them know why you’re making the choices you’re making. Having feedback lets people know how they’re doing and if they’re meeting your expectations. Besides, giving positive feedback lets people know that they’re doing well and that their hard work has been noticed and appreciated. Feedback is important so that your employees know how things are going – and it can also give them an opportunity to talk about how they’re doing so they can avoid burnout.

6. Listen to your team
It’s also important to listen to your team. They’re the ones who are doing their jobs and fulfilling those roles, after all, and so they’ll probably have some suggestions. They may have some really great insights and ideas to bring into the conversation. All of that means that you need to invite your employees into the conversation. If your employees know that their voices are being heard, maybe that can help them avoid feeling burned out and gloomy. There could be a huge store of ideas hiding in your employees’ heads if you give them the opportunity to share them.

There are a lot of reasons why people might feel a bit burned out. As the manager of the business, you need to be aware of how your employees are feeling and how you can help people avoid gloom and burnout. Let them know that they can talk to you and communicate with you about how they’re feeling or if they need something. Your team is crucial to your business, so it’s important to look after them and take care of them. That’s what can make a big difference.

This post originally ran on MediaAlpha.com.

Auto insurance consumers are shopping online more than ever before, and it’s important for agents to meet them there. According to recent reports from J.D. Power and William Blair, 90% of auto insurance shoppers are open to purchasing policies online, and consumers across the board are spending 56% of their media consumption time online.

This makes digital marketing an important tool for auto insurance agents to acquire new customers. If you’re not working to reach this growing pool of online shoppers, your competitors will beat you to them.
Of course, digital marketing is a broad field, with a wide variety of tools and tactics to choose from. If you’re new to it, it’s helpful to start by considering the options you have available and thinking about what might make sense for you to prioritize.

Here are six popular digital marketing tactics you might want to employ, and some things to keep in mind about each of them:

1. Build a helpful, mobile-optimized website to help shoppers learn about your business
Building a website is less of an option to consider and more of a crucial first step for any agent hoping to do online marketing. Websites are fairly inexpensive to build, and it’s important to tell the people who seek out your agency what products you offer and how they can request a quote. Now that consumers spend nearly four hours with their smartphones daily, a mobile-friendly site design is key.

2. Invest in search engine marketing to reach consumers while they’re researching auto insurance
Purchasing search ads for keywords like “auto insurance near me” is a great way to get your agency in front of insurance shoppers when they search for relevant topics on Google or Bing. The downside is that these ads can be expensive if you’re trying to buy a search term that other advertisers value highly, and not everyone who searches “auto insurance” is ready to buy a policy.

3. Expand your reach with digital display ads
Digital display ads are a cost-effective way to get your agency in front of a lot of people, but these ads can be easy to ignore and the audience can be a mixed bag. Still, there’s something to be said for volume in digital marketing—that is, the number of people you’re able to reach—and display ads are an inexpensive way to add additional scale to your operation.

4. Start an email marketing program to reach people in a high-attention setting
Checking email is a daily routine for most of your potential customers, presenting a great opportunity for you to meet consumers where they’re at. You can get started by purchasing an email list from a trusted vendor—just make sure you’re providing useful information and contacting people who are actually interested in buying a policy.

5. Activate social media to build relationships with your customers and find new ones
By posting regular, engaging content on social media, you can improve your agency’s public perception and stay top-of-mind with customers and prospects. You can further grow your audience by buying social media ads using Facebook and LinkedIn’s small business tools, but the users you reach might not be in-market.

6. Acquire new customers by using online leads to connect with high-intent shoppers
Online leads are a great way to reach the most valuable consumers of all: those who are actively seeking an auto insurance policy and getting ready to make a purchase.

When you buy a lead, you receive contact info for an insurance shopper who has already requested a quote on a comparison shopping website. In addition to giving you valuable information about the consumer’s household and driver profile, this act proves that the shopper is invested enough in purchasing a policy that they’re willing to fill out a potentially lengthy form to get a quote.
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Once you have the lead, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to call or email them. Either way, it’s important to contact them as quickly as possible, while they’re still shopping for a policy.

We all know the expression "cash is king" but in this day and age it could be argued that cash is the queen, less valuable ONLY to data. In the 21st century, thanks to the internet, social media and a breed of innovative marketers, data is driving the bus and we're all on it.

This isn't news to any of us, especially those of us in sales and marketing, but what IS surprising is that there are a few ways you should be compiling and using your agency's data to assist you in your sales efforts.  Your sales strategies, marketing plan, client retention policies, and lead generation all benefit immensely when you know what’s going on with your data flow. Without analyzing data, you could be wasting time and money in all areas of your agency.

The following are a few reports you should be sure you're using to ensure that all of your agency efforts are going in the right direction.

1. CONTACT REPORTS
A contact report is a sales report that look at the most important variable or all - your contacts. Contacts can range from people currently connected with your insurance agency or people you can consider prospects. Prospects  should make up the majority of  an agent's contacts, but if you're networking as you should be, you'll have A LOT of contacts! 

A contact report helps you organize your ever-changing book of business, or lead spreadsheet. These reports can filter your contacts, including your active leads or lost leads, and categorize them. Your contact report could include categories to help you segment and organize your contacts. It may use segments like:

• Sales cycle stage
• Last conversation topic
• Last conversation date
• Source
• Zip code
• Product interest
• Enrollment date

As sales reports go, a contact report is valuable because it allows you to recognize when it’s time to follow up with a contact. It may take anywhere from 4-18 follow up touch points to close a deal.

