This document discusses strategies for increasing acquisition on insurance websites through next generation digital marketing approaches. It begins with an overview of general issues with existing insurance websites and opportunities for improvement. It then covers key elements of an acquisition strategy, including content strategy, search engine optimization, microsites, and digital technologies. Specific tactics are provided around each area, such as segmenting audiences based on buying cycles, aligning content to different segments, and optimizing websites for search engines. Case studies demonstrate how these approaches have helped increase traffic, conversions and leads for other insurance companies. The document advocates for a structured, multi-channel approach across the customer lifecycle to drive better acquisition outcomes.

1. A Digital Solutions Firm delivering
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Next Generation
Insurance Websites
Aseriesof2webinars

2. 1
Next Generation Insurance Websites
PART 1 – Increasing Acquisition on
Insurance Websites
PART 2 – Increasing Engagement & Retention on
Insurance Websites and Portals

3. 2
 General state of Insurance websites – areas of opportunity
 Key elements of acquisition strategy
 Content strategy
 Search Engine Optimization
 Microsites
 Online video streaming
 Multi-channel engagement
 Digital technologies that enable acquisition
Agenda
PART 1: Increasing acquisition on Insurance websites

4. 33
General state of
Insurance websites –
areas of opportunity

5. 4
Company-centric websites make
browsing difficult
Sites are often designed around
internal departments/teams of
insurers
Consumers are compelled to
understand how the company is
organized
Content is missing, repeated,
and poorly worded
Inconsistency in content
structure/presentation
Key/logical content missing
A study on Insurance websites
Self-service on industry websites is poor overall despite the growing
preference of consumers to use online resources to manage their accounts
Site Search just doesn’t work for
typical tasks
Many sites have no search option
Too much information presented in
search results, not all is relevant
Search scored lowest in the study with
an industry average of just 3.6 on a
10-point scale.
“The average rating for the industry
was 5.2 on a 10 point scale”
Source : The Customer Respect Group June 11, 2012

6. 5
 The eight most common
features present on the
websites were all items of
information
 Most websites could not give
customers specific price
information, a feature present
only in those sites that had
the ability to generate instant
quotes
 Many insurance companies
choose to cater to all their
customers through the same
global website
A study on digital adoption
The Insurance industry has not kept pace with digital features
and functions that can elevate customer acquisition
Source: University of Regina Regina,
CANADA

7. 6
Digital adoption by Insurance companies
 The Insurance industry, in
general, regards their websites
as a medium for one-way
communication of product
information and company
image
 Websites contained static web
pages with little or no
interactive or dynamic
functionality
 Largely, insurance companies
do not include a statement
explaining why customers
should have or need insurance

8. 7
Dominance of traditional marketing
Source: Survey by JasonHoeppner
@B.H.Burke&Co

9. 8
Marketing ROI
62 % of respondents said they do not measure the
Marketing ROI
Source: Survey by JasonHoeppner
@B.H.Burke&Co

10. 9
Changes in buyer behaviour
Buyers have choices and options—they look for the most
convenient, lowest risk and highest comfort options

11. 10
1995
Informational
•Brochure-ware
•Webmaster
bottleneck
2000
Transactional
•IT-driven
•Commerce
•Portals
•Personalization
2007
Persuasive
•Marketing-driven
•Focus on
business solution
2011+
Contextual &
Collaborative
•Social
•Personal
•Interactive
•Mobile
Changes in the direction of websites
The content and experience of next generation websites is
driven by visitor context

12. 11
Focus
• Presence
• Brochure-ware
• KPI’s are traffic
related
• Use web to grow
revenues
• KPI’s are related to
business objectives
• Social media is
about listening
• Optimize digital
presence to get
higher engagement
• Optimize marketing
spend
• KPI’s have monthly
targets
• Social is optimized to
enhance the brand
and drive leads
• Nurture prospects
and customers
• Support is
automated through
peer-to-peer and self
help communities
• KPI’s are tied with
lead generation and
revenue
• Social is automated
& integrated w CRM
• Relevant 1-to-1
conversations with
customers, blending offline
and online behavior
• Building Customer profile
with relevant data
• KPI’s are linked to CRM and
measure wins, revenue &
loss through integrated
online / offline cross-
channels
• Deep relationships are
formed with advocates
Goals
• Basic website for
branding
• Newsletter
• Web analytics
• Multichannel with
mobile presence
• Cross-channel
engagement
analytics
• Sales Enablement
(B2B)
• Segmented e-mail
campaigns
• Campaign
management
• Rules based
personalization
• Optimization
• Personas & Profiling
• Predictive
personalization
• Cross digital channel
automation
• Trigger based e-mail
dialogue
• Reduced cost
• Bridging the online and
offline - one view of
customer
• Integration to CRM
• Online and offline
automation
• Up/cross sell
• Effective onboarding
• Increased LTV
Where are you on the Curve?
By preparing a plan to move up the digital maturity curve,
marketers can create truly engaging experience
Static Tactical Optimizing Automation Engaging

