Email campaigns are still one of the best marketing tools available for insurance agencies and brokerages. Data shows email marketing continues to be one of the most effective marketing channels. The automation of email marketing for insurance makes this communication medium even more powerful.
When you adopt insurance email marketing automation, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to engage prospects and customers and fast track your growth. From automated emails that keep relationships strong to email campaigns that support your sales funnel, email marketing is a powerful tool for growing your business.
What is Email Marketing Automation?
Automated email marketing lets you send the right message at the right time based on a schedule or triggers you define. This means email campaigns will run more smoothly and get your message in front of the right audience.
There are two primary types of campaigns where email marketing automation tools excel:
- Drip Emails
Automated drip-feed emails follow a sequence of messages sent on a predefined schedule. For example, you can send an introductory email with a link to a white paper on your agency website. A week later, you can send another automatic email providing a CTA to sign up for your newsletter. The key is to keep the lines of communication open and provide increasing value. - Trigger Emails
Trigger emails are personalized based on the individual target customer’s behavior. If a prospect doesn’t complete a newsletter sign-up form, for example, an automated email system sends a reminder. Trigger email campaigns are one of the best opportunities to automate, engage, and grow with automation.
The Benefits of Automation in Email Marketing
Using insurance marketing automation and email marketing frees you and your staff to focus on prospects and customers. Email marketing automation streamlines your workflow, keeps your prospects engaged, strengthens relationships, and much more.
- Improved Communication
From keeping customers in the loop to nurturing leads, the automation of email marketing delivers relevant communication. For example, your prospects will know what their next step should be and your customers will see you understand their needs. - Deeper Personalization
Insurance prospects and customers may resent generic emails. They want relevant information that addresses their circumstances and needs. Personalized emails sent to targeted segments grab their attention and create a stronger connection. - Better Data
Automated insurance email marketing systems analyze metrics like open rates, response rates, and click-throughs. This detailed data reveals what works, why it works, and even when. Better data helps you create better marketing strategies for reaching your ideal clients. - Faster Marketing, Response Times, and More
Sending emails automatically is obviously faster than creating and sending emails individually. Email automation also lets you announce agency news, offer industry insights, and try out new campaigns quickly and easily.
Trovato Associates transformed how they operate their business through marketing automation. Check out this case study to see how this insurance agency became more efficient, converted more leads, and created a superior client experience.
- Account-Related Messages
Account-related emails should address a customer’s needs above all else. These emails notify customers of upcoming renewals and other information regarding their insurance coverage. Your customers will appreciate how you have their back — which increases loyalty, retention, and referrals. - Account-Rounding Emails
Account-rounding efforts don’t have to be salesy. As a reliable resource for protecting the things and people important to them, you shouldn’t be afraid to use automated emails to close gaps in coverage. Closing those gaps is a win/win — your agency increases the customer lifetime value and your customer gets more value with greater protection. - Congratulatory Messages
Birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones in your customers’ lives are the perfect opportunities to reach out. From an automated birthday email to a one-off message recognizing a customer’s professional achievements, email can help relationships flourish. - Lead-Nurturing Messages
Nurturing new leads with targeted messaging keeps them headed in the right direction. If you want to keep your marketing funnel flowing, use multiple touches. Research shows the average prospect needs 10 marketing touches from the time they first engage with your company until they become a customer. - Welcome Emails
When you integrate email marketing automation, your agency’s welcome emails don’t have to be a generic, uninspiring communication. Whether you create your own or use pre-written content, welcome emails should be assuring, engaging, and original. That means using images, video, and other unique content and NEVER using a “do not reply” receipt!
Many welcome emails use the “do not reply” return address and they can come across as an off-hand, automated reply that says, “thanks, but we don’t value you enough to welcome you properly.” Always welcome newsletter subscribers and new customers with open arms by crafting welcome emails that are personalized and sincere. - Referral Campaigns
Did you know that about 8 out of 10 of your customers would send you a referral? We say would because less than a third do it. So where’s the disconnect? The answer is often, “nobody asked.” Imagine how much revenue your agency misses because it doesn’t have a referral strategy. Now that you know, there’s no reason to not use email marketing automation to get your agency growing with referrals. - NPS® Campaigns
NPS stands for Net Promoter Score. It’s a customer satisfaction benchmark that measures how likely your customers are to recommend your business to a friend. It measures customer loyalty, identifies opportunities for improvement, fuels referral marketing, and, most importantly, it gives you a chance to make amends with unhappy customers.
When you create an NPS® automated email campaign, the feedback and insights you gain will be invaluable to your agency or brokerage. The data will help you manage your reputation, keep more customers, and give your brand a consistent feed of online reviews.
All Lines Insurance put marketing automation to work in their agency and reported a 33% increase in close rates, a 14% increase in client growth, and an increase in policies per client from 1.65 to 1.86. See how they use automated marketing to build relationships that lead to the consistent growth in this case study.
If you’re ready to take advantage of all the benefits of automation in email marketing, let Agency Revolution help you get started. With Fuse™, our intelligent automated marketing platform, you can take your insurance marketing to another level.