Marketing Insurance Products

Marketing Insurance Products
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Abstract
Insurance companies operate within the service industry, meaning that they do not have tangible goods to sell. Regardless, marketing of insurance products is as important as marketing of products in any other industry. Thus, marketing for companies in the industry should be strategic to build the necessary relationship with the consumers and gain an edge on the ever-increasing competitors. Marketing of the insurance products should always begin by creating an effective team of marketers, with adequate understanding of the insurance products being sold. After creating the team, the next step involves collection of information to provide a better picture of the market, target audience and competitors. The information is used in establishing a plan and planning the market campaign to be undertaken. After the campaign an evaluation of effectiveness is carried out using quantitative data from the clients. Feedback is critical in the marketing of insurance products because the word of mouth by the clients is critical for success in the industry.
Marketing Insurance Products
Insurance companies operate in a service industry, which means they deal with the marking of services as opposed to goods. Thus, when it comes to marketing, the companies tend to hold a very unique position. The marketers within the industry do not have a tangible product to market or sell. As a result, they have to depend on creating strong connections with loyal consumers.

Also, they are involved in constant competition with other marketers, suggesting the importance of their sales strategies (Diacon, 2016). Marketers compete using the word of mouth used to convince the customers as to why they should buy the products and not those offered by their competitors. Regardless of the uniqueness of the industry, the marketing and sales strategies assumed in the industry are not much different from those used in the marketing of goods. This paper discusses what it means to have effective marketing of insurance products.
Building a Team
Marketing in whatever industry cannot be effective without the company having in place an effective sales force. Therefore, the most important place to begin is by building a working team of agents or brokers. Within the insurance industry, much of the marketing is carried out by agents and brokers. Agent is an individual who has a legal representation of the principal and can thus, act on behalf of the principal (Dichtl & Drobetz, 2011). On the other hand, a broker is an individual who has a legal representation of the insured even though the commission is paid by the insurance company. These individuals are critical for the s success of marketing in insurance companies. Having in place an effective team is the beginning place to start marketing of the insurance products. The team also plays an important role in designing the marketing strategy that will be applied in the process.
It is critical that the team has the necessary knowledge of the insurance products being sold because this will make the difference in the efforts to convince the customers. It should be noted that while a company might be an important part of the service industry it is necessary that the customers are treated in such a way that they become loyal to the company and keep coming back for the services. Thus, one of the most important principles of marketing within the insurance industry is to ensure that the team in place has the required skills as well as a high level of professionalism. Such is a team that has the potential to build the reputation of the company because it will be in business for a long time (Baker & Siegelman, 2013). The team must also be consistent in its selling approaches to ensure that it maintains the customers that it gets.
Know the Market
The first step to effective marketing within the insurance marketing is to know the market. Just like in any other industry or market, it is necessary that the marketers understand the market within which they are expected to sell their products (Selnes, 2013). The knowledge of the market involves efforts to collect information on the potential customers and competitors. If there is something that has not changed within the marketing of insurance products is the importance of understanding the customers and establishing relationships with them. It is also critical to provide value to the policy holders in such a manner that they will keep coming back to the company for more products. With the many companies operating within the industry, failure to make such efforts means that the company will lose the customers to competitors (Mobarak & Rosenzweig, 2012). Thus, it is necessary for marketers within the industry to have adequate understanding of the market trend and other dynamics within the market that will affect their sales.
Market research, thus, is as important in the marketing of insurance products as it is in all other markets. Understanding the target audience is important for market segmentation because it is not possible to sell to the entire market. With effective segmentation, it becomes possible to effectively target the different products to different target audiences. For example, it will be possible to tell which segment is most likely to buy medical insurance, motor vehicle insurance etc. Segmentation using data from research is the most effective tool in effective marketing. Following such process, it will be easier for different members of the team, the agents and brokers to focus their services on different segments, for instance, those that will be dealing with the sales of medical insurance covers (Mobarak & Rosenzweig, 2012). Although competition is serious within the service sector, understanding the audience will be critical to fulfilling their needs more effectively and thus, having an edge over the competitors. Also, by studying the market, it will be possible to realize what the competitors are doing, in the efforts to outsmart them.
