Web of intrigue

Intermediaries in the personal-lines sector are finally managing to shake off the old stereotypes related to their online capabilities - particularly as certain intermediaries have run successful and high-profile publicity campaigns around their online presence. The question is, once you have implemented an effective online strategy, how important is it to publicise this and would the commercial lines side also benefit from a high-profile web presence?

A vital part of developing and maintaining a web strategy is to keep up-to-date with trends in customer requirements. "The pace that the change is taking is extraordinary," observes Nick Bowyer, marketing director at Swinton. One question that continues to be posed among industry professionals is how far the increasing tendency for people to carry out their research online will turn into a comparable willingness to buy online?

Bowyer expresses a widely-held view that personal lines insurance is currently at the stage where there are probably more people carrying out comparisons and then purchasing on the phone but predicts that within a few years, online purchase would become the preferred approach for the majority.

Perry Wilson, director of Insure and Go, expresses the belief that people are still cautious about spending too much money without talking to a real person. "People are still not willing to pay large amounts of money online. After about the £100 mark, they begin to want to talk to someone."

There is little doubt that the internet is a very effective marketing tool. However, it is also vital to raise the profile of the marketing tool itself. With so many firms vying for the consumer's attention online, it is easy for a firm to get lost in cyber space.

There have recently been examples of broker web initiatives that have been supported by successful media campaigns. Insure and Go has run a series of television adds and for Wilson, it is largely about raising awareness of the brand. "It gets your name out there and helps people remember it. That's where we're driving at the moment - brand awareness."

Graeme Trudgill, technical services manager for the British Insurance Brokers' Association, warns that television advertising is very expensive and that, "Any strategy involving this advertising medium must be considered with care, if not caution." Trudgill adds however that a web strategy is vital. "Every company should have an online strategy, whether it be just for information, more interactive sales or customer service."

Low-cost alternatives

There are some low-cost alternatives that can also prove effective. "You can pick up some very inexpensive slots for TV advertising on non-terrestrial satellite TV. It might be 3am when it is aired but it may be worth it," points out Wilson.

In terms of getting the web address across to customers, there are also some basic common sense steps to bear in mind, such as ensuring it is on letter heads and stationary. Trudgill emphasises: "The website needs to be well promoted at every opportunity to raise awareness with potential clients," adding: "The greater the web presence the more likely your site is to be hit by enquirers."

Wilson adds: "Don't go for website names that people will not remember. Try to get something that represents what your business does so that it is a bit more relevant and memorable."

It is also worth bearing in mind that you need to protect the website URL itself as soon as possible as these have become valuable commodities. Trudgill advises: "Buy your website URL - if you don't then someone else will and you may have to buy it off them for a small fortune."

If you are investing time and resources in attracting people to your website, you need to make sure it can fulfill visitors' expectations. Wilson points out that a badly run website may well be viewed by the customer as a reflection of a poorly run business. "If you can't get your website to work properly, people may wonder what will happen if they have an accident or need to claim on their insurance for any reason," comments Wilson.

It is interesting to glance at the healthcare sector, as intermediaries there, which have traditionally lagged behind other parts of the online insurance world, are also beginning to develop long-term strategies based on the Internet. Wayne Pontin, director, Jelf Corporate Healthcare, asserts: "I think it is growing in importance, almost daily, to have an online presence, particularly if you are involved in individual private medical insurance. The development of an e-trading capacity for individual PMI is essential now and more and more people are choosing to buy online."

Like those in general insurance, Pontin also emphasises the need to attract recognition and awareness of the website's name. Pontin adds that: "Any advertising we did would include our website."

On the general insurance side, many of the concepts that apply to personal lines intermediaries also hold true for those in the commercial sector. For example, if you are going to have a web presence, it is equally important to ensure people know about it. But is a web strategy as important for commercial lines broking as it is for personal lines?

Lyndon Wood, chairman of Moorhouse, says, from the point of view of the larger corporate broker, "It is important to have an online brochure with maybe an enquiry form. Corporate customers expect you to have an online presence so they can see you have been bothered to keep up with future developments and you are not stuck in the mud."

