How to develop an effective comms strategy for your MGA

Amongst all the changes happening within the insurance sector over the last few years, there has been one constant: the strengthening of the MGA sector. Blending the skills of an underwriter and a product distributor, they now form a solid part of the industry landscape. By their nature, they generally trade in specialist niches, so getting heard in such a burgeoning sector can be a struggle. Creating a share of voice is an important focus for both new and established MGAs. But how do you do that on what are often tight marketing and sales development budgets which must bear measurable advantages?

The solution? Simply put, it is about being clear at the outset as to what you want any campaigns to achieve and what success looks like. What does that mean in terms of developing an effective strategy?

Aligning PR and corporate communications with the wider sales journey is about:

• Awareness of your business’s existence
• Consideration of your products and services when compared to others
• Converting leads into sales
• Building genuine advocates of your business

All these are equally relevant, but make a massive difference in how and where you communicate. Will it be press-led, building reputational equity? Or content and social channel led, broadening the reach and awareness of your brand? Or thought-leadership led, building a picture of your business thinking and capabilities?

Ultimately, whatever the channel, be clear about the measurements of success you create. Some, like press coverage, can be measured by simple name checks or positive mentions of the article. Properly managed web and social channels can be more empirical and can be measured by impressions (how many times it has been seen), engagement (how people have interacted with your posts; liking or sharing them) or in the case of websites bounce rates (whether people have read something like a blog post and then gone straight off the site or visited other pages).

Small and large MGAs alike are rightly focused on costs, and so any investment in PR and corporate communications needs to work hard to be justified.  Alignment with the sales journey helps to create an effective strategy.

Still got questions? Get in touch with Mark Huxley on mhuxley@fullcirclecomms.co.uk or Alex Wise on awise@fullcirclecomms.co.uk, or call the office on 02072657887.