Archive for the ‘PIMA’ Category

Wristband gift from Kelle, DR, June 2011

I’m excited to share Part 2b of the Linkedin series on B2B promotion and the role of employees, especially leaders and stakeholders. But I feel led to go and swim in the deep end of the pool for a minute, spiritually speaking. So if you’re not into spiritual things, more to the point, Christian things, this post is not for you, but thanks for visiting anyway. Understanding I’m speaking to a business audience where the norm is to “never talk about religion and politics”, if you ARE even moderately inquisitive about the spiritual aspects of life, you might find this a good respite.

On Saturday, I’m joining a team of 12 from an industry association I’m involved in, PIMA, the Professional Insurance Marketers Association, on what’s being called the “Give Back Tour”. We are meeting up in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for a week of service to the Dominican nationals through an organization known as World Servants. Our leader is Dave McCarty from AGIA. Dave and his wife have been doing this for about 10 years now, so they have the whole thing “wired”. I put that in quotes because as you might expect, when you’re walking by faith and serving the creator of the universe, you gotta kinda be open to ‘changes in plan’ if you know what I mean. Right?

Here’s the agenda:

Saturday – Travel to DR and then to San Cristobal. Dinner at camp, Group Time and go to bed.

Sunday – Cross Cultural Orientation from 9 – 3pm, Community Tour 3-5, Worship with the community, Kids Club preparation, Group Time, Small Group.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

• 7:30 – Breakfast
• 8:00 – Personal Journal & Devotions
• 8:45 – Group Devotions
• 9:00 – Construction
• Noon – Lunch
• 1:00 – Construction (Mon. and Thurs.), Home Visits, and Kids Club (Tues. and Fri)
• 4:00 – Free Time
• 6:00 – Dinner
• 7:00 – Evening Program
• 8:30 – Small Group
• 10:30 – In Dorm Rooms
• 11:00 – Lights Out

Wednesday – “Day Off”

• Tour school and community in an urban area of Santo Domingo
• Marketplace
• Tourist stuff
• Dinner out
• Home and go to bed

Why am I going? Quite candidly, I see my life as leading a team of 4 horses:

1. Physical
2. Mental
3. Emotional
4. Spiritual

My desire is to keep these horses together and at the same pace. So as I age physically, I want to advance mentally. As I work to develop my mental IQ, I also want to develop my emotional IQ. And as all three of these grow and mature, I seek to develop the spiritual component right along with them. That way my life stays in balance. The interesting thing about the horse analogy is that horses have several speeds, right? Rest, walk, cantor, trot, gallup, etc. So it’s my job to tune into what’s happening around me, be sensitive to the needs of those I touch, etc., all common-sense stuff, and lead my horses appropriately.

As many of you know, I’ve grown a great deal mentally in the last year – not that I’m boasting, that’s just what’s happened as a result of the leap of faith in starting WebWisedom, something I didn’t really see coming, but I’m grateful for. At the same time, I’ve also started a more rigorous workout regimen involving spinning and jogging with my wife. Emotionally? Well, without going into the details, let’s just say with the separation of my son (Army) and the looming separation from my daughter (college graduation and moving on…), as well as a very difficult time of trial for my wife and her job, I’ve grown a lot emotionally.

So that leaves the spiritual side. I know, like most guys, I tend to compartmentalize things. But in reality, I’ve held the spiritual reign loosely, really all these reigns, because I know at this point in my spiritual journey, the spirit is working in and through ALL of these things, right? I’m kind of just along for the ride, trying to be obedient to the leading of the spirit, stumbling and falling to be sure, but persisting and trying to ‘walk worthy’. So when the opportunity presented itself, even though it’s a real stretch financially (and I appreciate the grace of my business partners to whom I owe small amounts of $), I said yes. (And btw, just yesterday, thanks to 6 business partners, I just billed my highest month WebWisedom-to-date. So praise God, I’ll be caught up with my obligations by the end of the month if everyone pays me on schedule…again, not boasting, just being candid and transparent as it relates to this story.)

What are my expectations? Well, I’m leading the music part of the trip. So I’m looking forward to some really good singing time – that always ministers to my soul. I know about half the guys on the team. So I’m looking forward to deepening those relationships, as well as getting to know the others. My daughter, Kelle, has gone to the DR the last five years in a row and has told me many great things. So while I’m going to a different region, I’m looking forward to walking in her footsteps a bit and then sharing with her after. And of course, I’m looking forward to serving the DR folks. But most importantly, I’m anticipating seeing the hand of God at work in a clear and unmistakeable way. (I went to the jungle of the Philippines in ’98 with a church group and saw some amazing and unforgettable things then.) And yes, I’ll have my camera and will make a video, Lord willing and by his grace.

