It’s a simple truth: The insurance industry landscape is dominated by ever-increasing competition, so you can be sure you’re not the only one asking for your prospects’ and clients’ business. Every day, consumers are bombarded with messages from a staggering number of companies seeking to hawk their goods and services, so in response to all this noise and clutter, each of us uses a mental “filter” to separate the junk from what really matters.
To distinguish yourself from the masses and escape the junk filter, you’ll need a way to demonstrate your expertise, credibility, authority and most importantly, your trustworthiness to the people with whom you’d like to do business. Indeed, each of these qualities — especially trust — are crucial to your success and longevity as a financial professional, but how do you go about cultivating the perception that you possess these highly sought attributes? By focusing on building a powerful and indelible brand that’s all your own.
Use Marketing to Build Your Brand
Most agents and advisors know they need to market their business, but many either think marketing and branding are one in the same, or eschew branding altogether as a time-consuming, immeasurable waste of time. But to approach the insurance and financial industry from this narrow perspective would be a mistake.
First, let’s clarify the distinction between branding and marketing. “Think of branding as your strategy, and marketing as the tactics you use to support and enhance your brand, differentiate your product/service and help people choose to buy what you are selling,” explains Grant Johnson, president and CEO of Johnson Direct in Brookfield, Wisc.
While it’s true that building a reputable brand takes time and effort, developing a strong brand as the core around which all of your marketing revolves is essential. People are subconsciously programmed to do business with brands we recognize, like and trust. When we see or read a message from one of these brands, we stop to listen, and when the time is right, we turn to these brands for a particular product or service. If you want your business to be recognized and have this credibility, you must first build a brand identity that conveys the qualities you want to reflect.
“It might not be direct response,” agrees Amy McIlwain, founder and president of Denver-based Financial Social Media, “but when you combine a branding campaign with a sales campaign, your market will be much more likely to buy from you.”
Define Your Brand and Its Messages, and Stick to It
Before you can put a branding strategy to work, you must first carefully define your brand. “So many advisors put mixed messages out into the community, so it’s very difficult to get your arms around what their brand stands for,” maintains Alana Kohl, founder and president of AdvisorPR. “Before anything else, take the time and clearly articulate the identity of your company’s brand. Who do you want to be? How do you want to be perceived?”
So, who do you want to be? In an industry where perception is reality, this is something you want to get right the first time, so take the time to reflect on what you and your company stand for. Then work on articulating three to five key value propositions you can transform into your brand’s core messages. The importance of a well-defined brand cannot be overstated, so to help you develop a strong, unique brand and its value statements, Kohl suggests asking yourself these questions:
- What is your company’s personality?
- What do you want people to think of when they see your logo or hear your company name?
- What are you doing that’s different and better than any other provider in the community?
- What experience do you provide?’
- Who do you work with and how do you help them?
- Why are you unique?
“Once you’re really clear on what those key messages are, you can communicate them effectively and stay consistent with those messages in everything that you do,” Kohl says. “As your company continues to grow, refer back to your core messages and ask: ‘Does this build on my brand or distract from our identity?’”
Identify Your Target Market and How You’ll Reach Them
You can’t be everything to everyone, so don’t try. Instead, aim to be perceived as the go-to expert for a certain component of the insurance industry, either with respect to a certain product, service or circumstance. For example, you could be your area’s fixed annuity, final expense insurance or 401(k) rollover expert. Your expertise could also be in retirement planning for Middle America, mitigating long-term care risk for single parents, or income-generation strategies for Baby Boomers.
“The methods and vehicles you use to communicate and promote your brand should always be dependent on where your audience is,” says Mark Stone, president and chief marketing officer of Park City, Utah-based Insurance Insight Group. “How you communicate to your audience should not be a one-size-fits-all solution. If the best way to reach your audience is on social media, then social media should be where you are. If your audience prefers more traditional media, then be there. It’s not about what you like or what’s new, it’s where you’re going to be the most appreciated and make the most connections.”
