Do you know which marketing efforts other insurance agents use? Out-marketing your competition takes some research. You have to find out what they are doing. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What major marketing efforts are they involved in? Could these efforts hurt you in any way? How can you out-market them?
Following are some inexpensive ways to find out what your competition is doing to out-market you.
o Call a competitor on the telephone and pose as a prospective client. Talk to them or a member of their staff. Many salespeople love to talk about themselves and their business. If you ask the right questions, most will tell you exactly what you want to know.
o Get them to send you their brochures. Record their outgoing answering machine message. Check out their ads in the local paper. Note whether they are doing any radio or TV advertising. Attend their seminars if you can.
o Visit their Web site. Most Web sites will give you a lot of information about how the agency does business with its clients. While visiting the Web sites of your competitors, request more information about their products and services. (Use your personal email address for this research rather than your business email.) Then, take note of how quickly they respond. Any one of these ideas can help you to uncover a competitive weakness that you can turn to your advantage. Or you can pick up an idea or two that you may want to incorporate into your own practice.
Sanford Barris is president of Business Marketing Services Inc. and author of "97 Marketing Secrets to Make More Money: Your Secret Guide to Growing Your Business Right." Mr. Barris can be reached at 248-361-2306 or sjb@97marketingsecrets.com. For more information, visit www.97marketingsecrets.com.
