Newsletters. We see them every day. We subscribe to them, get them for free, market with them. We learn from them.
But how much do we really know about newsletters?
The First Benefit-Retention
Rare is the agency that wouldn't like to see higher retention rates, which results from relationship-building and account-rounding. Good relationships stay with you. Plus, the more policies you deliver to an individual client, the greater the retention rate.
Newsletters tell your clients that, as their expert, you keep on top of things and you care enough to communicate the information to them. Newsletters, along with telephone and personal visits, provide a communications continuity that keeps clients happy with you and your services. A great example comes from SAFECO agents Russ and Alice Neville. When a string of arson fires broke out in Lynnwood, WA, they published a special Arson Alert newsletter for 5,000 of their clients and prospects.
The same goes for account-rounding: Newsletters are the perfect medium to let clients know about the services you provide. Moreover, your services can be described in newsy, informational articles that provide them with solid reasons for considering your agency for their other needs.
The Second Benefit-Prospecting
How much follow-up is right for a prospect? Do you call once a week, a month, a quarter, or just when the x-date is due? Developing the parameters of effective follow-up is an individual matter to both the agent and the prospect. Everyone works it a bit differently.
Newsletters are ideal for follow-up. They keep your name in front of the client, do not cost the client productive time, and establish your expertise and value as an agent. Just as they build relationships with your existing book of business, so too do they build relationships with prospects.
Another area of newsletter effectiveness lies in target or niche marketing. Let's say you want to go after widget manufacturers. Consider a newsletter that deals with the specific needs of those who manufacture widgets. Immediately, they will perceive you as an agency with expertise in their field. You talk their language.
The Third Benefit-Meeting The Competition
A consumer's memory is relatively short. When faced with a renewal decision or the need to change coverage, the most recently seen name generally leaps to mind. Industry figures show that the average agency is in touch with its customers only once or twice a year. On the other hand, the alphabet houses and large direct writers continually bombard consumers with advertising that builds credibility and name recognition. And the competition is going after every segment of the marketplace, large and small.
Newsletters counteract the competition with a cost-effective method of keeping your name and your services at the forefront of the consumer's mind. Compared with the cost of other advertising methods, newsletters are ideal for battling the competition.
The Fourth Benefit-E&O Risk Management
We've all heard the E&O horror story of the P/C agent who was sued by a widow for failing to advise her then-living husband that the agency also offered Life insurance. To defend against an E&O claim or any type of litigation, the rule is document, document, document.
Regularly sent newsletters that advise clients of all your services and provide risk management information provide valid documents of defense against such claims. 'Mr. Jones, you admit receiving the various newsletters we've sent to you during the year. . . .'
Newsletters are an ongoing, non-threatening method of informing clients about changes in state and federal regulations, policies and coverages, and areas of exposure. Clients eventually come to expect such information. Although some might argue that a business letter can accomplish the same, business letters don't carry the visual impact of a newsletter.
Providers of E&O coverage are currently looking at assisting agencies with newsletter expense, either through cooperative funding or rate reduction. Already many carriers will share the costs of a newsletter program if it features their product lines. This approach is more targeted and less costly than regular print advertising and direct response. Business reply cards can be included.
The Fifth Benefit-Dividends
When you give clients and prospects information that protects their lives and property, they will remember you. Alerting them to the danger of arson or explaining how to protect their property from a natural disaster helps foster trust, and is sure to pay dividends.
Cutting Through The Clutter
We're all deluged with mail, much of it junk, to the point of information overload. Once you agree on the benefits of a newsletter, you need to overcome this clutter. Your newsletter must reach out and beckon to them!
Above all, do not waste clients' time with a less-than-desirable message. A good newsletter conveys timely and pertinent information to the reader. Appealing art and catchy headlines are critical to draw them into reading. Most of all, a good newsletter has a cohesive look and presents a variety of material in a balanced fashion. Hodgepodge won't cut it!
The first step to any direct-mail program is to analyze and determine the needs of your reader. An ongoing research effort must then be continually pursued to gather the facts, figures, quotes, statistics, and stories essential to good editorial content. The writing must be clear and simple to interest the reader.
Other considerations require that the copy be reviewed for legality and accuracy. Insurance is complex, and there must be E&O protection. After layout and typesetting: proof, proof, and proof again before printing and distribution.
The Sixth Benefit: The 'Do It Yourself' Syndrome
Everyone is watching pennies these days. As a result, your first reaction upon hearing of a good idea like a newsletter may be to save money by doing it yourself. Before undertaking such a project, however, some comments-
IMMS account executive William Wood's and mine-might prove to be of value.
From personal experience, as a writer and as president of both Sound Marketing and Compliance Publishing, I fell into the do-it-yourself trap a few years ago. What began as a shining star of an idea quickly turned into a burden, and the publishing dates soon stretched further and further apart to the point of nonexistence. Something else always took precedence.
According to Wood, 'Agencies that attempt their own newsletters often don't realize how much is involved. From the research and writing through the review and proofing, a lot of time and expense is involved.' In addition, an agency could end up spending more for the printing alone than an entire full-service program would cost. Depending on the frequency, such full-service programs usually cost only $1 to $5 per client every year.
Additional Benefits
Ever the marketer, IMMS' Michy Greenberg points out, 'Even the stuffing, addressing, and mailing can be beneficial to an agency's community relations. We've found that virtually every city or county in the United States has a nonprofit group, shelter society, fundraising effort, or senior center that can provide the logistical support for newsletter mailings. In some cases, this is the only source of support for their organization. When using such services, an agency is truly helping the community and has a tremendous opportunity for positive public relations.'
Author's note: Attesting to Greenberg's comment, our company has very successfully used the members of the local high school band to perform mailing services. The students donate their time, and we donate their 'earnings' to the Band Booster Fund.
Summing It All Up
A newsletter is not a great treatise or novel, but it serves an extremely useful purpose for insurance agents. Customers are demanding more and more education about their insurance purchases because insurance has a tremendous impact on the quality of their lives-health care, automobiles, homes, and their ability to cope with disasters and deaths. Insurance consumers, commercial and personal alike, rely on their agent for guidance and security. They need and benefit from your product.
A newsletter program establishes a one-to-one connection between customers and you, which results in more calls, more interest, more business, and greater profits. Can an agency afford not to have a newsletter program?
For information on the various newsletter programs offered by IMMS, call William Wood at (800) 753-4467.