If you’re an insurance company or brokerage weighing up your advertising budget for the year ahead then you might want to rethink your strategy of trying to create brand awareness among consumers – because it seems they don’t particularly care.
That’s the verdict of new research released today by QuickPages, which outlines that as the cost of insurance continues to soar consumers have their eyes fixed firmly on price and getting the best deal possible – and nothing else really matters.
The study shows that 45% of customers put getting a good deal at the top of their list of considerations; with 32% considering the level of protection the most important factor. Meanwhile, a mere 5% believed the reputation of the brand was the most important factor.
“Historically insurers could rely on their brand to attract customers,” said Sharon Mawson, commercial director at QuickPages. “However, as the market has become increasingly fragmented, commoditised and cost conscious customers don’t particularly care if they haven’t heard of the organisation so long as the price and the level of cover is right.
“The lion’s share of the insurance industry’s marketing budget is dedicated to brand building yet this research suggests that more emphasis should be placed on enabling the customer journey.”
Perhaps surprisingly, however, the same survey revealed that comparison websites are not the number one draw for consumers looking for good deals. In fact, 68% of consumers said they would call insurers for quotes whereas just 22% would rely solely on the internet. In fact, brokers may be strongly encouraged because consumers claimed to contact an average of 3.6 insurers before making a decision – with 46% claiming to have subsequently saved £50 or more.
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