Best Practices in Marketing Communications

Remember that glossy brochure that took so much time, money and energy to produce? Chances are your customers didn’t even read it — much less use it to make an informed decision about your products and services.

The fact is that most agencies spend an inordinate amount of resources on marketing collateral that doesn’t resonate with the target audience. But there is a silver lining. Those agencies that make the effort to revisit their marketing communications strategy — in terms of the distribution, content and presentation of collateral — can clearly differentiate themselves from the competition, cut through the “noise” in the marketplace, and promote their brand more effectively.

Develop the Right Concept

Start building your marketing plan with a concept review meeting in which all the key players are represented, including product managers, producers, writers and designers — even your attorney. Get all the issues on the table. Discuss your strategy (strengths and weaknesses), target markets, tools you’ll need to reach them, roles and responsibilities, timeline and budget.

Don’t use last year’s marketing plan. Strat-egies, tactics and technology are changing so fast that you’re likely to miss out on new opportunities that go beyond traditional methods like brochures, direct mail and advertising.

Make your goals specific — “We want to grow our bottom line by X dollars or increase our GPW by X percentage” — and create a barometer to measure your success.

Determine how your products are different from your competitors (avoid using the terms “price,” “quality” or “service,” which almost any agency can claim). If you’re not sure how you’re different from the competition, check out their Web sites, read their ads and listen to what their customers say about them.

Develop a contingency plan. Things can change in an instant so it pays off to be prepared to reevaluate your strategy on the run.

Choose Right Channel

Produce materials in a variety of flexible formats — not just hard-copy brochures and flyers — that can be delivered electronically via e-mail or downloaded from your Web site. Develop new formats for materials that are better suited to electronic distribution such as talking points, success stories and testimonials.

Take advantage of emerging technologies like blogs and podcasts to get your message across. For example, a blog about “Insurance 101” can reach a wide audience for a very small investment. Many agencies are also experimenting with social networking sites like Facebook to extend their marketing efforts.

If you’re focusing on business customers, create a self-service resource site that provides an open, flexible platform to accommodate a broad range of users, is easy to update, and is backed up by tech support.

Consider teaming up with a carrier, a vendor that provides a unique service, or even another agency that complements your own. A co-branded marketing campaign can enhance your credibility, give you access to new markets, and increase the premium that customers are willing to pay.

Create the Right Content

Create short, detail-oriented communications that foster a sense of personal interaction with your customers. Outline three to five key messages that clearly and concisely describe your value to your customers; make sure these messages are consistent across all your collateral, from printed brochures to ads to the home page of your Web site.

Describe the direct benefits your customers will experience from buying your products. Answer their question, “What’s in it for me?”

Avoid “scare tactics.” It’s more effective to show how your products and services better serve the needs of your customers than to try to frighten them into making a decision.

Establish a clear call to action that tells the readers exactly what they should do next, such as, “Visit our Web site to download your free safety checklist.”

Craft the Right Voice

Create marketing materials that are written in a clear, concise, engaging voice that is free of jargon, buzzwords and extraneous information. To personal lines customers, your voice should be caring and helpful. To business customers your voice should be that of a trusted, professional partner.

Drop the formal, artificial tone and speak to your audience as if you were a person, not a company. Use the first person plural (“we”) and second person (“you”) when appropriate. Read your copy out loud — and if it sounds awkward or stilted rewrite it.

Keep the majority of your sentences simple in construction but vary the flow and rhythm of the sentence structure. Make your writing easy to scan with short, eye-catching headlines.

Lead with your key messages. By over-stating the obvious, you waste a reader’s time, dilute the key message, and sacrifice important real estate on your marketing materials that could be used more effectively.