As part of your outreach to prospects and clients to promote employee benefits and increase sales, it’s essential that you combine the strengths of traditional marketing with digital marketing. Doing so, you can reach a broader audience and boost your marketing ROI. Below are three suggestions.
Three Sales Techniques to Increase Your Insurance Success
1: Develop an integrated marketing strategy. A campaign that blends long-standing, traditional marketing with digital marketing can help you reach more people more cost effectively.
Broadcast radio and television are very traditional. However, they can be very costly in a lot of markets – particularly in California. Streaming has changed how many people watch their favorite programs as compared to over-the-air or on cable TV. In some markets, streamers exceed other traditional TV viewers. It’s important to consider other, more affordable alternatives.
Terrestrial radio has changed a lot, too. Some markets may have “local favorites” like a news or sport channel, especially popular during drive time, but overall listeners are down as listeners turn elsewhere. Satellite and streaming music subscribers are up, and so are costs for advertising. SiriusXM advertising requires a minimum weekly spend of thousands. Pandora and iHeartRadio advertising costs much more. Other services go for less. You may find your local market favorite is a relative bargain. What works for one broker may not work for another. It all depends on your goals, market, and your target audience.
Flyers, direct mail postcards, and magazine and newspaper advertising are also very traditional. They may even offer you the opportunity to target readers – by business size, ZIP Code, type of business, etc. But, on their own, they may fail to help you reach sufficient readers. In addition, sometimes it’s difficult to determine the ROI of traditional marketing, in spite of what their sales reps may tell you.
Digital marketing such as email marketing, SEO, posting on social media, clickable ads, and content marketing are easier to measure – and generally they’re cheaper. They offer you greater outreach and engagement opportunities plus better market segmentation and reporting.
You can combine traditional and digital marketing by touting your services in print and directing readers to your website or a landing page, where they can learn more. Another way to cross-promote is by using QR Codes in print materials. If you’re not on board yet, you can use a secure QR Code generator. Reputable services include Uniqode, QR Code Generator PRO, or QR Tiger.
2: Replicate your content through all channels/platforms/vehicles. To make the most of your creative, it’s a clever idea to incorporate it into both your traditional marketing and digital marketing. That includes your social media. Having your target audience experience the same messaging across multiple platforms reinforces your branding. This is especially true when targeting a diverse audience.
3: If you’re going old school with an ad, consider geo-targeting. We’ve all seen them. Bus placards, billboards, bus bench ads, etc. Obviously, they work for some – realtors and insurance sales professionals included. If you want to deliver an ad to those in a specific, geographic area, you may want to consider a traditional vehicle like a billboard or ad. Geo-targeting lets you target your advertising to those in relevant areas. You can zero in on specific targeting criteria like demographics, interests, and location and reach those only in your target area at the right time and place. For example, if you owned an independent coffee shop, you might target individuals in close proximity to a competing Starbucks in the same geographic area. As a licensed group benefits specialist, you could target individuals with a message near the entrance to a major office park or a building with employers of assorted sizes. Get more information in this online post, How to Use Geo-fencing with Billboard Advertising: A Practical Guide. Costs vary significantly by market, whether ads are static or digital, length of campaign, etc.
Combining traditional and digital marketing in your outreach and promotion plan can help you stand out. It may take some time to determine what “mix” is right for you and your specific market. As we have noted, what works for one broker may not be right for another. One thing is certain, though. You have to be able to adapt to what’s happening in the insurance industry and what business owners in your specific market are seeking. One size does not fit all – and adaptability is key.
Ask your Word & Brown rep about what he or she may have seen in your region, and how other brokers are responding to marketplace shifts. If you’re not already working with Word & Brown, now is the time to get started. We’re celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2025, and our continuing commitment to provide brokers with the tools and resources you need to write and close more business. We offer a diverse portfolio of products and services backed by a pledge to deliver Service of Unequalled Excellence. Call us today at (800) 869-6989 or complete our online form to learn more.
