A marketing funnel captures the path prospects will travel - typically online - from needing your services to signing with your agency. Your marketing funnel will try to anticipate a client's needs and take proactive steps to draw attention from prospects as soon as they need your products and services. There are four standard steps to an effective marketing funnel.
A marketing funnel tracks a prospective client's journey on the way to making an educated purchasing decision. To create an effective marketing funnel, you have to put yourself in your client's shoes and consider their mindset and actions every step of the way, from needing your product until they purchase insurance and sign with your agency. Your marketing strategy will support your funnel, eventually leading to conversions. Unlike your sales funnel that tends to kick in once the client is showing genuine interest, your marketing funnel will need a good grasp on how your audience searches and researches insurance so that you can build an online presence in the right places. This leads us to the first step of your marketing funnel.
Awareness
The first step is to understand the situation your ideal clients are in when they are in need of your products and service. You need to be a bit of a mind reader - or you just need to refer to your client profile. Creating awareness for your agency begins with understanding where you need to reach your customers. Are they searching the internet? Do they like to use social media, and if so, which social media platforms? Do they read the local paper? Knowing where your audience goes for information will help you know where to focus your marketing to reach your customers right when they are in need of insurance.
Side note: For independent agents, regardless of your ideal client and insurance niche, reaching local clients is the first priority. Having your agency registered on Google My Business and appearing on Google maps is a must.
Once you've been found, you need to prove your worth.
Interest
Once you have their attention you need to good content strategy in place, offering resources that allow them to dig a little deeper and do some research. Content can include blogs, social media posts, white papers, FAQs, etc. Don’t go straight to a sales pitch. This is your chance to simply provide great information, allowing the customer to do a bit of research to see if you have what they need and if they feel a connection with your brand. Be a thought leader, a guide, and a trusted source of information. Understand the tone and the style that is appealing to your audience to tailor content, keep them interested, and start to gain their trust. Anticipate their needs and expectation and be ready with a solution. You are here to help, not to sell.
Decision/Conversion
The decision/conversion step is where an independent agent can really make themselves stand out from the competition. From boomers to generation Y & Z, most consumers want that personal human touch before they make their final decision. Sell them on the value of working with an independent agent, how you can form a partnership, and personalize your service to meet all of their insurance needs now and in the future.
Action
The marketing funnel isn’t always this linear. At every step of the process, there should be a clear and direct Call to Action, an opportunity to make a decision and provide you with their information that will lead to a call that will, hopefully, lead to a new client. Remember, while each prospect is vetting you during the first initial call, this is also where you will qualify each lead to ensure this is a mutually beneficial relationship.
Creating a successful marketing funnel is a necessary process to growing your agency. When you join AAI, we help you with your marketing and sales strategies, including how to write a good client profile to help you focus your marketing funnel and grow your agency.
Contact us for more information.