How People Buy Insurance Has Changed. How You Get Sales Must Change Too

The old ways won’t cut it anymore for insurance companies. Innovative methods are required to attract new clients, especially in today’s interconnected world. Many people reject calls from telemarketers, and most people immediately toss pamphlets and brochures away. So if you want to improve the effectiveness of your insurance company’s marketing efforts, it’s time to consider inbound marketing to improve policy sales.

Unlike traditional marketing strategies that involve companies sending messages out to an audience, inbound marketing helps customers find you. With inbound marketing, the conversation is always started by the potential clients when they start searching for a specific topic. For example, you can create ads and web pages that display when people search for insurance policies online.

Another great thing about the inbound method for the insurance companies is that the conversation doesn’t always have to be about insurance. Just like any regular conversation, it must take time to organically grow to a point where you start talking about the important stuff, in your case, why the customer needs insurance and your insurance products are the best.

The internet has changed the entire consumer journey and how sales are closed. This is especially important for insurance companies looking to stand out from competition and attract new leads online in a market that is seeing more and more millennial participation.

Why do insurance companies need inbound marketing?

People have been finding more and more ways to filter unwanted marketing messages from reaching their inbox. And most people only pay attention to insurance agencies when they’re in the market for insurance. However, when people are ready to find an insurance company, most look online. This is when inbound marketing is key for positioning your insurance company ahead of the competition.

Here are some inbound strategies to consider when marketing your insurance company.

Create a website

The first point of contact between your company and potential clients should be your website. It is vital that the site accurately describes your company and the services and products you provide. It should also be easy to navigate or visitors will quickly move on to a competitor’s site.

But the design of your website is only one aspect. It should also be optimized so that people can easily find your site via search engines.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization ensures that your company shows up in top search results for industry-related keywords and phrases. When people search for insurance providers in their area, your site should be one of the first options they see.

Insurance is a competitive industry, and optimizing your site with SEO gives you an advantage over the competition. However, SEO is a long-term strategy, and it takes an experienced Internet marketing firm to successfully manage your SEO campaigns and ensure that you maintain top rankings in search results.

Start a Blog

If you want to get the best leads from your inbound experience, then it’s a good idea to start blogging. You can link your blog to your website, giving visitors another reason to stay on it. When you start creating content, try to avoid mentioning your company name as it will look too much like a promotion and turn people off from reading further.

Instead, write more about the industry and general tips on getting insurance. Once you have successfully gained a bigger following, only then should you write about why your company is the best choice

Social Media

Apart from blogging, maintaining profiles on Facebook and Twitter will also help close the gap between your company and potential clients even further. Social media helps your company be more personable, and highlights your business and helps people feel more comfortable trusting you with their insurance needs.

Posting informative content on social media is also a great way to position yourself as an industry leader and online authority in the insurance field. You can link new blog posts to your social media profiles as well. In addition, you can host contests or offer promotions exclusively to your social media followers.

Building a social media following takes time. But it’s an important factor in the success of your inbound marketing campaign.

Email Marketing

Email marketing helps insurance companies tap into a valuable referral source—existing policyholders. Stop sending out template emails and automated messages wishing people happy birthday.

Instead, use email marketing to stay in front of people who will send you referrals. And do it in a way that is helpful and inspiring. For example, you can consider running a referral contest through email. This not only helps to grow your insurance business, but also rewards customers that send referrals.

This is a great way to leverage your existing customers and design creative emails. Instead of paying for email lists and blasting out content that no one wants to read, do something unique and increase the loyalty of already satisfied customers.

How do insurance companies benefit from inbound marketing?

For insurance companies, having a strong online presence goes a long way when it comes to converting potential customers into clients. People use search engines to compare insurance companies online, and they will likely click on the sites that rank highest in search engine results.

If people are looking for insurance products online, they are probably willing to read a business blog or download content from an insurance website. Inbound marketing ensures that companies maintain a consistent presence online, which allows them to attract potential clients and convert them to paying customers and most importantly, an increase in sales.