As we close out 2008, now is the time to plan for 2009. Most successful insurance agents agree that the Internet will play a major role in how customers research and select an insurance provider in 2009. According to a recent study by the Association of Independent Insurance Agents, 85% of all new insurance customers will start their search on the Internet. The question is: how will you maximize this opportunity?

Historically, insurance companies have relied primarily on word of mouth and limited advertising to grow their business. Some insurance companies have tried but failed to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the Internet. This is due to a lack of a clearly defined Internet marketing strategy. At Astonish Results, we’ve found several key components must be present in order for the modern insurance agency to be truly successful in this lucrative market.

* A simple-to-use, highly interactive website that highlights your products and builds value in your brand rather than selling price, converting unique visitors into leads.

* A clear vision and commitment which is communicated from top management.

* FOCUS. If 85% of customers are searching on the web, are you committing 85% of your focus on capturing them?

* The right marketing to drive traffic to the site online and offline, including the use of search engines, email marketing, and placement of your URL.

* Promote all your products and generate more leads for the phone and Internet departments.

* The right process to turn leads into applications and sales. The key to the process is how well people use the phone and email to sell the application and follow-up.

* The right people having great sales, phone, and follow-up skills. It’s easier to teach good salespeople technology than to teach technology people to be good salespeople.

* The right metrics. The best insurance companies measure their peoples’ performance daily and weekly rather than at the end of the month, when it’s 29 days too late to change the results.

* The right tools. Tools are available that can automate a large part of the process which allows an insurance company time to advise more customers and grow their book of business without increasing personnel costs. These tools also automatically send reports to management to alert them when certain tasks are not completed.

* Execution. The fact is that most people do not fail because of a deficiency of knowledge; it’s typically because of a deficiency of execution.

2009 is just around the corner. Shifting consumer behavior will require the best agencies to adjust their marketing strategy to meet the growing demand of Internet customers. Will your competitors meet this demand head-on, will you spend another year talking about how the Internet has adversely affected your business?

Hope is not a strategy, and thinking about a problem is not an effective plan.

Call Astonish Results today and learn how you can become one of the growing number of modern e-agencies who have adjusted their strategy and dominated their market. 2009 could be a very big year for your agency!