How Insurance Firms Can Use SMS For Sales

Short message service (SMS) is one of the most effective albeit underutilized marketing communication channels today. Almost a third of all mobile phone users respond to SMS offers, redeeming texted coupons up to ten times more often than conventional discount coupons.

SMS-based surveys are also gaining ground, mainly when used in surveys. It promotes a higher conversion rate, with about three in ten consumers responding to the survey invitation within five minutes.

It is not surprising SMS remains a powerful tool in an insurer’s marketing arsenal. Here are how insurance firms can SMS for sales.

Develop a Comprehensive SMS Marketing Strategy

Close to four billion people worldwide have smartphones, with millions more owning traditional brick phones capable of receiving and sending SMS. The most surprising data for insurers is that three-quarters of these mobile phone owners love receiving offers via SMS.

SMS marketing also comes out on top in terms of Click-through Rates (CTR), higher by 9.18% than email marketing. Three of five customers who receive SMS also open and read their messages within the first five minutes upon receipt. About 67 million American consumers also redeemed more SMS-based coupons than any other offer.

These statistics underscore the need for insurance firms to devise and develop a comprehensive SMS marketing strategy.

Always Provide Leads and Clients Options for SMS Messaging

Insurance firms must never send text messages to their leads and clients without offering the option. The Federal Communications Commission and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act make it unlawful for any organization to send unsolicited messages, including prerecorded telemarketing calls and text messages.

The law states that businesses can only perform sales calls between eight in the morning and nine in the evening. It also requires organizations to provide their target consumers the choice to opt out of calls and messages.

Hence, insurance firms must provide their leads and clients the ability to choose to receive SMS or not. Failure to do so can lead to penalties amounting to up to $1,500 per violation. Since there is no ceiling on statutory damages, a company that incurs thousands of violations can quickly run into millions of dollars in fines.

Keep the SMS Channel for Administrative and Casual Information Only

While insurance firms can SMS for sales, they must be cautious in their text content. It would be best to keep detailed and sensitive information to other communication channels, such as emails and social media platforms. 

Insurers must recognize that SMS usually truncates messages to accommodate only 160 characters or so. While the text message can occupy another ‘page,’ many consumers do not like to read through multiple text windows.

That is why it would be best for insurance companies to keep their text messages for casual and administrative information only. If the insurer wants to update a client about a future offering, the SMS can contain a link the client can activate.

Use SMS for Conversational Marketing

One of the reasons 90% of mobile phone users read their text messages is the one-on-one nature of SMS. People think that companies that send out text messages personalize the content to convey a more authentic experience.

Insurance companies can leverage this consumer notion by engaging in conversational marketing. The philosophy hinges on the belief that personalized one-on-one conversations can increase customer loyalty, build positive customer relationships, and deliver exceptional consumer experiences.  

Conversational marketing for SMS empowers insurance companies to engage their clients more meaningfully, ensuring better returns.

Streamline Insurance Workflows with Automation and Integrations 

Insurance companies do not have to manually type and send conversational messages and other value-laden texts to their leads and clients. They can streamline their SMS marketing strategies by using automation and integrations.

We at Croo offer a Cloud-based telephony service that includes state-of-the-art SMS messaging. Insurance agents and brokers can communicate with their leads and clients using up to five different internet-enabled devices.

Insurance companies can customize their text messages, giving their clients a more personalized experience. Our infrastructure has sufficient safety nets to ensure seamless SMS communication without worrying about data loss.

Our platform also includes the latest insurance industry software, empowering insurance firms to optimize their marketing and sales drives. Our call management features also make it effortless for brokers and agents to navigate, improving their overall productivity.

The Bottom Line

Insurance firms can leverage SMS’s exceptional click-through and conversion rates to generate more leads that translate to potential client opportunities. Insurers only need to partner with a reliable and trustworthy Cloud-based telephony service to automate their SMS marketing strategies and bank on the advantages of conversational marketing to produce more sales.