Why You Should Consider Contribution Marketing Now
A traditional insurance marketing sales pitch may seem difficult to pull off during the COVID-19 pandemic. While insurance agents can continue to conduct business over the phone (enrolling clients, cross-selling with hospital indemnity, final expense, and helping unemployed individuals move into a metal tier plan due to group coverage ending) – there is another aspect of marketing you’ll need to consider to avoid seeming intrusive.
Contribution marketing is something insurance agents should consider now more than ever.
We’ve all heard of content marketing, relationship marketing, paid marketing, and the list goes on. While all of those marketing tactics are extremely important, this is different. This is a marketing effort in which you are contributing to your community. Contribution marketing means offering a product or service that fills an immediate need.
And it’s the only type of marketing you should be focused on right now.
Why? Because building brand equity and goodwill are going to come back to you in spades. It’s called karma! You have to stop marketing in autopilot mode – today!
Don’t try to look good, be good.
Don’t cheat by offering the same discounts and services that you usually do. Extraordinary times call for exceptional marketing efforts. Your contribution marketing needs to be completely new and unprecedented.
Some examples of how other small businesses are using contribution marketing to fulfill a need in their communities: fitness studios are offering online classes with donation-based payments or for free, community colleges are offering free courses, and it’s even hit national name brands joining in on the effort with many fast-food chain restaurants offering free delivery.
According to a survey conducted by Edelman recently, 71% of respondents agreed that if during this time “they perceive that a brand if putting profit over people, then they will lose trust in that brand forever” while 77% also said, “they want brands only to speak about products in ways that show they are aware of the crisis and the impact on people’s lives.”
This is a time for your insurance agency to ask yourself questions like:
- Do you offer something that fills an immediate public need?
- How can you contribute your time, money, and effort constructively?
- Where can you offer support?
Despite all the uncertainty and pressures around you, do not respond to this crisis from a place of fear. Contribution marketing is not about saving money; it’s about how you can help people in real, tangible ways. And if you are wondering what the ROI is, you’re not thinking about it correctly. You are providing a service to your community. Even from a practical business standpoint, you’re building goodwill and gaining free exposure.
Perhaps, here are some examples of ways you can contribute to your community:
- Purchasing materials needed to sew PPE masks, or offer to designate your agency to be a drop-off location for masks for essential employees
- Purchasing goods from a small-business (e.g., a café or restaurant) to feed healthcare workers or grocery store clerks
- Consider donating scrubs, compression socks, or other clothing items needed by healthcare professionals
- Organize a Venmo/Paypal Donation campaign for local restaurant’s workers to help with tips (e.g., Community Tip Jar)
- Donate travel pass or vouchers to essential employees
- Offer to run errands or walk the dogs of high-risk community members
There are many other ways you can fulfill a need in your community.
Do you know what it would cost to get the kind of viral publicity some people are getting now because of their free access offering, or a spotlight on being of service? (e.g., a student from the University of Kentucky creating masks for the deaf and hard of hearing)
This too, shall pass. But right now, the world needs compassion, support, and your marketing needs to reflect that. For more ideas contact Agent Pipeline at 800-962-4693 to learn more.
