Upload
insuranceleadsguide
View
215
Download
2
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
The shared insurance lead industry was reeling, and action had to be taken. Lead vendors had to regain control and take more accountability for both leads they generated and purchased.
Citation preview
Regaining Control of
Shared Insurance Leads
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
When it comes to shared leads the most
important factor for a buyer is lead quality.
Pretty obvious statement, right?
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
As obvious as it might seem the industry
is in the process of a correction simply
because lead quality did take a back seat
to other factors in recent years.
Before we look at the correction, let’s
take a look at how it all happened.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
A Fever Pitch
The 2000’s were a decade of extreme growth for internet
based lead companies. High speed access was readily
available, and people were starting to shop for and buy
insurance online. An industry was born. Traditional and
newly formed lead companies began racing to get their
piece of the pie.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
A ping/post system was created to allow lead
companies to sell leads to each other when they
did not have a buyer.
This “ping tree” model is a solid method to ensure
consumers requesting a quote actually get a
response.
Everything works well as long as there are some
controls in place.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
As the decade wore on, the race for market
position among lead providers intensified.
The focus was quickly shifting to lead volume
and scaling operations.
Access to the ping tree was loose.
Each lead company could allow affiliates and
partners the ability ping leads into the system
which lead to an eventual lack of control.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
A bogus lead sent into the system and
directed through multiple “partners” became
very difficult to track and people started to
take advantage.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Adding to the problem was a lack of oversight over
affiliates industry wide. In order to get volume and scale,
many programs allowed anyone to start selling leads
with no approval process at all. While most sellers have
sophisticated lead scrubbing filters that can prevent leads
from Mickey Mouse and John Doe from being delivered,
nefarious affiliates took things to another level. Bulk
leads started coming in with real user info that passed
scrubbing filters. Leads from real people who never
requested an insurance quote. This problem was one that
filters could not weed out. It was a problem that
required more oversight in general. http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
The Fall Out
By 2009, the industry was starting to feel the impact of a
focus on quantity over quality. Agents were lashing out
publicly. Bogus leads and low contact rates had drastically
changed the value proposition of internet leads. Even
though most sellers provide credits for fake leads, they still
cost agents time and lost productivity.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Bad leads going into the system drove lead prices down
for sellers.
In response to the lower payout, many quality lead
sources began to seek alternative channels to monetize
their leads.
It was a downward spiral.
By mid 2010, the industry had a tarnished reputation, and
it became very clear things needed to change quickly.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Regaining Control
The shared insurance lead industry was reeling, and action
had to be taken. Lead vendors had to regain control and
take more accountability for both leads they generated and
purchased.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
By the summer of 2010, changes started happening.
Companies realized they had to focus on servicing their
own customer bases.
In order to retain agents, lead quality had to improve.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
The first visible shift was a focus on cleaning up the
affiliate base.
Access to the ping tree became much more difficult.
Affiliate programs were adding more approval
requirements and payouts were placing more emphasis
on quality.
Companies started pulling offers from low quality CPA
networks which typically have a higher percentage of
incentivized, low quality leads. http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Soon the focus shifted to market consolidation.
The ability to own multiple brands with separate agent
bases became appealing as it would allow for an internal
ping across brands and provide more control over lead
quality.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
BankRate, who had purchased InsureMe in 2007,
spear headed the market consolidation starting in July
2010 with an acquisition of NetQuote. AllWebLeads
followed suit in February of 2011 with its purchase of
InsuranceLeads.Com. This evolution continued as
BankRate brought InsWeb (Agent Insider) into the
company in late 2011 and also acquired rights to
InsuranceAgents.Com in March of 2012. Six industry
leading brands in 2010 consolidated into two companies
in less than two years. These companies still have separate
agent customer bases and products for the most part. All
of this to have more control and influence over lead
quality. http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
The agent’s desire to have a higher contact rate on
purchased leads was also a point of emphasis.
Live transfer add-ons which allow agents to have
prospects sent to them via phone transfer have become a
featured option.
Additionally, several companies started offering limited
and exclusive pricing alternatives to limit competition
and offer a better opportunity to make a sale.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Expectations Moving Forward
The recent market corrections appear to be gaining
traction. With a significant shift in focus among lead
providers, there are a few changes agents can expect
heading into 2013 and beyond.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
First and foremost is an improvement in lead quality.
This is a win for both sides as it will make agents happy
with the product they are buying and will allow lead
companies to retain customers for a longer period of
time.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
One change we have not really seen to date is an increase
in shared lead pricing.
Lead acquisition costs are higher than ever.
The emphasis on quality equates to a lower profit margin
for most lead sellers.
I personally expect shared lead pricing to start shifting
higher within the next year.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
Based on feedback we have received, most agents
are willing to pay more for a higher quality lead.
We firmly agree.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/
It appears the industry is moving in the right direction.
We hope to see more competition in the marketplace
driven purely by lead quality.
Taking a lesson from recent history, it certainly appears
that a focus on quality is the best path to a win-win
relationship for both lead sellers and buyers.
Let’s hope the trend continues.
http://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/state-
shared-insurance-leads-quality-driven-correction/