Uncomplicated Marketing

Do you know how to do “search retargeting” is?  Do you know what “web analytics” is and how to use it market your insurance agency? How about a “heatmap”?

Me neither.

While marketing your insurance agency on the internet is important and can be effective, it’s getting more and more complex. Nowadays, the amount of stuff you need to know in order to market your insurance agency on the internet could fill a library and it’s ever changing. It’s truly overwhelming but, if you want to market your insurance agency on the internet, you basically have 2 options:

1. You could learn enough about internet marketing to make a decent stab at it. You’ll have to decide which articles and videos are the most relevant and beneficial to you (and there a many to choose from). This will take a huge chunk of time. Then, once you find resources you feel are trustworthy, you have to devote time to learning. Yet another big chunk of your time. Then, once you feel comfy, you can venture into trying to do some internet marketing. You’ll bumble around and have a few successes and you’ll make a few mistakes (which cost money of course). You will have to invest both time and money. Eventually, the importance of servicing your customers will pull you away from your new (and sometimes frustrating) internet marketing efforts. You’ll then put those efforts on the shelf and get back them at a later date (or not).
2. You could hire an expert. There are tons of them in the marketplace. You’ll have to do the research and chose one that you think will work best for you. The upside is that you will no longer have to become an internet marketing expert. A good expert stays on top of the latest trends, changes and options and can create a program that fits to your needs. Hiring an expert is an investment but, nonetheless, you still have to come up with the cash in the first place and wait for the return. Additionally, the expert has other clients to service along with you so you’ll need to be patient – your results may take longer than you’d like.

I hope you’re not thinking I’m beating up on internet marketing. I love all marketing including internet marketing. I’m picking on internet marketing to prove a point. It’s complicated marketing that takes expertise in order to be successful.

May I propose an alternative? How about trying some uncomplicated marketing like distributing promotional products?

One powerful benefit of promotional products is that they deliver your marketing message over and over long after you paid for them. You only have to pay for the advertising once. For example, an imprinted promotional bag generates 6,000 impressions during the useful life of that bag. Imprinted pens, on average, have the lowest cost per impression at a cost of $.001 per impression (that’s one tenth of one cent!). Promotional products are one of the most cost efficient marketing mediums in existence.

Probably the most powerful benefit to marketing your insurance agency with promotional products is that it is incredibly easy and takes no expertise or special training. You simply have to buy them and have a plan to distribute them to your customers and prospects. It’s really that easy.

Here are only a few ideas on how to use promotional products to market your insurance agency:

1. Hand out promotional pens when you patronize local businesses. For example, give few pens to your favorite server at the local diner the next time you eat there. Servers always need new pens because people steal them all the time. Soon after, your pens will be filtering through your community.

2. Whenever you write an auto policy, insert the insurance card into a vinyl insurance card holder and give it to your insured. Tell them that the insurance card holder will keep their insurance information organized and readily available in the event of an accident or they get pulled over by law enforcement. Insureds tend to hold onto those insurance card holders for years and years.

3. Wear custom corporate apparel with your agency name embroidered on the left chest. You’d be surprised how many conversations you’ll start by simply wearing a shirt, jacket or sweater your agency name embroidered on it.

4. Whenever you correspond with an insured via mail, insert a refrigerator magnet into the envelope. Additionally, add “PS” at the end of letter asking the insured to put the magnet on their fridge so that they will have your contact info handy should they need you.

5. Give new and existing customers Mr. Tote Recyclable Grocery Tote whenever they come to your office. People appreciate these bags and they are useful and durable so they will be used over and over again.