Ryan Hanley: The Podcast

“We are experimenters just like you, our listeners, and I want to bring out a situation where our experiment didn’t quite go as planned.” Marty Agather In this episode, Ryan Hanley explains the biggest marketing failure experienced by TrustedChoice.com in 2015. 

Insurance is a tricky arena. The role of the independent insurance agent has always been as the navigator, or the advisor. But with the ease of the internet, insurance is becoming less and less complicated. Sam Friedman points out that while small business insurance is getting more and more mainstream, the generation of those buying from agents like us is dwindling. Especially among Millennials. But there are ways to combat these changes.

Marty opens today’s episode discussing what he learned from his recent trip to Canada. He just got back from the He just got back from the Insurance-Canada Broker Forum where he met with some of our Canadian insurance friends to discuss the different insurance systems used by our northern neighbor. Interestingly enough, they are having the same discussions we’re having down here in the states. Insurance agents are getting more and more clever with the way they contact clients and deliver product in an increasingly digital and mobile world.

Today we are taking a pragmatic look at what happened to Google Compare. Recently Google announced that they are shutting down their Google Compare insurance industry here in the United States. If you tuned in to one our earlier episodes this past month where we discussed Google’s failings as an insurance comparison company, then this should come as no surprise. But what we’re looking at today is why this happened and what Google did and did not do that ultimately led to their downfall.

“If you’re an insurance broker, we’re going to drink your milkshake.” Parker Conrad, Former CEO of Zenefits.  April 29, 2013   “We’ve talked about this numerous times, “the new normal” and how everybody wants to do everything now, “it’s when I want to do it, not when you want to get it to me”, and they are leveraging that consumer sentiment and they are using technology to do it. That’s why they’ve been so successful. The challenge is that they just bent some rules and skirted some issues, and now it’s come back to bite them.” Marty Agather

  Recently, Google launched their Google Compare insurance pricing program in the United States after its huge success in the UK. Unfortunately, they haven’t been as successful as they anticipated. Google is one of the most successful businesses on the planet, but they made some huge mistakes with their latest campaign that’s now forcing them to re-evaluate their fiscal plans and growth for Google Compare. We know all too well that insurance is a fairly complicated business, and the American way of buying insurance is very different from the way they do it across the pond. Regional regulations, trustworthy insurance agents, and varying prices all influence how/when/where people buy their insurance, and Google failed to incorporate these very big cultural differences into their plans.

The landscape of the insurance industry is changing. Today Marty and Ryan talk about an overlooked demographic, the shopper. “One of the ‘new normal’ behaviors is the fact we want to get a deal on everything.” — Marty Agather Shoppers are clients who look for the best deal when choosing a major purchase. Shoppers exist in all industries, but independent agents often make the mistake of considering a “shopper” as a waste of time. The truth is shoppers can be one of the most loyal of customer bases. Shopping is an American cultural activity. It is celebrated and encouraged.

Today we are going to discuss the changing face of marketing in today’s insurance business. Our first topic will be the article B2B Marketing Professionals: Prepare for 2016 by Considering these Predictions, written by Forrester Researcher, Peter O’Neill. Marketing has become a marriage of both the sales team and the marketing team.

It takes work to reach digital marketing paydirt. Do you have what it takes? Today we are discussing two topics that we believe you can apply to increase productivity and attract customers to your agency. One idea deals with making yourself stand out in a good and unique way that attracts customers. The other addresses the fact that it takes time and hard work to hit pay dirt. We talk about some ways to shorten your work through the overburden. A recent blog post by Seth Godin titled Idiosyncratic deals with the idea that perfection is sort of boring.

Are you creating unscalable human experiences in your business?   I recently read an article called “Three Tips for Future-Proofing Your Digital Career”, and it inspired today’s episode. With so many industries developing automation, you need to find a way to protect your business from the changes future technology presents. As an entrepreneur, you need to be able to keep up with the latest trends and innovations in order to keep your brand modern and relevant. We cover automation quite a bit in this episode of Agency Nation Radio, but today we’re focusing on what you can do as a business owner to keep up-to-date with the latest, greatest, and maybe a little bit terrifying changes that come with automation.