Establish a Plan
Effective market does not entail just leaving the company and selling the products. Armed with the information on the market, the audience and competition, marketers should then establish an effective marketing plan. The marketing plan should begin by setting out the goals and objectives that the marketers seek to achieve at the end of the marketing process. The plan involves considering the communication strategies and prioritizing them in such a way that considers the one which has the greatest potential to give good results (Krishna, 2011). The plan does not involve use of only a single communication channel, but a combination of the new and traditional marketing channels, together with direct and indirect marketing. The marketing channels used by the marketers should be such that the message reaches as many of the consumers as possible. The modern world has a lot of channels that can be used, but their successful use will depend on the costs and benefits of each depending on the circumstance
Marketing campaigns are playing an important role in the marketing of products and services. Thus, marketing teams that want to succeed should leverage the use of the marketing communication channels with a convincing message to the customers. Thus, the team should begin with creating the campaign, including the message, with caution because the competitors are also doing the same. After creating the campaign, the most effective channel should be used. Besides using the traditional channels, it is important to realize the importance of the social media in marketing (Lovelock, 2011). Creating a social media campaign will not only allow for many people to see the message, but it will also allow a continued media presence. It is highly cost effective for a company to put up a social media campaign which will keep reminding the consumers about the products that the company has to offer to the customers. It is also the most effective way of getting feedback from the real and potential customers.
Measure Effectiveness
Marketing efforts are only effective if they provide positive results to the markers. Using the goals and objectives earlier established, it is possible for the marketers to measure the effectiveness of their efforts. The process could be as simple as making a comparison between the numbers of clients a product had before the marketing effort to the number after. It may also entail the use of digital analytics in monitoring website visits following an online campaign. Measuring effectiveness of a marketing campaign basically entails collection and analysis of quantitative data (Epetimehin, 2011). The marketing team, with digital media presence, can easily obtain such data the data can also be easily analyzed to show the actual picture of performance in the campaign. For insurance companies, such evaluation of effectiveness can help in changing marketing tactics to have an edge over the competitors. The data will show how well the objectives have been achieved and if they have not been achieved, suggesting changes on the campaign.
Gather Feedback
For marketers it is critical to obtain feedback from the market to understand the performance of their products. The word of mouth is especially very important in the marketing of services. Together with measuring the effectiveness of a campaign, the input from the real and potential customers, in form of feedback is critical (Estelami, 2012). Feedback regarding the campaign and communication effort is important for decision making, such as in future marketing campaigns. Important information is obtained through the feedback including what worked well, what was clear and what was not, and how future communications can be made better.
Additionally, the real and potential customers can play the important role as advocates as well as an important component of the marketing process. Great marketers, including agents for insurance companies realize and take advantage of any chance to leverage the customers as word-of-mouth advocates in marketing (Gummesson, 2011). The customers in service industry play an important role in delivering the message to others. Thus, having one satisfied customer can get the company five more customers. The idea is that for success in the business it is necessary to have satisfied customers because they will act as marketers for the company in reaching others.
Conclusion
Marketing is one of the most important components for a company regardless of the industry within which one is operating. The same applies to the insurance companies which are involved in the business of marketing services. It is necessary that the policies of the company are sold to the consumers for the companies to remain afloat. The beginning step in the process is creating a working team of marketers, typically made up of agents and brokers, who will play the role of marketing the policies. With the team in place, another important process is to know the market within which the policies will be marketed. This is critical to understand the target audience and the competition therein. The information is the used in coming up with a marketing plan, in form of a campaign that will be used to deliver the message to the audience. Evaluation of success and the obtaining of feedback are critical for future decision making.
References
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Krishna, A. (Ed.). (2011). Sensory marketing: Research on the sensuality of products. Routledge.
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Mobarak, A. M., & Rosenzweig, M. R. (2012). Selling formal insurance to the informally insured.
Selnes, F. (2013). An examination of the effect of product performance on brand reputation, satisfaction and loyalty. Journal of Product & Brand Management.