But they’re doing so without spending more. In fact, the data show they’re spending less.

That’s according to Shirley Lukens, AAI, principal of Reagan Consulting, who shepherds the annual Best Practices Study, a joint project of Reagan and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”). Formerly the head of industry affairs for Big “I”, Shirley was a mover behind launching the Best Practices initiative in 1993.

Speaking at the ASCnet TENCon industry event in September, Lukens noted that the most recent 2011 Best Practices research showed that agencies in the study “really stepped up their marketing advertising. They really aggressively advertised and marketed in ways that they hadn’t done in years past.”

But the agencies were not increasing their outlay for marketing; they were keeping it level or even reducing it in some cases, according to the financial data in the Best Practices research. Lukens looked more closely and even spoke to a few of the agency principals. She reported:

“What we found is that they are using much lower-cost technologies to accomplish the same things: Social media…. Those expensive advertising [and] marketing things that we used to do — we aren’t spending the dollars there any more because better technologies are enabling us to do things that we used to accomplish in a much more expensive way.”

Shirley Lukens’s comments on the issue begin at about the 6:00 mark in the ASCnet TENCon video pasted below.

The agencies that the Best Practices study includes are among the most successful in terms of revenue per employee, across a spectrum of agency sizes. Thus, the trend that Lukens spots — being more effective with the same or less advertising/marketing budget — is compelling.

What’s also happening is that effective insurance producers and agency principals are using social networking tools not just to “advertise” or “market,” but to (more importantly) engage and correspond with customers and prospects.

Having said that, I sense that agencies are just starting to scratch the surface of the usefulness of social networking in their businesses. What do you think?

“It’s like a gift card in a big store.”

Recently a client made that statement at the conclusion of a discussion about a new branding initiative for his insurance firm. The client was delighted about having a range of choices in the creative materials we had developed. But he also was a bit torn and forlorn about having to only choose one approach from more than one choice.

Ah, there’s the rub, as Shakespeare once said.

With a marketing budget, or any budget for that matter, insurance brands need to make choices. Examples of some of the age-old choices are:

• Should I develop an email campaign to put my brand back in touch with those new contacts that stopped by the trade show booth recently? Or should I spend the budget to reach out to make a follow-up phone call to prospects we met last year?
• Is it a better idea to write up and design a case study or white paper to send to prospects, or to create a new ad campaign?
• And so on.

In 1960 (around about the time of the setting of the current TV hit MadMen) Jerome McCarthey presented the idea of the “4 Ps” to the marketing world: product, price, place, promotion. Philip Kotler later talked about making marketing decisions in the context of the “4 Cs” of the marketing mix:

• Product = Customer Benefits
• Price = Cost to Customer
• Place = Convenience
• Promotion = Communications

Insurance brands today have another wrinkle in their marketing decision-making. Whether you want to call it a “P” (for personalization or personal contact) or “C” (contact or customer contact or customization), the social Web gives marketers a chance to interact more personally, one-on-one, with prospects and clients. The social web is a new “place” (in McCarthey’s terminology) or a new “convenient” location to meet (in Kotler’s terminology). It’s in the mix.

How do you see insurance brands spending their gift cards, in light of the new choices the social Web provides?

Since that post, much of the East Coast has suffered significant flooding from both Irene and Tropical Storm Lee—and the companies mentioned in my earlier post along with many other firms continued to make effective use of social networking to stay in touch with their customers.

They used everything from e-newsletter and blogs to Twitter and YouTube to post information on how to contact carriers, storm updates, emergency shelters locations, road closings, office hours, FEMA info, tips on cleaning, preparing a disaster supply kit, storm surge maps, “thank you’s” to emergency responders, photos of local flooding, and insurance policy coverage information.

Carol Reese, CIC, CRM, from the Henry D. Young Insurance Agency, sums up much of the rational behind the use of social networking under this type of circumstance: “I feel that social media is a great way to get information out to many people immediately to help them deal with disasters and their aftermath. It also shows the community that we care about what may be happening to them and are here to help them get through the claim process and disaster recovery.”

Yes, these firms provided a valuable service to their customers. Yet, I think we can—really, must—do more. I would like to see our industry develop a single resource, or clearinghouse of up-to-date information, as well as, a comprehensive industry-wide social media response plan.

