Alphabet Soup
July 14, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · 3 Comments
One of the first eye-openers I had when moving to the Washington, DC, area some 20 years ago was that virtually every organization in the vicinity has an acronym. Whether a military entity, high-tech company, government agency or association, they all are awash in unfathomable letters. Sure, we know the FBI and IRS, and we all have USB ports in our laptops, but have you ever hear of NASPGHAN (North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) or MANPADS (man-portable air-defense system)? Even a Beltway veteran like John McCain can be overwhelmed by this lettered nonsense (see video clip).
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 22: A Renewed Energy
June 28, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Peter and Rick discuss the renewed energy and engagement they are seeing across the industry. For example, at the recent ACORD conference they noticed many new vendors and lots of younger folks in attendance. The exhibit hall was filled with activity and a renewed energy that had not been in evidence for several years.
Clearly, there is a realization that in spite of value of social social networking — face-to-face networking is still a critically important component in a successful business strategy. Perhaps associations, user groups, and others who hold conferences can learn from this. More than education and keynote speakers, it is the networking opportunity that may drive the events of the future.
More than their experience at several recent events, Peter and Rick are seeing a resurgence in confidence and a commitment to the independent agency system by agents, brokers and carriers alike. Yes, part of that is technology based. The growing implementation of Real Time is helping agents do business in a more efficient and effective way and social networking is giving them a whole new set of tools to help them build and strengthen relationships and more effective way to communicate with their community.
The podcast was published Monday, June 21, 2010. Run time is 15 minutes 6 seconds.
What Agents Want
June 10, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
By Kevin Jenné
Movie lovers may remember Mel Gibson’s gaining the ability to read women’s minds in “What Women Want.” And we market researchers sometimes wish for this kind of direct insight. Living in the real world, when we want to know what people want, we turn to our research tools: surveys, interviews and focus groups.
And in a recent survey of 1,498 independent insurance agents, we validated what many industry leaders already know: among all the important factors that agents consider when choosing their “go-to” carriers for personal lines, claims service quality matters most. Not technology, not their own agency compensation – but the service their clients get from insurance carriers.
7 Steps to A Stronger Agency Brand
April 15, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
The Hales & Company/National Underwriter Mergers & Acquisitions Seminar series got off to a great start in NYC this week. Some 60 agents and brokers packed the all-day event, in which Laurie Donohue and I presented the segment on 7 Steps to a Stronger Brand. The topic seemed to strike a chord with the attendees—especially when they heard that a strong brand can add 100 basis points to an agency’s valuation multiple.
Scott Addis, who gave his lively “Purple Cow” presentation about organic growth strategies, highlighted another interesting point: His research shows that some 48% of agents don’t feel their firm’s brand is differentiated from the competition (and I’ll add that some of the remaining 52% are…um, optimistic…in their belief that their brand is distinctive). Sounds like a great opportunity for stronger brands to edge out the competition.
A Brand New Brand
March 31, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
For brand geeks like us, there is nothing quite as exciting as the introduction of new brand. Everything is still shiny and clean, with that new-brand smell.
Last week, we got to watch just such an event: At their conference in Nashville, the AMS Users Group rebranded as Network of Vertafore Users, or NetVU. In addition to the new name, the organization now boasts a cool new logo and purposeful tagline, all of which tie into the group’s focus on education, advocacy and networking.
Aartrijk worked with the organization for months on this project, which included a dedicated task force; top leaders Jim Armitage, Carl Schlotman and Brady Polansky; and a hard-working staff in Dallas.
Needless to say we’re very jazzed about the outcome for this 32-year old user group. For more on what this change means for NetVU and its 15,000 independent agency members, check out the story in Rough Notes’ April issue or ads running throughout the trade press.
Congratulations to our friends at NetVU and best wishes for their next 32 years.
What I Learned at Brand Camp
October 7, 2009 by admin · 2 Comments
Last week was a great week. I spent three days in Chicago with some of the best people I’ve ever met.
Where was I??? At Brand Camp. What’s that you ask? It was a conference put on by Aartrijk to explore the world of social media and its impact on insurance branding.
Sure, I learned a lot about how social media can be utilized effectively, how to “Tweet” and how important blogging can be. But what really struck me was the energy of the group. The people who attended were really excited about the prospects, willing to learn and energized about their agencies. It’s probably the first time I didn’t get a sense of “quiet desperation” about the future of the independent agent and the power of the direct writers.
- I learned that independent agents have some huge opportunities because their business is based on building and maintaining relationships–a perfect match for social networking.
- I learned that there are some amazing young agents and their staff that have great new ideas to reach “Generation Y,” and that they should be listened to.
- I learned that the agents that adopt this new way of marketing and sales will be the ones to succeed.
- I learned that listening is as important as talking, whether it’s face-to-face or on the Web.
- I learned that being open to new ideas and new ways of doing business is critical to long-term growth.
Yes, we did discuss how to find “fans” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter. We talked about effective Web site design. We talked about search engine optimization. But they were secondary to the new attitude that was circulating in the room. I wish we could capture that and sell it over the Internet!
– Laurie Donohue, vice president, I-Marketing Management (a partner firm of Aartrijk)
Visit I-Marketing Management: http://www.imarketingmanagement.com.
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.
You Want Help with Social Media!
October 3, 2009 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk Brand Camp—held in Chicago Sept. 28-30, 2009 and continuing on the virtual calendar of online conversation—was all about the risk and opportunity of social media in our Wonderful World of Insurance.
We had pre-surveyed attendees at Aartrijk Brand Camp. These were agents, brokers, carriers, association executives, media reps, and business partners such as technology firms.
In sum, you have genuine concerns and questions around the impact and application of social media. You are being cautious about stepping into fray.
Here are some top issues you are having with all the excitement behind Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc.:
Social media appears to be a time vampire. How do you manage the time you and your people spend with it?
How do you show a return on the effort? One survey respondent said: “While time spent on informing/communicating with fans helps build relationships, does that turn into referrals?” And sales?
We don’t know where or how to start with social media. We need a plan and a budget and somebody in charge—who is that going to be?
The internal battles are brutal. How do we get our management on board? And our legal beagles are putting the kybosh on us branding folks—the IT department isn’t helpful either. One of you said, “The current rule is to run all printed copy past the marketing and legal departments. Social [media] requires a more relaxed, conversational tone to be authentic and trustworthy…[But] it is viewed as more of a risk than an opportunity.”
We’re not sure when we should start! One of you said: “Maybe it’s better not to put a toe in the water until this new frontier matures.”
Who in insurance has gone before us? What are the best practices around building brand awareness with social media? “We need success stories.”
Who is this for? Is social media best for business-to-business? Business-to-consumer? Both? Neither?
Finally, do insurance and financial services play a role at all in social media? Do consumers care about us? We’re not worthy! We’re just not cool enough!
Ah, yes, great questions. Stay tuned for some solutions offered up by Brand Camp attendees.
– Peter van Aartrijk
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.