Automating Your Marketing & Branding

by InsurTech Award
Article 2 in a 6-part series

Marketing Automation is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Marketing Automation?

Generate qualified leads, craft personalized buying journeys, and interact with contacts from top to bottom of the funnel with powerful marketing tools that allow your team to work smarter not harder.

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

Marketing is critical to feeding your sales team and keeping loyal clients in the fold. But that means connecting with prospects and clients where they live— increasingly, online.

Marketing in the Digital Age

Online is where the action is—and if you’re not engaging there, your competition is.
If you are doing some digital marketing already, that’s great. Now think about what you could do even better—or finally start doing—with these labor-saving tools.

Marketing Automation Tools

Here are some of the major tasks and functions you can automate. We’ve included representative solutions vendors as well. These are just examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another.

Email Automation

Email is a versatile way to stay engaged with prospects and clients alike. But it requires time and skills you may not have on staff. Today, managing email campaigns has never been easier or more affordable, with software from  HubSpot, MailChimp and Marketo, to name a few.

Email automation tools enable you to:
  • Customize templates to your brand and target campaigns by audience segment or their actions
  • Schedule and deploy your campaign during prime time and track essential metrics and KPIs
  • Split test different elements to continue improving your campaign outcomes

Social Media Presence

Yes! Businesses do need to be on social media. People expect to find you there. Each site has its own niche, but it’s important to have a presence on all of them:

  • LinkedIn is a professional (business) networking site
  • Twitter centers around real-time global conversations and timely trends
  • Facebook is a multifaceted social networking site with the emphasis on “social”
  • Instagram is a popular photo and video sharing site owned by Facebook
  • Pinterest is a photo sharing site dedicated to visual inspiration
Social Media Management

Your social media visibility is only as good as your last post. Luckily, Social Media Management (SMM) tools do the heavy lifting for you. SMM software from  Sprout Social, HubSpot, Hootsuite and the like allow you to:

  • Schedule social posts when the right people will see them
  • Save valuable time by posting for you across all the platforms
  • See every interaction with your mentions
  • Connect with prospects and clients to grow your brand

Digital Advertising

Digital, or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising complements your other online marketing (especially social). You can display brief advertisements, service offerings, video content and more on Google and social media platforms and only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Management software and platforms such as AdHawk, Google Ads, and,AdRoll can:

  • Manage your digital advertising across all platforms
  • Aggregate your data into one dashboard for real-time updates
  • Suggest optimization tips based on viewer response

Thinking Ahead

If this seems like a lot to absorb, you can phase in these Marketing Automation Technologies at your own pace.
Email Marketing,  Social Media Presence, Social Media Management, and  Digital Advertising tools are designed to turbocharge your marketing. With their powerful analytics, you’ll see instantly how each channel is working for your agency.

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before). Judges even offer tips on specific ways to leverage automation for:

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

Automating Your Sales Process

by InsurTech Award
Article 1 in a 6-part series

Sales automation is one of six primary categories we recommend independent insurance agencies invest in to build out their InsurTech strategy in 2020.

What Is Sales Automation?

Boost your sales by managing and utilizing relevant information on prospects, leads, and clients. Centralize information and streamline your workflow to increase sales efficiency and productivity.

Why It’s Important to Use These Tools

Sales are about contacts, numbers, and nurturing. Now, more than ever, technology provides you with actionable intelligence about your prospects and clients so you can tailor your engagement, convert more business, and keep happy policyholders coming back for new coverage, as well as renewals.

The Always Essential Role of Sales

There will always be market dips and other times when you’ll need to ramp up quickly or even rebuild your business. Sales automation tools accelerate the sales process, so you can do more in less time.

As you prepare for the US economy to reopen, these tools can make a big difference right now. Not only can you laser focus your prospecting, you can spot opportunities within your own data, and take your client nurturing to new heights.

