by Pat Hargadon
We all know that 2012 has been a challenging year for everyone. Mother Nature continues to cause huge losses all across the country, markets continue to tighten, and returns on investments are minimal.
It sure would seem like a good time to not be in the insurance business. With 26 years of service, I tell folks all the time I feel somewhat like Richard Geer in the scene from An Officer and a Gentleman where he tells Louis Gossett Jr., “I got nowhere else to go.” And really, where would you want to be in the insurance business other than Kentucky Farm Bureau?
Tough times call for us to look at the things that make us special and make us different from others in the industry. The first place to look is our membership program. The Federation has really raised the bar with the membership discounts and encouraged county leadership to do the same. Here in Shelby County, we are blessed to have a board and agency that share the same vision and realization, that when member benefits are promoted, the organization (including insurance) becomes better.
In early 2012 our Executive Board and staff members met, as we knew 2012 would be challenging with the rate increases that were planned. We all agreed that we should look at opportunities to promote membership programs locally. Thus far and as of today, we have a dozen local discount programs that we promote in local insurance ads, on our Facebook page, and whenever agents or directors attend an event.
We also decided now was the time to step up our advertising program and try to make more folks aware of not only Kentucky Farm Bureau, but of Shelby County Farm Bureau. With no local radio, only one small local newspaper, and extremely tight county zoning on signage, it was decided we needed a mobile billboard (aka our box trailer). We have had it for a few months and it very seldom has a load, but it seems to show up at just about every event in Shelby County—from the fair and chamber functions to local sporting events. Constant reminders of Farm Bureau do seem to work and in today’s market we need all the help possible. Our county is certainly not the only one working to promote local discounts and the membership in general, but now is a good time for us to share these thoughts and ideas to keep Farm Bureau as a whole strong and growing.
Don’t pass on that opportunity to work with your local board and business owners in your community to develop local discounts that not only benefit your members, but remind them of the value of membership. My bet is that there are also some insurance sales to be gained along the way.
Great info Pat! Thanks for sharing!!