In the recent East Coast disasters, most agents had to come up with their own content and find relevant resources. Without sacrificing the significance of local community information, I think there would be great value in our industry creating a single and centralized repository of information. Not only would this give agents access to event relevant content but populate the social space with a strong unified and consistent message. For example, if IIABA or a carrier created a video about disaster planning, agents across the country could access, share, and link to that resource.

The communication plan would be designed to enable our industry to deliver a cohesive message and leverage the local presence of the 25,000 independent agents. Thus, the plan would define and model the process of moving a timely communication from the national association level to a local agency.

In my opinion, creating a single resource and communication plan would allow us to take control of our message and offset the typical popular media stories about increased premiums and uncovered losses. Implementation of this model would give us the means to demonstrate the value of the Independent Agency System. What do you think?

As part of the ACT meeting held later that day, McQuivey answered audience questions for an hour or so. One line he shared during this follow-up Q&A exchange caught my attention. He said, “You need to show this technology has people in it.”

“Online search” is one way to do this. Independent agents need to find ways to increase their ranking in search results. The Consumer Access Portal initiative unveiled at the IIABA meetings should help agents do this. Incorporating local presence will, as McQuivey said, “add the trust to the web experience.”

The hybrid digital/personal customer relationship plays an important role after the sale is made—and not just 10 or 11 months after, either. Ongoing communication and interaction, online and in person, reinforces the connection, leads to new sales opportunities, and builds customer loyalty.

This hybrid relationship can actually start before the sale. Social networking—Facebook and YouTube, in particular—is ready-made for such connections. “Introduce your business on Facebook, ask people to like it, and tell them if they do you’ll periodically post things about how to handle a car accident or other issues when you learn them,” McQuivey suggested. “At least the customer will have your contact info.” This is especially important with younger customers, many of whom prefer Facebook communication over other forms—including email.

McQuivey cited our friend, Lisa Parry Becker, who chose not to attend the meeting so she could stay home and help customers with flood claims, as a prime example of how to tie digital and personal. “Share the news of Lisa staying away from this meeting to help clients,” he said. “You as agents have always been personal. You’re connecting to human beings who live in your community. You just need to let people know that.”

Have you found success building out hybrid digital/personal customer relationships? Are you too focused on one or the other? How do you find balance? Are some agents or other businesses doing a really good job of combing the technology and people? If so, what’s making a difference?

Today more than ever brand is being defined by consumers and what they think is more important or has more influence than your brand messaging. Interestingly enough, even if you are not engaged in social networking it is having an impact on your brand. In fact, not engaging in social networking may be doing great harm to your brand.

When you search for a business on Google are you more likely to click on and follow-up if the business has a website link? What impression are you leaving with potential customers if they can’t find you on Linkedin or if your profile is poorly done and incomplete? If Facebook and other social sites have replaced the yellow pages, what damage to your brand is taking place if you can’t be found? How do you think consumers feel about an inactive Twitter account or a Facebook page that has not been updated for several months?

Social networking is not a project. Rather, it is about being a social business and has a great deal to say about who you are and what you do.

Are you using the new tools of social networking to help position your brand in a positive way?

Why? Baby Boomer principals are looking to fund their retirements, benefits brokers are eager for P&C partners to relieve them of  the uncertainty of healthcare legislation and, quite simply, bigger fish are just eating smaller fish. Agents, brokers, companies, vendors…no one in our space is immune.  And among those left standing, there is a profound need to embrace their new family members and prove their relevance in a highly competitive marketplace. Add to that the number of organizations that simply need to shake off tired brand identities and touch points, and you’ve got a host of entities debuting new looks.

So, it should be no surprise that over the last two years Aartrijk has been involved in the rebranding of several industry organizations—providing brand research, naming, tagline and logo development, trademarking, rollout and sometimes all  of the above. And while every rebrand is inherently different, I’ve noticed a few common misperceptions and lessons learned. For those even considering rebranding, some words to the wise….A brand identity is not a brand. While this may be a given for some of you, I expect it will be a revelation to many others: Your brand is your reputation; your brand identity is the combination of your name, logo and tagline. A brand is something you earn, a brand identity is a way of expressing how you want to be viewed. A “rebrand,” therefore, creates a new identity in the hope of eventually influencing the reputation.

