Do your sales pitches still resonate with your market? The American psyche is rapidly changing and new, evolving attitudes toward work, leisure, spending money, and pursuing the good life are having enormous impact on the way insurance is bought and sold. To keep your sales techniques relevant and to uncover new and successful approaches,it's important to stay on top of these market trends. Here are 10 trends that could have big implications for our industry:
1. AMERICANS ARE RAISING THEIR CONSCIOUSNESS OF COST.
For growing numbers of customers, the figure on the price tag accounts for more than the name on the label. This isn't to say that quality doesn't matter, Americans want that too. But they're not willing to pay more unless they're convinced they're getting more.
In this climate, sales of upper-end, premium products are likely to fall off. And for insurance professionals, pitches based on 'quality coverage' could lose their effectiveness. Be sure you back up your claims with clear, compelling benefits. And be ready to offer a choice of good mid-range and no-frills policies.
2. ENTICE AND INFORM: THE KEYS TO AN EFFECTIVE MESSAGE.
As advertising clutter gets worse in all media, consumers are tuning out, throwing out, and turning the page on more and more attempts to reach them. If you want your advertising and marketing to be successful, your messages have to work harder than ever just to get attention. Be sure you have a strong visual image and/or a bold, arresting headline to draw your audience in. But once you've got them, don't forget your selling mission. Americans give high ratings to ads with informational value. That's the key to turning lookers into buyers.
3. CONCERNS OVER HEALTH AND SAFETY ARE GROWING.
In every area of their lives, from their homes to their jobs to the products and services they buy, Americans are looking to enhance their health and safety. And for brokers and agents willing to take a little effort, this trend holds out important opportunities. Providing homeowners with health and safety information helps build goodwill and increase renewals.
Going a step further, agents can offer personalized home safety analyses. On the business side, clients need to be made aware of growing concerns over issues such as workplace ergonomics and air quality. More than ever before, agents must promote their risk-management expertise.
4. AMERICA IS BECOMING MORE MODERATE.
In almost every activity you can think of, Americans increasingly follow the dictum 'nothing in excess.' Even in the areas of diet and exercise, which are still important concerns for Americans, they are taking a less obsessive, more temperate approach. It's all part of a growing trend you should be aware of.
5. ATTITUDES TOWARD WORK ARE CHANGING.
Over the past decade, many people saw themselves working harder for less, and job satisfaction has suffered. Perhaps in reaction, most Americans now give leisure a higher priority than work, more so than at any time during the last 15 years. Some businesses have responded with flexible hours, job sharing, and on-site day care. But the challenge to keep employees motivated keeps growing. For your insurance business, meeting this challenge could call for creative, internal marketing programs directed at your own people.
6. MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE IN BUSINESS AT HOME.
With the proliferation of faxes, modems, cellular phones, and personal computers, working from one's home or car is becoming a viable option for many. This, along with company downsizing and a growing desire for independence, has resulted in a rash of home businesses. It's a development that presents new opportunities for insurance people: As business and personal needs move under the same roof, different kinds of policies will be needed, particularly in the area of homeowners insurance.
7. THE PRESSURES OF TIME CONTINUE TO INCREASE.
If there's one thing Americans feel they don't have, it is time. And as they place a greater emphasis on their leisure, saving time takes on increasing importance. Naturally, the products and services most likely to prevail will be the ones that offer greater convenience and time savings. In a service industry like ours, that means making yourself available at convenient hours, taking care of the paperwork, and generally simplifying the insurance process.
8. THE 'TWENTY-SOMETHINGS': HOW DO WE REACH THEM?
Also dubbed 'Generation X,' this allegedly inscrutable group is coming under heavy scrutiny. And for good reason: There are 46 million consumers aged 18 to 29, representing a market that will become increasingly important to insurance marketers, especially as the baby-boomer generation ages. But it's a very different group than the boomers, having come of age at a time of lowered expectations. For instance, they tend to be less willing to pay premium prices. To speak to this group effectively, you need to get to know them now.
9. DO NOT IGNORE THE SHOPPING REVOLUTION.
Now firmly entrenched on cable TV, home shopping is about to take another giant step, as corporate America embraces the 'infomercial' and interactive computers proliferate. Home shopping dovetails nicely with the desire of Americans to save time. And because it gives them greater control over the purchasing process, it can actually make some consumers more receptive to insurance. But to succeed in this forum, you need to establish trust, backed by guarantees.
10. AMERICA'S MOOD IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
If one word can be used to describe the American attitude right now, it might be 'tentative.' Like the state of our economy-and the state of our world -- it could go along for some time in much the same way: neither highly optimistic nor deeply pessimistic-just tentative.
It is not a mood that engenders bold decisions. As insurance marketers, it is up to you to instill confidence in your customers. Talk about the security your policy provides and the stability of the provider. Reinforce the rightness of their decision. Then go for the sale-before the customers change their mind.