Marketing Tactics for "Millenials"

[Liz]

How do you change up your marketing tactics by age-group? For example, when catering to "millenials", i.e. people between the ages of about 18 and 33, do you take a different approach when trying to bring them on as clients? Have you received helpful strategies or advice on this subject?

 

[somarco]

I will be surprised if many agents identify this as their target market. If Big O and Kathy S can't convince this group to buy who can. These are (mostly) the same folks that voted for O twice but they are overwhelmingly rejecting Obamacare.

 

[Josh]

I will be surprised if many agents identify this as their target market. If Big O and Kathy S can't convince this group to buy who can. These are (mostly) the same folks that voted for O twice but they are overwhelmingly rejecting Obamacare.

I think you're making up your own facts here. Myself and many of my friends fit into that group (admittedly towards the older end) and the majority of them didn't vote for Obama. You also are stuck on health insurance, there are plenty of other types of insurance folks in that group need. A number of years ago Allstate in NY made major changes to try to attract that younger group by competitively pricing themselves for younger married homeowners. Liberty Mutual (at least in NY) gives married couples under the age of 25 the same discount they give over 24. Of course with P&C folks the goal is to earn a client for lifetime so getting them while they're young can be a significant step in that direction for decades to come.

You're unlikely to find many folks pegging the 18-33 group for annuities, but even retirement planning can add up. Many folks buy a house well before 33 and have needs for life insurance. They also may look at 529 plans and of course get some term/ul to cover their mortgage. It's also a group that needs to think about disability when most of their working lives are ahead of them and the fact that a large percentage of them will end up with at least one lengthy disability period.

An interesting trend (for good or bad) with folks in this age group is that while they're price sensitive, they're not as absorbed with price. Most folks in this group aren't also stuck on price as much as other generations. My wife's grandmother grew up in the great depression and has a hard time letting go of anything that could at some point become useful. Although more financially reckless with credit cards/student loans/etc, they are more likely to actually pay more for a better value.

I'd also think referrals in this group can be a lot easier. My sister bought a house at the beginning of last year and around Christmas time she was reflecting on how buying the house has meant so much to her family and she linked to their site in a facebook post with a heartfelt message about why it mattered. With facebook most people in the 18-33 group instantly have advertising space they're willing to share. If you can really provide value you can get folks to tell their friends about you passively through facebook.

 

[Stephen]

How do you change up your marketing tactics by age-group? For example, when catering to "millenials", i.e. people between the ages of about 18 and 33, do you take a different approach when trying to bring them on as clients? Have you received helpful strategies or advice on this subject?

I never market to this age group, by far the lowest return on time invested.

 

[Guest]

What product are you trying to market?

 

[tlmarketing]

One of the biggest problems in the insurance industry occurs when the idiots in home offices wonder how to increase market share for millenials...their solution is always to lower prices...when what they should really be doing is raising their rates for this age group!

It's difficult to work this market and make a profit as you can write a husband and wife for $500k and maybe the total premium reaches $500.

Raise rates for this age group, and agents would have an incentive to market and work this group....Until this happens, I would advise designing your marketing to avoid this age group as much as possible.

 

[Pete Cormie]

Millennials almost always have auto and/or home insurance. Just cross sell the life insurance. That market (family) is vastly under served, yet has a greater need than any other age demographic.

 

[DHK]

One of the biggest problems in the insurance industry occurs when the idiots in home offices wonder how to increase market share for millenials...their solution is always to lower prices...when what they should really be doing is raising their rates for this age group!

It's difficult to work this market and make a profit as you can write a husband and wife for $500k and maybe the total premium reaches $500.

Raise rates for this age group, and agents would have an incentive to market and work this group....Until this happens, I would advise designing your marketing to avoid this age group as much as possible.

If you don't know how to properly position and explain the benefits of permanent life insurance solutions to this age group... then it's your fault for not raising your rates... or rather, creating desire on the part of your prospects to pay more for the same coverage.


While you could use LEAP or Circle of Wealth, I'd recommend the resources offered by the Insurance Pro Shop to keep the discussions as simple as possible.

 

[SingingSabre]

I will be surprised if many agents identify this as their target market. If Big O and Kathy S can't convince this group to buy who can. These are (mostly) the same folks that voted for O twice but they are overwhelmingly rejecting Obamacare.

With cynicism like that, you can expect to be left off the millennial bandwagon altogether.

OP: millennials are about as tough a nut to crack as any other market. Instead of cold calling on the phone to start a relationship, you have to solicit likes on Facebook. Basically, you need to go guerrilla with your marketing.

I'll be hosting monthly BBQs at apartment complexes, have my branded photobooth at events, and work through social media to get referrals. I started it when I was with Farmers and got in front of a lot of people. Of course, I lost 90% of them because of ridiculous rates, so I'll be resuming it once my independent practice starts in February.

Millennials need face time. We were raised with cynical, manipulative ads aimed at us since day one of our birth. We know more than the older crowd gives us credit for and are more wary of unsubstantiated claims. Geico and Progressive can give us the basics of what we need right over the phone and, with insurance companies playing the price-only game for so long, who can blame us for doing so?

My point? Earn their trust. Give them the face time they expect from someone on their side. Show them that, while they may see insurance as a commodity, it can be much more than that. Cold calling isn't the forum to find them, rather it's through social networks, whether online or off.

 

[jerry176]

The 21-35 age group, can buy life insurance real cheap and save thousands of dollars over their life time, and accumulate additional savings, but they choose to


buy smart phones with data plans and text plans.


These are the future prospects who will be sending back a reply card for final expense in 40-50 years.