Phil Knight, NIKE co-founder and chairman, has referred to one of the most recognizable professional basketball players of all time as “brand Michael Jordan.” While it may be astonishing to think that any one person can be a brand, it is also an important lesson in the power of effective marketing. For millions of fans, the reference to Michael Jordan evokes an image known as “Jumpman.” It is unlikely that many fans know the name of this famous silhouette, but they recognize the image. More importantly from a marketing perspective, they know the name of the company with which the image is associated.
Mention “branding” to people and it is not unusual for them to respond with a reference to a visual image. If sports are not your thing, think soft drinks, telecommunications or car companies, and usually what comes to mind is visual: a logo, label, photo, or illustration.
The first two installments of this series on branding focused primarily on defining and describing branding as the overall customer experience. This article concludes the series with an emphasis on defining branding in a more specific way — namely, how a company presents itself in the collective media.
David Aaker, author of the classic text Managing Brand Equity, defines a brand as “a distinguishing name and/or symbol (such as a logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors.”
Set Yourself Apart
In an agency environment, the concept of a “distinguishing” name or symbol is frequently overlooked or minimized. Independent agents sometimes have a problem deciding which of their companies and products to identify and highlight. If you are working with a great logo or a very recognizable company name, you should take advantage of it. If not, it is still possible to associate great service, product knowledge and similar attributes to whatever name and visual image you have available.
If your goal is to develop a unique, distinguished brand, then saying you write all classes puts a great deal of pressure on you and your staff to excel in all areas. The risks of this approach include not being exceptional in every class you advertise and having your agency look like many of your competitors.
If there is one attribute that many successful agencies share, it is that they are known for doing at least one thing extremely well. In the insurance industry, that is usually a risk class or program. Your goals should be to make sure that you effectively tell prospects what you can do for them that your competitor's cannot or will not, and to provide your customers with a forum to tell others what you are doing for them.
To create or improve your agency branding, consider:
Purpose or Mission. Every company has a purpose or mission, and most have more than one. Some companies are all about the dollars, some are more community focused, but all have a purpose. The main issue is to know your reason for being in business. If you cannot articulate your mission, you will never fulfill it.
Communication. While all companies exist to do something, not all companies have written mission or purpose statements. You believe passionately in why your company exists. You need to communicate that purpose to your employees to get them to “buy into” your vision.
Clarity. Your business must be able to clearly communicate how your purpose benefits your customers. For anyone faced with the task of advertising or promoting an entity, one of the biggest challenges is crafting a branding and marketing campaign when the principals are not sure of their identity. If you are not clear about what you do, how you do it and why you do it, then selling a company identity to others is going to be costly and ineffective.
Keep Up With Technology
Once you identify and communicate these branding elements internally, you must move from internal communication to external — to your prospects and customers. Since you are already in business, a part of that process is to evaluate how you are currently communicating externally. This includes all communications that emanate from your company.
Most agencies think about their identity and marketing strategy in terms of logos, letterhead, business cards, pamphlets, and similar printed material. But in this technology driven time, your web site is also an important part of your brand. If you treat your site as an online brochure and nothing more, you are missing out on a growing segment of the market and a way to reach prospects 24/7. Your site must provide value to your customers and prospects, such as saving them time, providing important resources, and allowing for interactive communications.
Social media sites such as Twitter and blogs are here to stay and are growing at astonishing rates. While it may seem like an electronic wild West out there, major corporations that distribute products and services are spending a great deal of time and money trying to understand how to “monetize” all of this chatter. Learn how to use this new media to your advantage.
Even old standbys such as phone calls are different today. Are your agents readily accessible by cell phone, and if so will they respond before or after “normal” business hours? Are they trained and equipped to receive and respond to text messages?
Every choice you make says something about your brand. We are always marketing, whether we call it that or not. Know your purpose and clearly communicate it using all the tools available to you.
Social media sites such as Twitter and blogs are here to stay and growing at astonishing rates.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
