Word on the wire

As the intense competition within the insurance marketplace continues, the need to create reputation and profile for a business becomes ever more critical. For the broking population, that need is amplified even further.

In addition to a crowded market, brokers face a further challenge. Direct writers, retail brands, banks and building societies are using every available marketing tool as they draw the insurance-buying public to their products. 'Cut out the middleman' is the message being driven home. Meanwhile the internet is making shopping around at home far easier for a time-starved public.

While brokers recognise the need to protect their markets, the increasingly competitive nature of the industry has seen many facing reduced incomes. FSA regulation, meanwhile, has increased costs, and customer expectations are becoming ever more sophisticated, which requires brokers to invest more time in keeping existing clients happy. How can brokers try to level out the playing-field?

The opportunity

There is a growing need to re-educate the consumer in the benefits of using a broker, and this represents an opportunity for individual firms to build profile and reputation. Local knowledge and specialist expertise are key differentiators a broker can harness when competing with the direct writers, financial institutions and retailers. Promoting these differentiators effectively can help to create competitive advantage.

A well-thought-through public relations campaign is a highly cost-effective way of gaining sustained 'share of voice' in a crowded and noisy marketplace. Editorial exposure in the media, for example, will be seen to be an endorsement of your brand by the publication, radio station or TV channel in question, unlike paid-for space or airtime. Moreover, editorial exposure lends itself to 'education' because there is scope for debate, advice and informed opinion.

The plan

The key to a successful campaign is to use PR as a strategic business tool, creating a plan that runs in tandem with and supports the business plan. Your business is dynamic and just as your business plan evolves, your PR plan should be a 'living document', regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects and reacts to the changing needs of your business. At the same time it is important to ensure that PR activity is integrated with any other promotional/marketing initiatives being undertaken by the business (advertising, direct mail, sponsorship etc), to get maximum overall return on any marketing spending.

When you have decided what you want your PR to achieve, make sure that you know what success will look like. Draw up criteria against your defined objectives, which will enable you to measure the effectiveness of your PR activity. Elements could include volume of exposure in the media measured against equivalent advertising costs; quality of exposure in terms of content and message; market and competitor reaction; customer feedback; resulting sales leads; staff motivation and ease of recruitment; and so on.

Insource or outsource?

The pros and cons of insourcing versus outsourcing are much debated. A consultant or agency sees the bigger picture and can give an objective opinion, unprejudiced by company views. Well-selected external PR experts will also have the media contacts and experience required to identify and generate ideas. Consequently, media interest and resulting exposure is generated swiftly, consistently and, therefore, cost-effectively. The cost of employing somebody in-house with these skills can often be prohibitive.

Similarly, identifying capacity, re-deploying a member of staff and investing in training to develop the expertise in-house is a costly and timely exercise - with no guarantee that the individual, once trained, will remain motivated, or indeed an employee.

Conversely, the in-house approach means there is no learning curve in terms of understanding the company, its business and its culture or existing and appropriate channels of communication with specific stakeholders. An in-house facility also provides a dedicated point of contact within the organisation.

For some, the answer is a combined approach using a mixture of in-house and external resources, ensuring that areas of responsibility are clearly designated and delivery expectations well defined. The common denominators that must be met, whichever option you take, are commitment at management level to the PR initative and a designated member of staff who has responsibility for day-to-day coordination.

Having decided upon internal or external resources, a strategic approach can then be taken to developing the PR plan. Consideration should be given in the first instance to the positioning of the brand in terms of the marketplace and your internal values, and subsequently the messages, which will be consistently delivered to create not only awareness of your brand, but an understanding of your proposition. Ultimately, your aim is to create 'brand preferentiality', whereby the target market knows your brand, understands the benefits of what you provide and actively chooses your brand above others. (Moreover, in addition to supporting retention and sales drives, a byproduct of brand preferentiality is value creation in the business: your brand itself becomes a tangible asset.)

