The new year brings new goals, and it’s safe to assume that most of us are looking for a more prosperous turnout than what 2020 left us with. One way to measure your success and track your forward progress is by setting goals for your independent agency, but not just any goals. SMART goals are the best ways to measure your growth and success because they set specific deadlines and are unique to your individual company.
“SMART” goals stand for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. If it seems a little complicated, don’t worry. Goal setting doesn’t have to be some crazy elaborate plan. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, focus on what you would like to see your agency accomplish this year! To help you get started, we’ve taken the liberty of creating three themes that contribute to improved overall success for most small businesses.
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Building a Powerful Online Presence
In this digital age, you simply cannot afford to keep an outdated website. If your website is difficult to navigate or doesn’t have the key resources customers are looking for, you should consider redesigning. If you are looking to grow your brand recognition in 2021, it’s important for your website to have the tools and content to attract prospects. Do you know if your website is easy to use? Try running a poll on your social media and ask your current clients what they think about your website!
A strong online presence is not only about having a fantastic website. The main goal is to have substantial content to entice people. Use videos, articles, ebooks, and other resources to establish your agency as a knowledgeable recourse for your customers. A easy and quick way to do that is by sharing engaging content across different platforms and your website. Think of it like this: you are trying to create a web of information and updates to attract potential clients. You want them to stop and think, “Wow, this agency really cares about its customers!”
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Creating a Referral Strategy
Most people are more than willing to refer your agency to their friends, they just need to be asked! It can be kind of awkward trying to slip that request into a regular conversation, and sometimes you may forget! Creating a company-wide protocol that shows you and your team how to slip referral requests into the everyday talks you all have with clients is a great way to establish a cohesive understanding and decrease the amount of referrals that slip through the cracks.
If you’re looking to start off the year with more of a bang, try creating a referral campaign! This is a great way to involve your current customers and incorporate your social media all in one go! Campaigns are fun because you can incorporate all of the different aspects of digital marketing such as emailing, social media engagement, and website updates! Think outside the box for a fun way to get your audience talking about your services!
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Automating Your Marketing
One you’ve developed all of this fantastic content, you will need a method to share it with your clients. New updates are best shared over email where they get the most traction, so look into automated email marketing platforms that can enhance your ability to communicate with clients! The goal should be to contact more people without taking time away from writing new business. Do your research and look into ways you can streamline your emails and other digital marketing workflows to build stronger relationships with your customers. Automating does not always mean purchasing more Insurtech, it could be a simple change like creating a template to share with all of your team or setting up auto-responses for certain emails so every client views the same message.
What really makes these themes powerful is that they can all work together to amplify awareness of your brand, but they also all have a significant impact by themselves. If you didn’t see a theme that relates to your 2021 vision, check out this article about SWOT analysis. It will show you how to examine your agency and find areas of improvement, which in turn can give you a better understanding of what SMART goals you should create.