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The Web is changing ways of doing business We run into two schools of thoughts about the use of Internet marketing when we open the discussion with independent agents. School One Agents of one school are making immediate use of all available resources---ezines and email to customers who have given e-contact permission; online newsletters at their Web sites; more interactivity on their Web sites; blogs and microblogs on social networks; and purchase and cultivation of online leads. They view all new business from these marketing avenues as bonus business. They understand that, while the insurance industry is lagging behind most industries in their effective use of the ‘Net, the day is coming when more and more business will be consummated online. They want to learn all they can about the medium and its potential NOW! School Two Agents of school two are skeptics when it comes to Internet marketing. Yes, they may have an average Web site---an online sales brochure really. But they are not interested in investing into tools and content that would promote online activity by their customers and more reasons for prospects to visit. Their skepticism has a solid basis: they don’t see carriers and agent associations and insurance departments stepping up to the plate to make Internet quoting accessible and easy for consumers in the near future. As long as auto and home insurance quoting and proposals require a two or three step process for online inquirers, they do not envision real new business potential for the medium. School Two Objection: Online inquirers are interested in price ONLY Today, EVERYBODY is interested in price! But they are also interested in VALUE. Independent agents that expect to survive and grow in the future need to take some lessons from retailers who know how to bring prospective customers into their stores with attractive locations, attractive displays, and attractive advertising appeals. It is all about attracting traffic. It is amazing how many of us will enter a store with one purchase in mind and end up buying something else. Why? Because once we have compared the “price item” with the versatility and durability of “the second item, we purchase the second item. Attract them with price, keep them with service What’s wrong with that? Nothing. Your price needs to be competitive, but it does not have to be the lowest in town. There is only one lowest price in town at any given moment. Independent agents who are using the Internet to attract new business have learned that they need to do what they can to offer an attractive price (often with the use of higher deductibles and other forms of self-insurance and risk-taking by the customer; and by applying all the safety credits and other discounts that the customer is eligible for). But then they present “value options” ---higher liability limits, substitute transportation, personal umbrellas, advanced driver training that lowers costs for teenage drivers, et cetera. They know how to sell----by offering customers “opportunities to buy!” They have little war stories and case histories at hand; examples of risks that could cost the customer thousands of dollars if they don’t have proper coverage. BOTTOM LINE: We encourage you to start looking into ways to market online with two questions in mind: “How can we create more time spent with our customers?” and “How can we attract more traffic for the agency; more opportunities to write more business?” |