There’s no shortage of things to think about in Q4—finishing the year strong, holiday plans, how weather will impact you (and your clients)—the list goes on! But it’s also a great time to look at your marketing strategy and to plan for next year. With a little bit of thought now, 2024 can be your most effective marketing year yet.
Here are some things to consider as you build your 2024 marketing plan:
We’re still in a hard market.
Agents and their clients continue to feel the impact of the hard market, and that’s likely to continue throughout 2024. A hard market requires more effort at every stage of the relationship with both clients and carriers. Marketing can become an afterthought when so much of your day is spent helping your clients with policies that are suddenly more expensive or even need to be remarketed.
It may seem counterintuitive, but down times are key times to invest in marketing, and clear, targeted marketing messages can help you combat the effects of the hard market. Communicating effectively with your existing clients will help you retain business, even as the market continues to challenge agents. A client engagement tool that integrates with and uses data from your agency manaagement system, including Vertafore’s AMS360 or QQCatalyst, like Agency Revolution’s Fuse, can help you send timely and personalized messages that will strengthen your client relationships and keep you top of mind with prospects.
Consumers want a connection.
As personalization increases across nearly every industry, consumers expect that they’ll receive information relevant to their specific needs. They also want to feel like the businesses with which they work and from which they purchase share their values.
You can take advantage of these sentiments in your marketing.
Showcase your commitment to your community across multiple channels—even consider some local sponsorships or ads! Put content on your website that you know is relevant to your clients and aligns with their concerns. Continue to utilize all the data available to you to get the right messages to the right people.
Your clients work with an independent agent because they know the value of human connection, and they value your expertise and guidance. That’s always a great message to share.
You don’t have to do everything.
Think about where your clients and future clients are spending time online and in person, and look to market there. You don’t have to spend time creating TikTok content; but it’s probably worthwhile to make sure you have a really great website that ranks well on Google and collects leads easily, such as Forge websites through Agency Revolution.
Ensure your Google My Business page is up to date, and consider running digital ads to drive traffic. Have a presence on the social channels your clients are using (likely Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn). Lean on the basics, like email and even direct mail, both of which can be launched out of Fuse and guided by client data in your agency management system, including Vertafore’s AMS360 and QQCatalyst.
Technology can help.
There are multiple tools out there to help you make the most of your marketing efforts. Many of them are already at your fingertips, including those that are native in LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, and other channels you’re using. You can also make use of lots of free AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to help you write emails or create content for your website. Canva has lots of templates and even AI capabilities to help non-designers create great-looking graphics.
These tools still require you to take on the marketing planning and execution, even though they help with content. Now is a great time to look at what additional marketing technology you can add to help you with actually managing your campaigns. This is where a product like Agency Revolution’s Fuse client engagement fits. When Fuse automates campaigns based on the data in your AMS, including Vertafore’s AMS360 or QQCatalyst, you know they’re going to the right people at the right time, and the campaigns only need as much active management as you want to give. A recent study completed by Hubspot found that 46% of marketers who believe they’re being effective also use some kind of marketing automation—trust those experts.
Prepare your 2024 marketing strategy now.
You don’t have to be a marketing professional to create effective marketing for your agency. A little bit of time and thought—and the right tools all working together—can help you go far. Keep these tips in mind as you plan for 2024 and throughout the year, and get the most out of your 2024 marketing efforts.
Are you interested in learning more or finding out how Agency Revolution’s products might be a good fit for your agency? Contact us today.
