Posts Tagged ‘insurance agency marketing’
Massachusetts Revolt
Stand Out
Last week, a major upheaval in the world of politics occurred, a Republican was elected Senator of Massachusetts after Ted Kennedy had held the Democratic Senator’s seat for 43 Years! How did this happen? I’m sure there will be a lot of blogs, articles and maybe books written about this improbable event. Let’s set the stage first. This particular Senate seat has been held by Ted Kennedy for 43 years and prior to that, his brother John Kennedy held the seat. Massachusetts’ registered Republican voters only account for 12% of registered voters statewide. The Democratic candidate was handpicked by the party leadership and held a substantial lead going into the final stretch of campaigning. So, how did the newly elected Senator Brown make this comeback?
Simply put, the incumbent party and leadership got lazy, became complacent, and did not have the pulse of the electorate (their customers). How could they lose? The Democrats controlled Massachusetts for years and could not imagine NOT WINNING! Then, a sequence of events in the economy, concerns over health reform, and a general discontentment with the established leadership…… the impossible happened, a Republican was elected. Now, the point to be made is not political affiliations or where we stand on the economy or healthcare reform. The lesson to be learned is the absolute importance and necessity of knowing what your customer base is thinking, where are they going and how do they perceive your role in assisting them! If you are somewhat skeptical, think back to 1994 when the Republican Party rode a wave of populist support in winning the majority in the House of Representatives; remember Newt Gingrich? Those Republicans had the voice of the voters and knew the changes expected under their leadership. They did well for a while, then, the Republicans lost the pulse of the voters and within 8 years, lost their majority position in the House and eventually the Senate. This loss of direction and power ripped the Republican Party apart! Now fast forward to last week…. History is repeating itself! Now it’s the Democrats turn.
This same scenario has played itself out in business repeatedly over the years. Remember Montgomery Wards, TWA, Eastern Airlines, Braniff, Circuit City, AMC General, or any of the “latest, hottest” new night spots or restaurants that have opened and closed in short order? As a business owner, don’t allow yourself to lose contact with your customers, stay in touch, keep in front of them and let them know how valued they are to you personally. Doing what is best for the client will help establish a bond and trust that will build a lifetime relationship and lead to new opportunities for growth in the future. AgencyIQ is here to assist you with those efforts to build your business and keep in touch with your most valued resource… your clients!
“Plan? …We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Plan”
Humphrey Bogart
Unfortunately that famous line from Humphrey Bogart’s movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, “Badges? We an’t got not no badges. We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you no stinkin’badges!” is often one of the most misquoted lines in movie history, in fact, when I first started writing this, I had to correct myself when using the quote! That being said, let’s get to the point of this blog……. Planning. Our last blog discussed planning on a global, big picture scale. Let’s focus on what it means to you, as an individual running your business! The first step is to realize “WE NEED A PLAN!” How do you go about developing a plan that will be meaningful and effective for your business? There are many templates and programs that will assist you with the fundamentals, a simple Google search will provide a wealth of information. It’s what you put in the plan that counts! Following are some ideas and thoughts that you may want to consider as you develop your plan:
• What is changing in your industry?
• What is changing in technology and how does it impact your ability to connect with customers
• What is changing with your customers?
• What is changing in the economy?
We all know the traditional ways to reach out to customers….. mailings, telemarketing, mass emails and others. But what is going to grab your customer’s attention, how can you convince them to choose you over all the other alternatives in the market? Think about the following:
• Provide value, beyond the product – value in personal attention and customization
• Make yourself unique – find a way to differentiate yourself from the competition
• Build Relationships – showing the customer you really are invested in helping them make the best decisions and choices with your expertise. They will count on you to make sure their best interests are being looked after!
• Network in the community…. Join the Chamber of Commerce, sponsor a youth activity, help with a charity event, get involved in local professional groups
The key is your plan should focus on cultivating a two-way relationship with your customers. Yes, the new technology of Social Media is important, but so is an act so simple most of us have forgotten it…. Pick up the phone or stop by to say a personal “Hello”. AgencyIQ is here to assist you with all of your customer relationship management activities, we wish you the best with your 2010 Plan!
The Art of (Business) War
Have any of you ever heard the old saying “War is hell”? This statement has been attributed to General Sherman during the Civil War. I’d wager many of you feel the same way about this past year of 2009! GOOD NEWS, the calendar has turned and we have a new year with new opportunities in 2010…. YEA!
Starting a new year is a great time to step back and assess where we’ve been, where we are and where we want to go. A more formal way of stating this activity is called GOAL SETTING! Groan……. Many of us would rather endure a root canal without pain meds than go thru a session on Goal Setting. But, it is a valuable tool vital to the success of your business. Instead of using the traditional methods, I have an alternative you may find more enjoyable and effective. I recently found a book “The Art of War in Business” by Mark McNeilly.
Mark has taken the well know book “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, a successful Chinese general in 400 B.C. and related the principles of Sun Tzu and linked them to business strategies. Following are the six principles discussed in his book:
- Win All Without Fighting – Capturing Your market Without Destroying It
- Avoid Strength, Attack Weakness – Striking Where They Least Expect It
- Deception and Foreknowledge – Maximizing the Power of Market Information
- Speed and Preparation – Moving Swiftly to Overcome Your Competitors
- Shape Your Opponent – Employing Strategy to Master the Competition
- Character-Based Leadership – Providing Effective Leadership in Turbulent Times
Join us January 13, 2010 at 10:00 am CST for an informative webinar about how to overcome these challenges in building your business this year. Register online today to make sure you reserver your spot! This webinar will fill up! Register Here
Whatever challenges you and your business face in 2010, AgencyIQ is here to provide effective, innovative tools to assist you in growing your business! We have many new features and enhancements coming online that we are very excited to add to our lead management platform. Let us know what you think!!
Basic Website Pointers
Here are some basic notes about our upcoming webinar focusing on taking a good look at your website and gauging it’s effectiveness. Join us Tuesday March 24th at 11:00 CST and learn more details! Sign up online to reserve your spot!
Today’s internet agents have a lot of opportunities to reach out to clients. One of my goals as the VP of Operations here at AgencyIQ is to help agents harness the power of the internet to make their sales increase in bulk. Over the next few months AgencyIQ will be hosting various webinar’s to help you make the most out of your web presence and offer some additional ideas to jump start your online marketing. This month we are discussing reaching out with an effective website.
There are some key elements here to pay attention to. The first is understanding the three aspects of building a website:
Remember, utilize the internet to enhance the experience that you are offering to your clients and your marketing efforts will multiply!
