A New Approach to Marketing

When the biography of a businessperson becomes a BizBio, when brains and Braun combine to create a pointillist portrait whose style evokes the ink drawings popularized by the Wall Street Journal, that is when nameplates cease to be vanity plates. That is when insurers become household names. Consider, then, the power of a BizBio: an image alongside a person’s name. Consider, for example, the power of the name and image of the American Express charge card. Consider the card’s expression of a charge to keep, of a gladiator who leads the charge on behalf of honor, integrity, strength and security. Consider the value of a BizBio for an insurance executive. See also: Integrity First: Digital Marketing Manifesto   Think of the invaluable quality of values, of knowing that people have a keepsake that celebrates the best leaders in a variety of industries, including technology, transportation and trade; and insurance, too. To be among the likes of Steve Jobs and Howard Schultz, to be in the company of men and women whose influence is historic, to be a person whose legacy influences popular culture and popularizes insurance, to be that person is a goal all insurers should strive to achieve. A BizBio confirms what many executives crave but few manage to convey: credibility. The credibility of a leader whose word elicits trust. The credibility of a leader whose work speaks for itself. The credibility of a leader whose legacy speaks to his life’s work. A BizBio encapsulates these points. It proves the point that excellence matters, that an executive sets an example for workers to equal and critics to extol. The example insurers need to make is one of connection: to connect with policyholders on a personal level. The connection between the contents of a BizBio and the content of a leader’s character: That connection depends on transforming insurance from an abstract concept to an accessible idea; that transformation depends on an insurer’s talent for translation, the felicity by which he turns numbers into words. Put another way, an insurer who works to ensure people understand him is an insurer who develops an understanding with his clients. He connects with people by listening to them. He listens to their concerns. He tries to address their concerns, even if he cannot assuage all their concerns. He communicates clearly—and often. See also: Marketing: A Plethora of Plagiarized Copy   An insurer who connects with policyholders is a leader. Whether he has a BizBio is less important than what he learns by reading a BizBio. If what he reads makes him a better leader—and a better listener—the benefits will accrue to his company, his clients and his industry. He will, in the end, have what it takes to have his own BizBio.