Kevin Paterson, sales and marketing director at Assurant Intermediary, looks at the importance of marketing for general insurance.

We’ve previously discussed just how competitive the general insurance marketplace is, with everyone from banks and supermarkets to aggregators and intermediaries wanting a slice of the action. So an effective marketing campaign is an essential component to successful sales and revenue generation.

It is often the case, however, that when the economy heads south, marketing ends up on the chopping block. Historically, marketing budgets are among the first to get cut in a downturn. But I would argue that during the crunch times, it is more important than ever to invest in your marketing programme in order to survive and be in the best position possible to come out on top when the economy starts to recover. Think about it. If your competitors reduce their marketing investment , then your share of voice will increase, positively impacting awareness of your business proposition as well as sales.

Regardless the size of the marketing budget available to you, you have to be smarter about where you spend your money – more so when you don’t have the millions that the aggregators and bigger direct players seem to be able to command.

Consider how you have allocated your marketing spend in the past and ask yourself whether that split is still applicable. What you can do to make sure as much of your budget is spent on getting in front of your customers? Will direct marketing – either by mail or electronically – deliver a better return than continuing to advertise in your local newspaper or on yell.com? Arguably, direct marketing is more measurable and trackable as it allows you to target your clients individually. When it comes to justifying marketing spend to the bean counters, bulletproof numbers on how much actual revenue was generated are hard to argue against!

Most intermediaries have a strong client bank that is unfortunately often under-utilised. Even when your clients are spending less, keep in contact with them so they know you haven’t forgotten them – and more importantly, so they don’t forget you. Keep sending direct mails and emails, whether it is to provide product information, suggestions or simple tips as to how to take preventative measures to minimize flood damage.

The important thing to remember is aligning your messages to your customer’s ‘pain’ points. It’s no secret that consumers are less likely to spend on anything right now that isn’t a necessity. So fine tune the content of any marketing collateral to emphasise value and protection, as well as cost savings, if you can demonstrate this. And if you have customer testimonials, consider how you can use them. People are more likely to come to you if someone – albeit a complete stranger – has recommended your services.

If you don’t have a ready bank of marketing collateral at your fingertips especially if you are looking to promote new lines of insurance, don’t spend time, effort and expense in sourcing a designer or a copywriter, and the hassle of ensuring materials are FSA compliant. Instead, investigate the marketing support services that intermediary-friendly GI distributors have available: some are free, others can be accessed at heavily discounted rates negotiated by the distributor. These marketing toolkits are generally sourced online, can be tailored to your own brand and messaging and – best of all – are all FSA compliant.

Also, don’t discount the idea of online activity. Search out those distributors who can give you access to customer friendly aggregator sites, allowing you to extend the product range available to your clients without having to go to the effort of sourcing it yourself. Many of these solutions can be white-labelled and inserted into your own client-facing website, allowing you to conduct email campaigns pushing traffic to that area of your site and generating both brand awareness and sales opportunities.

The current recession has given new meaning to the words ‘survival of the fittest.’ Get your marketing campaign in shape so it can deliver results that will have a positive impact on your business.