Pierre Bourdeau—Director P&C Insurance Marketing
Our entire business is derived from the use of data. Products are created because data identifies gaps in the market. Rates are determined based on historical data and loss trends. Claim reserves are determined using the data of past experiences.
But have you thought of using data to market your brokerage? You’re sitting on a treasure trove of information that can help you build your business and attract new customers, and improve retention. It all starts with mining and piecing your data together to uncover patterns and opportunities.
Gaining data insights is ideal if you don’t have a large marketing budget because it’s free data. Plus, by using your existing customer data, you can use it to find more of your target business.
Where to Start
Your treasure hunt begins with your Broker Management System (BMS). That will tell you who your customers are, where they live, and much more.
Products. Sort your customers based on the types of policies they have. Are there trends or cross-selling opportunities? Can portfolios be expanded beyond home and auto business? Do they have children who may soon need their own insurance?
Location. Analyze where your best customers live and whether there are opportunities to grow in those areas. Look for areas to target where you’ve been successful and where you know you can offer competitive solutions.
Important Dates. Dates create potential touchpoints. Send a thank-you note on the anniversary of the first policy written with your brokerage. Birthdates trigger birthday greetings. And rather than just issuing a renewal notice, consider flagging upcoming expiry dates so you can get in touch to discuss new products.
Your BMS is only the Beginning
You have other data sources at your fingertips, including website analytics and social media post results. Review and analyze regularly:
Which web pages see the most visits – consider pointing your campaigns to these pages to begin engaging with potential customers.
Where do visitors come from – take note of these sources to use in future campaigns.
How long readers stay on each page – create similar content to use on other landing pages, on social media or in other campaigns.
Which social posts get the most engagement (clicks, likes and shares) – create new content around the same topics for future posts.
Which platforms work best – prioritize your efforts and marketing dollars on these platforms.
What images and content are the most successful – remember just when you’re starting to get tired of an ad, your target audience is only just starting to recognize it.
What times and days of the week are the best to post – schedule future campaign launches or posts when they’ll resonate the best.
Hidden Clues in your Data
Products and x-dates may seem like obvious information to analyze, but there are other golden nuggets you can leverage to help your marketing.
Customer Feedback. Keep an eye on what your customers are saying. If you find complaints, look for trends and insights to help you address problems before they occur. If you uncover great reviews, ask those customers for testimonials or referrals, and feature them on your website or in future campaigns.
Contact Methods. Knowing how your customers prefer to be contacted means you can keep in touch using their preferred method.
Acquisition Data. Analyzing how you acquired new customers will help identify what kinds of promotions worked and where you should focus your marketing efforts and budget. Don’t forget to ask new customers how they heard about you.
Once you uncover these clues, you can set up your BMS to continuously collect similar data to help you make future business decisions.
Piecing it all Together
Your data may look like random bits and pieces, but once you start to mine it and piece it together, patterns will appear, leading you closer to knowing what and how to market your brokerage. If you’re planning your marketing without using your data, you could be missing a golden opportunity.