As far as smaller brokers are concerned, Wood observes: "If you sell packaged products, then yes, you need an online strategy to move forward. It is important that your own processes are streamlined in order to reflect this in your pricing and handle more volume with added ease. I am not saying you will not survive and if you are happy just 'surviving' then great, but if not then get online and trade or start seeing your business diminishing in value."

Being small should not mean an online presence is out of the question, for both the personal and commercial lines sectors. Again, costly exercises like prime-time TV advertising are by no means the only way to raise awareness of the website. Wood asserts: "Take yourself back to why you set up and believe in your business and have the courage to invest in an online strategy. There are many ways of doing this and it does not all have to be costly."

Bowyer advises: "The best thing you can do if you are on a limited marketing budget is to make sure you have got a great website - it doesn't cost a lot of money to get a great website together and it doesn't cost a huge amount to optimise that website for instance in terms of search engines," adding, "The thing about the internet is you can spend a lot or a little. In terms of online promotion, there's no reason why smaller companies or more specialist brokers can't prosper in that environment."

Online strategy

It is also worth asking whether your insurer partners can help contribute to the cost of marketing your website. Trudgill adds: "Link into local newspapers to help promote free advice on financial matters and promote your site." Furthermore, the online environment can provide the appearance of a more level playing field as far as smaller brokers are concerned. As Trudgill comments: "Size doesn't matter as a smaller broker can look like a big broker with an attractive website."

In terms of customer requirements where commercial lines websites are concerned, the concept of buying online through a commercial lines broker's website is no longer out of the question. Wood observes: "It is feasible for a commercial entity to buy online, in particular smaller businesses where they are too busy during the day to speak to anyone but go online at night." Wood, however, does not believe this will happen for larger businesses, "They do require far more risk management and like the face to face contact still. The personal touch can only be replicated to a degree online."

Eric Galbraith, Biba's chief executive, comments: "Commercial 'package' policies are already accessible online but unless the customer has access to a broker or an intermediary to advise on the cover then I don't believe that the customer is best served by just using an online process. The fact is that 'package policies' very often need to be tailored to individual needs and brokers are the best solution for this."

Whether or not your customer is going to purchase online, an online strategy is now vital for intermediaries across the board - regardless of size or sector. It is also true that such a strategy should include steps to raise awareness of the website. While an all-singing, all-dancing television campaign will certainly help, this is unlikely to be a realistic option for many. But targeted marketing and a few common sense initiatives will pay dividends.

Online marketing advice

Just having a website means nothing these days. It has got to be up to date and relevant and you have got to promote it. More and more companies are turning to the internet to do research and get a feel for the type of broker they'll be doing business with. A recent report showed that 87% of businesses use the web to research suppliers and improve efficiency.

If your site is slow to load, features out of date information and looks unprofessional, then that is the impression they will get of your business.

The most cost effective way to promote your site to your existing clients is to ensure that your web address is prominently displayed on all your literature and emails. This is effectively free advertising but it is only of value if you continually have something new and interesting to offer your clients - so your website should be constantly updated with fresh and interesting information.

The second most cost effective way is to promote your site on the search engines. Our research has shown that many brokers have internet sites that have not even been submitted to the search engines - and if you do not tell the search engines that you exist, you cannot be surprised that nobody finds you online. So, firstly ensure that your website designers submit your site and that your site is designed in such a way to be search engine friendly.

Then you can promote your site by advertising with the search engines. Normally called 'keyword bidding', this can be very cost effective, especially when targeting a specific cover. For example, there were 158 UK searches for "directors' and officers' insurance" in June on the Yahoo! search engine. The bid cost of coming first in the search for this term would have been 0.13p. So the worst-case scenario would be a cost of £20.54 to capture all 158 of these D&O leads - traditional advertising cannot compete with these low costs of acquisition.

Andy Heap, Managing director, Ignition.