Sales Automation Solutions To Consider Implementing

Here are some of the functions you can automate. We’ve included representative solutions vendors as well. These are just examples. Our list is not intended to be exhaustive of all the options out there, nor does ePayPolicy endorse or prefer one vendor over another.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM), also known as Sales Force Automation (SFA), captures every prospect/client interaction in a live record. This includes everything from emails and calls to quotes and renewal notices. Major platforms like Salesforce, Pipedrive and HubSpot let you:

  • Replace multiple tools (or manual tasks) with a convenient, one-stop solution
  • See where to focus efforts and receive alerts when action is needed
  • Sell smarter, close faster, and grow your agency
Meeting Software

You might think of meeting software as a digital “time management assistant” that coordinates your schedule, organizes meetings, and keeps your team on track, wherever they’re working today. Apps (some free!) like Calendly, GoToMeeting and Google Calendar:

  • Alert you about upcoming tasks and appointments
  • Schedule team meetings without the back-and-forth emails
  • Make it easy to attend video meetings remotely via any mobile device (or computer)
Tracking & Analytics

Business Intelligence (BI) solutions let you manage and support business data with analytics, easy-to-understand visuals, and reporting. BI software providers include Tableau, Sisense, Domo, and many more. For insurance agencies, advantages include:

  • Securely connect, combine and manipulate data from multiple sources
  • See key data in real-time across agency functions (sales, marketing, customer support, etc.) to track and plan 
  • Get trusted insights to make decisions faster and more confidently

Thinking Ahead

Who wouldn’t want easy-to-use tools that help you focus, organize, track, and ultimately, boost your sales? With powerful automation technology like CRM Solutions, Meeting Software and Tracking & Analytics (BI), your sales team becomes super productive—and nothing falls through the cracks. 

Where Does Your Agency Stand?

Find out! The InsurTech Award presented by ePayPolicy is now open for entries. Top scorers will get cash and other awesome prizes. All entrants receive their InsurTech adoption score, along with valuable feedback. Enter today and find out how your agency stacks up against others (and how you’ve improved over time, if you’ve entered before). Judges even offer tips on specific ways to leverage automation for:

  1. Sales
    2. Marketing
    3. Team Collaboration
    4. Client Experience
    5. Customer Support
    6. Agency Management Systems

 

Our 6-part series covers all of these InsurTech solution categories. We invite you to explore them all.

How Much Are Paper Checks Costing Your Agency?

by Business Strategy

In your office, do you send coworkers letters instead of emails? Do you hand-write invitations to meetings and deliver them to everyone’s desk? Do you post physical to-do lists on everyone’s office door? Then why would someone hand-write and mail paper checks?

How Much Are Checks Costing Your Insurance Agency? 
In the digital age, people avoid paper materials due to the inefficiencies. Physical transactions waste time and money, create the possibility for confusion, and are an unnecessary use of resources. Now, 80% of businesses are seeking ways to convert paper checks into digital payments. 

So, are paper checks outdated? Yes. In fact, it’s possible for banks to consider them “stale” after only a few months. The Federal Reserve Study estimated 28 billion checks were processed in 2009 with a decline of 1.2 billion every year since. At this rate, they estimate paper checks will become extinct by 2026. 

While the need for paper checks is shrinking, the cost is not. In a study conducted by the Aberdeen Group, $7.78 was the average cost of a paper check, while Bank of America reports a cost of $4 – $20 factoring in mailing and processing. Bottomline showed processing a check costs a business ten times more than an ACH transfer, and receiving a check costs five times more than an ACH payment. That’s a lot of money being spent on receiving money. 

Let’s Talk About The Customer Experience
Customers crave flexibility, convenience, and speed. Paper checks cost them all three. They don’t want to reach for a checkbook, pen, envelope and stamp before running to the mailbox just to make a payment. The same Federal Reserve Study states paper check usage has decreased by 7.2%, and debit and credit card payments have increased by 8.9%.

We live in a world where there are online services for everything. Customers want and need, to be able to pay for their insurance from anywhere at any time. Slow payment systems like the paper check increase wait times and add the layer for human error to the process.

The Security Risks That Come with Paper Checks 
Paper checks increase the customers risk for fraud and identity theft. In its 2015 Deposit Account Fraud Survey, the American Bankers Association says that check fraud accounted for 32 percent of the industry’s $1.91 billion in losses in 2014. The sheer number of times a check must be passed from hand to hand while it is being processed means there is less and less security available. This also implies an increased risk for your agency to even receive the payments. 

