What can your small insurance agency learn from big businesses such as Starbucks and Disney? Do you look up to big business? Perhaps you should: they certainly have a lot of experience in marketing, and this is experience that you can learn from as a small insurance agency. While you might be a very different size, there are lessons to be learned from the players that are marketing large.
Values Are Important
No matter how big or how small your business is, your values are important. Your business is a stage on which your values play out. For example, Blueleadz discusses how “Disney has used nutritional guidelines when choosing food vendors for their parks.” They are able to market food to children while connecting with parents around child health and nutrition.
How are your values visible throughout your insurance marketing? Whether you’re sponsoring a local sports team or providing emergency management workshops or blogs, you can live your values in your community, whether that’s local or online.
Know When You Need to Change
Since big brands often play a large role in defining their industry, it might seem like they can come out with marketing that sets the trends, rather than following them. While it is true that larger brands might have more power than your small insurance business, you and the big brands have something in common: you don’t decide what other factors people are responding to in the world. Whether it’s a concern about stronger winter storms or a desire to use the latest technology to get quotes online, you need to be in contact with your audience and learn what they want, what they need, and what intrigues them.
Make it Personal
Disney sends out personal welcome packages. Starbucks asks for your name when you place an order. According to MKToolbox, they have both discovered that “people love hearing about themselves, and personalized products are their favorite.” How can you develop that personal connection through your insurance marketing? Getting to know your customers as individuals, making follow up notes, and using their name in phone and email communication can help you and your customers build a stronger relationship.
Outsource and Streamline
When it comes to your insurance marketing, are you stuck doing much of it yourself? If your graphic design is faltering and your writing is less than stellar, you could find yourself doing more harm than good with your marketing efforts. According to Neil Patel, “The more sections of your business that you streamline, the more you’ll be able to expand and grow.” Make sure that you are using your employees’ strengths and building on them, but know when you need professional assistance to make the next step. Every big business started out small and scaled up, allowing for more outsourcing and ultimately, more staff specialization.
At American Agents Alliance, we want your insurance marketing to shine no matter how big or small your business might be. Talk with us about our membership benefits and learn from other agencies at our Alliance Convention.