The research matters. The smartest path an organization can take when considering a new identity is the undertaking of some stakeholder research to better understand the current brand value—the aggregate feedback from your customers, employees, business partners and others who know you. If you don’t know where you are, it’s hard to plan where you’re going.

Committees are a double-edged sword. By nature I’m a loner, a social but introverted only child. So it may be counterintuitive that I like working with a branding task forces. Sure, creative-by-committee has its challenges, but getting input from your key constituents before your debut is waaaay better than hearing from them after your launch. (And you will hear from them, especially if they don’t like something.)

Give yourself time. While there can be value in launching a new identity at a major event or on a significant date, rushing to meet a false deadline can kill a half-baked rebrand. Give yourself time to get your employees onboard, to adequately vet the new name, to test the tagline or create the style guide. And with so many touch points to synchronize—Web site, collateral, press releases, signage, to name a few—avoid having them all finalized the same week. You only get one chance to debut, so make sure you’re ready to go, and give your team enough time to enjoy it.

A new brand identity can infuse an organization with energy and create buzz with stakeholders, and ultimately it should give you an opportunity to reinvent who you are and where you’re going. But remember that you still have to earn the brand itself.

If this sounds familiar, maybe it is time to slow down and reconsider:

- Are you providing substance?
- Are you engaged in the conversation?
- What is the right balance between quality and quantity of contacts?

After you begin to engage in social networking for your business, it is the quality of the contant that will keep your followers coming back.  Substance can come in many flavors. But any way it comes, it should be good, interesting, valuable content.  And that content should come from the heart, mind and soul of you and your company.

Granted, sizzle is good. It helps to attract prospects. But to turn them into profitable customers who are loyal to your brand, you need the steak beneath the sizzle.

The inbound, permission-based marketing of today relies on the concept of content marketing. Content marketing is based on the notion that prospects and customers want to buy insurance from someone who they perceive as providing value. They want to work with someone who is a thought leader or expert in the field of insurance. In other words, they want to buy from someone who helps them become more informed and intelligent. Content marketing is the polar opposite of lizards or wads of cash wearing glasses pitching a sales message.

This should be good news for many insurance agents and brokers. Used properly, the social Web can be an effective medium for delivering value and high-caliber communication.

I realize this is contrary to the way many “experts” operate. It is the opposite of hording information/knowledge. What I advocate is using your blog, Facebook posts, tweets or participation in Linkedin Groups not as a megaphone for your sales message, but instead to freely share your knowledge and consistently provide quality content.

Don’t we want to do business with people who are knowledgeable?

So, I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he asked me the other night: “Why are the most creative TV commercials for insurance?”

Having worked in the insurance marketing space for many years now, I admit that I’ve seen more than my fair share of very, very bad advertising. But he was right: Much of the good ad creative now on television is related to our industry.

Why? Probably because every point of market share within the U.S. property-casualty sector represents about $4.6 billion in premium. Of that, more than one-third is personal auto, and the biggest opportunity for personal auto writers are buyers new to the industry—consumers under the age of 30 who have not yet formed a strong brand loyalty.

So, there is a very big incentive to create clever, witty ads that appeal to a younger generation (my 40-something husband notwithstanding) who want personal lines.  And, if the preliminary numbers from A.M. Best Co. are any indication, those spots are working. Although total personal lines premiums were up just 0.8% from 2008 to 2009 (with national independent agency carriers down by 3.2% and regional IA companies flat), direct writers grew premiums by a staggering 8.6%. And while exclusive writers saw a small uptick in that time—0.3%—their 2010 creative clearly is striking out at those 15-minute consultations: As Mayhem explains, “If you’ve got cut-rate insurance, you could be dealing with this mess yourself.”

All this makes me eager for a bigger presence for independent agents in this space—a brand that will drive consumers of all ages to independent agents, where they will get the choice of markets, claims advocacy and customization we know they need (but too often they don’t know are available to them).

Ten years ago, I was heavily involved with the launch of Trusted Choice, which was created by the Big “I” with that very purpose in mind—differentiating independent agents and building market share. A decade later, the brand is on the verge of some initiatives that could deliver on that promise.

