Boost Your Insurance Agency Name Recognition and Client Prospecting
Photo courtesy of LinkedIn Sales and Unsplash
The most successful businesses today are centering their marketing strategies around the customer. For the customers themselves, having a positive experience determines whether or not they will make a purchase. While the first impression is extremely important, so is every interaction that follows.
In recent years, the insurance industry has become saturated. There are more options out there than ever before. This means that delivering a great customer experience needs to be at the top of your priority list. Learn how you can gain more trust with these insurance agency marketing ideas.
Create Notable 3D Business Cards
Capturing the attention of your audience is as simple as sending them a card in the mail. But in order to hold their attention, your card should be visually striking. Think about how you can stand out from other thousands of insurance agencies that are sending direct mail. The answer is by using 3D pop up cards, which are more than just cards—they are a gift. Remember the wonder that we had as children reading pop up books? You can bring that same sense of amazement into your business strategies. Exceed their expectations of what a follow-up from an insurance agency should be.
Create your own custom card design to display your business’s name, logo, and personality. Any business-related card should cover these three elements because they are the most important identifiers of your brand recognition. In order to fulfill your insurance agency marketing ideas, your 3D element should be representative of your business. This could be in the form of your logo in 3-dimensions, a detailed replica of your building, or a money-saving symbol like the dollar sign.
You can send cards all year round. Competitors who are just mainstream will only send mail to their clients during special holidays. But you can step outside of this box. Mailing 3D pop up cards is especially a great idea for the people who have played a role in your success because it gives you the chance to thank them in a real way—with a tangible gift they can hold and keep. On the other hand, you may need more than 3D pop up cards alone to show appreciation to your clients. Perhaps you are hosting an event and need to spread the word about it to your deserving customers. Leverage your eye-catching card designs as event invitations, and you are likely to expect a great turn out of customers.
Be Consistent with Direct Mail Strategies
It used to be the case that receiving thank you cards was the norm in business and sales. In the modern age of marketing, however, online media has taken precedence. With billions of people using social media every day, there is always someone who will see your content. The problem is that your posts may not be getting the attention and engagement that they deserve. It can be difficult to grow a following as an insurance agency, even if you are using the right targeting tools. Luckily for you, direct mail marketing has impressive targeting capabilities, on account of the fact that geotargeting is the default. Your direct mail provider will even do the research for you to find the right prospects.
“Direct mail even has a better return on investment than paid search, coming in at a median of 29%.”
Data shows that direct mail is undeniably effective. There is less competition in the mailbox than through email, so you immediately increase your chances of being noticed. Physical campaigns can reach clients when they aren’t super distracted on their phones or computers. Direct mail even has a better return on investment than paid search, coming in at a median of 29%. That being said, recognize that it isn’t something you can do one time. You have to continue to be present in your audience’s area if you want to increase your name recognition.
To get the most out of the insurance agency marketing ideas you execute, you need to communicate in a personal way. Prospects are more likely to take a desired action if you don’t come across as a salesperson above all else. They should be able to sense your humanity every time they receive a 3D card from you.
Show Appreciation to Your Clients
Insurance is a long-established industry that has always been very consultative. At the foundation of your insurance agency is your client base, and retaining customers for life is the ultimate goal for successful agents. To implement best insurance agency marketing ideas, you need to understand what it is that clients want and how to build a loyal relationship. And the answer to that isn’t just “getting a good deal” on their insurance rates.
No matter the business, buyers don’t want to feel as though they are being swept under the rug, or that receiving their money is your top priority. Be clear about how grateful you are to work with them. Surprise them with outreach beyond expectations. Follow up with each client on a consistent schedule to provide updates about policy changes or new risks that may need coverage. Show a customer that they are more than a pocketbook by sending them a gift on their birthday or a personal congratulations message after they achieve retirement.