13. 1212
DOES YOUR WEBSITE CONVERT
VISITORS INTO PROSPECTS?

14. 13
YOUNEEDASTRATEGIC
ROADMAP!
 Understand how clients buy and get organized
 Be multi-channel
 Get your strategies right - content strategy, exceptional
website, acquisition strategy, SEM/SEO and social
 Get the insight you need
 Join the dots with your technology

15. 14
Key Elements of an Acquisition Strategy
Your assets and strategies across the acquisition process need
to be aligned
Driving Traffic Conversion Nurturing Sales
Acquisition Process
• Listening to the
customer
• Drive traffic
• Social media
marketing
• Thought
Leadership
• Lead
management
• Dynamic
experiences
• Analytics
• Lead scoring
• Personalization
• Lead nurturing
tactics
• Email and
marketing
automation
• Marketing and
sales
enablement
• Sales force
automation
Website

16. 1515
DIGITALMARKETINGNEEDSTOWRAP
AROUNDTHEBUYINGLIFECYCLETO
IMPROVEACQUISITION
If your marketing efforts are able to influence the buying
lifecycle, you will have a large influence on acquisition

17. 16
Execute initiatives across the
buying lifecycle
The buying lifecycle provides direction to your digital marketing
initiatives

18. 17
Segment your audience
Who is buying from you? Understand the distinct buying
groups within your prospect population
Understand your
Buying Cycle
Segment your
audience
Map the
Messages
Implement the
Platforms

19. 18
Understand your buying cycle
 Understand your customer’s mindset through the buying cycle journey
Segment your audience
 Determine the target groups within your audience
Map the messages
 Understand and align the messages with the segment and their objections
Implement the platforms
 Implement the multi-channel platforms
Using buying cycle to define engagement
Use the buying cycle to understand how, when and with
what to engage prospects at each step of buying process
Understand your
Buying Cycle
Segment your
audience
Map the
Messages
Implement the
Platforms

20. 19
COMPANIES WITH IMPROVED
CONVERSION ARE USING 90%
MORE WAYS TO SEGMENT THEIR
VISITORS AND CUSTOMERS VS.
THE COMPANIES WITH LOWER
CONVERSION RATES.
Source: eConsultancy and RedEye Report

21. 20
Align content to the segmentation
Identify content that address customer expectations. Consider
buying cycle, segmentation, pain points and motivators
Understand your
Buying Cycle
Segment your
audience
Map the
Messages
Implement the
Platforms

22. 21
Mapping content
 Per stage in the buying cycle
 Per segment
Put yourself in their shoes
 What questions would they
have at this stage?
 What information would they
need to move forward?
 What fear, uncertainty and
doubt (FUD) must be
overcome?
Map the messaging
Objective: Understand prospect needs and motivations per
segment per stage, walk the buying cycle like they would

23. 2222
CONTENT STRATEGY

24. 23
The challenges with content
According to a poll of 103 marketers across various industries
including insurance:
Source: Brafton Poll

25. 24
 Define your business goals and objectives
 Evaluate your customers
 Become a one-stop resource for local community information,
advice about insurance, including ways to cut insurance costs, and
provide useful tips for preventing accidents from happening.
 Add value – create a whitepaper, video, or a fun contest to keep
visitors engaged while also providing value.
 Measure – last, but not least, it’s important to measure the impact of
your content strategy.
Content strategy for Insurance companies
Insurance can be complicated. When creating content, especially for your blog
and emails, think about disseminating information in small, digestible chunks
5 steps to a successful content strategy

