Insurance is a mirror to the rest of the world.
Whatever is going on in the economy, business and government is what we're talking about in the world of risk, insurance and compliance.
I recently talked about this and 4 more insurance marketing trends with Jim Flynn and Natasha Ashe-Suber on the Insurance Marketers Association Peer2Peer podcast. You can find all 31:44 minutes here. (P.S. We talk about Chicago until 2:25, and I recommend listening to all podcasts - even the ones I'm on - at 1.5
speed!)
Just seeking my 4 marketing trends for risk, insurance and compliance marketing teams in 2023? The Cliff Notes are here. 👇
1. It’s your job as an insurance company or broker to educate insureds on their risks. If you’re not mirroring the economy and business world with
your content, you’re missing the boat.
Take the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse. A client remarked they didn’t need to address it because they work with private clients, not public companies. I disagreed. At the time, every business was worried about the collapse and what it could mean for them. Ask yourself, How does it affect:
- 3rd party risk?
- Current vendors?
- Existing partnerships?
- Business relationships?
Ideally, your content should come out and say: Here’s what you need to consider when it comes to [X issue].
2. Too many marketing teams — insurance and otherwise — focus on product. No one wants to be sold to in your email newsletter. Similarly, no one is rushing to your website to read the latest blog about a new product feature. 😂
For example, off-the-shelf D&O products will be similar, so talking policy features isn’t unique. Instead, as a broker or insurer, your competitive advantage is your ability to tailor that coverage to each customer.
Bottle up your subject matter expertise and educate your customers with your content.
Still dying to inject product info into your blog? Add it into the CTA.
3. Create trust with customers by starting with content strategy. Do this before you execute even a piece of content. What are the issues plaguing customers? Talk to your producers! Formulate content topics based on your niche industry and customer pain points. That’s what creates trust between a insurer and an insured.
For a dental insurer, we recently wrote articles on:
- How and when to let go of a difficult patient?
- What to do if someone doesn’t want to pay your dental practice?
The ultimate goal is for prospects to read your content and say: “If this is their free stuff, what’s their paid stuff?”
4. As an insurer, how do you market to both the broker (your client) and the insured (their client)?
This dual audience question comes up all the time. My best practice? Create content 75% of the time focused on the end user (insured) and 25% of the time for the broker.
Why? Often times the broker needs to be educated on the same topics/information as their insured.
Take cyber risk, for example. The broker also needs to be constantly educated on the new platforms cyber criminals are using, the new ways of
infiltrating a business’ back-end and more. When you talk to the end user the broker comes with.
The ultimate goal of this content is for the end user to say to the broker: “I want to renew my cyber policy, and I want to do it with that insurance company.”
BONUS: While you are creating content for external recognition, you’d be surprised how often internal employees gain from your external comms efforts. Think: pride in the business, industry knowledge, affinity for executives and key stakeholders — and more.
All the best,
Mindi 😊
