Between 2018 and 2021–despite dealing with a worldwide pandemic–the insurance market grew from $730 bill to $860 billion. Specifically, North America has dominated the market.
Technology and, more specifically, automation is to thank for this surge, determining how customers perceive and interact with companies.
To the above point, 41% of survey respondents from 2020 said they’d switch insurance companies if their current one lacked digital capabilities.
According to Forbes, automation can continue driving this forward momentum for the industry. However, automation is not a magic bullet that eliminates all problems by its very existence. Success comes down to implementation, strategy, and utilizing the most appropriate automation solution(s) for your brokerage.
First Things First–Understanding Your Needs
You need to match the appropriate automation solution to your needs as a brokerage based on its complexity.
An insurance firm with a book heavily weighted in just a couple of markets will have–relatively– straightforward automation-based needs. Using an overly complex tool would be the same as putting a rocket ship engine in an automobile, overpowering your actual needs and capabilities.
On the other hand, you might have varying layers of complexity in your firm that’s based on brands, size, regions, broker networks, etc. In which case, a simple, bare-bones automation solution won’t fit the bill.
Before moving forward, we should make something clear–complexity doesn’t necessarily have to do with size.
Less Complex Doesn’t Mean Uncomplex
You might’ve read the above section and thought to yourself, “great, my firm can just use the free version of (insert automation software).”
That’s not quite the case. Just because your brokerage’s needs are less complex than others in your industry doesn’t mean it’s without complexity.
For instance, we’ll say there’s–hypothetically–80% of your base is on the personal line side.
Let’s also say there’s 20% of your base in the commercial end, stemming from your book of personal insurance customers. It sounds simple enough, but you still have varying segments you’re communicating with.
Sure, broadly, it’s personal and commercial, but you can segment even further within each of those segments. After all, some personal-line customers might have underlying commercial needs, merely requiring a gentle nudge from your marketing campaigns to take the leap.
In the above scenario, sending a catch-all, generic email blast to all your customers, even when your base is relatively less complex, amounts to a missed opportunity.
Automation and Segmentation
80% of insurance customers crave personalization from their providers.
Whether your insurance brokerage has more complex automation needs or relatively simple, the more specific and personalized your marketing and sales efforts, the better.
That level of personalization comes from automation that’s up to the task of advanced segmentation, which also includes:
- Real-time nurturing: being there with relevant messaging through all steps of the buyer’s journey
- Moving customers through various stages of the journey when the time is right
Even a brokerage with less complex needs benefits from this level of specificity and precision, which is further driven by reporting:
The right automation software–for example–can help you target leads with a 40-plus behavioural score who received a quote within the past 60 days, all from a specific postal code in Southeast Ontario.
Using the appropriate automation software for your brokerage segments the data at lightning speeds. You’ll stay ahead of opportunities instead of realizing them when it’s too late.
There’s A Lot More to Marketing Automation
We’re only scratching the surface when it comes to your marketing automation. It’s a deeply sophisticated topic that requires plenty of research. Fortunately, Goose Digital has a 7 step checklist for landing on the ideal automation software. Or, you can just contact us to learn more–we’d love a chance to discuss your business and help it thrive.
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