“When the economy gets tough, the tough get marketing.” As weall know, the economy is going through troubling times. Every daybrings depressing stories about corporate earnings, unemployment,bankruptcies, and lack of consumer confidence. As the bad newspiles up, agencies seek and look for ways to cut costs andexpenses. Marketing often is one of the first places targeted forsuch reductions. After all, isn't marketing in bad times similar toselling ice cubes at the North Pole?

No. As one expert advises, nothing could be further from thetruth.

“One of the worst mistakes a company can make is reducing oreven suspending their marketing efforts during bad economic times,”said Laurie Donohue, vice president of I-Marketing Management, aMarlborough, N.H., marketing firm specializing in insurance agents.“This is when it is more important than ever to get your brand outin front of the public.”

Many agencies have been through hard and soft markets before,and one thing is certain: markets always stabilize. The economyeventually will rebound. When it does, don't you want to be thecompany ready for a slam-dunk rather than the one sitting forlornlyon the bench?

It's a fallacy that in times of economic turmoil, nobody isbuying so there's little need for marketing. Life does not stopjust because of a poor economy; people's lives and circumstancescontinually change, and these changes affect insurance needs. Bymarketing and keeping your name in front of the public, you putyourself in a prime position to be the agency people call upon whenit's time to revisit insurance requirements.

Here's another thought: Tough times financially mean that morepeople are looking for ways to save money. People might well lookto re-evaluate their insurance needs. True, some already have agood relationship with an agency. However, there are many otherswho don't, and are in need of someone to review their currentcoverage and suggest new avenues for them. Wouldn't you like to bethat agency? But if people don't know that you are out there, thatwill never happen.

“Economic downturns are ideal times for agencies to reinforcetheir brand and differentiate themselves from others,” Donohuesaid. “A less cluttered marketplace means that there's that muchmore room for your message.”

But what message should you be trying to send?

Marketing messages

Marketing is much more than just placing an occasional newspaperad or running an ad in the telephone book. Marketing means acoordinated effort to tie together all of the activities that youdo to place your company's name in front of the public.

For that reason, it is a wise idea to have a marketing plan,with specific goals that guide all of your company's marketingefforts.

A marketing plan helps guarantee the consistency of yourmessage. It ensures that all of your ads, brochures and all otherpublic information tools are speaking in the same voice. Itguarantees that all of your marketing efforts are pointed towardspecific achievements and results, rather than just tossing thingsout into the marketplace and hoping that someone will notice.

A marketing plan needs to be reviewed periodically to ensurethat it still reflects the objectives of the company. Think of theplan as a living document that changes to reflect changingcircumstances. At our agency, a regular review of this plan hasenabled us to update it to reflect current marketplace conditionswhile identifying both internal and external factors that couldimpact our ability to meet our agency's short-term and long-rangegoals.

One thing that never changes, however, is our agency'scommitment to the philosophy of customer communications.

Communication is key

There are few things more important to your marketing effortsthan customer communications. Our agency has always been veryproactive in this regard. When the economic downturn began, thiseffort became even more focused.

“It's critical that your customers know that you care about themand have their best interests at heart, not just at policy renewaltime but all year round,” said Jeffrey R. Wyrsch, vice president ofThe Van Dyk Group's personal lines division. “Reaching out to themrequires effort but can reap enormous benefits.”

Some of the things we do to reach out to our customers:

o Send a postcard or letter two months before their policies aredue for renewal

o Send electronic customer communications, bringing customersup-to-date on activities in both the industry in general and in ouroffices

o Offer a free policy review at any time to determine ifexisting coverage should be increased or decreased

o Call each and every customer at least once a year. The scriptmight vary depending on the person and the circumstance, but theunderlying message is always the same: We are here to help.

“Nothing has yet replaced the personal touch of picking up thetelephone and calling people,” Wyrsch said. “E-mail and electroniccommunications can be extremely effective when used properly andcertainly have their place in our marketing effort, but the simpleone-on-one contact that a telephone call provides cannot beduplicated.”

The heightened emphasis on customer communications has providedus with numerous benefits, including increases in policy retention,sales and cross-selling. Within our agency, we have institutedreward contests for both rewrites and cross-selling, which haveboosted employee morale and helped us to meet our department'sgoals.

It all begins with you

A marketing campaign does not have to be expensive. You do nothave to spend thousands of dollars to hire a marketing firm.

A simple press release is an often overlooked form of marketing.These can be produced inexpensively in-house, and the return valuecan be enormous.

Subjects for press releases can run from occurrences in theinsurance industry in general to new hires, promotions, seminarsoffered or attended by employees, and more. These can be routinelysent to newspapers, business publications and others in the media,along with a digital photo of the subject. It is true that printpublications have lost circulation and profits because ofelectronic media. However, because print publications have had tolay off beat reporters to make ends meet, they are more dependentthan ever on “free” information–the stories that are provided forthem.

In addition, the local Chambers of Commerce and other groupsoften produce their own magazines and newsletters. They rely oninformation they receive to fill their pages. Sometimes they willeven turn to you to provide articles or inserts.

For these reasons, you should maintain a media list. Get to knowthe editors, reporters and others who cover business topics–and inparticular, your community–on a regular basis. There is a constantneed for expert sources who they can go to for a quote or anexplanation of some industry issue. If you have a priorrelationship with an editor or reporter, more often than not theywill turn to your company again and again, and you have gained freepublicity.

Co-op advertising is another source of inexpensive marketingmaterials. Many carriers offer co-op brochures that agencies canput their name and logo on. The Van Dyk Group uses brochures fromsuch carriers as Selective Insurance, Travelers, Cumberland and theTrusted Choice Program. Even in this economy many companies stillhave marketing co-op dollars available for a special marketingproject. Checking with them and seeing what is available can onlyincrease your marketing program.

Another source for co-op dollars that is sometimes overlooked isyour state agent association. We recently participated in theIndependent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New Jersey co-opmarketing program promoting the Trusted Choice brand.

Finally, there is another marketing effort in this economy thatis often-overlooked: You. You and a positive attitude are the bestpossible marketers for your company.

“We call this attitude positivity,” said David Wyrsch, presidentof The Van Dyk Group. “It simply means being upbeat, energetic andpositive in your everyday dealings with others. People sometimesforget how important they are to the success of a company. Thisattitude is as important as any marketing program, because peoplewill long remember a pleasant and optimistic attitude and seek outthose who exhibit it.”