So that’s it for now. Selfishly, I’d greatly appreciate your words of encouragement and any other Comments and thoughts that immediately come to mind. But I’ll be offline from 10/8-16. The scripture passage I’m memorizing: Col 3:12-14. Thanks for reading and good thoughts for the team. Blessings…

Professional Insurance Marketing Association 2011 MidYear Meeting and Tradeshow

Following are a few sound bites and images I heard and saw. What did YOU hear and see??? Please Share thoughts in the Comments section below. I’d like to hear from you. Subsequent readers would as well. What were your top one or two take-aways? I REALLY want to know. Thanks in advance for taking a few minutes…

Most important items from my notes:

“This is the essence of affinity marketing – connections and relationships.” -David Zach (Pics)

“Multi-channel marketing will make for a much happier client as well.” -Deb Gustafson (Pics)

Paralympic video with Wounded Warrior: 6k to 105k Likes on Facebook in one month! -Hartford Life

“Don’t over engineer it, make it so complicated, get raked over for the ROI. Don’t be afraid to take baby steps. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on advertising.” -John Steber (Pics)

“Data is going to be the make-or-break-thing for the insurance industry. It’s all about guardrails, not rigid prescriptions.” -Ellen Carney

“My tweets opened up a dialog with a strategic industry contact that my PR agency couldn’t crack.” -Sam Fleet

“Social networks are a big deal. Mobile and apps are a huge deal.” -Brian Sullivan (Pics)

“Best conference I’ve been at in a long time.” Bunch of people

Ignite – excellent way to communicate a lot of information in a short amount of time. Reminded me of the power of viral video’s – rapidly changing visuals with voice overs. Props to Derrek Barfield for cheerfully going first, Stephanie D’Amico for best presenter (IMHO), Kathie Kinde for best content (IMHO), and Bill Suneson for the anchor leg and a great product. All presenters made a great effort in the midst of hectic schedules – not to be taken lightly. Sherri and David did just phenomenal jobs on the intro’s – an important key. (Pics)

Props to Sherri Lagana and David Schaeffer, two of the most energetic, positive, funny, and savvy people I’ve worked with (to take nothing away from others I’ve worked with (FH, KK)). BIG props to Bill Tyson for helping with the Multi-channel Marketing presentation – a BIG challenge on several levels. More props to Denise Friday and Mona Buckley for orchestrating and facilitating, encouraging, reminding, and smiling all the way.

On a personal note, I greatly appreciated the chance to dine with Affinitas Partners and Quicken Loans as well as with Sherri Lagana and Liberty Mutual. Nice to be included as a Business Partner and hope I added value. Oh, and thanks to the peeps that stopped by the Cabana and made it fun. Hope you find the contents of the USB drive useful. Here’s a link to download the content for anyone else that missed or would like a raft of Social Tech resources.

WebWisedom Social Tech Sales and Marketing Resources PIMA MY2011

Finally, thanks to all the speakers, the engaged audience, the Business Partners that contributed so many of the moving parts, and the spouses that support the whole thing, especially, Diane Wise, without whom NONE of this would be possible. Mad Love and Respect.

Business-wise, I’m encouraged. The Broadmoor suits me right down to my toes – terrific people, location, and amenities. Phenomenal.

PS. A lot of people need a lot of help understanding how Linkedin works and how to leverage it on several levels. I’ve got a seminar on that. (And so much more…)

See you in Florida if not sooner!

As you’ll hear in this most recent podcast, at the 2011 PIMA Annual Meeting, I thought it might be interesting to get a few comments at the closing reception from attendees. The theme of the conference was “Innovation”. Perhaps like no other time in the history of the association, Innovation is critically needed. In general, “tried and true” best practices for insurance direct marketing through associations and affinity have been showing declining results over the past 5 years. Marketing strategies are shifting even further to “Multi-channel”. Social Media Marketing has emerged as a legit channel, but few are using it. Mobile, QR Codes, video, and other technology-based marketing tactics seem to be ‘the future’.

But there are barriers. Listen in to the comments. What patterns to you hear. Any surprises? This was by no means a scientific and thorough survey – more of a conversation with a few people I happened to see immediately and in a short period of time. What barriers would you add to the list? Were you there? What take-aways to you leave with? It’s been 6 months now. Have you implemented any of them? Care to share a story? Comment here on this blog or back in the Linkedin Group for PIMA. We MUST all learn from each other to keep our industry strong and adapting well to the new technologies and cultures ahead of us.

Thanks in advance. No Lurking, please. Leave a note for other readers to consider as well. Thanks again.

Btw, here’s a direct link to the pictures I shot at the conference.. I’ll be adding more next week at the MidYear Meeting & Trade Show. Greatly looking forward to it. Tell you what, I’m hosting a Cabana Social Hour by the pool at the Broadmoor on Saturday afternoon from 3-4pm. Anyone that Comments on this post and then comes by the Cabana, while supplies last, will get a free 1G USB Drive with a bunch of useful Social Media Marketing stuff. Sound good? Please Comment below. Thanks again.

Insurance, Compliance, Social, & Multi-Channel Marketing – “It’s a lot to bite off all at once.” -What About Bob!

Wanted to give a quick shout-out about a Webinar I was asked to help with.

