Now that we’re halfway through 2017, it’s the perfect time to take a look at what the previous six months have held and what we can expect for the latter half of the year, specifically in the realm of insurance marketing. As the marketing landscape is constantly changing, it is crucial for you to stay on top of current trends to ensure that your agency has the maximum reach. Overall, in 2017 it’s all about the customer. Make sure your customer is able to easily find your company, easily understand who your company is and what they can expect from you, and easily reach your company with questions or concerns.
Have a good website
In a survey of 333 sales, marketing, and business professionals, over 40 percent of respondents told Business News Daily that a fully optimized web site was one of the most successful online marketing tactics. You’re on our website right now, aren’t you? If you want these one-time visitors to become regular customers, having a well-designed, easy-to-read web site will help you get there. The site should be easy on the eyes: the colors should complement one another, the text should all be readable, and content should be broken up by photos and into easy-to-read sections. Most customers don’t want to read a wall of text.
The site should also run smoothly; according to Kissmetrics, 40 percent of users said that they would exit a site that took longer than 3 seconds to load, and 47 percent revealed that they expect a page to load in no more than 2 seconds. If customers can’t actually get on their site, they’re going to have a tough time learning about you.
Make your site mobile-friendly
Let’s say you’ve designed your website, but you did it on a desktop computer. That’s not a problem, but in 2017, the days of mobile phones being a rare novelty are long over. Today, almost everyone has a phone, and they’re using that phone for any interaction that you can think of. At the end of 2016, Google reported that 60 percent of people reach for their phones immediately upon waking up, and another study found that over 50 percent of people searching online will be doing so from a mobile device. So, there’s a pretty good chance that someone’s going to stumble upon your site not from a desktop computer but from their iPhone. Your site should be every bit as readable from a cell phone as from a computer or a tablet, as well as any external material (such as marketing emails). Failing to account for mobile users will alienate a large portion of your potential audience.
Market regularly-updated content
So maybe you’ve developed a well-designed, visually appealing web site. That will do a great job at drawing new potential customers in, but to turn them into consistent visitors and long-lasting customers, you need to have something for them to look at. This refers to two things: your site content and blog content. In addition to improving your rankings, content sets the tone for your business and gives the customer an idea of who you are and what they can expect from you. Have easily-accessible pages that describe your products, your services, information about your company, and anything else that will improve the customer’s experience and answer their questions about who your company is. Original content such as blogs will further demonstrate to your customers who you are, and regularly releasing new content will greatly improve your site’s search engine performance.
Emphasize the customer experience
One of the best ways to maintain a relationship with your customers and keep them coming back to your business is engaging with them to make them feel heard. Providing personalized content – such as emails – for your customers, or targeting potential new customers with personalized content will make them more likely to look into your company. Provide an easy channel for customers to contact you, whether it be online, on the phone, or even in person.
If you really want to improve your engagement, look into chatbots, which are a relatively new creation that allow for 24-hour real-time engagement. If you’ve used Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa, you’ve experienced a chatbot, a piece of artificial intelligence that has the capability to answer customers’ questions. Their programming is based on data about how the human brain works, so they are able to provide answers to customer questions that actually make sense.
About Neilson Marketing
Since 1988, Neilson Marketing has been implementing innovative marketing solutions and strategies for our clients in all areas of marketing. Contact us today at (800) 736-9741, to put our talent, expertise, and vast resources to work for you. Let’s make things happen, together!
