MARKETING
GROW YOUR AGENCY & IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING BY TRACKING KEY METRICS
By : Chuck Blondino
Independent agents should be winning in the personal lines marketplace , even dominating . Is there any other industry where companies selling just one option have a majority of the market share over other companies in that industry selling multiple options of the same product ? Think of cars , ice cream , or appliances . The company selling multiple brands consistently beats companies selling just one option . And yet , in the world of personal lines insurance , where independent agencies have numerous insurance carriers to sell and choose from , independent agents have around 31 % of the personal lines market share . ( A . M . Best 2018 data ) It ’ s been this way for over ten years , with almost no movement . In the business lines marketplace , independent agents hold 76 % market share , which hasn ’ t changed much for ten years . ( A . M . Best 2018 data )
HIGH GROWTH AGENCIES TRACK METRICS
While most agencies change little in size of their books of business , there are high growth agencies consistently increasing their total personal lines books by 13 to 20 % and their business lines books by 19 to 30 %. ( Safeco Personal Insurance 2019 Annual Growth Survey and Liberty Mutual Business Insurance 2019 Annual Growth Survey ) Comparing these agencies ’ commonalities , it ’ s clear that they stand out in their sales methods , emotional connections with their communities , and support . One thing was truly unique . These agencies tracked their marketing efforts and knew what was effective and what was not .
Marketing an independent agency is different from marketing an insurance company . Large insurance companies need to drive greater name recognition . But like all small businesses , insurance agencies need to be more efficient , more cost-effective . Simply put , your marketing efforts should be the result of knowing where your new business comes from and how much revenue you make from the new business , so you can focus on how to drive in more and keep more .
KEY METRICS FOR GROWTH
To gain back some of that market share , independent agents will need to get more effective with their marketing . Let ’ s look at what the high growth agencies specifically track to help achieve their high growth numbers . These tracking methods can help you grow too . Many of these growth agencies tracked 14 common items . They fall into four categories : new business , average revenue per client , retention , and digital marketing effectiveness . Here ’ s a look into each of them , along with a few key target examples so you can see how you compare . As you read through this , put a mental check mark by all you ’ re currently tracking in your agency .
NEW BUSINESS
Item 1 : Total new business items This is fairly easily tracked through agency management systems . Most can say how many new policies were written . But it gets tougher from here .
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