The evolutionary process

As recently as a year ago, the majority of broker websites read like online brochures. Static images, plain text and few interactive or engaging tools were commonplace, all of which discourage visitors from returning. However, as more businesses and individuals search for insurance online, many brokers are investing time and money into carefully constructed websites with the aim of developing online communities around their sites.

When Mike Joseph established Right Choice Insurance Brokers in April 2008, having spied an opportunity to bring traditional broking skills to the aggregator market, the broker's website became integral to the business plan. From the planning stage to going live, the website took six months to build. Joseph believes that extensive website planning and testing is vital: "It is not about what you like but more about how it appeals to your customer base. Remember that having a website in itself does not generate business: you need to be careful in considering how you will attract people to your site and at what cost before you start. Too many brokers make the mistake of thinking that they will do more business just by having a site."

Not all broker websites take as long as six months to build. Mark Huxley and Neil Johnson, directors at marketing consultancy Lamb, have helped brokers launch a website within a month of beginning the planning process. Huxley says: "The technology for building a website has become so straightforward that they are now mostly about design. The broker just needs to know what its site needs to do to represent the business digitally. The look and feel needs to lead the site; there is always someone out there that can build it."

Defining purpose

Research into user habits can help a broker establish what its target audience is expecting from a website, however, the profession has been slow to develop websites beyond brochure-ware and basic product information. Mark Stickland, director at broker website specialist FWD, believes that brokers need to think about their website visitors approach: "Some broker websites in the past have fallen into the trap of putting information up on the web for clients and potential leads without considering what it wants as a company. Does the broker want to sell insurance online, collect data on potential new clients or advertise additional services to current clients?"

Before starting to set or re-launch a website, it is important to meet the site developer to explain the relevant business specialty areas. Alastair Murray, director at web design and internet marketing specialist The Bureau, believes this to be key: "When a new client comes in, the first thing we do is agree the key pages that are needed for the site. It is important to have pages for key products because people don't search for a general insurance broker online, they search for a broker that specialises in the desired area of business."

First, the developer registers the preferred domain name, and then takes a design brief from the project manager, including details of preferred website styles, corporate branding, target audience and the product range. If a new online brand is required, the web designer should be in a position to make some suggestions about the logo, colour scheme and other style issues.

After having drafted and reworked the design until the whole team is happy, the web developer will create the structure of the site using industry-standard technology such as Microsoft.NET, CSS, XML messaging and, where appropriate, legacy systems integration. The designer should optimise the website for its search engine ranking capability (see our jargon buster on p.25) and, finally, arrange suitable and secure website hosting.

It is important to reduce the number of clicks the client has to make to reach their desired destination because the more clicks that are needed, the greater the likelihood of the client leaving the site without buying.

Lyndon Wood, chairman at the Moorhouse Group, says it is best that a website is as easy to use as possible before going live. He explains: "Do not assume that the customer understands how to use the website and has knowledge of the insurance industry. Use clear, concise links to correctly labeled pages and make help buttons available as often as possible." If necessary a user group should be chosen to ascertain how user friendly the site is.

Where buying capabilities are needed on a website, the costs can range hugely. Systems vary from quote-and-buy packaged policies to those designed for the use of other brokers when purchasing more complicated wholesale products. The latter can have an option to make adjustments mid-term, as well as access to complex, in-depth reports. Costs can range anywhere from £4,500 up to £50,000; more complex systems can also be expensive to maintain - especially where regular rate adjustments and new products are introduced.

Receiving payments

Where there is a desire for customers or sub-agents to buy direct online rather than having to contact the broker personally, online credit card processing providers such as Paypal and Protx can provide facilities that can be linked to the site. However, where revenues are expected to be large, brokers may have to apply for special accounts. Peter Skinner, sales director at insurance specialist website designer Omnix, says: "If regular and significant revenues are likely, the broker will need to apply for an online merchant account, which is like a separate online bank account where the receipts from the broker's online trading are passed. These card processing providers also have a degree of built-in security."

Where there is a facility to buy online or exchange confidential data, it is imperative that the site is secure. Fortunately, arranging website security is fairly inexpensive. Wood comments: "Security is essential and brokers need to demonstrate to their clients on the site that they are providing it. Sites with security advertised on all pages (with Verisign certification, for example) are popular. A user needs to be able to know that the site is safe, especially where they are handing over personal or financial details."

There are many experts that profess to be able to help brokers design and build their websites and advice is available from Google for free. However, these experts charge very differently and it can be difficult for a broker to understand and justify which consultant to use.

"Most brokers will have a good idea of the insurance products that they want to promote online and the appropriate target market. Talking to a knowledgeable and insurance-savvy website designer during the early planning stage may throw up more ideas about what can be achieved that the broker may not have considered. It does no harm to pick the experts' brains and there shouldn't be any significant cost associated with this," argues Skinner.

