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Loading ...Today I read in MediaPost’s Online Media Daily that insurance companies are going to spend about $980 million on internet marketing in 2007. That’s a lot. The breakdown will be about 50% to search, 30% online video and other forms of rich media, and 20% display.
The report, put out by eMarketer, showed that TV will still be getting the lion’s share of the ad budgets…because they work.
A quote:
the report found that some 59% of respondents would go online first after seeing a TV ad for an auto insurance company, either to visit the Web site specified in the ad, to visit the company’s corporate site or to use a search engine to find a site for the company.
That’s great and something that I would agree with. But here’s another quote from Lisa Philliips, a Marketer senior analyst and the report’s author as to why and how TV is effective as it addresses how to:
“build brand awareness and explain a complex product in simple terms” and it “is better served by large-scale broadcasts.”
This isn’t necessarily so. Large scale broadcasts are there to stir interest and to position a brand in a particular way. Explaining complex products and services can’t be done in a 30 second spot or a full page four color ad. It can frame a product to its intended audience. But that audience will want more . They’ll have questions. That’s why they have insurance salesmen to complete the sales marketing cycle.
But it would seem to me that, right now, insurance companies should be turning to the internet to develop conversational marketing strategies. Strategies and tactics that bring the customer closer to the information that they need to make better decisions, strategies that get to know the customer better by getting their feedback and finding out their needs.
With insurance, for the customer, several things are important.
Trust. Are they giving it to me straight? Are there any catches? Am I just an expense to them once I sign up?
Individuality…am I getting what I want and what I need do I have to sacrifce getting something while I have to pay for something that I don’t need. Am I just a number to them?
Reliability. Will they be there when I need them? Are there services something I can get without hassles? Am I just an inconvenience to them?
Engaging interested and qualified customers via conversational marketing strategies makes sense. And there seems to be a lot of money that’s looking to be spent.
Filed under: Branding Online, Conversation Marketing, Integrity, Marketing Conversation
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I scanned your post and thought your quote was supporting your argument for conversational marketing and as I reread it, I was hoping you had some stats supporting your thesis as I did citing emarketer showing a 70.9% CAGR in blog, RSS, and podcasts advertising in the next five years.
Are you saying that insurance companies ’should’ direct some of that money towards conversational marketing? Also is that what you call blogging?
Sorry for all the newbie questions but I have not previously heard the term conversational marketing. Cheers!
“…conversational marketing? Also is that what you call blogging?”
No. “conversational marketing” includes all social media, forums, twitter, social utilities, social networks, web sites, IMs, and virtual worlds like Second Like, etc…
Greg,
Good questions.
Blogs, RSS feeds, and poscasts are part of it. So are websites (if they’re structured correctly), forums, or any type of social media in which two sides can work together to understand one another more through, well, a conversation.
So it mostly focuses on the way they communicate with prospective customers than what tools.
The internet gives greater control to customers. No, we’re not completely ‘in control’ like some seem to feel. But through we can pump in a few keywords in Google or join a forum about a subject or check out a few pertinant blogs about something and we have access to a tremendous amount of information.
So wouldn’t make sense for, say, an insurance company to be part of those conversations then just just run a series of :30 second spots and have a stand alone brochure on the web? They NEED to be having conversations us because their products/services are often life critical investments.
Today, we can shop more effectively, intelligently. It means that companies (such as insurance companies) can’t just place TV spots and put up brochureware. If they somehow engage (and I get sick of that word too) their prospective customers to find out what their needs are and what their fears are and how they want to be treated, then they are getting ahead in the game. This can be done via blogs where they are interacting with people. They could sponsor a campaign in which consumers can explain thier concens when buying or having insurance. These are just a few quick examples coming off the top of my head.
Traditionally we would meet with an agent and they’d go over all of the good points. Our choices were limited and we didn’t have many sources to get background info. We’d feel pressured to buy, buy, buy. That era hasn’t ended, but it’s changing fast.
Oh, I forgot! I totally use Google and SEO for conversation marketing as well.
Chris
Insurance companies having ‘conversations’ openly with consumers - now that would be a huge culture shift! Three generations of my family (myself included) use to be in the insurance business and it is for the most part a closed shop.
There is a UK insurance company that has been pretty innovative, their name escapes me right now. My impression is that they were a start up and were catering to the solo-entrepreneur (they call it something else in the UK) darn wish I could remember their name. I will repost when I remember - but they got it.
The power is n the hand (mouse) of the consumer and CEO’s had better get it soon if they want to get free from the earnings trap.