The numbers prove it out…customer engagement is the key to edging out the competition in the insurance industry. It can also increase customer retention, and the amount of business established clients do with your company.
Price Doesn’t Have To Be The Answer
Traditionally, companies have felt they needed to undercut the competition in order to secure sales. However, on its own, promotional pricing does not successfully build brand loyalty. The only way to ensure customers for life is to establish a strong relationship with your clients. The puzzling news is that less than 50% of companies surveyed have a formal customer engagement program in place.
In a Harvard Business Review article entitled “Strategies to Fight Low-Cost Rivals,” the author explains that there are two ways to combat low-cost competitors:
- Becoming more defensive, and
- Differentiating your products.
There are numerous ways insurance providers can differentiate their products, but I’m going to leave the answer to that question to another blog post and focus this post on becoming more defensive.
How Do You “Become More Defensive”?
The answer is brand engagement. It’s simple enough. You set yourself apart from your competition by establishing a connection with new and existing clients.
And the good news is that if less than 50% of all businesses have initiated a formal, customer engagement program, it stands to reason, that doing so would give you an advantage over the competition. And, if reason doesn’t do it for you, look at the next enlightening statistic from Gallup…
Insurance policy owners are 22% more likely to renew policies with their insurance agent if they have engaged with them over the course of the year.
Customer Engagement in the Insurance Industry
So, how do you engage a prospect and move the conversion process forward at a faster pace?
Well, given that cold calls have about a 2% conversion rate, compared to a 20% conversion rate for qualified leads, it makes more sense to concentrate resources on qualified leads. But, where can you find qualified leads who are ready to make a purchase commitment?
- Identify the attributes of your ideal customers so the focus is only on those prospects who truly count
- Build a database of prospects that fit your ideal customer profile including email addresses, LinkedIn accounts, and more
- Surround your prospect with brand impressions, using multiple engagement tactics to generate top-of-mind awareness to your brand name and brand message
- Acquire the insightful information you need to achieve conversion
Eliminating unqualified leads can streamline your conversion process and cut-down on the cost of customer retention.
Challenges Faced By Insurance Brokers
Hands-down the biggest challenge in targeting “warm prospects” is a lack of resources. Not only does data-driven marketing require personnel with an analytical eye, it also requires someone who can predict future behavior.
The perfect way to increase brand engagement and subsequently, your ROI, is to partner with a marketing team that knows the insurance industry, data-driven marketing strategies, and can both lead and listen.
intouch Business, Inc.
Since 2006, intouch Business has partnered with insurance companies in dynamic and creative ways. to assist our clients ENGAGE with their customers and prospects.