26. 25
 Provide an incentive to fill out forms
 Create whitepapers with landing pages
 Drive traffic to your blog
 Look at engagement metrics such as entrances, page views, bounce
rate, and average time on page
 Don’t skip over looking at goal completions and traffic sources
Content strategy for Insurance companies
The goal of your content strategy should be to be able to
generate quality leads

27. 26
Show them what you know
Thought Leadership Marketing (TLM)
The principle of TLM is simple enough: You give away
a little valuable intellectual property to establish
your potential usefulness to the client, in the
expectation that the client will use your expertise
and services
Rolf Jester, VP, Gartner, 2010

28. 27
Content marketing example
Source: http://knowledge.allianz.com/
The site targets
individuals who
recognize and support
the need to improve
social, economic, and
environmental living
conditions worldwide.
This target audience
is likely to be
influenced by the
insurer’s well-
documented
alignment of its
business activities
with sustainability
criteria

29. 28
Content marketing example
The content strategy focused on key concepts like Demography,
Mobility, Environment, Finance
FinanceEnvironment
Demography Mobility

30. 29
 Blog (the posts are really
like mini whitepapers)
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Newsletters
 eCards and other unique
digital media
 YouTube
Content marketing example
Some of the key content delivery channels

31. 30
 Timely content
 Compelling content
 Customer need centric
content
 Well-organized content
 Sales-neutral content
Five key content characteristics
for success

32. 31
Employ a closed-loop engagement
cycle
 Build the profile, analyze the profile
and respond to the prospect
Characterize prospect
 Properties include buying cycle state
and segmentation parameters
Develop content to align with the
prospect expectations
 Content will speak directly to a
prospect profile
Automate the closed-loop prospect
engagement
 Use web CMS and marketing
automation platforms to automate the
engagement cycle
Understanding context
Context is about leveraging information about the visitor to
optimize the interaction and engagement across all channels
Here is how
Visitor generated: Implicit information
captured from the website journey—the
“digital footprints” left by the visitor
 Indicators of preference, predispositions,
lead maturity
Visitor supplied: Explicit information
supplied by the visitor as they complete
questionnaires, quizzes and other facilities
 Common demographics—name, age,
gender, interests
Externally supplied: Information captured
by external service providers, emerging
context-enriched services
 Location, presence, social attributes,
cross-vendor buying habits

33. 32
Delivering personalized
messages across channels to
customers requires a common
understanding of the customer
Challenges
 Customer information—both
behavioral and profile—is
stored in “siloed” systems
 Integrated or third-party
analytics platforms, along with
the CRM platform, are typically
disparate systems
Context requires a common view
Consistent personalization across multiple channels requires
that each channel has the same customer view
Coremetrics and Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Report on Optimizing Online Marketing 2009

34. 33
Deliver the messages and
capture the reaction
 Use analytics and forms to
capture behavior and profile
Understand the customer
context
 Analyze the customer context
Align the content to customer
expectations
 Package the content to align
with the customer context
Closed-loop engagement cycle
The closed loop engagement cycle is the model used to gain
customer understanding, adjust and communicate the message

35. 34
COMPANIES THAT ADOPT A
STRUCTURED APPROACH ARE
NEARLY TWICE AS LIKELY TO
HAVE SEEN A LARGE INCREASE
IN SALES.
Source: eConsultancy and RedEye Report

36. 35
SEARCHENGINEOPTIMIZATION

37. 36
Direct insurers and insurance aggregators are
increasing the pressure on the more traditional insurers
to stay applicable in the modern era of insurance
marketing
These new role players are focused on search engine
“visibility and findability”
These new players are competent enough of taking
away market share from those insurers who
underestimate the power of direct and online marketing
SEO for Insurance companies
Any new content must meet minimum requirements for search
optimization before it can go live on your website

38. 37
Don’t ignore the basics!
 Meta data , target
keywords, research,
tags, on-page activities
Rich Snippets
 Adding a star rating that
links through to an
independent review site
can improve the click
through rate of your
listing
SEO for Insurance companies
The insurance industry is hugely competitive. There are plenty
of companies out there going for gold on Google

39. 38
On-Page Credibility
 Having all of the required legal
disclaimers, licensing
information and company
details within the footer of the
website is very important
Checkout Process
 Always keep forms and
payments on a distinct
section/page where possible or
use a known trusted service like
PayPal to complete
transactions
Target the Long-tail
 Search in insurance is always
competitive and targeting these
keywords will cost you big
money on paid search
advertising
SEO for Insurance companies

