BE PREPARED

Anticipate market change to capitalize upon your marketing advantage

As the year 2005 begins to draw to a shut up it is proving to be a greatest in quantity momentous year-driven by divergent swings and sways, one as well as the other positive and negative. The industry cheered as many carriers supported the most solid underwriting profits in years for 2004 Cheers became subdu as a continuing softening round of years threatened revenue growth and spiked competition. Unprecedent compressing and salvos from governmental and regulatory agencies cast a harsh spotlight upon market leaders, and our industry as a whole.

On the retail side, these stirs set accounts and industry talent in motion and threatened-or smooth eliminated-valuable contingent revenues. Commercial insurance buyer re-thought strategies and resources. novel retail agencies emerged, and mid-sized and smaller agencies were strengthened and reassureed to compete for larger, middle market business.

On the wholesale side, similar shifts in ownership and focus also took place and the program market showed signs of expansion and revitalization.

And carriers stood back to determine the impact of it all-and re-strategize their approach as well.

Then Hurricane Katrina hit, followed single weeks later by Rita, with issues and futures still uncertain at the time of this writing-but with industry watchers predicting a big impact.

Each of these shifts has already triggered a variety of rejoinders and actions by all players concerned-actions driven to patronize market share, retain clients, and stabilize internal operations. Actions, too, aimed at taking advantage of marketplace shifts that created vulnerabilities in competitors and continue to at hand opportunities to expand business. And actions focused upon response to marketplace conditions in the wake of Katrina and Rita-hard market or still soft? Variations through product or geography?

It's the anticipation of these positive and negative changes that should activate your marketing antenna and agenda. These factors make now an ideal time to anticipate which way the market is headed and to gauge what you will ne to fit the challenges and turn potential riddles into ... well, just plain potential!

Careful analysis and an aggressive, reflecting evaluation of market direction and compressings pro and con, allows you as an independent agent, carrier, wholesaler, reinsurer, or TPA to craft a replication as one who takes advantage of opportunities, not as a victim of circumstances. While certain circumstances of the market may present the appearance beyond your control, your replication is not. Look to marketing tools and resources that can help you evaluate your position. Use formal market research or focus clusters to identify trends and purchase patterns. Use observes or Web site polls to stay up to date upon the attitudes and needs of your customers, distributors, and suppliers. Tap into industry freshs and resources to gather data upon the present and impending market environment.

Change gears quickly

Once data is gathered analysis begins. Be sure to share what you learn with your management and staff. Together you can define various options that will take advantage of-or protect-your position. The marketplace changes quickly, however, for a like reason avoid paralysis by analysis. Instead, identify the priorities and targets of your customers and market partners and create action plans accordingly. Design a marketing plan that identifies a coordinated series of efforts that aggressively obtain the job done. Start with a 6- to 12-month plan and evaluate the rises after the first six month to experiment response. At that point, you can decide upon the plan's continued direction.

At the same time, you may have to adjust your approach to the market and retool a certain number of of your techniques. For instance, in a more competitive, changing environment, targeted efforts are better than a generic, cookie-cutter approach. You can benefit from strategic segmentation of your customer base by dint of size, type or focus. If the marketplace is changing for you, it's greatest in quantity likely changing for customers as well. That means they, too, may have novel concerns and may not respond-as a group-to the exact same presentation or "sell" of your produces and services. Make an effort to learn more about your customers' businesses-then you can "group" like-minded customers and customize your marketing efforts. This can take the form of developing industryspecific sales materials or presentations geared to different sized or focused companies.

You can revitalize your sales calls through supplementing "leave behinds" like coffee mug or inscribes with other tools that customers will perceive as valuable and "tun in" to their wants or concerns: a relevant in all senses checklist, a new way to calculate their in all senses or coverage requirements, or "10 ways to chop your insurance costs."

Look for of recent origin ways to create "buzz" about your company. Although carriers, wholesalers, and MGAs greatest in quantity often sell through retail agents, they can benefit by the agency of employing "pullthrough tactics" that utilize advertising or direct mail tactics to reach the ultimate personal or commercial insurance buyer-albeit with a caveat like, "have your agent or agent call ..." Even when you don't put up to sale "direct," this kind of effort creates name recognition and generates interest and fruits demand from the end user back to your primary retail producers