The mail itself offers little security, and someone could easily steal the bank account and routing numbers for an account from a physical check. Your customers trust you with their largest assets and the safety of their banking information. Digital processing creates a secure environment to receive payments and keep accurate records while eliminating these risks.

The Environmental Impact
A growing consumer concern over the last decade has been the environment and our negative impact on it. Customers like to know the companies they do business with are green-conscious.

Take paper receipts for example. Have you noticed a trend of customers saying no to printed receipts and receiving them electronically? People view paper checks as equally not preferable. The check creation process involves water, gas, trees, and releases greenhouse gases. Once the check is processed, it will most likely end up in a landfill, adding to more waste. Moving to a greener, digital solution will not only create positive PR but will have a powerful effect on the environment. 

Have questions on how you can move away from paper checks? Reach out and schedule a demo to learn why ePayPolicy is the simplest solution for you to collect credit card and ACH payments for your insurance agency.

Studies used for this posting include…
The 2019 Federal Reserve Payments Study
2019 AFP Electronic Payments Survey
What is Check Fraud 

The Indie Agents Guide to The Coronavirus Relief Options

by Industry News & Company Updates

New Options Available For Your Insurance Agency  

Most insurance agents and agencies could consider themselves small businesses. Thanks to the recent CARES act, signed into law by the President on Friday, March 27th, there are four new funding options available to small businesses. These are temporary but necessary programs established to support businesses affected by Coronavirus. We’ve gathered a bit of helpful information for your agency to consider. 

So, What’s the Government Doing Exactly?

Here it is in a nutshell. They are offering:
1. A Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – expanding one of their traditional loan programs and forgiving businesses for retaining employees
2. Economic Injury Disaster Loans – providing up to $10,000 advance loan if your business is facing temporary difficulties
3. SBA Express Bridge Loans – allowing businesses to get a quick $25,000 if they have a current SBA Express Lender relationship
4. Debt Relief – affording financial reprieve to small businesses


Here it is, in less of a nutshell.

Where to Start

When our friends at Broker Buddha reached out to let us know they developed a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) resource, we were excited to share it with you! Not only because it’s backed by a fellow InsurTech leader, but because this is one of the primary loans independent agencies should apply for. It benefits small businesses who have focused on keeping their employees on payroll – we love that. 
When it comes to the PPP, the 31 pages of guidelines are just the start. Our best find for an overview is on Marketplace, where they dive into some major details like who can apply, where to apply, and some basic terms of the loan. They also emphasize that you should apply ASAP since there is a funding cap.
The application can be submitted “to any SBA lender or any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating,” according to Janet Nguyen with Marketplace. But those institutions haven’t made it easy.

I’ve Got Friends in “Loan” Places

Thankfully, Broker Buddha did make it easy. They designed an entire PPP Loan Smart Form application to make the process “easier and far less time-consuming for businesses to complete.” 
Their resource makes it simple to apply for this loan, and includes instructions throughout the process – something the original PDF application did not provide. They also offer this service free to all agencies, even those not using the Broker Buddha platform.
We highly recommend your agency apply for a PPP Loan if you have prioritized keeping your team employed. Using the free access Smart Form to apply will simply make that experience better!

It's Time To Build Your Brand Persona!

by Business Strategy

Building a Brand Persona – Why Not Now?

It’s become a slow season for most businesses. This was unexpected, and probably not preferred, but there is a silver lining. During this period, you have the opportunity to sit and re-align on your company’s core values, and finally develop a persona that reflects them.

Don’t think a Brand Persona is Worth The Time? Think Again!

Smaller companies tend to skip this step in brand development, or at least never quite narrow it down. It benefits your customers to envision your company as a person or personality that is not only memorable, but exemplifies your company mission. And we all know that whatever benefits your customers, benefits your business.

