Are insurers marketing themselves effectively?

Rushabh Gandhi 

I came across this hilarious quote that read, ‘Marketing is really just flirting’. While I first assumed the two had nothing in common, the more I thought about it, the more sense it started making.

When we flirt, we’re charming and use our best lines to attract the person we like. In turn, if the person appreciates our advances, they smile, flirt right back and soon enough you’ve got their number. Isn’t this analogy true of your company too? You market your product or service in the most striking way, hoping your customer finds you attractive. If they do, you (the sales team) and the customer get to take your association to the next level which could well culminate in to a long-term commitment (brand loyalty).

But the problem with insurance marketing...

Everyone is using the same pick-up lines (read "brand positioning") to attract the customer and most of it plays on fear. Common messaging themes continually relied upon by all the players in this field include the fear of death, the fear of giving up your dreams and the fear of a bleak future without insurance. In such a marketplace, ‘fitting in’ spells failure and ‘not standing out’ is the same as being invisible.

The good news

The insurance industry has already cracked the best ways to market to the ‘unconnected’ generation - the ones without their phones and laptops. These are audiences who have made their choices based on print ads, referrals from trusted peers, their trusted banking agents along with an inherent understanding of how important it is to be insured.

The not-so-good news

There is still a gap in reaching out effectively to the always ‘connected’ generation or the millennials who are now a big audience.

They are the ones who grew up on their computers and are inseparable from their mobile phones. From their perspective, anything to do with an 'agent' maybe regarded as a complete waste of time because the agent hardly talks a language the millennial understands. How do you reach out to this segment given that they will constitute 64 percent of our country’s population in the working age group of 20-35, making India the youngest nation by 2021? * How do you stand out for this audience?

Addressing the millennial conundrum

The answer is easy – go where they are and talk in a language they relate to. However, no one said the implementation would be easy.

Seth Godin, known author and marketer, puts it eloquently when he says, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell”.

Navigate the digital space to tell your stories

While complicated, only a few brands in the insurance space have been successful in navigating the digital sphere wherein reside these millennials. Using digital platforms is now of utmost importance even for insurance players, with an added challenge of making a "boring", "confusing" product, appealing. Let’s face it - insurance is not a high-interest area for someone aged 18 to 35. They want to spend as little time as possible thinking about it.

The great news though is that there is a fantastic opportunity for insurance brands to make an impact in a space that desperately needs creativity and innovation. When you are battling for share of mind – the goal is to create engagement and the digital space allows you to do it vividly.

(Director- Sales & Marketing, IndiaFirst Life Insurance)

*Source: LiveMint article dated December 2015