PR Tips for Insurance Companies
There are few industries that can boast a great overall success rate when its comes to presenting a brand and maintaining a relationship with consumers and the insurance industry in particular serves as a showcase of businesses that are sometimes doing things very right, but sometimes doing them very wrong.
In the struggle to keep up with the ever-changing trends of customer behavior, both online and off, the nearly limitless saturation of the insurance industry among the population of many nations demands that that niche in particular do everything it can to present a friendly, easy-to-understand face to the world. With that in mind, here are three crucial public relations tips for insurance companies:
Simplify…
Insurance is, by its very nature, a highly complicated business and insurance providers need to recognize that convoluted offerings are a sure way to scare potential customers away. According to autoinsurancequotes.net, the most consumer-friendly approach to a complex product is to simplify it via branding and promotional materials, changing an otherwise intimidating company into one that customers feel that they can approach.
Where overwhelming people with information may once have worked well in convincing potential customers that they needed to trust an expert, the information age brought upon us by the internet has helped to educate the general public, leaving insurance companies that brand themselves in a friendly, approachable manner ranking well ahead of those who have chosen to stay behind.
Be Fresh and Friendly…
Serving as an excellent example of the success to be had in a simpler, more consumer-friendly approach to public relations is Geico, that instantly recognizable supplier of American car insurance policies. Between a comical gecko and the promise of one-on-one customer support for all policyholders, old and new, Geico has been able to win the hearts and minds of consumers in a way that is simply not comparable to any other player in the insurance industry.
Whether this change in the public’s perception of insurance is born of the social media age or not, it’s clear that a fresh face is required when considering how to brand your insurance company. With a rapidly expanding population, the pool of potential new clients is brimming and it will be the insurance provider with the most memorable and trustworthy public relations efforts that takes the lion’s share.
Utilize Social Media…
Whether or not Facebook, Twitter and their contemporaries will stand the test of time and still command the usage rate in 10 years that they do today is debatable, there can be no denying that the very way that people communicate is undergoing a complete revolution and, given this fact, giving your insurance company a social media presence is crucial.
It should also be noted that not just any social media presence will do; given their freeness, ease-of-use and the bridge to hundreds of millions of people that they represent, your social media endeavors deserve the very best that your company has to offer, including connecting with customers and offering content that is useful to them as opposed to throwing endless promotional content at them.
Building trust with clients means being open and communicative and social media offers you the ability to make this trustworthy side of your firm one that the whole world can see.
Finally…
The ever-evolving landscape of business in general and insurance in particular is quickly drawing a line between those who are working to keep up and those who are being left behind. Technology has made it possible for every company to connect with their customers, both potential and existing, in intimate and intuitive ways, a point proven by the success of Geico’s friendly branding scheme as detailed above.
New thinking is required to keep up with the business trends of a new time and every insurance company not currently working towards a friendlier external persona needs to take the time to take stock of what they’re doing if keeping up with the competition is a priority.
