What insurance email marketing developments are disrupting the market today? Are you keeping up with the changes? Are you taking the proper approach to email marketing?
These are questions you should be asking yourself on a regular basis. For example, it’s imperative that marketers understand the methods their subscribers are using, and make their email ads responsive for the ultimate mobile experience. People are buying smartphones and mobile devices at a faster pace than ever before. In the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe, between 40-60% of consumers are reading email on smartphones and tablets.
One of the most important challenges to tackle in the email marketing space right now is designing an email ad that will improve click-through rates on mobile devices. Marketers who have no regard for these changes taking place will not only see their click-through rates dissipate, but their open-rates as well. And it’s not just the responsive design and appropriate call to action within the ad, but also the coding so the mail will render correctly in outlook, chrome and different mobile devices.
For example, we try to offer our email marketing services based on our clients’ needs and the top request we’re receiving today is they need help with mobile email design. Fortunately we have expertise in this area and our clients are seeing the results when we design and build mobile-responsive ads for their email broadcast.
72% of US Consumers say that Email Marketing is their Preferred Method of Advertising
Although email isn’t the newest form of marketing, 72% of US consumers say that email marketing is the number one way they’d prefer to receive permission based promotions from businesses. Why do you think that is?
Consumers prefer email marketing because they are in control and they trust brands to respect their choices. And they’re in control of email because marketers have fairly given them that control, allowing customers to manage preferences and unsubscribes. Consumers get special offers that they actually want—more so than direct mail, telemarketing—and trust that these messages are from the brand.
The industry has become so trustworthy and spam is declining because internet service providers have put smarter algorithms in place to block spam and unwanted emails. The bottom line is consumers trust the inbox because marketers respect their permission. There aren’t many other media that allow consumers to manage communication with brands like that.
A case in point is our very own programbusiness.com where over 40,000 property and casualty licensed agents, well over 9,000 MGAs, wholesalers and Program Managers, 5,000 plus insurance carrier executives, over 600 reinsurance executives, 162 insurance association executives and 900 plus insurance industry vendors have opted in and customized their opted-in subscription.
So don’t get caught up in the number of emails, opens, clicks and impressions until you know you’re targeting the correct audience. In most cases the metrics and information you find on the internet isn’t a reliable comparison for what a business-to-business insurance marketing campaign should yield.
In addition, certain marketers may not understand the industry you’re making a living in. With just over 38,000 – 40,000 independent insurance agencies in the US, not including direct writers be leery of the marketers who state they have an abundance of agency emails and offer to send your brand to them.
Ask for empirical data, agency names and client references before engaging in a relationship. Look over the list and see if the correct type of agency that you’re attempting to market to is present. I have heard horror stories of lists be proliferated with TPAs, claims adjusters, financial service agents, health agents just to name a few.
Email marketing generates leads. Until that changes, Neilson Marketing Services and ProgramBusiness.com will continue to develop email campaigns that build the relationships you need to sell.