A Brand Persona embodies what your company does and how you make your clients feel. Take Gordy Z for example. He’s our big green monster disrupting the way the insurance industry collects payments. He doesn’t like checks, and he likes to make himself known in big ways. For our users, he makes it clear that paper checks aren’t going to last and that we’re able to help them get noticed in big ways.

Where to Start When Designing your Brand Persona

Developing Gordy Z required many creative ideas, iterations, and input. As a young company in an industry not well-known (yet!) for allure or glamour, we wanted something that would stand out while still representing our mission and values. One concept included an astronaut, because we viewed digital payments as a new frontier to be explored. Another was the loyal “man’s best friend” since we want our clients to know they can rely on ePayPolicy.

Neither was a perfect fit. So we went back to our purpose, our original goal when we launched the company – to destroy the outdated payment methods for the insurance industry. There wasn’t anything like ePayPolicy and we were determined to be a monster of innovation. Out of this, Gordy Z was born. He now wreaks havoc on traditional ways agents collect payments.

Once we found the winning idea, we consulted with a designer to develop his look. Expanding on his personality alongside our team ensured he has the real heart of our company. Gordy is approachable, fast to react, and excited! Most importantly, he’s disrupting the norm and not dealing with paper checks when he knows there is a better solution out there.

Additional Benefits of Having a Brand Persona 

 – Social Media Buzz – Using your persona on social makes your company easy to identify, and ideally keeps them entertained as you create new and creative content.
 – Promotional Products – When we see a brand we like, we want everything we can get our hands on. Stickers, t-shirts, socks, you name it!
– Client Connection – Let’s be honest, we love a unique, engaging brand. With your persona, clients can be “in” on the fun and feel like they are part of the team.

It takes a little work but establishing a brand persona is the perfect way to bring your team together, have some fun, and create a little excitement in and around your company. Check out this article to dive further into developing your own Brand Persona

Your Time is Valuable: Maximize Growth and Boost Profits for your Independent Agency

by Business Strategy

Understanding The Opportunity Cost Across Your Agency

As an independent agent, your time can be rather divided. Between processing claims, building new business and nurturing your current clientele – there is little time to grow.. 

How are you spending your time?

When hiring support staff isn’t an option, you might have to buckle down and wear a few necessary but non-revenue-building hats. From prospecting to invoicing and everything in-between, you are down in the trenches, doing it all. 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there, and by the end of the week you have 5+ hours spent on… not growing your business. What if you could have those hours back?

Achieve Sustainable Growth

You may have considered investing in some InsurTech solutions such as a digital payment processor to speed up your receivables, but are hesitant. The upfront cost seemed too high at first, but have you crunched the numbers, determined the value of your time, and compared them apple to apples? You might find that the cost-benefits far outweigh the initial expense.
If you are still accepting paper checks, chasing payments, physically making deposits and reconciling your accounts, you are leaving money on the table. You might be saving $20 a month, but when you look at the opportunity cost to you and your team, it just doesn’t add up.

What is Your Time Worth?

Those tasks need to get done, and that’s a fact. However, assigning a specific value to your time can clearly show the ROI from a variety of InsurTech solutions.

If you streamline your workflows and automate repetitive processes—like accepting manual payments—you can allocate those hours towards more profitable activities that will grow your customer base and send value to the bottom line.

Here are examples of profitable activities you’ll have time for:
 – Build and expand your business
 – Deliver top-quality customer service
– Offer convenience and expedience
 – Gain insight and improve your company’s operations

And here are examples of the extra benefits you’ll reap:
– Reduce the time you spend on mundane tasks
–  Reduce missed payments
– Streamline and simplify accounting processes
– Eliminate data entry and accounting errors
– Automate payments and improve cash flow

Dreams Do Come True

You might be thinking that it sounds too easy, and in a way, you’re right. You’d be giving up a lot of inefficient busy work and giving yourself the luxury of time; time you can now use to improve the value of your business.

And the cost? Insignificant in comparison. Though your investment will rise a bit, the gains in revenue will more than makeup for it. 

It’s 2020. Time to grow and adapt to modern conveniences, time to strategize and invest in your agency. When you’re ready, ePayPolicy is here to help with payment gateway solutions to support your growth. Reach out today to schedule a demo.