What are the problems in the development of property and casualty insurance direct and personal marketing channels?

Thinking about the current situation and strategy of property and casualty insurance marketing

[Keywords] property and casualty insurance marketing; insurance sales promotion; marketing concept; insurance marketing channels; insurance promotion

[Abstract] Property and casualty insurance marketing refers to a new way of operation and a series of dynamic organizational activities adopted by property and casualty insurance companies in accordance with the changes in the market and the needs of customers. China's property and casualty insurance marketing is still in the primary stage of development, monopoly competition, focus on sales, direct marketing, speculation is the current property and casualty insurance marketing of the salient features. At present, there are a lot of problems in property and casualty insurance marketing. Property and casualty insurance companies should set up correct marketing concepts, formulate and implement scientific marketing strategies, establish scientific and effective product development mechanisms, strengthen the construction of product marketing channels, adopt effective promotional strategies, grasp the construction of insurance integrity, and build a competitive marketing system, so that they can compete with each other in an exceptionally fierce market competition. In an exceptionally fierce market competition, the products most needed by customers are introduced to customers in the best way and means to maximize the satisfaction of customers' needs.

I, the current situation of property and casualty insurance marketing

On the whole, China's current stage of property and casualty insurance marketing is in the stage of sales promotion centered on product production and sales. Its current situation can be summarized as follows:

1, property and casualty insurance market is in the stage of monopoly competition. 1988 years ago, the mainland of China, only the People's Insurance Company of China operated exclusively, the insurance market is in a state of complete monopoly. the late 80's to the 90's, the Xinjiang Construction Corps Insurance Company, Ping An Insurance Company and the Pacific Insurance Company entered the insurance market one after another, and the property and casualty insurance market in the country. Since the late 1990s, a number of new property and casualty insurance companies have entered the property and casualty insurance market and accelerated the pace of expansion across the country, rapidly forming a new pattern of diversified property and casualty insurance market with Chinese joint-stock companies as the main body and Chinese and foreign insurance companies competing on the same stage, and the competition in the property and casualty insurance market has intensified significantly. At present, there are more than 60 insurance companies officially operating in China, and four property insurance companies, including PICC, Ping An, Pacific, and China United, hold more than 80% of the property insurance market share, and the property insurance market is still in the stage of monopolistic competition.

2. Property and casualty insurance marketing is still in the sales stage. The development of China's property and casualty insurance marketing concept has gone through two stages: from the resumption of domestic business in 1980 to 1992, it was in the product concept stage. At that time, the insurance company to product design and production as the center, at that time, property insurance products are only vehicle insurance, enterprise property insurance, home insurance and other less than 10 varieties, the insurance company show business is not rely on the products and services to attract customers, but by administrative orders and government issued mandatory. 1992, the U.S. AIA entered the Shanghai, the pressure of the competition, China's insurance companies began to focus on the product and product marketing. To this day, the number of insurance marketers in China has reached more than 1.4 million, and they use various methods to promote insurance products and expand their sales performance and market share every day. However, China's property and casualty insurance marketing is only in the stage of sales promotion centered on product production and sales. There is still a considerable gap from marketing. Because sales promotion is only part of marketing, not all.