Some renowned insurance companies have custom 3D greeting cards in their marketing plans. When New York Life, a global insurance company, celebrated 175 years in business, the office in New Braunfels, TX decided to create a 3D pop up business card to show their own appreciation. It was designed with an exact replica of their iconic New York headquarters—something that clients would recognize. The card design is so unique, it is certain the recipients will hold onto it and display it proudly.
Photos: New York Life crated a dynamic customer appreciation card to celebrate its 175th anniversary.
It’s entirely possible that your agency uses email and chat messaging as your primary source of communication because of how quick it is to obtain responses. Of course, digital tools have a role and are important to use in business. Realize, though, that handwritten notes hold a considerable amount of power. Your client will be pleasantly surprised to find a card in the mail that you took the time to personalize yourself. People are so used to interacting with businesses online that don’t retain the information and create real memories of those businesses. 3D cards, on the other hand, can be more of a personal artifact that they will want to keep.
When you are in the prospecting phase with your clients, get to know them. Ask questions about their family and interests. That way, when you are writing their card, you can showcase just how attentive you are. You can also better determine what kind of design is going to tug on their heartstrings the most. It’s easier than you think to implement meaningful insurance agency marketing ideas.
Achieve More Word-of-Mouth Power
If you want to see a rise in sales for your insurance agency, you need to give people the confidence to speak highly of you. 43% of marketers achieve growth through word-of-mouth marketing. This is a highly cost-effective strategy because it just depends on the word spreading among your audience. Word-of-mouth marketing aims to create a loyal fanbase for your business. You are the expert negotiating life insurance, health policies, or property insurance, and you want to make sure that the buyer feels completely comfortable making the decision to partner with you. If they hear or read that other people have had wonderful experiences with you, it will make them much more inclined to engage with you.
Word-of-mouth is more than spoken word too—it’s also the spread of positive accolades on social platforms and other media. As an insurance professional, it may be a challenge for you to gather user-generated content (UGC). In fact, it may not even be something you have considered since you have been focused on producing your own content. However, UGC is something that you can definitely achieve by incorporating 3D pop up cards into your insurance agency marketing ideas. When a recipient is “wowed,” they may decide to share their gift on social media and publicly credit you for their delight.
Past clients may leave you a positive review once they have witnessed firsthand how much you care about the people you do deals with. 3D pop up cards accomplish this because they show the customer that they are worth more than a simple email of your appreciation. They also do so much more for the customer than if you had sent them a flat piece of paper that says “thanks for your business.”
Capture and Track Your Leads
Although the increase in revenue may be gradual, your insurance agency marketing ideas will go a long way with direct mail. And in order to see how much of an impact this strategy is making, you need to set up a tracking method.
Your 3D card should include unique contact information for easy tracking. Without having a separate phone number or website URL, you won’t be able to attribute your leads or sales back to your direct mail campaign. The phone number can be a toll-free line that forwards to your regular business line. To determine your response rate, track how many calls you receive through that phone number. Alternately, the URL can be a custom web page with tailored content. Google Analytics and other website analytics software will show you how many users have visited that page. In both cases, no one would have access to these unless they received your card.
Did you know that you can attach a QR code to your 3D card? With the help of smartphone technology, the recipient can be transported quickly to your web page when they scan it. That landing page may be for them to schedule an appointment with you or to receive a special bundle offer. If you are trying to encourage recipients to check out your social media channels, you can also do that with a QR code. Set up a page that links all of your accounts together so that they know where to follow you.
Photo: Your custom card design can feature an interactive QR code to efficiently link your prospects to the right information, similar to this example created for The City of Abilene and a new Double Tree Hotel development.
Awesome 3D Cards offers a great way to promote your agency. With 3D cards, you will stand out from the rest at any time of year, whether you are reaching out to current clients or prospective ones. No matter what state you work from, our Austin-based company can help design, create, and ship your personalized cards. Let us know how we can help make your insurance agency marketing ideas a beautiful reality.