As the insurance industry continues to evolve in line with the constant shift in technology, culture and consumer demand, 2023 sees the digital bar raised even higher. Here, Paul Houston, co-owner and director at Catalyst digital marketing agency, discusses the future of insurance marketing and notes soem key takeaways after working with Purbeck Insurance.
Alongside the wider financial market, the traditional insurance model continues to embark on a radical transformation. Today’s consumers – conditioned by the likes of Amazon and Netflix – will no longer accept standard insurance products. More than ever, they want accessible, purpose-led solutions that are relevant and personalised to their exact needs. Gone too are the days of timely application processes and paperwork. Now is about a slicker customer journey, faster entry to market and seamless claims management and processes.
With this transition it becomes even more important that insurers adapt their marketing accordingly. Indeed, a few years back, perhaps, a basic online presence may have sufficed. But in today’s digital world where the nearest competition is only one click away a robust digital marketing strategy is now a must to increase exposure, attract new leads and, ultimately, drive growth. This becomes even more pertinent in a price-sensitive environment where consumers are more susceptible to switching brands and generally expect more.
Of course, with so many other considerations for busy insurers trying to weather what remains an increasingly uncertain economic climate, marketing investment might seem the least of priorities. But, drawing on our ongoing work with Purbeck insurance – the reality is that it could prove a vital enabler of growth at a time when some firms need it most.
Extensive review
London-based Purbeck Insurance are personal guarantee experts. In world-first the firm’s flagship Personal Guarantee Insurance covers up to 80 percent of risk and has been purposely designed to help startups and entrepreneurs to invest in the future growth of their business whilst minimising their personal risk.
However, despite such innovation the business continued to struggle to generate leads, and even when it did, they weren’t quite right. With the decision therefore made that it was time to rethink its marketing approach, Purbeck subsequently called on the Catalyst team.
First order of the day was an extensive review of the existing state of play. Here, the remit was to get a total understanding of the Purbeck company, product, market and audience. As part of this we also analysed existing data to get a better picture of the target market, their likes and dislikes, satisfaction ratings, and opinions. In doing so, we were able to define what was and wasn’t working, and what needed to change and develop our approach accordingly.
A human element
From this we were quick to find that the Purbeck brand ethos wasn’t quite hitting the mark with the target market. Potential customers such as SMEs, accountants, legal firms and professional advisors aren’t just buying into a product but a brand. For them, trust is everything. They want to feel confident in what they were paying for and that their chosen provider cares about them and will deliver on all promises. Yet Purbeck’s existing corporate brand image was found to be lacking a human element or personality.
By building on the existing brand, our approach has been to give it a more personal feel with updated graphics, a new-look website and a new proposition. Here, the remit is to position Purbeck as far more than another stuffy broker but a people-based insurance firm genuinely committed to helping business owners grow, increasing customer trust and loyalty.
Multiple touch points
With the brand positioning in place, the next stage was to develop a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to tie it all together. Today very few sales come from one touch point – on average it takes eight. As such, our multi-media approach has been purposefully created to take customers on a seamless journey encompassing everything from PR, content, email marketing and social media. Content is designed to build rapport with people-focused articles, advice-led blogs and compelling real-life case studies, all optimised with keywords and backlinks to improve visibility and relevance to potential customers.
A responsive and agile approach
And there’s more. In order to truly get the most out of any marketing campaign or spend, it’s about taking a responsive and agile approach which is quick to adapt to changing customer requirements and new and emerging trends. Here, data is king and the good news is that because there is so much of it available, it is possible to apply a much more evidence based approach to lead generation and business growth.
Through the rich intel provided by our CRM software, HubSpot, for example, we are to evaluate not just the numbers but which sources drive quick wins and which ones are slow-burners for your business. This helps ensure we can ascertain where the opportunities are, if we are making the most of them and adapt accordingly. When partnered with insurance software platform, Tiger Lab, this approach enables us to be much more reactive and proactive – ensuring the right policies get in front of the right customers at the right point.
Tangible commercial impact
This new digital marketing approach has had a transformative impact for Purbeck. Within a 12-month period, the business saw a 20 per cent increase in web traffic, a 167 per cent increase to social following, 321 per cent more monthly blog visits, a 15 per cent better website conversion rate and a huge 200 per cent increase in applications.
Importantly too, four years into the project and we continue to evolve. This includes taking the time to regularly review what is working and what isn’t, what customers think and want from the brand, adapting accordingly, and measuring the impact. This process remains as a constant, ensuring the Purbeck brand and marketing output remains on the pulse.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how good or innovative your insurance solution is if the right people do not know about it. More than ever, a clever digital marketing strategy can make all the difference in driving powerful brand exposure, attracting the right people and as demonstrated by our work with Purbeck, growing exponentially in a short amount of time.
For further information please visit: https://www.wearecatalyst.co.uk/
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