Your insurance marketing prospects hear and see over 300 advertising messages every day. They are on highway billboards, in the newspaper, on computer banners, on the radio, and in many other places. As a survival mechanism, we have all learned to tune out these messages. Sure, we hear and see snippets, but we don’t really pay attention… unless the ad taps an active button.

For example, as a consumer, you tune out food ads throughout the day. But if it’s lunchtime, your stomach is rumbling, and you’re in an unfamiliar part of town, you’ll start looking for food billboards. At that point, hunger is your hot button.

Now, let’s apply this concept to insurance sales:

• Personal lines: If I’m thinking about buying a new car, controlling my monthly costs could be a hot topic for me. Although I’ve ignored auto insurance ads for the past five years, you really might listen to the ad today IF it talks about saving money. Spending less on car insurance is now a hot topic because I am going to spend more on my car payment.
• Commercial Lines:If I am a business owner thinking of importing a new product from China, I will stop everything and read carefully, if a case study on international trade risk, product recall insurance or product liability hits my inbox. Last week, before deciding to import, I would have instantly deleted the messages.

As an insurance marketer, you need to be very aware of the major customer hot spots. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Pay attention to your list. Can it be divided into the main groups of hot buttons?
• Think about time. Are there key milestones (birthdays, tax season, spring break, or back to school) that will increase your insurance prospectus’ advertising readiness?
• Tailor your insurance marketing to every possible demographic. Women and men respond to different things, so write separate messages and use different images for each group if possible.
• Develop rapport with listeners at the beginning of your communication. They should know without a doubt that you understand what keeps them up at night.
• Make a compelling promise to solve the burning problem, and use testimonials to show that you really do what you say.
• Refine your offer. Make sure you focus on the main problem or pain point for each group on your list. In the personal lines example above, cost is the hot topic, so make an offer that includes an attractive savings opportunity. In the commercial lines example, fear of the unknown is the hot button. You may choose to offer a webinar called “Five Things Business Owners Need to Know BEFORE Importing or Exporting.”

The bottom line: When you decide to communicate, you can throw something in and hope it sticks, or you can apply a little psychology and strategy and improve your odds. In all cases, your goal is to be the only ad that stands out among the 300 they will see that day.