How To Make Insurance Cool [Case Study]
Exploring marketing strategies engaging a younger generation of buyers.
There are few industries that have survived the technological wave-like insurance has. It is understood to be a necessity for a fully functioning life. Lack of insurance can be expensive, and leave you high and dry in situations where you could use help.
Like the Gordian knot of legend, insurance is tied up with a lot of other industries — healthcare, auto repair and maintenance, and even home security.
So what has changed?
Marketing Drives for Insurance in the Past
Insurance has been around for longer than you’d think. Some form of it was doing the rounds since ancient times but it really started streamlining to what it is today in the early 17th century. These were usually limited to business insurance; securing against sea voyages, and industrial fires. It wasn’t until the 1900s that insurance was available widely to the public and a marketing strategy began to formulate to sell them.
The earlier campaigns were bleak. There is no other word for it. With two World Wars, and the rapid growth in the industrialization, the health of the workforce was already compromised. Sick days were not paid days off at the time, and despite the welfare state of healthcare systems in Europe, getting medical attention was still costly to lower-middle-class households.
Insurance was sold as a saviour in those days and the marketing has relatively stayed the same. Worried parents insured the lives of their children; men insured their properties, and themselves to leave something behind for their families. But the purpose back then was much different. Insurance companies were trying to create a need in the market for a novel idea of the time. Awareness was being achieved through scare tactics.
Insurance no longer needs to be sold for its own terms and benefits. Our generation has grown up understanding the importance of insurance and as something that is an understood part of adult life. What is being marketed now are the companies themselves, not insurance on its own.
So why haven’t the promotional strategies changed to accommodate the new buyers?
A New Breed of Buyer
Millennials are often accused of being fickle customers as opposed to their Baby Boomer counterparts. Where Boomers would buy a policy and stick with it, Millennials are a bit more discerning about their needs and not shy about switching to greener pastures.
The current buyer looks for value for money above all else. If they feel they can get more bang for their buck somewhere else they will not hesitate to switch. Incidentally, thanks to technology switching insurance policies are not as time-consuming and labour intensive as it was pre-smartphone. Where Boomers had to think of taking time off work to file for a switch in insurance policy through brokers and sales reps, Millennials can simply hop online and switch in seconds from their online insurance rep.
They have a world of information in their palm. You can be sure that they will find better options within minutes. Insurance comparison sites are popular as they provide a concise view of insurance options and quotes on one platform, saving further time while giving more service value.
Millennials are also the generation that grew up with campaigns deriding drugs and smoking as uncool. For many adults being responsible and having their life together is by far the coolest thing they can accomplish.
So instead of labelling them as fickle and not aware of brand loyalty companies need to change their strategy when targeting the millennial customer’s base which is growing day by day.
Marketing Strategies for New Age Insurance Buyers
Insurance marketing in the past has been nothing short of depressing. There is the obvious element of security and protection but Millennials need more than that to switch their insurance provider. Their demands are quick to process times, clear features, low costs, and a fairly easy claims process.
The old doom and gloom on the horizon marketing won’t work with them anymore.
They want hopeful messages, promises of efficiency, and social awareness by the company. Brand building is a great way to align with the new buyer because they want to associate with an image more than a company. So if an insurance provider comes across as stuffy and old, they are not going to attract younger customers.
However, there’s also something known as being too socially aware. No one in marketing is going to forget Pepsi’s marketing fails when it sent Kendall Jenner out to broker peace at a protest armed with nothing but cans of soda.
How do you hit the perfect balance?
By keeping things fun but relevant. BuyAnyInsurance.com is a great example of this. They have these great videos that keep it under the one minute mark.
The video is clean, and simple, with upbeat music to get you in the right mood to listen. The dancing figures look like ordinary people and their joy is infectious. Displayed beside their elated dance moves are the factors that make the insurance comparison platform different from its competitions — cheapest quotes in the UAE, and a guarantee of the best experience.
As a concept, it isn’t revolutionary but it’s the simplicity that does the trick. Their entire Instagram page employs bright colours on white giving it an open and honest impression. Their symbol, an umbrella over a smile, is a cool and calming blue. Smiling faces, witty videos of astronauts in space and deals to help you switch to better policies makes their social media presence delightful but also gets their message across to the right kind of audience.
BuyAnyInsurance.com is less than a year old but it has made tremendous strides in making a place for itself in the insurance market in the UAE. Their unique approach is firmly rooted in modern tools of technology puts them a cut above the competition. They don’t seem like an old hat trying on new looks, they easily come across as one of the guys who understand what the average thirty-something is going through and has tools to help.
That kind of branding can do wonders for a new kid on the block like BuyAnyInsurance.com. Their customer base is growing, and the testimonials speak for themselves. They are fun, engaging, and appear honest, which is hard to get in this age of fake accounts, and paid reviews. BuyAnyInsurance.com does what a lot of insurance comparison websites and provider fail to do — they make insurance cool.
What Does the Future Hold for Insurance Marketing?
The future is very different from what was taught a decade ago. The 4P’s will take a backseat while the 4E’s take centre stage. The 4E’s include Engagement, Experience, Exclusivity and Emotion. Companies need no longer ask themselves “what/how to sell” but “why” they sell a product or service in the first place.
Future marketing campaigns are going to have to concentrate on what makes their insurance company or website exclusive, how it can engage with the customer, to create positive emotion and experience.
Marketing will also have to be more connected. As our dependence on technology grows a human connection is unique. It is valued beyond the generic email or text message.
Let’s run with our previous example of BuyAnyInsurance.com. Intensely proud of their customer care team they promote the exclusive service of hands-on support to their customers through a semi-automated chatbot. Customers are assured that their queries are answered by real live people and not an algorithm crushing numbers behind the scene. They believe that insurance can be tricky to understand and customers won’t trust a computer to understand their emotions at a time of distress. A real human connection means a lot then. A customer feels heard and validated through this one simple act of having someone available when they need them.
Building trust will also be an important part of future marketing. Young consumers don’t trust brands or big corporations. It’s an uphill battle convincing them but it’s not an impossible one. The advantage the insurance industry has is that their product is a need. Insurance policies will be bought. But will they buy from you?
To create that trust and loyalty insurance companies will have to come up with marketing strategies that revolve around real human stories to show they empathize and are in the business because they care. Scare tactics of yesteryears won’t work on the generation of today.
The great news is that though the marketing landscape for the insurance industry is changing it isn’t going too far off the deep end. The people are the same, they require a change in the story they’re told. Many insurance companies and comparison sites have already read the writing on the wall and changed their strategies accordingly. Others will follow soon. But will it make insurance cool?
We believe it already is.