This episode is Part II of our series on digital disruption in the insurance industry. Click here to listen to Part I. There are many factors that can lead to disruption inside the insurance industry. In Part I of this two part podcast series we discussed the definitions of Innovation and Disruption: Innovation – new methods, ideas, or products which improve upon an existing process or product. Disruption – that which causes you to make a fundamental change in business strategy. Too often we confuse innovation and disruption. Innovations in process, strategy and technology happen all the time. Think of innovation as a strong set of waves washing away a bit of beach.

Is your insurance agency prepared for digital disruption? On this episode of Agency Nation Radio we discuss the different between innovation and disruption, as well as, why “The New Normal” of the modern marketplace has created an environment ripe for disruption. But first… let’s talk a little bit about creating content and haters.

Today we answer questions sent directly from the Agency Nation Radio audience. Niche Websites Our first question comes from an agent in North Carolina. Ryan asks: What are your thoughts on creating a personal website highlighting your experience and expertise in certain niche markets? Has anyone done this in the past? Did you have success?” This is a complicated question as every agent is going to have a different situation in terms of opportunity to create content on their own website.

What trends are guiding your strategic business decisions?  In this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we use an article from the Insurance Journal, Progressive Insurance CEO on 5 Macro Trends of Note, as the backdrop for discuss on the macro issues shaping the future of the independent insurance agency channel. According to Progressive insurance CEO, Glenn Renwick, the 5 macro trends his organizations are working to capitalize on include: Causal vs Correlated Data The Digitally Responsive Consumer Brand Time as a Design Criteria Vehicle Technology

Are you running to catch up with the live streaming video revolution?! If so, you might want to pump the brakes. Seriously. As much as we’re always pushing marketing, live streaming video (as exciting as it is) is a major undertaking. For the vast majority of agencies taking on a tool like Periscope (Twitter’s live streaming video platform) is NOT a good idea. With any new tool we take on, there needs to be a purpose. Activity for activity sake is a waste of time.

In this episode of Agency Nation Radio we examine this new JD Power study and share insights on how the study’s finding will impact the independent insurance industry. As study shows, despite the increase in customers shopping their insurance, “…only 29 percent actually switched in 2014, compared with 37 percent in 2013.” Poor Customer Experience Leads to Lower Conversion Rate

Are you trying to sell digital marketing inside your agency? Whether you’re a CSR looking to sell, a producer trying to expand brand reach or an agency owner who simply wants to grow, selling digital marketing as tool to accomplish these goals can be difficult when other stakeholders in the agency disagree. In this episode of Agency Nation Radio we discuss a four step plan for selling non-believers on the power of digital marketing inside your agency. The 4 steps to sell digital marketing inside your agency: Set realistic time expectations Start small Commit to the work Collect data and results

Are you running the insurance business of the future? In this week’s episode of Agency Nation Radio we discuss five ideas agency principles should consider when building their agency for the future. The inspiration for this week’s episode comes from an article published by Booz & Company titled: How Digital Leaders Outperform Their Peers. In this article the author outlines five critical ways the world’s most successful companies “Get it right.”

Are you answering client questions on your website? This week on Agency Nation Radio we dive into the most consistently successful type of online content insurance agencies can create to grow their business: Answering client questions.

Of all the reasons big money from the insurance industry continues to flow into digital marketing, customer experience stands out as the highest priority. As the public perception of personal lines insurance being a commodity spreads, the last bastion of differentiation might just be customer experience. Direct writers and captive insurance companies already understand the power of customer experience. This is why so much money is spent on branding, systems and consistency across each platform on which they sell insurance. See Also: Customer Experience: How Free Tool SumoMe Helps You Create a Better Website Personal lines insurance buyers perceive auto insurance policy to be exactly the same. By providing the highest quality customer experience we set ourselves apart.