InsWeb’s AgentInsider™ vs. Traditional Yellow Pages Advertising

As AgentInsider™ (the auto and homeowners online insurance lead program - www.agentinsider.com) becomes a familiar part of an insurance agent’s marketing mix, the traditional avenues of advertising through local Yellow Pages, newspapers, and direct mailers are being reevaluated and scrutinized - and rightfully so. Yellow Pages advertising, especially, has been customarily relied upon as an integral part of an agent’s marketing plan - one that may no longer be a "necessary evil," thanks to InsWeb’s Internet lead solution: AgentInsider™.

Insurance agents have historically depended on printed Yellow Pages advertising to drive a consistent flow of call-in leads for the year. Annually, the jockeying for position commences when agents receive the same last-minute notification that their local Yellow Pages directory is going to print in a week. Agents then race to optimize their visual presence with larger ad sizes, emphasized listings, and costly contracts; only to be positioned among thousands of ambiguously similar value propositions. In the local Sacramento, CA directory alone, there are 42 pages of "Insurance" listings, with over half composed of full-page and double-page ads. How does an "Emphasized Bold Listing" compete in such an environment?

The cost of advertising in the Yellow Pages has risen dramatically over the years, while the consumer demand and relationship with the publication has slowly eroded. With the advent of the Internet, generations of "Yellow Pagers" are now "Googling" and "Ebaying" with even more localized precision. According to the American Marketing Association, the annual user look-ups of the Yellow Pages declined from 20 billion look-ups in 1994 to slightly under 15 billion in 2002.

Feedback from a recent InsWeb survey of insurance agents indicated that the Yellow Pages have become too expensive, with far too many competing advertisements. Agents feel that there is no way to effectively differentiate among so many ads. Agents also commented about how the quality of the incoming calls do not meet their ideal target customer, with "an abnormally high ratio of high risk drivers!" The calls were also said to have a low conversion rate.

AgentInsider™ is a Internet lead solution that successfully substitutes and fulfills the sales and marketing objectives that insurance agents once valued in Yellow Pages advertising. And unlike traditional Yellow Pages directory ads, AgentInsider™ allows insurance agents to:

1. Instantly expand marketing reach to larger areas that would otherwise constitute dozens of different Yellow Pages books and corresponding contracts.
2. Target specific types of Auto and Homeowners insurance consumers, rather than a general "Insurance" category.
3. Target consumers by ZIP code and cost. Yellow Pages directories can span dozens of ZIP codes.
4. Control lead volume; increasing or decreasing lead flow at any time. Yellow Pages are generally printed once a year.
5. Obtain information about the consumer, while the agent’s contact information and identity is reciprocally displayed to the consumer in real time.
6. Compete against a limited number of agents. Gone are the days of competing among 42 pages of similar advertisements.
7. Evaluate exactly how many consumers they are contacting and are contacting them. Agents know when a lead comes from AgentInsider™, while it’s always guesswork at best determining how many consumers got the agent’s information from a Yellow Pages advertisement.
8. Opt-out at any time. Unlike the Yellow Pages, AgentInsider™ does not confuse an agent’s telephone bill with expensive monthly advertising fees.

If an agent registers with AgentInsider™ they gain access to more articles that will help in their business while also acquiring access to quality auto and homeowners insurance leads from already-interested consumers.

Sign up today at www.agentinsider.com enter promo code NNA.