EXPERT URGES BROKERS TO EMBRACE SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

By Ikeoye Oyetoro
Insurance brokers have been advised to embrace contemporary social marketing strategies in order to increase their bottom line and relevance.

The advice was given by a South African frontline Social Marketing and Business Coach, Mr John Horak during a recent visit to South Africa  by a delegation of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB).

According to Horak, insurance clients all over the world have become more sophisticated and demanding necessitating the need for operators to be ingenious in their marketing strategies.

Identifying marketing as the core concern of insurance brokers, Horak noted that most huge investments made on prospecting for clients had usually yielded low returns because such strategies were not made for the needs of the clients.

'Companies that are desirous of doing well in their marketing endeavours must now begin to embrace the plethora of social marketing avenues available on the web 'he said.

He specifically identified Facebook, blog, twitter and other IT interactional devices as avenues for marketing insurance to large client, without expending huge budgets.

Also sharing his thoughts on branding , Horak opined that insurance brokers should not only brand themselves but also their services saying 'You have to be prepared to be known and identified with a course and wave your flag constantly in order to stand out in the ocean of global competitors'.

In his presentation, the Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Life , South Africa, Mr Peter Doyle disclosed that the company has about N120 billion and underscored the pivotal roles of insurance brokers who contribute about 60 per cent to the business of the company.

Doyle said the potentials for growth were still tremendous for resourceful brokers in the continent.

The President of the NCRIB, Dr Teslim Sanusi disclosed that the business trip by the Council to South Africa, after a similar visit to United Kingdom, was meant to appraise members with the changing trends in insurance business in the  country, which is  reputed to have made phenomenal growth in insurance operation.

He assured that the NCRIB will continue to sustain contacts with operators in the continent for the mutual benefits of the various bodies and the growth of insurance broking profession in Nigeria.