3, property and casualty insurance marketing is dominated by traditional sales channels. Insurance marketing channels can generally be divided into two kinds: one is the traditional channel model; the other is the modern integrated marketing channels. The traditional channel model can be further divided into two categories: direct marketing channels and indirect marketing channels, often referred to as direct marketing system and intermediary system. The direct marketing system is a system in which the exclusive employees of an insurance company provide various insurance products directly to the insurance demanders and receive salaries from the insurance company. In layman's terms, it is the way in which insurance companies' on-staff field salespeople sell insurance policies directly to customers. The intermediary system is a system in which insurance intermediaries, such as insurance agents and brokers, market insurance goods and receive commissions from insurance companies. Modern insurance integrated marketing channel is to categorize existing customers and help insurance companies to find out the channels adapted to different levels of consumers, i.e., on the basis of channel segmentation, to use two or more channels to reach one or more market segments, and to achieve multi-win results such as increased market coverage, reduced channel costs, and increased customer satisfaction and product reputation, etc. Prior to 2000, property and casualty insurers in China generally adopted the Before 2000, China's property and casualty insurance companies generally adopted the traditional single direct marketing channel to sell insurance products, and since 2001, China's property and casualty insurance companies have been actively exploring the establishment of property and casualty insurance personal agent marketing system by drawing on the experience of foreign insurance industry and China's life insurance marketing, which has transformed the property and casualty insurance marketing from a single direct marketing to the diversified marketing modes, such as direct marketing, personal agent, and specialized and part-time agent. At present, there are 1,264 insurance intermediaries in China, including 206 brokers, 865 agents, 120,000 insurance part-time agents, and 1.4 million insurance marketers. In 2003, the insurance intermediaries (including marketers) realized premium income of 289.273 billion yuan, which accounted for 74.55% of all premiums. However, property and casualty business from insurance intermediaries only accounted for about 10% of intermediary premiums; property and casualty business from insurance intermediaries accounted for about one-third of property and casualty premiums, with property and casualty business from professional intermediaries accounting for only 2%-3%. Property and casualty insurance marketing is still dominated by traditional direct sales, and modern integrated marketing channels are just beginning to sprout.

4. Speculative behavior is common in the property and casualty insurance industry. Due to the increasingly fierce competition in the insurance market, there are some irrational and opportunistic behaviors prevailing among the grass-roots property and casualty insurers. The first is relationship marketing. According to the so-called "two hundred and fifty" law, generally speaking, a person has 250 friends and relatives who can be utilized. A part of the insurance marketers with the use of the law of "two hundred and five" show business speculative mentality to join the insurance marketing industry, in the friends and relatives to promote insurance, just to sell the policy and premiums back to the matter. The use of social relations around themselves finished, the policy will not be sold, they do not do insurance. Secondly, power marketing. Insurance companies with the help of key government departments, key people's power to influence, relying on the government to issue documents and administrative orders to force the sale of insurance products. Third, barbaric marketing. Some property insurance companies to take sea tactics, recruiting a huge number of marketers, after a simple training on a swarm of out of the business, to achieve the so-called "extraordinary" development, so that the insurance company and even the credibility of the insurance industry has been greatly damaged. Fourth, lure sales. Property insurance companies use the insurance marketing network in the prevailing "gray area", to take a high fee, high return or to the key person to send red packets and other means of business phenomenon is commonplace.

Two, the main problems of property insurance marketing

1, the marketing concept is not in place. Insurance marketing concept is centered on market demand, to meet customer needs as the focus of the new marketing concept. Insurance marketing concept requires insurance companies must first understand customer demand, customer demand from the development of product strategy, the establishment of distribution channels for effective product promotion, and finally to meet customer demand and achieve the purpose of business objectives. Currently, in the insurance marketing practice, insurance companies began to establish a marketing concept, such as PICC clearly put forward the "market-oriented, customer-centric" business philosophy. However, at the operational level, the marketing concept is still far from being in place, or not put into practice. Insurance companies focus on product production and sales, focusing on improving product quality and added value, emphasizing the maximization of product value, as well as advertising, promotional efforts, only in the production and sales of insurance products, not to meet customer demand as the center of property and casualty insurance marketing and all marketing activities; focus on "product sales to obtain profits". Product sales to obtain profits", showing the short-term behavior of "quick success and quick profit" and "a hammer sale", without establishing the concept of obtaining long-term benefits and seeking long-term development through customer satisfaction and trust; sales and promotion as a means of marketing, without focusing on the combined use of various marketing factors.

2, insurance products are not the right way. In product development, insurance companies do not have a complex, unpredictable insurance market as well as diversified, multi-level insurance needs for in-depth investigation, no scientific market segmentation, do not understand the real needs of insurance customers, not for the customer looking for products, did not penetrate into all areas of the national economy and all aspects of social life. The phenomenon of "cloning" and isomorphism of insurance products is very serious, and the similarity rate of insurance products of each insurance company reaches 90%, without the personality and characteristics of their own products, unable to construct their own characteristics and competitive advantages. As a result, insurance products are not marketable and cannot meet the diversified needs of different customers.

