BEST PRACTICES OF HIRING A BRAND IDENTITY COMPANY FOR INSURANCE AGENTS
WE WANT YOU TO BE PREPARED. IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE. -THE APP CONSULTING TEAM
PREFACE
BRAND IDENTITY ONLINE & OFF. BUT MOSTLY ON.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Insurance marketing has seen dramatic changes within the last decade. Many agencies are looking for answers on how to adapt to the changing landscape. Agency Performance Partners has compiled a consulting team to move your agency into modern marketing strategies through a combination of branding, education and benchmarking. The goal of this partnership is to develop a brand you love (via design and branding,) build a highway for people to find you (via SEO,) and then promote you via marketing and social media to tell your story and create new ways to communicate with prospects and customers. When you start your process of finding partners to work with, you may become confused and find that a lot of vendors contradict each other. This can leave agency owners confused. We have developed this guide so you can ask the right questions. We even cover answers about how we work with agencies that partner with us, so you can compare notes. Feel free to reach out to us at any time for more information!
THANKS.
PERSONAL DATA
Name/ Kelly Donahue-Piro
Role/ President of Agency Performance Partners
Location/ East Greenwich, RI
Phone/ +1 401.415.6205
Skills/ Agency Trainer / Leadership, Managment, Sales Coaching, Marking
Experience/ Twelve years of marketing and sales experience in the service sector. Five-plus years experience in insurance technology, sales and marketing. Worked with over 700 agencies in the past five years. Coaching on sales, service and technology best practices. To view more details: www.agencyperformancepartners.com
APP CONSULTING TEAM
BRAND IDENTITY ONLINE & OFF. BUT MOSTLY ON.
Name/
Name/
Name/
Eddy DeMelo
Jennifer Nottage
Emily Brochu
SEO & Content Marketing Consultant
Insurance Marketing & Social Media Strategy Consultant
Branding & Design Consultant
Nine years of digital marketing experience
Fifteen years experience in services marketing
Eight years of design experience
Former Director of Organic Search for a marketing
Four years experience in coaching and training
Founder of an identity design firm, Oรถmina Creative
agency specializing in the insurance industry
insurance agencies in Social Media
Former creative lead specializing in the
Experience implementing SEO, SMM, ORM, Local
Worked with over 200 agencies in the past four years
insurance industry with well over 100 insurance
Search & Email Marketing campaigns
Leadership in Digital Marketing Strategies
website designs under her belt
To view more details:
To view more details:
To view more details:
www.eddydemelo.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jnottage
www.oomina.com
“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” ―- Warren Buffet
Q/A SECTIONS BASE QUESTIONS
WEB DESIGN QUESTIONS
SEO QUESTIONS
SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONS
7
BASE QUESTIONS
Do you have experience in the insurance marketplace?
How are you paid?
All of the consultants we work with have
when the project is completed. We all sign
experience in their field within the insurance
off on a project proposal, along the way,
The team we have assembled is paid per project, with 50% down to start and 50%
space for a minimum of two years. Everyone
if additional work out of the scope of the
from the designer to the social media
project is interesting to you, we can create
consultant has worked exclusively within the
additions to your selection.
retail insurance space for two years and on
How will I know what I need? agency. By listening to you, each consultant
There is so much conflicting advice out there. How do I know if a vendor is good?
will develop a three-tiered, proposal with
You can first start by looking at their work
everything from the basics to the works.
and talking to their insurance clients. Word-of
Based on pricing and exactly what you want
-mouth is always important. Next, if it seems
to accomplish, you can select a price point
too good to be true, it usually is. Anyone can
that works for you.
get a templated website inexpensively, but a
We take the time to understand you and your
over 100 agency, insurance association and
custom-built site drives a higher return for a
insurance technology projects.
larger investment.
How will I know when I find “the one?"
How do I know what to expect?
Your online identity is very personal and
The right team for you will always set
critical. You want to work with someone you
expectations. We need to benchmark your
I’ve found individual vendors that do each part. How do I benefit from working with your team?
are comfortable with and “gets your agency.”
current results and then chart a plan to
Great question. The consultant team we have
The team we have listens to you and brings
continuously improve. We work closely with
has worked together on countless projects
your agency’s identity to the customer.
agencies to make sure we are always setting
in the insurance space. We provide seamless
We are expert translators on how to make
the right expectations.
work for your agency so it saves you time
insurance purchasing make the most sense
explaining and re-explaining who you are.
for your customers.
Also, we build upon the ideas with each other, so you are getting your own onlineidentity dream team!
WEB DESIGN QUESTIONS
What is the difference between a web designer and a web developer?
