All business owners are comfortable doing the things we need to do and sometimes we don’t stop to think “what can I do better” or “what can I do differently”. This “5 Reasons to Change Your Marketing Strategy” article will help you get out of your rut and get excited about trying new things!
1. Location in the Product Life Cycle – Most of us are familiar with a product life cycle chart. Some of you are probably wondering “how does this apply to insurance sales?” Big question! Stretch with me a bit and let’s look at two ways this applies. First, as Agents, we sell a product called insurance. There are different types of insurance, but within each of these markets (home, auto, life, health, etc.) we sell different types of policies, with different levels of coverage, types of coverage, different deductibles, etc… Some These policy products are new offerings, others are well established, and some are about to be withdrawn from the market due to their relevance to today’s market demands. Second, our individual status and/or agency status on the Life Cycle Chart changes over time. In both cases, our marketing strategy should reflect where our product or agency is on the life cycle curve. A startup agency will market completely differently from a well established agency. A new agent is trying to build a brand image and an experienced agent is marketing his years of experience and industry knowledge. Being aware of where you are on the life cycle curve is vital to your marketing strategy.
- underperforming ROI – An essential component of a marketing strategy is measuring results. It makes no sense to spend financial resources without having a way to measure the return on that investment. There are numerous ways to easily track incoming revenue from a marketing effort. Setting volume/revenue goals and measuring those results provides the feedback needed to modify the plan or, in some cases, close it. If the plan under review is not capable of generating the necessary income, stop putting resources into it! Don’t waste good money after bad… Refocus your team, time and money in a different direction after reviewing why a specific marketing plan failed to generate the expected volume of revenue.
- underperforming ROI – An essential component of a marketing strategy is measuring results. It makes no sense to spend financial resources without having a way to measure the return on that investment. There are numerous ways to easily track incoming revenue from a marketing effort. Setting volume/revenue goals and measuring those results provides the feedback needed to modify the plan or, in some cases, close it. If the plan under review is not capable of generating the necessary income, stop putting resources into it! Don’t waste good money after bad… Refocus your team, time and money in a different direction after reviewing why a specific marketing plan failed to generate the expected volume of revenue.
- New technology – We are referring to new tools that you can use to get your message across to your potential or existing customer base. Five years ago, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest, YouTube, and many other forms of communication either did not exist or, if they did, were not used for commercial applications. Today, very few companies do NOT have access to their target markets through these new forms of media. If you’re not using these and other types of media to communicate with your market, you’re missing out on valuable opportunities. One last comment… I guarantee your competition is!
- Change in Product, Service or Demographics – Our business environment is constantly changing and that will never change. When you have a change in your product offering, let people know! Tell them why they need it, how it will help fill a need they have, and make their lives easier or safer. YOU are your expert and if you don’t share the news, who will? If you change your hours of operation or provide a new service for complaints or policy changes, create a new marketing plan to spread the word. You can use this as an opportunity to increase brand awareness, differentiate yourself from the competition, and also set the stage for future sales, with rounding up accounts. If you have a book business dominated by older clients, create marketing strategies that directly target the needs of that audience. If you’re worried that your book is heavily reliant on older customers who are slowly fading away, then market to a younger demographic. They will be interested in different products and the way you communicate with them will include multiple ways of new technology channels.
- Experiment (don’t get stuck in a rut) – Of all the reasons we have covered in this report, this is the MOST IMPORTANT! The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude is a guarantee of failure. Yes, if you have a great strategy that is giving you fantastic results, keep using it! But keep in mind that all strategies should be reviewed for ROI and eventually changed when returns start to drop. Use the time when your current strategy is experiencing superior results to try other types of marketing. Start small, adjust as necessary, and see what happens… Not all of these experiments will work, but some will. Those who do will be your new Superstars when the old strategies start to slow down.
You may be very satisfied with your current marketing strategies and see no reason to change what has been successful for the last 10 years. I have a request… Stop and think about how consumers have changed their buying habits in the last 10 years. How has technology contributed to that change? Think Amazon, Esurance and the marketing campaigns built around cavemen, “Mayhem” and a Gecko lizard…
Crazy or innovative? Up to you!