40. 39
 Set up rules that allow every page
to exist with unique SEO elements
 Customize these individual page
elements as needed to optimize
them against your competition for
the search engines
 Adding 301 redirect fields on every
page within the CMS would allow
sites to better manage their
content and actively optimize for
SEO
SEO for Insurance companies
If your website already has a content management system (CMS), you can
customize it for better search engine optimization (SEO) results

41. 4040
MICROSITES / LANDING PAGES

42. 41
Example
A number of insurance companies use microsites for strategic
branding and focused lead generation
Betterteendriving.com: 46K Visitors Allstateteendriver.com
Teensafedriver.com
Source : comScore

43. 42
Example
Liberty Mutual Advertises (online and offline) two microsites –
Responsibilityproject.com and Whatsyourpolicy.com
www.whatsyourpolicy.com Visitors:
QE Aug 08 – 352K
QE Aug 09 – 188K
www.responsibilityproject.com Visitors:
QE Aug 08 – 526K
QE Aug 09 – 1,775K
96
26
Responsibilityproject.com Whatsyourpolicy.com
Total Display Ads Viewed (in Millions)
QE Aug 2009
Source : comScore

44. 43
 The pages in the microsite
should be kept to very few
 The content on the pages
should be meaty—more than
a paragraph and a few bullets
 There should be a strong,
consistent visual theme
binding these pages together
 The microsite pages should
be ‘readable’ - optimized
Flash, optimized
images/videos – good for
SEO and enables A/B and
multivariate testing
Best practices for microsites
 The content should say its
story with rich details
 Simple tab navigation
 Each tab should focus on a
specific deep-dive subtopic
 There must be a clear call-
to-action form (replicated
on all pages)
 The user experience
design of the microsite
should be compelling, but
not overwhelming

45. 44
Challenge: To generate leads for their compliance
solutions for the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPPA).
Solution: Asegmented landing page was created to
direct respondents down conversion paths focused on the
needs of their hospital based on size
Result: conversion rates still soared 556%, based in
large part on the directed paths and audience-specific
messaging. And further testing of the segmented landing
page resulted in an almost 2,500%lift in conversions.
Case Study – impact of microsites
A B2B health insurance company
Source : b2bmarketinginsider

46. 45
Challenge: To increase lead volume and
quality with a new campaign in order to increase
conversions and revenue.
Solution: Amicrosite that responds in real time
to visitor information and changes to fit the visitor, in
terms of matching the right content with the visitor's
profile and needs.
Result: The company's lead volume went from
700 per week to 1,332, generated on average
$125,000 in additional revenue per month
Case Study – impact of microsites
A B2C auto insurance company
Source : marketingprofs

47. 4646
ONLINE VIDEO STREAMING

48. 47
Video streaming on Insurance websites
Source : comScore

49. 48
People weren’t searching for videos
using broad terms such as “life
insurance” or “car insurance.” Instead,
they were discovering, watching, and
sharing videos about “Identity theft,”
particularly on social networking sites
Creating video ads that spoke to the
consumer concern connected to the
audience
Impact of online video streaming - example
A fortune 300 insurance company - reached prospective customers
earlier in the consideration cycle, video views increase 646%

50. 4949
Multi–Channel
Engage with your audience where they spend
their time—where they get their information.

51. 50
Mobile media usage
Mobile browsers, application users and downloads are growing 20%
year on year
6.0%
7.0%
8.0%
9.0%
10.0%
11.0%
12.0%
13.0%
14.0%
20.0%
22.0%
24.0%
26.0%
28.0%
30.0%
32.0%
34.0%
36.0%
200806 200807 200808 200809 200810 200811 200812 200901 200902 200903 200904 200905 200906
%Device<2MonthsOld
% Mobile Media Users and % New Device Owners
Mobile Media Users Device < 2months old (one month snapshot data)
Source : comScore

52. 51
The iPhone craze
Source : comScore
 7.8M iPhone users – only 10% of mobile users browse, use an
application or download
 14.2M Blackberry users, 6.9M Windows mobile users

