Help Optimizing Insurance Direct Mail Campaign

4 replies
Let me start this post by saying I am a fake...

I'm an insurance agent that has been trying to masquerade as a marketer for the past 11 years. I've had decent success with my current strategy, but know that the results should be much better.

I'm looking for help in optimizing my direct mail campaign. Currently our response rate is between 0.3% - 0.5%, which is far from good.

We are targeting business owners in the senior living field. The data we pull comes from public record and typically has the name of the business, address, etc, but only includes owner/contact names about 25% of the time and we don't know if they are correct.

Our expertise in this particular niche allows us to offer a product that is 25% - 30% lower than most of the competition through exclusive contracts with providers. Over the past 11 years, we've been able to build up a client base of around 600 of these types of businesses, so we know their industry inside and out and can demonstrate immediate value when we get the decision maker on the phone.

I know if we can get our foot in the door and have a conversation, our current close rate is about 65%. We are just having trouble getting the desired response rate.

We've revised our mailer 8-10 times over the past 5 years, but it tends to perform the same at around 0.3 - 0.5% response. Below is the most current version.

A couple of notes:
  • We have a live stamp on the envelope, but due to restrictions with bulk mail, we are required to also print a barcode on the envelope, which probably tips off the gatekeeper that it is a solicitation.
  • This industry tends to be a little behind the technology curve, which is why we include a fax back form along with our email and website options.
  • Generally I can give somebody an idea if we can improve their situation within 2-3 minutes over the phone. I don't know how to convey that in the marketing piece, or if it would be worth it.
  • I don't currently have a way of finding out the owner's name unless it is included in the public record, which is only 25% of the time. I've hired freelancers to data mine the list, but I get very spotty results.
  • I hope there is some decent brand recognition since the same 15,000 businesses have been receiving mailers from us for years.
  • Aside from the landing pages, we don't proactively market online to these businesses. I just don't really know where to start.

Any thoughts or ideas on what we could do to improve?
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#campaign #direct #insurance #mail #optimizing
  • Profile picture of the author markhimeb
    First off, 0.5% is not that bad. You're not going to get over 2.5%, which is the ideal option (well, it will also help you multiply your earnings 5 times, which is actually good).

    I think that there are two ways to increase your earnings: 1. by reducing your costs, 2. by increasing your sales.

    To achieve (1) you should try to get their emails and start emailing your subscribers. This would also give you the chance to personalize more, and get more information for them (through online survey's, etc.). To achieve 2 you have to keep doing what you do (track and tweak till you get the best possible results).

    Now, what I would change in the letter you attached and your general strategy:
    1. The web address mentioned there is HUGE, and not easy to remember. I would change it to something simple and short: E-PGroup.com is more easy to remember.
    2. I would change the web page structure to a landing page, where I would firstly look to grab their email and name, and then start marketing your products to them. In general, you have to increase your online presence a lot.
    3. I would start some online campaigns to get clients from there. In our days, all advertising platforms --start from Facebook-- give you the chance to target your Audiences, and it looks like you should start a campaign for ppl in your area who make more than $150,000.
    4. If you haven't tried this, please consider trying a different format for your whole letter: add a personalized sales letter, that you will have your copywriter produce.

    Hope these help ...
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    • Profile picture of the author jtschmidt86
      Originally Posted by markhimeb View Post

      To achieve (1) you should try to get their emails and start emailing your subscribers. This would also give you the chance to personalize more, and get more information for them (through online survey's, etc.).
      I'm glad to hear you say this, email marketing to this niche has always been on my mind as a strategy, but I don't know where to start. I hired a freelancer to data mine around 5,000 email addresses for owners of senior living facilities and then sent out an intro email via mailchimp with a link to one of our landing pages. The results ended up being a high bounce rate and that landing page was flagged as spam.

      Is there anybody on here that you could recommend to help walk me through the process to do it correctly? I know I need a lot of help when it comes to developing the sales funnels and am looking to partner with somebody that can develop and implement a start to finish marketing plan.

      Originally Posted by markhimeb View Post

      I would start some online campaigns to get clients from there. In our days, all advertising platforms --start from Facebook-- give you the chance to target your Audiences, and it looks like you should start a campaign for ppl in your area who make more than $150,000.
      This is going to be a big push for our agency in 2017 and I believe I may have found the appropriate person through Warrior Forum to help us with the Facebook advertising side of it. I'm still needing help with the SEM side and development of sales funnels.

      I've done some preliminary research and there is a very low search volume for keywords when it comes to this niche. The good news is that there isn't much competition either, so hopefully SEM can still be profitable.

      Originally Posted by markhimeb View Post

      If you haven't tried this, please consider trying a different format for your whole letter: add a personalized sales letter, that you will have your copywriter produce.
      I had tried this a couple years ago and hired a direct mail consultant to write a sales letter and develop a beautiful tri-fold brochure that went out. It looked fantastic, but surprisingly the response rate was about the same (but with a much higher cost per piece). I don't know if it is just something to do with this particular industry, or more likely, the copy wasn't the right fit for the audience.

      Thank you for your help Mark! I haven't posted on here much, but I have been lurking for a couple weeks and am invested in making 2017 the year that I step up my marketing game!
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      • Profile picture of the author markhimeb
        They high bounce rate is logical. You should start by sending an email calling your subscribers to join your email list. Your sales page should be at the end of your sales funnel, not the beginning of it.

        Will PM you with info on how to set up your email marketing and FB ad campaigns.

        My idea was not that of a "tri-fold brochure". Actually it wasn't for any kind of brochure. I would suggest you to do the following: find potential customers, create a specific proposal and send them a letter (an A4, that you will print on your offfice printer would work fine), that would be completely personalized. Instead of sending them a generic letter or a brochure with discounts and offers, I would send them a personalized letter, starting with their name and offering a specific plan that would cover their needs and be better than the one they already have.
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  • Profile picture of the author eccj
    Just off the top of my head.....

    I would put a headline where the logo is.

    And I would check out using first class mail.
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