May 15, 2009 - Warren Hunter, Chairman and CEO of DMW Worldwide LLC, made an interesting comment at the recent 2009 American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance summit in Scottsdale, AZ. In his presentation 65 May be Too Late: What Marketers have Learned about Targeting Med-Sup Prospects, he asked “Are you taking enrollments online? If not, you might miss the boat.”

He ought to know. DMW is a full-service direct response advertising agency. The company’s services include strategic planning and program management, media and creative services, database management, DRTV broadcast media, print production, fulfillment, interactive, and telemarketing expertise for the insurance industry.

Warren went on to explain 77 million baby boomers are starting to enter the senior insurance market - four million alone in 2011. The Internet provides opportunities to offer the customized service and information boomers are drawn to.

Waiting until a prospect is within 90 days of turning 65 may be too late to reel them in. Insurance marketers need to start reaching them now with the right media mix.

“The Web should be a major piece of a sales and marketing strategy,” IdeaStar Vice President of Insurance Technology Mike Wise said. “The boomers will still get information from the mail, TV ads, and other traditional media. But Web sites, blogs, chat rooms, FaceBook, Linkedin, YouTube, and other social media offer great opportunities,” Mike, who attended the conference said.

“And once they get the information, you need to be ready for them to apply for the insurance online. Whether agent assisted, association/affinity, or direct, quote-through-application or quote-through-issue, boomers are looking for ease and efficiency,” Mike said. “And if you don’t offer it, if your Web site is bad and difficult to navigate, if you don’t have easy-to-use application and payment systems, they are going to bail and look from somebody who does. You have about eight seconds,” Mike said.

“And don’t discount or forget about viral marketing. Word-of-mouth can be your biggest, most profitable source of online traffic – if you know how to do it and have the right product. Oh yeah, and then there’s cross-selling and bottom-line gains from cost-reductions. It’s quite a value proposition. But the Web can also be your downfall if you don’t do it right.”

Warren and Mike agree: Micro-sites – timely, small, product Web sites built into a marketing program – can serve as the perfect insurance sales tool. If set up correctly, once a prospect arrives at the site, it is simple, informative and easy-to-navigate.

A micro-site is more of a marketing tool than an IT project, Mike said. It is better to use a third party vendor with experience in all aspects of Web development and promotion – like IdeaStar.

Want to know more?

Network with Mike on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter, or learn more at his industry-leading blog, InsuraTech.

Find out how IdeaStar Inc. can make the Web work for your company or organization. Call IdeaStar VP of Insurance Technologies Mike Wise at 800-766-2635 ext. 116, or contact IdeaStar.