What is a content management system? Which one is right for me?
What is responsive design?
You can do it all, eh?
Responsive design means that the site
charges you through the nose (with good
Great question, though it’s kind of a twofer.
A content management system (CMS) does
was coded in such a way that it reconfigures
reason) don’t ever, ever, ever, EVER trust
Let’s start with the difference between the
just that; it manages your content, including:
to the size of the screen that the user is
someone who tells you they can do Design,
two. A web designer deals with the front end
images, text, blogs, pages, contact info, and
looking at.
SEO, Development & Marketing. It’s a lie.
of a website, which is how the site looks.
forms.
Unless you are working with an agency that
All of these things are very different and it The reason it is important is because with
is impossible for a single individual to do
slider on the home page and edits the photos
Which do I need? Well that depends. You’re
smart phones, tablets, and phablets (phones
all of them well. As the saying goes “Jack of
that go in the slider.
going to get this answer a lot. The CMS you
the size of small tablets,) more and more of
All Trades, Master of None.” These fields are
use is typically chosen based on what your
your users are visiting your site from a smaller
large and ever-changing. You want someone
On the other hand, a web developer deals
designer/developer is most comfortable with.
screen, and your site should accommodate
who is a master of their craft and deeply
with how the site is coded. Example: The site
They all function a little differently and some
that. No one likes to have to pinch and drag
understands what they do, not someone who
is for insurance and needs to integrate with
are better for really complex functionality,
to navigate a website. Nearly 15% of traffic to
kind of sorta made a website once and knows
a third-party HR management application.
while others are better for being easy to work
your site will come from a mobile device and
what social media is.
A developer would make sure the site works
with. We use WordPress; it’s robust enough
that number is growing every day.
with the application.
to do what most people are looking for and
Example: A web designer puts an image
it is super easy for clients to learn and use. A Which do I need? Well that depends. If you
few others that you might run across while
are doing what we call a “brochure” website,
you’re vetting designers would be Drupal
meaning a site that doesn’t have a lot of
(great for complex functionality) and Joomla.
complex functionality, then you need a web
While there are other CMS platforms out
designer. If you are doing a site that has a
there WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla are the
lot of complex functionality then you need a
big three!
developer and a designer. Usually you won’t need just a developer unless you are just making edits to functionality.
What is a holistic “web” designer? Note that “web” is in apostrophes here. That's because a holistic “web” designer would manage all of your brand assets beyond just web. Few web designers feel comfortable doing complete identity designs, meaning everything from logo, style guide, photo coordination, art direction and print design (signs, postcards, brochures ect.)
Do you provide maintenance and training after the site is live? A good web designer will provide you with a site that you can easily manage with a bit of training. A great web designer will tell you that websites need to be professionally maintained quarterly and this includes: creating new images, creating landing pages, updating client lists, adding testimonials, and general freshening up of the site. Since this all needs to be done, they would suggest a small retainer to make sure your site stays up to date and accurate.
Do you have experience in my industry? This is a question you want to ask because every industry has different needs, and their consumers want different things. Remember, a website can function as a tool for your company just as much as it’s a tool for your consumer. You want someone who understands your industry and can give you a solution that solves problems you didn’t even realize you had. That's impossible to do if the designer hasn’t had any experience in your industry.
SEO QUESTIONS
In a few words, can you describe your overall approach to organic search?
Do you guarantee ranking or traffic results?
Our approach is to ensure that, on a
traffic results, and you should be wary of
technical level, your website is optimized for
anyone who does.
We do not guarantee specific ranking or
maximum search engine exposure. We build
What is your approach when handling local search and dealing with online reputation management issues?
As the client, what role will I have in the process? How much will I have to be involved? Nobody knows your products and your
While it’s important to have a website built
customers like you do. During the initial
all of our websites on a solid foundation,
The search landscape changes on a daily
on a solid SEO foundation, it’s also important
optimization of your website, you’ll be
while adhering to Google’s Webmaster
basis, with algorithm updates, technological
to ensure that you have an active presence
providing us with information on your
Guidelines.
advances, and updates in user behaviors and
on Google+, Yelp, and other local/review
customers and your business objectives that
trends. Because of this, making guarantees
websites. The first step is to secure and verify
will be crucial to getting your campaign
against performance metrics isn’t realistic.
all of the necessary profiles and accounts,
started on the right track.
On a content level, we want to ensure that your website appeals to both search engines
and we can help you with that.
and users. Engaging content, strategic
Here’s what you will get. You’ll have a
calls-to-action, and creative deployment
strategic partner who will:
From there, we’ll work with you to develop
to be. Once we’ve developed an ongoing
techniques ensure that your message is
•
Keep you updated on the latest trends
a plan to increase the amount of positive
optimization strategy, we’re happy to train
and best practices
exposure/reviews that your agency has and
you or your staff to handle some of the day-
time.