In order for the target market to choose your broking service above others, it will be fundamental to ensure that the customer experience lives up to the reputation you create for yourself. Building a brand isn't about a new logo and strapline, but a business philosophy that permeates the entire company. The positioning and message you develop must be reflected in the way the business communicates and operates, both internally and externally. To this end, communicate with and involve staff in the development of the brand positioning and message. This will help to make sure that the company as a whole lives up to the brand.

The ideal client

In order to develop your company positioning and message, go through the following exercise to pinpoint your ideal customer.

Identify the markets that represent maximum opportunity and in which you have most to offer in terms of expertise, product and value (and therefore most to gain). Then look at your best customers in these markets in terms of sales made, quality of relationship, longevity, culture and strategic fit, opportunities for organic growth and cross-selling etc. The brand positioning and message should be geared to draw prospects to you that replicate this profile.

Consider why these customers choose to place their insurance with you - their mindset, their aspirations, their challenges and their needs. It is a well-documented fact that the decision to buy is an emotional response and the message you create needs to strike empathy with your target audience.

When you have developed your message, if feasible, test it with some existing customers; the feedback will be valuable and enlightening.

While you are doing this, research how your competitors are promoting themselves and make sure you differentiate your brand. And always make sure you can justify your message - hollow statements and empty promises are easily spotted and worthless.

Once you are clear on how you want to portray your company, and about your target markets and prospect profiles, you then need to identify the best vehicles for reaching these audiences. Again, the reading material and broadcast preferences of your 'profile' customers can be very revealing. Local, specialist consumer and business press can all be considered. Broadcast media in the form of local radio and TV can also be an option.

When working with external consultants, agree a target media list in advance, thereby ensuring clarity of expectations and the appropriate channelling of subsequent efforts. Adopting a focused approach to building relationships with key journalists will bring powerful results more rapidly. These relationships will also stand you in good stead should you experience any negative publicity as a result of customer complaints etc.

Going it alone

For those who opt to implement their own PR plan, introductory PR workshops and refresher courses are a valuable tool to develop or boost in-house skills. Some basic principles to remember when running a media relations campaign are as follows.

Take time to familiarise yourself with your target media. Presenting your material - whether it be a news item, informed opinion, a customer story or consumer advice - in a media-friendly format, tailoring the style to suit the particular journalist and paying heed to basic principles like avoiding contact on press day, will all work to your advantage.

Work to develop a two-way relationship so that the journalist can come to you for advice and feedback when writing articles pertinent to your markets. Always treat journalists' enquiries as high priority and ensure you meet deadlines for information.

Increase the impact

Consider additional opportunities to raise your profile in your markets. Investigate suitable awards events, both regionally and within your sectors of business, for which you could submit entries. Look for opportunities to become a recognised force within your business and regional communities. These may include involvement in or attendance at appropriate business exhibitions, conferences and speaking engagements; support of a local charity; participation in local business community events; participation in local education initiatives, and so on. Select carefully and remain mindful of the impact of associating your brand on each occasion. As you work to build brand preferentiality, it is important to align your brands with others that display similar values.

Use your website to maximum advantage. Wherever possible, aim to include your web address in PR material, thereby steering traffic to your site. Adapt material generated for the media and post it on your site as a source of information and advice for visitors, and remember to update the material regularly.

Online PR activity in its simplest form can be initiated by investigating relevant online publications or 'ezines' as a means of spreading your message and targeting them in the same way as print and broadcast media.

Maximise the return

Finally, make sure you use the results of your PR efforts to maximum effect. Arrange reprints of your best articles and use them as a sales aid; send them or show them to customers and prospects whenever an appropriate opportunity arises. Keep a well-presented and regularly updated book of press cuttings on your reception, so visitors to your offices have opportunity to browse through your 'media endorsement'. Mount a collage of cuttings in a prominent staff meeting area to enhance the 'feel good factor' and instil a sense of company pride. With media approval, create a 'What the Media Says' area on your website and include the best quotes from your clippings. Taking every opportunity to gain additional advantage from your results will help to drive your business forward and further increase the return on your PR investment.