But there needs to be a vigorous effort from more than just Trusted Choice. Agents themselves need to become more versed in what brand is and is not. To grasp that a brand is something you earn, not something you get. To pursue Generation Next as customers, employees and partners. To accept that social media and Web positioning are not fads they can ignore, but vital strategic vehicles for engaging customers, prospects and the community at large.

Companies can help by imparting their branding knowledge to their field staff, who engage with agents far more often than does the VP of marketing. They need to create and distribute tools, and emphasize the importance of a strong agency brand.

Here within the independent agency channel, I often hear grumbling about the “damn gecko.” But railing at the lizard isn’t the answer. Rising to the challenge is.

We invite you to follow Brand Camp updates on LinkedIn, Aartrijk’s Facebook page, Twitter (@Aartrijk) using hashtag #ABC2010, and Aartrijk’s blog.

Monday October 25, 2010

First up are the “Do It Now” sessions at 3:30 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Bring your problems, dreams, aspirations (large or small). Brand Campers, Counselors, and outside speakers will help you, on the spot. It’s a chance to create or fix key items for your brand. Then comes the welcome reception.

Tuesday, October 26

The first full day of Brand Camp (Tuesday, Oct. 26) kicks off with a cold-eyed look at the financial Value of Brand by Hales & Co., focusing on research on independent insurance agencies. Then the interactive part of Brand Camp kicks off in earnest (to continue for the rest of camp).

Then we launch full force into the tools, tactics, and topics relevant right now for insurance branding with a panel discussion Your Brand Transformed, featuring Aartrijk’s team of Brand Camp Counselors. We’ll poke and prod about what is happening in the marketplace of brands, using experience and observations from inside and outside the insurance industry.

Next up is Brand Audit: The Big ‘A-Ha Moment.’ This session presents what a brand audit entails and why it’s a plus for moving a brand forward. Counselors Aaron Moore and Andrea Campbell describe what a brand audit entails and how it helps move a brand forward. Counselors Aaron Moore and Andrea Campbell focus on the image assessment portion of the brand audit, show a case study and take questions.

The big event at Brand Camp is The Integrated Marketing Challenge. It’s experiential learning, especially for Brand Campers who are dealing with insurance branding issues everyday. Attendee teams compete à la The Apprentice in this hands-on exercise. The Integrated Marketing Challenge engages Campers as teams to develop a strategy to resolve a specific marketing problem or opportunity.

On Monday afternoon, Campers switch gears to look ahead for a panel discussion called What’s Next? This focuses on mobile applications, geolocation, video blogging and other new and emerging trends.

Let’s Get This Straight: Internal Brand Alignment looks at how brands work inside an organization. How do you achieve internal brand alignment with leaders, employees and other stakeholders (including the cynics)?

Brand Camp requires fun, good food and enjoyment. That tradition begun in 2009 continues with a day-ending Networking Event: Do the (Max’s Wine) Dive.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Day 2 of Brand Camp kicks off with a special session featuring agent branding. Social Networking: Now What? covers: Bringing in new business, B2B vs. B2C, strategies to make it work, blogging vis a vis Web site vis a vis Facebook/LinkedIn. Panelists are noted bloggers Chris Jordan, Atlanta Insurance Live, and Ryan Hanley, Albany Insurance Professional.

Brand Camp teams make their Interactive Marketing Challenge Presentations. While the winning team takes home a special prize, everyone takes home more knowledge and experience to make their brands more productive.

(After Brand, by invitation only, a luncheon event is open to Assurex Global attendees.)

In this Podcast Doug Pullman, a member of the Parker, Smith & Feek marketing team, describes the planning and process this top 100 broker went through to prepare for their launch into the world of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and blogging. Doug discusses the very deliberate and measured approach the brokerage took, the importance of getting not only support but participation by senior management, and how success is tied to having a unified and comprehensive strategy.

Doug explains that the agency goal was to use social networking to help customers and prospects build a personal and emotional connection with the broker. They knew that they needed to be where 25% of their customer base was – the social Web. His advice to other agencies wanting to tap into the opportunity the social web offers: Take it slow, learn from others, and add your own voice.

The podcast was published Monday, August 9, 2010. Run time is 21 minutes 11 seconds.