The future belongs to those who prepare. And this future appears to be a whopper. It's safe to say that "the world is changing faster than it ever has, and that the insurance agent today must move at least as fast as the world." If they don't, the gap between agent and consumer will get bigger and bigger.
In this entry, I'd like to share my Top 11 Predictions For Agents For 2012. LImited space restricts me to a "here it is, take it or leave it" approach. In other forums - my All Beef Marketing Letter, for example - I have the space to explain, expound and exhort. But, for now, my view of our shared future. Comments, please.
1. The Whole Damn Business Model Is Vulnerable. Edges Will Fray.
Okay, you deserve more than a two sentence explanation. I'm currently working on A Love Letter To Insurance Agents & The Carriers They Represent. You'll get that in a couple of weeks or so. For now, suffice it to say that ALL mature industries are vulnerable. Most have been trampled, transformed or outright trashed in the last decade. (Think: music, publishing, journalism, photography, home entertainment, porn, travel, etc., etc.) We are not immune.
2. Commercial Hard Market...Not Your Father's Hard Market.
Listen to my excellent interview with MarketScout CEO Richard Scout. Hard markets usually spike up quickly. Not this one. 1% in November. 1% in December. I'm NOT crazy enough to predict the next few months or the length and intensity of this market. BUT, whatever happens, remember that if you're taking premium increases to your clients, you're doing it in the longest Misery Economy they've ever known. You MUST create value beyond price. And obsessing about how to DELIGHT your clients and marketplace.
3. Digital Divide: Bigger and Bigger.
An highly placed insurance company executive said to me, "Michael, I agree that the consumer is digital. I just don't believe the agent is ready to be digital." Ouch. Please, industry: if the consumer is digital, THEY lead the way. How far behind will we let this industry get before we "wish we woulda?" Do we need MORE than 40 million online quote requests, a billion Facebook users, 200 million Twitter users to prove it to us? Didn't they put aging Eskimos on a iceberg and let them float away? Bye, consumers. Hello, cold, cold winter.
4. Mobile Search Changes Everything.
Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt: "50% of all searches in 2012 will be mobile." If YOUR Digital Marketing System does NOT have a smart phone Mobile Optimized Website, say bye-bye to all those consumers who are searching for you on their smart phone. They will NOT "pinch and zoom" your site on a 2.5 inch screen. This is a DIFFERENT technology that requires DIFFERENT programming. It's not a "small PC." The consumer has spoken. Again.
To be continued...more in the next few days.
Comments?
Michael