3. Inadequate channel construction. Compared with foreign non-life insurance companies and domestic life insurance companies, the construction of property insurance marketing channels is still very inadequate, and very incompatible with the requirements of the rapidly developing property insurance industry. It is mainly manifested in four aspects: firstly, the property insurance individual marketing system is not perfect, blindly copying and reproducing the practice of life insurance individual marketing, and not really stepping out of the individual marketing road with property insurance characteristics. In particular, the "dual-track system" of direct marketing and individual marketing personnel management of property and casualty insurance companies has led to the situation that individual marketers are in the "different pay for the same performance" and "marginalized people", which has made it difficult to build up the property and casualty insurance individual marketing team, and has caused the property and casualty insurance companies to suffer from a lack of resources. This has put the property and casualty insurance individual agency marketing team in a situation of "different pay for the same performance" and "marginalized people", making it difficult to continue and impossible to stop. Secondly, a considerable part of part-time agencies do not live up to their names, and insurance companies often take the establishment of part-time agencies as a legal means to pay returns to the insured, which greatly reduces the role of part-time agencies in property and casualty insurance marketing. Thirdly, a considerable part of property and casualty insurance companies regarded professional intermediaries as competition objects rather than partners, which led to conflicts and confrontations between property and casualty insurance companies and professional intermediaries, and made the property and casualty insurance business done by professional intermediaries account for a negligible proportion of the total property and casualty insurance premiums. Fourthly, due to the lack of effective channel segmentation by property and casualty insurance companies and the lack of innovation in the construction of property and casualty insurance marketing channels, the integration of property and casualty insurance marketing channels, the sustainable development of property and casualty insurance marketing channels and the relationship of property and casualty insurance marketing channels from transactional to partnership are yet to be boldly explored in practice.

4, marketing planning is not comprehensive. China's property and casualty insurance companies have not formulated a scientific marketing strategy and systematic marketing strategy, and seldom invested in human and material resources to conduct market research, so that consumers need what products are not clear in mind, and the rate setting lack of data basis. No marketing concepts throughout the entire process of all business activities, market research, product development, product sales, after-sales service and other departments, the lack of organic linkage, overall linkage and close coordination.

Three, property insurance marketing strategy of thinking

1, set up a correct marketing concept. Marketing concepts determine all marketing activities of the enterprise, marketing concepts old, wrong, will certainly lead to marketing failure. Ranbir Scott said: "in today's market economy, marketing is no longer a product of the competition, but the concept of the competition. Property and casualty insurance companies to establish the correct marketing should focus on the following three aspects: First, focus on customer demand. To establish what customers need insurance, on the development, sales of what kinds of insurance marketing concept, not only the customer's needs as the starting point of enterprise marketing, and to meet customer needs throughout the whole process of enterprise marketing, penetration in the various departments of enterprise marketing, become the work of all staff guidelines. Not only to understand the reality of customer demand, but also to understand the potential needs of customers, according to the trend of market demand, to determine and adjust the enterprise's marketing strategy to adapt to changes in the market, and seek the survival and development of enterprises. Second, adhere to the overall marketing. Property and casualty insurance marketing must be based on the overall business objectives of the insurance company, coordinating the use of products, prices, channels, promotions, public relations and other elements, from all aspects to meet the overall needs of customers. Third, seek long-term interests. The concept of marketing requires companies not only focus on the current interests, but also pay more attention to long-term interests. In marketing, we should do everything possible to meet customer needs with quality products and excellent service to maximize customer satisfaction, establish a good image of the enterprise, and strive for "repeat business". Therefore, property and casualty insurance companies in the marketing, not only to focus on product development and sales, but also to focus on marketing services, services throughout the entire process of marketing management activities, to promote the continuous improvement of the level of business management, and seek sustainable development of enterprises and long-term profitability.

