Why You Could Start Seeing More Insurance Ads in Your Mail
How would you like to save money on your car insurance? That’s not our business, so we don’t care. But we are willing to bet you that there are plenty of insurance companies just waiting to pitch you. And if one industry expert is correct, that’s exactly what they’re going to do for the rest of the year. They are going to be pitching you in your mailbox.
The insurance industry has been a big fan of direct mail for longer than we’ve been in business. Why? Because they get a good return from it. And even though insurance companies and agencies have dabbled in digital marketing more recently, they have stuck with the date they brought to the dance: direct mail.
Insurance Newsnet’s Doug Bailey says that insurance companies look poised to put even more money into direct mail marketing through the end of 2022. If he’s right, the amount of direct mail advertisements going to American mailboxes is going to jump.
The Enthusiasm Is There
While inflation has put a damper on a lot of things, Bailey reports that insurance marketers are still gaga over direct mail. Not even the higher cost of postage is chasing them away.
On the other hand, Bailey’s research seems to suggest that insurance marketers are scaling back their investments in digital marketing. They tried taking digital marketing to the dance and found out it wasn’t very good company. You’ve been there, haven’t you?
Digital marketing is like the pretty prom queen who doesn’t bring anything else to the table. Meanwhile, direct mail is the girl everybody avoids, but actually has something to offer.
Class Is in Session
When the dance is over and classes resume, everybody else will have lessons to learn – lessons the insurance industry already knows. For starters, direct mail is for business. Its benefits aren’t exclusive to the insurance industry.
Every company, small, medium, or large, wants to use its marketing budget as effectively as possible. Marketers want to get as much bang for their buck as they can. If they don’t get what they want, they look elsewhere. Here’s what direct mail offers:
- Messaging – You can do a lot with printed materials that you can’t do on digital screens. That alone makes direct mail worthwhile. Even integrating print and digital works better than just digital alone.
- Targeting – The digital world doesn’t have a stranglehold on targeted messaging. If digital marketers can do it, direct mail marketers can do it better. We can target by age, location, household income, etc.
- Engagement – Successful marketing is a lot like asking someone out on a date: you need to give them a reason to say yes. You need to engage that person. That’s what direct mail does. It gives people a reason to pay attention.
- Affordability – Nobody wants to spend a ton on marketing and get nothing in return. Direct mail is no cheap date, but it is pretty affordable. You can get more per impression compared to digital marketing.
Everybody needs insurance, right? Yet insurance marketers still know they need to go out and drum up business. They are like a gaggle of teenagers trying to get dates to the prom. The more attention they get, the better their chances of being asked.
Direct mail is the date that insurance marketers have always taken to the dance. It’s been a great relationship all these years. While other industries are pulling back, expect insurance companies to double down on direct mail. You should see it in your mailbox for the rest of the year.