A blend of brand communication media and strategies will likely be ideal. But whether you’re using print ads, online tools, radio, direct mail, sponsorships, billboards or social media, choose a combination that will most effectively allow you to speak to and reach your target audience consistently and frequently.
Craft Meaningful Messages to Elevate Your Brand
According to McIlwain, “If you want to position yourself as an expert in your field and become a thought leader in your industry or space, you’ve got to stay top of mind, and a lot of that is about impressions. The more visible you are, the more recognized your brand.” Making a number of regular impressions is a fundamental branding component, but if your messages are off-target, it’s all for naught.
The quality of your content will ultimately determine your success, so crafting messages that speak to and resonate with your target market is essential. Your messaging needs to be clear, concise and memorable. It must convey what your audience needs to know about you and your services. If you get stuck trying to write your message, ask yourself: “Does this help define and advance my brand, or does it confuse or detract from it?” This is a good guideline, but there are a few other tricks marketing pros rely on to ensure their messages make an impact.
“One of the biggest mistakes we all make is spending all of our time talking at our audience when we should be listening — when we listen, we learn,” adds Stone. “We can then take what we learn and create content targeted to our audience. When we provide content that really connects with our clients and customers, it positions our company and brand as an expert, and this expert position elevates brand awareness and recognition.”
It’s important to note that brand-building messaging is almost always educational, informative or helpful — it’s never salesy.
Support and Promote Your Brand
After completing your planning, you can shift your focus to supporting your brand. Naturally, much of that support will come from the design elements you assign to your brand and how it’s marketed. Like your messaging, your design must also consistently reflect your brand identity. As Kohl explains, if your brand is intended to be very elegant or sophisticated, the experience you create for your clients and prospects should be consistent with that identity.
“You support the brand that you’ve worked so hard to define through effective and professional collateral materials, including a website, brochures, business cards, and any other communication touch point in your sales cycle,” says Kohl. “Everything that comes from your company, no matter what communication vehicle you use, should have consistent references to your brand on it. This includes your logo, business cards, letters to clients, radio spots, TV and print advertising, social media, and even the signage and décor in your office.”
Then it’s time to concentrate on promoting your brand. Using a strategic and systematic approach to brand promotion is an efficient way to advance your brand and grow your business, so use your advertising and marketing dollars wisely. Evaluate both inbound and outbound marketing methods and strike the right balance between the two. You’ll likely discover that your audience prefers to be reached via several vehicles, so do some testing to determine which routes work best for your particular brand and the people it aims to serve.
Another great way to promote your brand is with social media, which provides a number of largely free vehicles and platforms to reach your ideal market. A powerful outlet for positioning yourself as a leader and authority on a particular topic, social media allows you to make frequent touch points to get your audience to connect with your brand. According to McIlwain, “LinkedIn is the best place to start promoting your brand. Be sure you have a complete profile, and then optimize your LinkedIn page.” This will get you headed in the right direction, and then you can promote your brand via other social media platforms as they apply to your target audience.
Public relations are also worth considering. Incredibly cost effective, PR allows you to not only talk about your brand, but it also demonstrates what it stands for by showcasing your expertise. “If you do not have unlimited funds,” advises Johnson, “start with a great PR campaign and mix in social media, email and direct mail. These types of public relations tools are often overlooked, but writing articles, speaking to groups and sponsoring key events can also prove beneficial.”
Your Brand Building Efforts Will Reward You
If you focus on building your brand the right way, you’ll achieve numerous benefits that will take your business to new heights each year. A strong brand and its message puts potential clients at ease and automatically creates familiarity for your employees and clients, and secures loyalty from prospects. The best brands also convey the perception of strength, longevity, authority and reliability — all tremendously appealing qualities in an insurance or financial business.
So whether you’re an independent agent or an agency principal, taking the time to build a brand of your own will ultimately have a positive effect on your target audience. You’ll start reaping the benefits — including sales and referrals — as you go.
