KEY TAKEAWAYS:
--Digital performance marketing involves a partnership with an individual, a company or a network that delivers high-quality leads to insurance agents on a commission basis. More cost-effective options are becoming more directly accessible to agents in 2024.
--In looking for a partner, agents should focus on: getting inbound leads, having exclusivity on the leads, receiving multiple lead types, having flexibility about the pacing of the leads and, of course, working within a budget.
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If you aren't consistently finding and going after qualified leads, your agency’s sales will suffer, but finding good leads in the insurance space is much more easily said than done. While you may always try to have your finger on the pulse when it comes to finding leads, several factors are working against you that remain out of your control.
With big corporate brands gatekeeping their leads from captive agents, a lack of clarity around the sources of purchased leads and questions about whether leads are being resold to other agents, generating worthwhile leads can (at best) feel like a time-consuming pain in the neck and (at worst) be an almost unconquerable roadblock.
Fortunately, digital performance marketing is becoming a more accessible, more reliable way for agents to find high-quality leads and grow new business.
What is digital performance marketing?
Digital performance marketing involves a partnership with an individual, a company or a network that delivers high-quality leads to insurance agents on a commission basis. Because these partners only get paid when they offer good leads, this practice is extremely low risk for agents.
Traditionally, the most accessible way for agents to buy leads would be to purchase the contact information of a potentially interested consumer with little to no information about where the lead came from, its exclusivity or the likelihood that the lead would convert into a new policy. While there are still merits to this practice (if you have the right partner), it is far from perfect, and it’s no wonder agents have become frustrated.
This new wave of digital performance marketing is different because agent and partner co-exist in a symbiotic relationship. They both benefit from the success of the other.
See also: Digital Underwriting Now a No-Brainer
Pay-per-click lead generation
While generating leads with a pay-per-click strategy is far from new (think advertising on search engines such as Google and Bing), more cost-effective options for pay-per-click are becoming more directly accessible to agents in 2024. This kind of lead generation happens when an agent works with a partner to display an advertisement or recommendation on a website with a relevant audience – like an insurance comparison site or financial news outlet – and pays each time a consumer clicks on the ad and visits the agent’s website.
If a pay-per-click campaign is thoughtfully crafted, it can offer agents several benefits, including cost control, an increased likelihood of reaching their target audience and relatively quick results.
Additionally, pay-per-click lead generation offers agents the ability to measure and track the overall performance of their advertisements. This guarantees that they are spending their money the right way.
Pay-per-call lead generation
Pay-per-call lead generation offers many of the same benefits as pay-per click. With a pay-per-call strategy, an agent receives in-bound phone calls from prospective customers and only pays their partner if the call lasts for a predetermined amount of time.
This type of lead generation has the potential to have a higher conversion rate because, oftentimes, leads who make a phone call are further along in the insurance shopping process and will be looking for an agent more seriously than those who opt to click on an advertisement.
This type of generation allows for the agent to engage directly with the potential customer and begin to foster a relationship.
See also: An Insurance Agent's Guide to SEO Marketing
How to effectively implement a performance marketing strategy
One of the main benefits of performance marketing is that agents can run the campaign directly, with little management necessary. After finding the right partner and finalizing the strategy, they will have access to a consistent stream of interested leads that they can trust and control.
When it comes to finding the right partner, there are several important things to look for:
1. Inbound leads
First and foremost, it is important to partner with an organization or individual who can offer inbound leads. These are the most effective leads because the consumer has opted in, called themselves or requested more information, so they are already warmed up when they get to the agent.
2. Exclusive leads
Finding a partner that does not sell the same lead to multiple different agents increases the chances of that lead converting because the agent is not in direct competition with anybody else.
3. Multiple lead types
Agents should also look for a partnership that offers them multiple lead types. These include clicks, calls and lead forms. This allows for a more encompassing overview of the marketing portfolio and gets agents' offer in front of more consumers, increasing the likelihood of a conversion. Additionally, having access to multiple forms of lead generation will offer insights into the best-performing strategy for an agency. With this information, you can easily determine where the best place to spend your money is.
4. Flexibility
Next, finding a partner that offers flexibility of hours and volume of leads is essential. If an agent is running a pay-per-call campaign, but the partner is having too many calls come in during one period, the agent will not be able to properly invest in each lead, and there will likely not be a great conversion rate. Being able to customize the hours, pacing and geographies a performance marketing campaign is targeting will ensure that an agent can stay on top of all their inbound leads.
5. Budget
Finally, it is important to keep your budget and pricing limitations top of mind. The right partner will offer you competitive pricing that fits within your budget while providing high-quality and qualified leads.
Impact on ROI
Through the use of digital performance marketing, agents can control their own lead flow as well as the type of leads they are receiving. At Rate Retriever, we have seen this result in a higher ROI and the continued growth of insurance agencies.
Lead generation will always be a necessary component of being an insurance agent, and with a good partnership and a performance marketing plan that is customized for the business, agents can succeed.
