1. D
oes your agency’s brand
resonate with prospects
and clients? Probably not,
according to new research.
It turns out many consumers
feel disconnected with insurance
brands: This year’s Harris Poll
EquiTrend® study reports that
overall, the insurance industry’s
brand equity lags behind others
in the broader financial services
category.
Why? Todd William, CEO of
Reputation Rhino, points out that
insurance messaging doesn’t tend
to put people at ease.“There is an
inherent difficulty of marketing
products based on the possibility
of accident or death,”he says.
Want to fight the insurance
industry’s negative reputation—
and help foster more connection
between consumers and your
agency’s brand? Keep these dos
and don’ts in mind:
Do make it familiar. Unlike
other financial services industries,
insurance doesn’t call for a con-
sumer’s attention on a daily basis.
“Insurance is so relevant, and
on an abstract basis, people know
that. But they’re not going up to
ATMs or applying for mortgages
and receiving statements all the
time,”points out Joan Sinopoli,
vice president of brand solutions
at Neilsen, which owns The Harris
Poll.“There’s a variety of actions
with other financial entities that
you don’t have with insurance
brands.”
To keep insurance front and
center, The Starr Group in Green-
field, Wisconsin sends personal
lines clients a quarterly newsletter
and interacts with new business
even more frequently in order to
ensure they have all the contact
information they need.
Do make it strategic. Social
media is a no-brainer when it
comes to branding and engage-
ment, but Cheryl Michalek, mar-
keting and social media specialist
at The Starr Group, recommends
using each platform for a different
purpose.
“We’ve beefed up our social
media presence by organizing our
content and being consistent with
posts,”Michalek explains.“Face-
book is more of a culture, Twitter
is a headline that drives prospects
and customers to our website, and
LinkedIn is for networking and
recruiting.”
The Dos
and Don’ts
of Agency
Branding
by Jordan Reabold
continued

2. Customer service staff at The
Starr Group also undergoes
continuous training—but keeps
it interesting.“Right now, we’re all
reading a book about customer
service written by an insurance
guru,”says Maureen Arndt, vice
president of operations at The
Starr Group.“At the end of all the
chapters, we do a lunch and learn
where employees each identify
what was good from that learn-
ing.”
Another nontraditional ap-
proach: Start from the inside out.
Michalek explains,“The Starr
Group brand begins internally.
Management asked,‘Who do we
want to be?’and defined the qual-
ities the agency should possess.
When the brand is reflected in
internal marketing, the employees
come to believe in the agency and
what it stands for.”
Don’t alienate groups of
customers. The Harris Poll found
that women are more likely to
struggle to feel a connection with
auto and homeowners insurance
brands compared to men—62%
of women don’t feel as though
auto insurance brands fit them,
and 60% of women feel similarly
about homeowners insurance.
To create a brand that’s gen-
der-inclusive, Sinopoli recom-
mends marketing to a family unit,
rather than an individual.“When
you’re talking to a family, make
sure you’ve got both partners
there. Your messaging should also
feature women making insurance
decisions or being a partner in
those decisions.”
For example, The Starr Group
makes a point to communicate
with all members of a household.
“When new business is written
with the organization, they get a
welcome letter from the president
sent to their house,”Arndt ex-
plains. And all customers receive
the same attention when they
contact the agency:“Whether a
man or a woman, we’re never go-
ing to make anyone feel less than,”
she adds.
Don’t focus solely on insur-
ance. “The most successful insur-
ance sales professionals perform
ongoing policy audits and are
able to offer integrated financial
services under one roof, so other
investments are managed along
with insurance,”William points
out.
“Being consultative, looking at
the brands you represent and put-
ting options on the table engages
customers and presents insurance
in a different light,”Sinopoli adds.
“It gives the customer a personal
stake in what they choose.”
For independent agencies,
creating a brand that’s distinct
from the brands of the carriers it
represents can be challenging.
The solution?“Agencies have to
think of themselves as the master
brand,”Sinopoli explains.“They
can borrow some equity from the
brands they represent because
they’re nationally known, they
have strong equity and they’ve
been around for a long time.”
William agrees.“We are judged,
at least in part, by the company
we keep. Independent agencies
that partner with reputable,
highly rated and internationally
recognized insurance brands help
establish client trust.”
Do get involved in the com-
munity. Because you’re a local
business, you can foster a positive
reputation by sponsoring events
in your target market in order to
differentiate from both compet-
itors and the handful of national
brands you represent, William
suggests.
Throughout its 60 years of busi-
ness, The Starr Group has support-
ed the Special Olympics, Make-
A-Wish®, and a number of local
charities and fundraisers. And the
agency’s iconic stone lions, Lionel
and Lionardo, make it a staple in
the community.
“People take pictures of the
lions, which is a huge part of our
community brand,”Arndt says.
“On holidays, we dress them up.
People send us cards and emails,
and a lot of people post about
them on social media to tell us
they brightened their day on the
way to work.”
Jordan Reabold is IA assistant
editor.