SMS Marketing for Life Insurance Companies

The new year is traditionally a time when people look to make positive changes in their lives and resolve to tie up loose ends in various areas of life. One sector that can take advantage of this time of year is the Life Insurance industry. It is an ideal time to reach out to both new and existing clients and encourage them to make sure that everything is in order for the new year. SMS Marketing is a powerful and effective solution which is ideal for such a campaign. Here are seven suggestions for using SMS Marketing to start your 2018 campaign.

1. Appointment management

If you have a team of agents making face-to-face calls, you will be well aware of the problem of missed appointments and last minute cancellations. With so much going on, your customers are always busy, easily distracted and time just gets away from them. Research shows that the majority of no-shows for appointments are caused by the participants simply forgetting that they had made an arrangement, rather than a lack of interest in your product or proposition. With this in mind, sending an SMS message to remind them of an appointment can turn this trend around and help to reduce no-show rates and the associated costs. It also adds value to the customer by helping to make sure that they follow through on their new year plans – a seemingly small gesture which can go a long way towards winning the long-term loyalty of your new customers.

To demonstrate the highest level of service, don’t just send a cold reminder – give clients the option to reschedule or cancel via text too. By making it easy for people to make changes, your agents will be able to manage their schedules more efficiently and fill in those last minute cancellations, as well as demonstrating that there is a human side to the company that recognises the ever-changing needs of individuals.

2. Staying in touch

The insurance sector has changed a lot over recent years, and now there is far more that customers take into consideration than price alone. Life Insurance, unlike many other types of insurance, is a choice rather than a requirement, meaning that the human touch is more important than ever in influencing customers.

SMS Marketing can help to add that human touch. Reach out to new customers as a human, using a friendly and personal tone. If your existing customers are due for a policy renewal, send a short message letting the customer know they need to take action to renew. Or just send a courtesy reminder if the renewal is automatic – this can also be a great time to reach out for an upsell or cross-sell.

As well as policy related messages, don’t be afraid to be more personal. You can send birthday wishes or acknowledge other life events with a text message. This all helps to demonstrate that human, personal touch. When your customers feel good about you, they’re more likely to trust you and stay loyal even in the face of lower rates elsewhere.

3. Cross-sells and upsells

With so many different types of insurance on offer, why not let your customers know about them? If your customers only have standard life assurance, why not periodically let them know about your latest offers on critical injury policies, travel insurance or other types of cover that may complement their existing policy. In addition, people’s financial circumstances and needs change over time, so it is worth enquiring from time to time whether your customers have the right level of cover or would benefit from increasing their policy or adding tailored extras. SMS Marketing can be used very effectively for such communications.

4. Integrated marketing

With almost every adult in the UK owning a mobile phone and the vast majority having them within arms reach almost all of the time, if customers are considering taking out a life insurance policy then Mobile Marketing is a great way to reach and engage with them. Remember that SMS Marketing does not necessarily have to be a one-way process initiated by the customer receiving an SMS – with the use of shortcodes, you can run traditional and digital marketing campaigns and encourage customers to enquire by SMS.

For example, you might run an advertising campaign with a Call to Action such as “Looking for total peace of mind? Text LIFE to 87007 now for more information”.

Click here to learn more about using shortcodes as shown in the example above.

Making the experience as simple as possible from the outset is a great way to instil a sense of trust and confidence in potential customers.

5. Sharing tips

SMS Marketing is great for more than simply sales and direct marketing – it can also be a highly effective tool for sharing knowledge and tips – helping to add value to the customer relationship. For life insurance customers, why not share tips on healthy living, safe travelling and more. You might want to run a campaign based on a series of simple tips that fit within the SMS character limit or create longer content such as blog articles and share links by SMS. Indeed, you may even want to experiment with both and see what gets the best results.

Providing such useful information to your clients helps to present your company as a proactive organisation that really does want to help its clients get the most out of their relationship, which can really help to make you stand out from the competitors.

6. Managing claims

There has been a lot of pressure in recent years for insurance companies to simplify their claims processes and SMS Marketing is a great way to help achieve this, as well as improve customer relationships throughout the claims process.

SMS messages mean that it is simple to keep customers updated as the claims make it through your review process. Send a confirmation message when the claim is received, another one when it’s actively being reviewed, then another one letting them know if you need more information. Keeping customers informed every step of the way not only helps put them at ease but can also reduce enquiries to your call centres or agents for updates. Once the entire process has been completed, be sure to follow up with a feedback survey.

7. Customer feedback

How easy is it for your customers to share feedback? Sending out a short SMS survey can be an easy and quick way to get some insight into how your company is performing, how you are perceived and what you are getting wrong and right. The surveys could be sent randomly to all customers or triggered based on events. Automatically send out a survey two days after a claim is closed to see what they thought of your process and results. Send a different survey out to people who have had contact with an agent or your customer service centre recently and see if they had a good (or bad) experience. Survey results can always help you improve on what you’re doing and using SMS Marketing makes it quick and easy for everyone.

The suggestions presented are just a few of the ways the life insurance industry can use SMS Marketing to succeed in the new year. Used effectively, they can help to reduce costs, increase sales and help establish your brand’s reputation for excellent customer service.

To get started with SMS Marketing now, call our team of experts on 0800 954 5305 and we’ll have you set up in no time.