Bill Hanifin
view more articles
Auto insurance is not the most sexy purchase you can make as a consumer. It’s one of those “must have’s” and often its hard to differentiate the pros and cons between major insurers to make a decision.
I’ve admired the advertising creativity from Allstate and Progressive over the past year or so. Dennis Haysbert has put an incredibly trustworthy and down to earth face on Allstate’s brand and their ads have ranged from serious to funny, all effective in their own way to communicate Allstate’s brand promise.
And, who doesn’t like ditsy Flo, the Progressive girl, complete with her tricked-out name tag?
State Farm, the biggest of these competitors has been strangely quiet. Big Red offers not only insurance but banking and investment services through their State Farm Bank group, but for some reason has kept their light, comparatively speaking, under the bushel basket.
Progressive has launched a new campaign to pitch Loyalty in the past month and I’ve seen splashy print ads in USA Today and ESPN The Magazine touting “We Like Long Term Relationships” and announcing rewards for new and existing customers alike.
I have to smile when any big brand chooses to put the “L” word front and center in their advertising. Customer Loyalty remains front and center with customer facing businesses, large and small and there is growing realization that growing a satisfied customer base and keeping them around for an extended time drives fundamental business and shareholder value.
I also have to let you know that Progressive’s program is a Loyalty program with a little “L”, and deserves a smallish Loyalty Asterisk™ for its manner of expressing its value proposition to consumers (i.e. calling benefits commonly offered across competitors a Loyalty program). Dig in to their web copy and you will see that they offer a myriad of tenure based and other discounts, not unlike what Allstate has been touting for the past few years and a similar package to those I have earned with State Farm, having been a client for over 25 years.
The difference? Progressive is the only of the top 3 insurers to use the “L” word and as such, makes it so.
The range of options to execute a Customer Strategy to develop and nurture brand loyalty has never been greater. They have always existed, but with points-fatigue on the rise and consumers demanding transparency and value, every brand should evaluate the Big L and the Little L as they form up a go-to-market plan.
That’s the best way to get yourself a tricked-out Loyalty program.
