The insurance market is more competitive than ever. In 2023, insurance agencies are trying to outdo others by offering low prices and incentives. So, if you own an insurance agency, how do you differentiate your business in a highly competitive environment?
The answer lies in your marketing strategy and the strength of your product offering.
Find the Right Target Market
So-called baby boomers and millennials are not only interested in raising their opinion about today’s music on social media, despite widespread perceptions. A recent study showed that people born between 1946 and 1964 have a significant influence on the US economy. The study revealed that baby boomers control 70% of America’s disposable income.
The extensive research that makes up the study also shows that millennials will account for 75% of the global workforce by 2025. The challenge is to strike the right balance when promoting your products to these two vastly different target markets.
If you want to stand out in an already oversaturated market, you must find a way to speak to both groups. Millennials are interested in comparing quotes, applying online, and filing digital claims. Baby boomers prefer to communicate with insurance agents face-to-face.
Your agency must offer fast and efficient online services, which are easily attainable with an insurance agency management system. Additionally, your agents must be willing to meet a potential customer where they are most comfortable, whether at home, in a coffee shop, or at your offices. Doing so can also make it easier for you to close sales.
Many insurance agencies only offer online services, meaning they are not taking advantage of a gap in the market. Filling this gap is one of several methods to differentiate your agency from others.
Never Stop Doing Research
Market research lies at the heart of creating new and innovative insurance products. In an ever-changing world, insurance requirements keep evolving. Your agency should be at the forefront of product promotion, but it can only happen if you know the needs of your target audience.
For example, you may be interested in marketing to families with high school or college kids. At some point, these kids will be driving and making their way into the world. Parents would want to add a teen driver to their existing vehicle insurance policy or help their college-bound kids pay for renters’ insurance when they get their own place.
Doing extensive market research will reveal statistics regarding the number of car insurance policies sold to families and parents who add their kids to existing policies. If the numbers are high, it is an avenue worth exploring in your marketing strategy.
Market research will also determine whether your target market prefers quick-and-easy online options or if they want to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of your insurance products.
Speak Your Audience’s Language
Generic marketing campaigns won’t cut it if you’re trying to appeal to people who are in different places in their lives and have varied insurance needs.
Do your best to speak your customers’ language. Doing this means avoiding an overly technical tone when marketing to families and leaving out slang when promoting products to business owners. If you can identify with your customers and connect with them on a conversational level, you’ve already differentiated your agency from others.
The only way to build a strong rapport with customers is to step into their shoes. See their challenges as though they were your own. How will your product solve your customers’ problems? Is there a quicker solution?
If you can answer these questions, you’re well on your way to establishing a loyal customer base.
Create a Competitive Advantage By Offering More Value For Money
In these uncertain economic times, everyone wants value for money. Offering value-added products are one of the best ways to beat your competition in the insurance market. These products should be unique to your business and not available from other insurance agencies.
To create a competitive advantage, you should include a value-add option in all your products, even if it’s just a discount.
Conclusion
It may be easy to differentiate your insurance agency by making simple changes like updating your branding or giving your website a bit of a makeover. However, for your customers to keep coming back and to attract new customers, you have to do more than just surface-level changes.
Offer your clients consistent value for money and products they won’t find anywhere else. You can do this by optimizing your product offering and researching evolving trends and the impact these trends have on your customer base.
If you can be the first to offer certain products or services in your niche, you’ll find it easy to stand out from the competition.