Background: Distribion, a new member of the association I’m involved in, PIMA, caught my attention at the last conference. So I decided to check out their system in an effort to better understand their value prop , especially in the context of PIMA members. After a quick, high-level demo, I could see that the tech definitely has great utility for organizations that are leveraging multi-channel marketing. Of course my expertise is about e-Commerce, Web sites, Web marketing, and Social Technologies. So it was interesting to see how Direct Mail, Call Center Marketing, and other channels can be integrated into a common dashboard.

In talking about the insurance industry, they asked me what I felt were some of the biggest challenges in the insurance space relative to Social Media Marketing. Short answer… legal and compliance issues have kept many insurance marketing organizations on the Social Tech sidelines. I shared a recent project I’m working on where I’m helping an insurance company with a pilot marketing project. I’m orchestrating a process with the carrier, a couple of their agencies, and compliance folks. Interesting.

Of course that started with a research project sponsored by the company’s marketing department where I was tasked with an assessment of the Social Media Marketing and Compliance landscape. That ended up being very helpful in bringing the legal and compliance folks up to speed on Social Technologies, breaking down some functional myths about Social, illustrating what other carriers are doing with Social, researching and describing current guidelines by the NAIC, etc.

At the time, Distribion folks reached back to me and suggested perhaps we do a joint White Paper, perhaps a joint Webinar, that brings together these Social Media Marketing and Compliance concepts together with Marketing Technology concepts. So fast forward several months and here we are.

Next week we’ll be jumping on a call to discuss these subjects. Edgar Rodriguez, Sales Exec with Distribion will be facilitating a session with myself and Deb McAlister-Holland. Deb recently joined Distribion to lead their marketing efforts – very interesting background that brings a rich perspective I’ve appreciated getting to know in preparation for this Webinar. Check out here new ecosystem at www.distributedmarketing.org

Here’s what the Agenda looks like:

• How Google Changed Marketing Forever
  
• The Empowered Customer & the Echo Chamber
  
• 21st Century Marketing in a Regulated Environment
  
• Social Media Guidelines & Compliance
  
• Empowering Producers & Local Marketing
  
• 7 Things Marketers MUST Know About Online Marketing

Again, “It’s a lot to bite off” in 60 minutes. But it seems like it should be a worthwhile effort. The ensuing White Paper should be good as well. If you have anything you really want to know, feel free to use the Comment below, Linkindin, Twitter, email, call me, etc. Happy to help in any way…

Btw, not sure how many of the attendees will be on Twitter during and after the event, but I’d like to suggest the Twitter hashtag: #MCRE for Marketing & Compliance in a Regulated Environment. In fact, I’ll make a note to stay on Twitter for a half-hour after the Webinar to kick around thoughts and ideas. Ala HubSpot, we’ll call it the “Twitter After-party!” I love it.

Links:

Register here

Linkedin Event (Click “Attending” for an easy way to Share with your Linkedin network)

Perhaps Share this post as well. The more insurance folks that assimilate some of these concepts, the better. Definitely encourage you to send it to legal and compliance folks.

Thanks!

Running in between PIMA and ICMG with tons of follow-up from the former while getting organized for the latter. Geesh! All the while, Cleveland and the Midwest is getting pummeled by “snow-pocalypse”.

Future note to keep me accountable: At the closing session, I asked several attendees the question, “What is the one thing you would say to someone who wasn’t here regarding all the innovation content we heard?” And then, “What is the one BIG barrier to innovation that we must overcome?” Really looking forward to sharing the content with you.. very interesting mosaic of comments. Look for that next week.

In the meantime, a few thoughts collected real-time. Curious for reader comments. Btw, if you are serious about Social Technologies, especially as they relate to Innovation, Mobile, Viral Marketing, e-Word-of-Mouth, etc., I’m meeting with a few clients at the Scott Klososky Enterprise Social Tech Bootcamp in Dallas in early March. I’ve got one open spot left.

Seismic changes in this age of the consumer, disruptive technologies….

“Innovation is a necessity.”

Unknown and unarticulated needs

Culture of failure is important

No such thing as B2B anymore – just the relative distance from the consumer.

…the things that didn’t work… “We lucked into innovation…”

“Big Slow Staid Bureaucratic”
good descriptive of our industry

“All the innovation is already there; you just have to unleash it.”

Mobile is changing everything – right in our customers hands

recognize failure “a lot” – words of encouragement

Lessons Learned
#1 Solve for Ideas
Innovation process… THEN product development process
#2 Unpeel you Onion – innovation is already there…

“disruptive innovation: product or utility that does less and cost less”

Huffington – embrace the new economy, embrace the link economy

Extreme Affinity – LA City Employees Association – referral from American General

“Insurance wasn’t enough”

Captivating and compelling use of innovation. Gobs and gobs of take-aways…

Pictures

PIMA hashtag search

Next Meeting – The Broadmoor

Meantime – Brand project, continuing the discussion on Linkedin, lots of client engagements, Innovation

What was your take-away from the conference? Good for you? What about some of these concepts? If you weren’t there, feel free to ask questions. Perhaps the reader crowd can bring clarity. Please Comment below. Thanks in advance.