2, the establishment of a scientific product development mechanism.

First of all, the insurance company to develop new types of insurance, we must put the market demand in the first place, customer satisfaction as the purpose, with the customer "with the breath, *** destiny", to understand the customer's risk, to understand the customer's needs, to understand the customer's ability to pay the economy, to look for the company's products and the best combination of customer satisfaction, to improve the market viability of insurance products. Improve the market vitality of insurance products. Secondly, scientific market segmentation should be carried out. Product developers should locate their target customer groups according to the overall development strategy of the company, so that the new products developed can satisfy the desires of consumers. The product development department at the headquarters of the property insurance company should strengthen its core position in new product development, put market research in an important position, collect and organize information on the ever-changing market and the needs of customers, and provide a reliable basis for new product development. At the same time, we should give full play to the role of the front-line product marketing staff of the grass-roots branches of property insurance companies, and we should not regard them only as salesmen, but also as collectors of market information. Because they deal with customers every day, what customers need through them to the company's product research and development department, the company's product research and development department and then organize and analyze. This can reduce the cost of market research, but also to develop products closer to the market. Again, to reasonable pricing. Price is an important means of market competition. In view of the special nature of insurance products, its pricing factors are far more complex than general products, so property insurance companies must pay attention to the accumulation of data and the collection of relevant information, so as to make the product rates scientifically, to reduce the risks caused by pricing errors to the company's operations. In addition, it is necessary to rationally reduce product prices because, although price reduction is an important means of competition, it is not the core means. The so-called rational reduction, is to see whether the product has a profit margin, if there is a larger profit margin, you can let the consumer, through thin margins to expand the purchase, to achieve profits with economies of scale.

3, build a new type of insurance marketing channels.

P&C insurance companies must strengthen the construction of insurance marketing channels, break through the current self-sales and individual marketing of a single model, to build a new type of insurance marketing channels. First, to break the property insurance company self-sales and personal marketing staff of the "dual-track system" management mode, properly solve the personal marketing staff employees "marginal" identity problems, to promote the healthy development of personal marketing business. There are two specific ways: one is to break the property and casualty insurance company direct sales staff and individual marketing staff identity boundaries, set up in the property and casualty insurance company within the group insurance marketing department and individual insurance marketing department, group insurance marketing department according to its engaged in bulk business development characteristics, to take the "salary system" management (including individual generation staff). The individual insurance marketing department adopts the "agency system" of management (including regular employees) according to the characteristics of its decentralized business development. It should be noted in particular that the labor compensation of both the Group Insurance Marketing Department and the Individual Insurance Marketing Department is based on the "proportional commission system", and the so-called "salary system" and "agency system" are under the current insurance regulatory policy. The so-called "salary system" and "agency system" are just different channels for financial expenses under the current insurance regulatory policy. Secondly, property and casualty insurance companies with mature conditions can separate the field sales staff of grassroots branches and set up professional agencies or brokerage companies. Second, give full play to the role of part-time agents and professional intermediaries. To change the situation that the name of part-time agents does not correspond to the reality, we should strengthen the construction of part-time agent outlets in banks, postal services, car dealers, professional transportation companies, civil aviation, railroads, etc., and strengthen the coordination and communication as well as the business training and guidance, and make full use of their industry characteristics and advantages to expand their business. At the same time, it is necessary to change the concept that professional intermediaries are competitors, take the initiative to strengthen collaboration with professional agents and brokers, and in particular, be adept at expanding new business areas and new customers through professional intermediaries. Third, actively develop new sales channels such as network marketing and community marketing. Network marketing can not only reduce operating costs, but also meet the needs of consumers at any time, any place, any way of insurance. 2003 end, China's Internet users reached 79.5 million people, such a huge network of target consumers, for insurance companies to realize the product online trading provides a broad space. Property and casualty insurance companies should boldly explore online marketing methods. Community marketing, that is, relying on the urban community in-depth insurance source exhibition marketing, which has the advantages of good geography, familiar personnel, wide publicity, strong linkage effect, high degree of credit, and easy to produce twice the result with half the effort, etc., and it is the main means of insurance marketing in China in the future. Property and Casualty Insurance Company should actively take action, relying on the community marketing in the homeowner's insurance, liability insurance, personal accident insurance, health insurance, etc. and the insurance of the life of the community residents are closely related Expanding a new road. Fourth, integrate insurance marketing channels. Integration of insurance marketing channels is a challenge to the traditional marketing channels, in the integrated marketing channels, insurance companies and agents, brokers, part-time agents, etc., should be integrated through ownership, channel leaders of the management of the integration and contractual integration of the way, united into a unity, from "you" and "I" transaction-based relationship changed to "you" and "I". The insurance company and its distribution partners should be integrated into a single entity through ownership integration, management integration and contractual integration, so as to change the transactional relationship from "you" and "me" to a partnership of "you have me and I have you", so as to make the insurance company and its distribution partners integrate their operations, **** the same commitment to improving the operational efficiency of the marketing network, realizing the insurance company's control over the channel, eliminating the conflicts caused by agents pursuing their own interests and pursuing a multi-win outcome. The partnership enables the insurance company and its distribution partners to integrate and work together to improve the operational efficiency of the marketing network, realize the insurance company's group control over the channel, eliminate the conflicts caused by agents pursuing their own interests, and pursue a win-win outcome.

