To create the customer journey we must use consumer data to build and insure how the customer will act at each stage of his insurance life cycle. Insurance marketers are still in The early stages of understanding the internet and all that it means. We need to be positioned with innovative products, distribution methods, partnerships, and omnichannel marketing to take affinity marketing to the next level. Create and build trust with your target audience and establish an emotional connection with consumers. Educate and create curiosity thru social media to get all ages out of their seats and engaging g with your brand. Tell a cohesive story across all media channels so your customers can like it tweet it and be your brand ambassadors. Humanize the relationship.

Walt Disney said it best: “…we must keep moving forward opening new doors and doing new things because we are curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths…”

To that point, I spoke at this years PIMA Mid Year Meeting and enjoyed participating in a Q&A session, the content  of which I will share with you in a serialized manner, over the coming weeks.

MODERATOR:  How do you define Omnichannel in the affinity marketing space?

ADREA RUBIN:  Omni means all. Channel is a means of communication. Omnichannel marketing is informed engagement with consumer audiences. The goal is to optimize the lifetime value of relationships across every consumer touch point. Wikipedia defines affinity marketing as cross endorsements among partnership organizations, shared incentives for participation among the organizations, and enhancement benefit packages for the customers.

According to PIMA the affinity industry is over 60 billion dollars.

Today’s consumer is more educated than ever before. Depending on whether they are Millennials or Boomers, they are curious, may not be loyal and their interest and motivations could change in a second. Omnichannel marketing for affinity marketers promotes a new way of thinking about marketing strategy and media with the customer as the center of all interaction. Utilizing tv, direct mail email, print, social media. Digital, telesales and radio where appropriate will allow a potential insured to become a customer.

3 components of Omnichannel marketing include:
Developing customer strategy offer and right message in consumers life cycle
Intelligence of understanding who the customer is thru data analytics
Execution of messages thru right media channel creating customer engagement wherever and whenever is the key.

Our recommendation to our carrier partners is to take what works best for your affinity partners and the product being sold to create a omnichannel campaign that optimizes the best of both parties

The media channels used should mirror the channel in which the member likes to receive their communications. This should provide greater ROI.

It is important to remember that consumers may not buy at the first contact. They are being bombarded by messages 24 hours a day. Smarter marketing which is informed by the cues the consumer is telling us, will improve the chances for greater ROI.

Always,

Adrea Rubin