Just like you, each week I receive e-mails and read articles from different business and marketing experts. A common theme I’ve noticed is experts (either in their own e-mails or in articles from respected trade journals) proclaiming one marketing method as the only way that insurance agents should market. It goes something like this:
- “Video marketing clobbers all other types of marketing; ignore it at your own peril.”
- “Facebook is the only way to market; old-school methods are useless or dead.”
- “Direct mail is mounting a major comeback; forget about online marketing.”
- “Mobile is the future of marketing - get on board now or you’ll be left behind.”
Partial truth
This type of information is starting to drive me crazy! Why? Because it only holds partially true.
All of these statements, if stripped of their hyperbole, offer good advice. All of these marketing methods (and others) can work well for your agency. From that standpoint, the statements are all partially true.
The part that I have a hard time with is the claim that one marketing method is any better than another, or that it’s on the verge of rendering all other marketing methods useless. That’s simply false. Buying into this type of thinking could be very damaging for you.
Full truth
The full truth is this: Different marketing methods work better than others for different types of prospects and clients. This naturally leads to the question, “How am I supposed to know which marketing methods really work best for my agency?”
It’s not rocket science. The best way to determine the marketing methods that will work for you is to go where your prospects and customers already gather. If you’re selling to established businesses, direct mail and ads in local trade journals might be the most likely places where your prospects “gather.”
If you’re trying to increase your Personal Lines book, Facebook ads for demographically selected groups might be the best “gathering spots.” Selling to senior citizens? For the most part, online marketing isn’t where you want to go, as seniors still tend to be less technically savvy. Direct mail might be a better option for this group.
The bottom line: You must know your customers. Get to know their habits, their likes and dislikes, the most critical problems they want to solve, and the goals they want to achieve. Once you know these things, it’s reasonably easy to figure out where your customers “gather” and use the appropriate marketing methods to reach out to them.
Remember to check what any expert (including me) tells you against your common sense. It’s easy to take what someone has written (or what a trade journal has published) as the unvarnished truth. However, if your gut is telling you something is off, 99% of the time, you’re going to be right. Dig a bit deeper, ask people whose opinions you respect, and learn to be a bit skeptical. Doing so will help you avoid costly mistakes that could prevent you from achieving your marketing goals.