Using expensive website design specialists is not always the best option and opinions among brokers that have recently updated or launched new websites are diverse as to whether or not they are worth the money. Joseph believes that it is helpful to talk to other brokers that have developed websites: "The best advice comes from those that have been through the process and learned from both the positive and negative things along the way. Therefore, I would recommend calling on contacts in the industry to gain their advice rather than relying on information technology or marketing firms. Remember, you know your market better than anyone else."

Website development costs vary hugely, from a few hundred pounds where the expertise is held in house, to hundreds of thousands for more complex websites with features such as forums and online sales channels. Joseph believes that it is important to keep a budget in mind from the start, otherwise costs may spiral out of control: "It is important to have strong ideas on the budget, taking into account whether the site is being used just for data capture or to generate online quotes with a facility to buy online."

Brokers also need to factor in the costs of keeping a website up to date and resist the urge to spend the budget on only set-up costs. Strickland advocates a phased approach to his clients: "We are in a changing world, so brokers need to be able to update and add to their sites as they go along. A lot of refinements happen once a website is already live; a broker can often only discover things that it does and does not like when it has been living with its website for a while."

Many commercial broker websites contain static content and therefore there is a creative challenge to keep them fresh. Some good ways of achieving this include using tools such as news feeds, industry commentary and legal updates. Ken Wright, regional development director at Ignition, believes that, in order to encourage people to visit a broker's site regularly, fresh content is needed at least every two weeks. He highlights: "Websites need to be dynamic and frequently updated if they are to encourage visitors, especially if you want the site to come up on search engine results. It takes a lot of time and effort to make regular updates, so you need to make sure they are part of a greater overall communications program." (For more on integrated marketing campaigns, see Focus, PB March 2009, p.22.)

Content management systems for updating web content have come down dramatically in price over the last 18 months, with fully hosted multiple page systems now costing around £2,000 a year. These systems make it relatively easy for brokers to update their own content on their websites. When placing industry news updates on a website, it can be tempting to regurgitate content from media sources, however, Wright notes that this should be avoided and that brokers should write content for their websites themselves. He comments: "It is your brand that you are presenting, so you need to be accountable for the content."

It can also be tempting to throw pages of text on to a site in order to keep it up to date, though Johnson believes that it is important to keep text to a minimum. He remarks: "People do not stay on websites for long, so pages of copy will not be read and may even put people off. Interactive tools such as blogs and forums are a lot more attractive: conversing drives traffic."

Once a website is set up, analytics make it possible to track who is visiting the site and what they are using. Strickland believes that data collection is at the centre of web development: "The last few years of broker websites have been about simply having an internet presence such as an online brochure. The next five years will be all about how effective that website is and collecting data efficiently is an essential part of this: you need to know who is visiting the website and what they are using it for. It is all about having high-quality visitors to your website that fulfill the targets you set your website up to meet, for example converting visitors into new business."

Analytics are relatively quick and easy to set up, with tools available for free from the likes of Google. While you can mine reams of data from a website, in order to analyse it effectively, you need to understand what the significance of the data is. Web design and marketing companies often provide analytical packs for sites that they have set up to provide summaries that break down the data into easily digestible bites (see Analyse This, PB Jan-Feb 2009, pp.12-13.)

Wright believes that greater numbers of brokers need to invest time and resources in analysing the effectiveness of their websites. He says: "It is incredible, the number of brokers that come to us for quote-and-buy systems without even knowing how many people are visiting their site and what they are using it for."

Website management

Often, website development is left to external professionals but it is important for brokers to keep close management of their websites in-house, even where using external help. Joseph believes that it is important for critical staff from all areas of the business to be involved in broker website development: "One of the most important aspects of a website is to have key staff involved in its design. Too many companies leave it to IT people without the necessary input from areas such as marketing, business development, sales management and compliance, all of which are necessary to ensure that the site does not just work but also looks and feels good and is easy to navigate."

Wood agrees that all elements of the broker business need to have a say in the look and feel of the broker's website but notes that it is important for a single individual to have overall ownership of the program. He says: "The number of people you need involved depends on how far in depth you want the website to go. At Moorhouse we have a team of four people looking after our website along with an external consultant but they are led by a single individual who coordinates the process."

A single 'point person' to take charge of a website is especially important to implement where a broker wishes to make updates to its web presence. This person should be given responsibility for making regular updates rather than sporadic changes that can often emerge where a broker shares responsibility among a group in an uncoordinated manner. A managing director or chairperson is the most likely person to take charge here, though Skinner believes that the sales manager or director is in a better position to manage the process. He says: "A website is primarily a sales and marketing tool and online shop window for the broker and as such, it should be controlled by the broker's sales manager or director. The worst-case scenario is where the website is designed by committee, the board or by the broker's founding chairperson whose chief priority is putting their picture on the homepage."