4, the adoption of effective insurance promotion strategy.

Currently, the key promotional tools are: First, we should strengthen the insurance knowledge propaganda, so that more members of the public to understand insurance, clear insurance may bring their benefits, and gradually improve the risk awareness of the whole population and insurance awareness, cultivate the demand for insurance, and make the potential demand for insurance into a real demand. Secondly, product promotion and public relations activities are carried out in a purposeful and planned manner. Planning, marketing, public relations and other departments of property insurance companies should work closely together, plan carefully, make comprehensive arrangements, identify entry points, and carry out a series of new product promotions, news campaigns, advertisements and other public relations activities in a purposeful and planned manner, so as to continuously improve the company's visibility and reputation in terms of products, strengths, and services, and to establish a good social image of the company. Third, give full play to the promotional role of marketing personnel. Given that insurance products are different from tangible commodities, it is difficult to pass on to the general public through advertising. Marketers can communicate one-on-one with prospective purchasers, introduce product features face-to-face, and answer questions to facilitate signing. The direct and indirect communication effect of marketers cannot be replaced by other promotional means. Therefore, property insurance companies should take marketer promotion as an important part of the promotional strategy and give full play to its role.

5, to create an excellent insurance credit system.

Insurance, as a part of socialist market economy, needs to strengthen the credit construction. The complexity of insurance products, the uncertainty of insurance risks and the information asymmetry between the two sides of the transaction are all the more important features to strengthen the credit construction. First of all, property and casualty insurance companies should strengthen the ethical and moral education of their employees, regulate their behavior, gradually form an honest and trustworthy insurance corporate culture, so that they can pay attention to the people's livelihood and social responsibility while considering their own interests, ensure that the products and services provided are consistent with the promises made, ensure the authenticity of the company's business information, and ensure that there is no misleading and deceptive behavior of the consumers, and use their honesty to exchange for the customers' loyalty and win the trust of the society with its own credit. Secondly, credit rating mechanism should be gradually introduced to promote the construction of insurance integrity. Through credit rating, we can promote the construction of insurance company's integrity, so that those who are not trustworthy will be punished by the market. Thirdly, we should establish a disciplinary system for breach of trust to strengthen the construction of insurance credit. Although insurance credit has been written into the newly revised Insurance Law, but due to the lack of punishment for breach of trust, so that the market found misleading and fraudulent consumer behavior, the regulatory authorities can only be supervised to talk or order their companies to deal with, the company both to remove them out, will soon be used by other companies. As the cost of breach of trust is too low, it leads to repeated dishonest behavior. For this reason, the insurance regulator or industry associations to develop as soon as possible on the sanctions for breach of trust, so that the defaulters pay a high price, through the regulations to strengthen the construction of insurance credit.