•
Provide a high level; of transparency
mitigate any of the negative.
to-day pieces, including blogging and social
Do you share your strategies transparently with your clients?
•
Clearly articulate results
•
Provide your agency with a solid SEO
delivered to the right person at the right
You can be as involved as much as you’d like
with regard to the overall strategy
Absolutely. After all, we’re working on your website and your business. It’s only fair that we maintain an open and transparent dialogue about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.
foundation and work with your agency to develop an ongoing plan that will set you up for continued success.
media best practices.
How will you measure success? Using tools like Google Analytics, Google’s Webmaster Tools and a number of other reporting and analytics tools, we’ll track our key performance indicators to ensure that things are moving in the right direction.
How do you think the recent algorithm changes have impacted SEO strategies?
What's the quickest way to generate a large number of high-quality backlinks?
The days of optimizing your website strictly
large number of backlinks over a short period
for search engine robots are (thankfully!)
of time.
Be extremely wary of anyone that promises a
gone. Link building strategies have changed With recent algorithm changes like Panda,
drastically, and it’s no longer strictly a game
Penguin, and Pigeon, it’s now more
of numbers, with the winner being the
important than ever to ensure that you’re
website with the most backlinks.
creating and optimizing your website for users.
The search engines are much more interested in seeing links from high-quality,
The risky link building and keyword-stuffed
authoritative sites than they are in low-
content strategies of the past need to be
quality links produced en masse.
replaced with the creation, syndication and curation of solid content, in addition to
Creating a large number of low-quality links
having a solid technical foundation.
over a short period of time, or engaging in any risky, link-building initiative can cause irreparable damage to your website and overall online presence.
SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONS
How long ago did you start using social media and why?
Do I need to stop my other marketing/advertising?
Do you guarantee followers?
You really want to choose a company that
What have been YOUR measurable results from using social media?
If they tell you “Yes!” right away, that is
Run away if they quantify this. Sure, with
was an early adopter of social media and
I.E: My business increased X amount, I had
warning flag. Every business is different.
many principles applied, followers are going
understood its importance early on.
X PR opportunities, met X people, and
Traditional advertising still could be a big
to come. Guaranteeing them seems a bit
recruited X people.
component. Other forms of marketing,
sketchy. Paid followers are NOT the type
Do I need to be on every site?
such as events etc., can be amplified and
of followers you would want as prospects
integrated with social media. Plus social
anyway.
The answer should be yes. You want to swim
marketing world (other important ones
How do you measure ROI?
where the fisherman are fishing. Granted, not
include SEO and pay-per-click campaigns
If you don’t keep score, how do you know
everyone uses every single platform,
depending on the client/goals.
where you stand? There are lots of soft
What do you personally use social media for and why? More than sharing funny photos, a good consultant shows how they use/have used it for business.
What is your background other than social media? If they are helping you with marketing, a good consultant will have a background in marketing and PR, even journalism.
Do you blog? I hope so! And, more importantly, it is a welldesigned well-visited blog. Video blogs are becoming more and more relevant, as well. Keep all of this in mind!
media is ONE component of the online
but why skimp out on one when there could be potential prospects. Everyone has his or her own flavor.
analytics you can use: Sentiment (how people
Will this fix my business? A “Yes!” here would definitely not be a great
Have you created content yourself? Hopefully there are good examples from the consultant’s personal work and/or work for clients.
thing. Social media amplifies bad business as opposed to fixing it.
feel about the brand), amount of followers, retweets, Facebook comments, blog traffic, website traffic, etc. But if someone does guarantee measures of ROI, run away fast!
Do I need a social media plan written down? Hopefully the answer here is, "Yes." With deliverables, goals, room for experimentation, and more. A marketing map will help you identify your goals and keep tabs on your social media consultation company.
Can you give me some examples of how we could generate PR using social media? Online relationships (with bloggers, media sources, etc.) are a different breed altogether and based around genuine caring, relationships and business. Speaking engagements and publishing press releases on specific channels will be a good judge of character and also will allow you to determine how well this company can assist you down the road.
OFFICE ADDRESS
ADDRESS:
CONTACT US: Phone
+1 401.415.6205
kelly@agencyperformancepartners.com
web
www.agencyperformancepartners.com
5775 Post Road #562, East Greenwich, RI 02818
Thank you for your intrest in collaboration with our team. Is your agency is ready to take it to the next level? Call us so we can assess your needs!