2. REVENUE REPORTS
Revenue reports are the sales reports that let you know if your insurance agency is on target. When revenue reports are segmented according to specific time-frame, by carrier, or product type – they equip you to correlate changes in your sales performance. This is also a great practice to have these reports handy after the enrollment period to ensure your commissions are being paid correctly, and that your clients policies have not dropped off your book.

With revenue reports, you’ll also be able to more cleanly prove your marketing effort’s return on investment (ROI) concerning sales. Sales reports that highlight source and product will make it clearer which channels are driving leads that easily convert. You can forecast revenue achievements in your insurance agency at your current rate of sales production and develop goals for your agency’s future.

3. WINS AND LOSSES
When all is said and don’t, it comes down to which deals you win and lose.

These sales reports will show you which opportunities have closed over the last month or quarter and which are off the table, typically because the lead reported choosing a competing insurance agent or agency. It’s a wise idea to specify the amount of premium, contact, product, zip code, age, and the insurance agent so you can determine quickly which market segments are producing high-caliber deals. Date of first contact, breaking out the time between first contact and sale, is also useful.

For lost sales, try to get some insight into your prospect’s decision to choose your competition. It can be useful to know which of your competitors are securing clients you don’t. If products and services are broadly similar, there may be a breakdown in communicating your insurance agency’s value.
​
Collecting and reviewing the right sales reports is the key to keep your eye on the prize: sustainable sales performance with a clear path to even better results for your insurance agency! These reports will start you off with the knowledge you need to steer toward your agency’s next horizon.

This post originally ran on InsuranceBusinessMag.com.

Communication. That’s the key ingredient for maintaining happy clients. Master that and you’ll be golden.

Carl Maerz from Rocket Referrals, a software company which aims to “improve your company’s referrals, retention, reviews and relationships,” describes below ways you can analyze your client base, make improvements, and keep your customers happy.


Rocket Referrals analyzed data from over 20,000 insurance consumers and found that 81% of all negative feedback was due to a lack of regular and meaningful communication from their agent.

The most successful insurance agencies have two things in common: referrals and high client retention. Both of which rely, above all else, on keeping the client happy. When there are holes in communication, clients feel like the agent doesn’t care about them, and the slightest trigger can prompt them to shop around.

Identify your unhappy clients

Begin by uncovering your clients that are at high-risk of leaving your agency. We’ve had success implementing our simple loyalty survey for agencies, which provides cumulative scores ranging from negative 100 to positive 100. Happy clients provide testimonials, online reviews, and referrals; while unhappy clients vent their frustrations. Due to the survey’s simplicity, agents average responses from 45% of their client base. By implementing the right survey into your business model, you can improve your client retention because you can identify individual unhappy clients, and you can resolve their issues before they shop elsewhere.

Put out the fires

After you’ve identified your disgruntled clients you should call them and smooth things over. This is by far the most effective way of closing the loop on detractors and increasing the chances they are retained. Ultimately, the goal is to convert these detractors into promoters to improve client retention and promote positive word-of-mouth.
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You should: address the issues that caused them to rate you poorly in the survey; thank them for being a client; acknowledge their problem and tell them you work to resolve it; ask if they’d like to discuss their coverage in more detail; and indicate that you are always only a phone call or email away, that you’ll be sure to reach out more frequently.

Renewal communication

“We don’t ever hear from you. Have you done a review with us to see if our coverage is still appropriate? Are we getting the best value for our money with the current coverage?”

The two things clients expect most from their agent are help with claims, and the right coverage for the best price. Those agents that onboard clients and cease all contact will suffer from higher turnover and miss valuable opportunities for cross sales. Moreover, the cost of acquiring and onboarding a client is much higher than retaining one. Handling renewals correctly will go a long way to increasing an agency’s profitability.

Proactively reach out to clients a month or two before it’s time to renew. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that, by bringing renewal to their attention you’ll encourage clients to shop around. This will backfire.

Rather, you should: collect information by asking about past of future changes in a client’s household or business; analyze the information to determine if there are or will be any changes to their policy, and consider discounts and new products they may need; and communicate any changes in policies or premiums and gauge interest in other products.

Regardless of agency size, having systems in place to automate aspects of these steps is important. Being organized, consistent, and thorough will help you get the most out of renewal time and keep your clients happy.

Birthday cards

Letting your clients know you’re thinking of them is one way of reinforcing that personal relationship you’ve worked hard to forge. But not just any birthday message will do. A handwritten personal note that arrives within a couple days of your client’s birthday is meaningful. An automated email or text isn’t. Your clients will know the difference.

So do birthday cards really work? At Rocket Referrals we tested their effectiveness by studying clients that implemented our handwritten birthday cards into their communication flow. We saw a higher increase in client loyalty survey scores, a number of positive testimonials, and retention.

Continued engagement

The bottom line is to implement systems that will communicate regularly with clients in meaningful ways. At Rocket Referrals we have built software designed to do just that. It’s all about remaining on top of your client base and ensuring you’re organized enough not to miss an opportunity to keep a client and gain a new one. Automation can help your cause.