The Company took six of its employees to a marketing seminar hosted by Seth Godin
Last week, Brownstone Insurance took a daytrip to New York to hear Seth Godin speak. Agency Checklists thought this was a great idea and an illustrative example of a company investing in its employees and thinking outside of the box. So we decided to contact Brownstone to see if they would be interested in sharing some highlights from the marketing seminar. Here’s what they had to say:
When the opportunity arises to go see Seth Godin present in person, you take it. And that is exactly what six Brownstone Insurance employees did last week.
For those of you not familiar with Seth Godin, he has authored thirteen books that have been translated into more than thirty languages, all of which have been on the bestsellers list. Seth is considered by many as a “marketing guru,” and writes and speaks about marketing in the post-industrial revolution era, leadership, the way ideas spread, and about not being afraid to change everything.
Seth pioneered the idea of permission marketing — only speaking to those who actually want to hear about you or your product, and is a truly passionate speaker. Listening to him present his ideas is great motivation to start changing the way your agency does things, which is exactly what Glenn Montgomery (Vice President), Scott Thatcher (Chief Operating Officer), Elizabeth Cincotta (Director of New Media and Customer Communications), Sara Tasney (Client Advisor/Customer Loyalty and Communications Manager), Alexis Kimball (Agent Relations Manager) and Don Allan (Agent Relations Manager) discovered when they hopped on the Acela from Boston to New York City last week.
The most important thing to understand, according to Seth, is that the industrial age is dying out because of technology. The Industrial Age was “perfect, in a sense, because productivity increased and everyone ended up getting rich from it,” explained Seth. Now, the world is experiencing another revolution — a revolution in the way people connect, share information, and the way marketers need to connect with people.
One concept that Seth stresses frequently, is the “story.” What is the story of your product or agency? What makes you different or better? It only makes sense that the first step to any marketing plan should be to develop your story, right?
So then what, you ask? Well, according to the marketing guru himself, today’s successful marketing is all about connecting with “tribes.” Tribes are small groups of people that have a strong connection with your brand or product. “Micro-marketing,” as he described it, is much more meaningful because it groups people according to similar interests or traits, and delivers a strong message solely to them. This amplifies your message and creates better value for your marketing effort.
Another notion that Seth Godin talks about are peoples’ “world views,” or perceptions of their environment. Understanding what a customer’s world view might be about insurance is another important step. How do people view insurance? What do they think about the process of buying a policy? Closely investigating this concept would be another great step towards organizing an effective marketing strategy.
Eager for more tips and ideas? Check out Seth Godin’s blog for yourself and don’t be afraid of trying new things!
Agents interested in learning more should contact Elizabeth Cincotta, Director of New Media and Customer Communications at Brownstone Insurance.
