How Independent Insurance Agencies Can Harness Thanksgiving to Build Relationships
As we approach the holiday season, insurance may not be at the forefront of most people’s minds, but Thanksgiving can be a great time for insurance agencies to boost engagement and increase their brand image.
Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of each November, Thanksgiving is a United States holiday where family and friends gather to give thanks and fill their bellies with delicious food. For anyone in the insurance business, this can be a meaningful time for building brand awareness. You can be publicly grateful for any company milestones or prosperity you have experienced in the past year, as well as openly give thanks for your customers’ loyalty and patronage.
The following insurance marketing tips can help you reconnect with your clientele and create a platform that attracts new customers as well.
Strengthening Relationships
As mentioned above, this may not be the time of year that your clients are thinking about spending more money on insurance, and that’s okay. Rather than overselling, focus on building relationships with your clients, who are probably already inundated with sales pressure. Here are some ways to do that:
Give thanks for (and to) your clients.
The best way to show your clients that you are thankful for their business is by sending them a card or by offering a gift for stopping by your office or visiting your website. One great gift idea is to offer up a gift card, perhaps to a local grocery store. A gift card will go a long way toward building client relationships because they will remember that you helped them to pay for Thanksgiving dinner.
Take part in a community event.
When you make your business part of a community event, either as a sponsor or a participant, you have an opportunity to show that you are committed to the community in which you live. From soup kitchens and food drives to various fundraisers, plenty of community events center around Thanksgiving. Your participation will help boost your brand image for potential leads and reinforce your commitment to the community among existing clients. If you can’t find an event to be a part of, or if you want to kick it up a notch, consider organizing a Thanksgiving charity event of your own.
Be more helpful to clients and leads.
The Thanksgiving holiday marks the approach of Christmas and winter. That is the time of year when people can use a helping hand. That means that it is the perfect time to focus on marketing strategies that can help your customers. There are countless ways to show the public just how helpful you and your agency can be.
Here are a few:
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- Offer clients access to workshops, blog posts, or handouts related to holiday and winter safety.
- Use the media (radio and television) or the Internet (through a podcast or video) to create content that can help clients prepare for storms.
- Create a written series or collection of video clips about funny Thanksgiving disasters and emphasize how insurance can help. We’ve all burned a turkey and subsequently set off the fire alarm, right?
Don’t ignore the holiday season.
Embrace the season instead of ignoring it by continuing with your usual insurance marketing efforts. Acknowledge that your customers are busy during the holiday season. Offer them fast and efficient ways to sign up for products and services during the holidays. A great seasonal idea is offering insurance packages centered around holiday activities, such as travel insurance packages for those visiting loved ones during the holidays
Another way to embrace the season is to inject the holiday spirit into any of your existing marketing efforts as well. That means integrating themes of togetherness, family, gratitude, food, friends, Fall weather, and even football into your existing insurance marketing efforts.
Be sure to use appropriate colors and images too. That should include typical warm Fall colors like gold, orange, red, and brown. Thanksgiving image ideas include turkeys, Thanksgiving foods, pies, cornucopia, fall leaves, dried corn, pilgrims, and pumpkins.
Be mindful of the calendar.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember when it comes to Thanksgiving marketing is to avoid scheduling emails or social media posts that fall on the actual holiday. No one wants to receive an email or notification while they are busy enjoying time with their family on Thanksgiving day, so you’re wasting a good opportunity to engage when you make this mistake. Instead, send emails or schedule posts to appear on the Monday or Tuesday before the holiday. Here are Thanksgiving messages you can use to communicate with your customers!
Using these helpful tips to engage with your clients and community will pay off not just during the holidays, but next year when people are searching for a new insurance agency or making a decision to renew their existing policies with you.