53. 52
Mobile advertising - examples
Insurance mobile banner creatives on top publisher sites
mlb.com Mobile
Yahoo! Mobile
abc.com Mobile
411.com Mobile
Perez Hilton Mobile
USA Today Mobile
ESPN Mobile NASCAR Mobile

54. 53
“We're just now starting to think
about mobile first and desktop
second for a lot of our products.”
Kate Aronowitz, Design Director
Facebook
Adopting a mobile-first strategy
A mobile-first strategy
Think about your website as
MOBILE site first—start with
mobile as the premise for your site
Why mobile-first?
1. Opportunity: A growing use of
tablets and smartphones
2. Constraints: Screen size,
Network speed, Modes of use
3. Capabilities: Location (GPS),
Visual input, Gesturing
“We really need to shift now to
start thinking about building
mobile first. This is an even bigger
shift than the PC revolution.”
Kevin Lynch, CTO Adobe

55. 54
Getting to a mobile-first strategy
Responsive design
1. One website: Not a
separate mobile and
desktop site
2. HTML5 & CSS3: New
technologies to create sites
that respond to screen sizes
and orientation
3. Future proofing: Do you
know what is next?

56. 5555
TECHNOLOGY

57. 56
Which technologies impact conversion?
Several platforms engage to drive conversion

58. 57
1. Content Management (CMS): Supports personalized
interactions on the web site
2. Marketing Automation Platform (MAP): Supports personalized
interactions via outbound digital channels
3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Supports
personalized interactions involving members of the sales team
4. Integration and Mapping: Integrating the three systems to
create centralized buyer profiles that could then be mapped to
a defined buying process
5. Measurement and Reporting: Implementing the dashboards
and measurement tools necessary to support ongoing
performance measurement and management
Leveraging digital platforms
CMS + MAP + CRM + Context = Increased acquisition. It takes
both platforms and approach to drive improved acquisition

59. 58
Web content management systems
Web CMS can drive website conversions and acquisition
for insurance companies
 The content management system
provides incredibly valuable data
since it stores the history of the
claims that the company has
received
 Expand online presence and serve
customers by providing relevant
content in convenient context
 Create dynamic messaging and
visual experiences across your
websites, microsites and
campaigns from a single, easy to
use CMS platform that empowers
all your marketing users
 Improve customer satisfaction with
existing clients with timely and
accurate information with an
engaging customer experience
 Improve traceability, transparency
and adherence to rules of compliance
 All data you record, structure, archive
and publish are protected against
unauthorized access
 Leverage online resources with
seamless integration with member
databases, transaction records, and
legacy systems

60. 59
Analytics
Analytics implications for insurance companies
 Highly sophisticated analytical and predictive modeling tools on
insurance claim data to provide an automated approach to identifying
claims with the greatest potential for fraud
 Content analytics can help improve operational processes including
customer care because it provides agents with a more complete view of
the customer and with more accurate information about them.
 Customer Intelligence data leads to continuous product improvement

61. 60
 Empowering agents to send
localized, customized campaigns
without jeopardizing brand or
regulatory standards, and allowing
corporate marketing to send
personalized “ On behalf of”
campaigns
 Each agent can access
customizable media templates,
extensive product information and
materials, better lead distribution
and reporting
 Real time tracking and reporting
across all channels
Marketing Automation Platforms
Marketing automation implications for insurance companies
 Improving communications with
channel partners (banks, credit
unions)
 Facilitating agent to agent sharing
and communication
 Improved tracking and reporting
 Personalized landing pages for
campaigns/microsites
 Matrices that show who is engaged
with provided content
 Automated policy related forms

62. 61
Customer Relation Management (CRM)
CRM implications for insurance companies
Insurance Process Benefits
Product Definition • Reduces the time it takes to add or make product changes
• Gives more control to business user
Distribution • Provides faster communication, reduces cost of distribution on
paper
• Improves response time and customer satisfaction
Underwriting • Customers get answers more quickly about their insurance
applications
Issuance • Reduced printing and mailing time
• Decreasing cost
Servicing • Provides policy holder more control over their insurance process
Claims • Can reduce the volume of call the service center receives

63. 62
The Trifecta for richer engagement
Unifying three technology platforms delivers an customer
experience based on a common context
Web CMS
Marketing
AutomationCRM
Common
Customer
Context

64. 63
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