New Gorilla Web Site for Preretirees and Retirees

Posted on August 29, 2008
Filed Under Ethics, Retirement, Social Media, Web Sites | Leave a Comment

Have you seen Axa Equitable’s new MyRetirementShop.com web site? It’s a content-driven site designed to provide lifestyle-related information and services to retirees and preretirees. I recently checked it out and was struck by a few things.

The breadth of the site is amazing. It ranges from home and family issues, financial matters, and health and fitness to volunteering, travel, and entertainment. This is truly a “kitchen sink” site for consumers looking to enhance their retirement lifestyle.

The site not only connects consumers with helpful information, it also provides concierge services that may save people a lot of time.

The content focus isn’t just financial, although finance is a strength, as you’d imagine coming from Axa. But it also aims to add value across a reader’s entire life . . . an ambitious goal, to say the least.

The site wants to entertain people, as well as provide information. That’s different—and laudable—coming from a financial services company. To this end, the site provides access to movie and book reviews, links to a service where you can buy event tickets, and even provides games and brainteasers.

There is a genuine attempt to help people improve themselves through education, with hooks to ITunes U and another service called Classes USA.

The financial section is really robust, with lots of articles from Kiplinger and homegrown Axa brochures and calculators.

But everything isn’t sweetness and light. Because its aspirations are so lofty and content providers so extensive, site navigation can be tricky. Part of the problem is there’s navigational inconsistency across the various content silos. Plus sometimes the site teases you with the promise of help (example: the Caring for Elderly Loved Ones page), but then doesn’t deliver.

I also think the site’s horizontal content strategy—lots of content sweep, but not a lot of depth—is a problem. If I were looking for information on, say, caregiving, I’d just head to AARP or some other specialized site.

Also, to gain full access to the site, Axa requires you to complete a detailed registration form, not just provide an e-mail address and password. If you do comply, you get to specify how you want both the site and Axa to contact you in the future or you can specify no contact. But I suspect this requirement might scare off a lot of people, particularly those who don’t want to be hounded by an Axa gorilla . . . er, agent.

Finally, I may be dense here, but I don’t get the name of the site. Since the focus isn’t shopping, why call it “MyRetirementShop.com”?

Having said this, I really appreciate Axa’s innovation and willingness to build a content-rich site. I even registered and plan to return to explore ways to improve my life. But where to begin?

Are you building the confidence of female buyers?

Posted on July 3, 2008
Filed Under Financial Planning, Marketing Collateral, Women's Market | Leave a Comment

When it comes to financial planning, U.S. women may lack confidence, but are serious about building their financial knowledge, especially about planning for—and living in—retirement. That’s the bottom line of a new study from Allianz Life.

This comes as little surprise, of course. But what’s really interesting is that almost half (46%) of the 1,443 women surveyed turned to the Internet first for financial-planning information. That compared with 34% who approached family members; 30%, financial advisors; 26%, banks; and 22%, friends.

But when Allianz asked women which information source was most effective, the Internet plummeted to twelfth place. The most effective sources, they said, were those involving human contact.

It’s no wonder women were more positive about human contact. The study found that 44% of the women said financial-planning information is overwhelming and too hard to sort through, 36% said it was complicated or hard to understand, and 32% said financial materials are really boring and dry.

Allianz said one of its key take-aways is the need to deliver more content through human contact (read: distributors). That may explain why their U.S. web site doesn’t provide any financial-education web content explicitly for women. However, given the company’s desire to better communicate with them, this may be shortsighted. A competitor, Prudential Financial, has a similar women’s research project going, and has created a robust companion web site.

If you’re thinking about targeting the female market, the Prudential site is a great exemplar. It engages women with informative content about how to manage the financial impact of family relationships, plan for key financial goals, and learn about investment and insurance products . The site is also replete with life-stage and planing checklists, calculators, and interactive guides.

Women may prefer human sources of information, but that may be because many insurance company web sites haven’t gotten their content act together. If that’s the case, what are you doing to set your company apart as a provider of financial products and advice for women? Publishing overwhelming, complicated, and boring materials is no way to engage with women. And it doesn’t work too well with men, either.

Uncle Sam makes case for long-term care insurance.

Posted on June 20, 2008
Filed Under Long-Term Care Insurance | Leave a Comment

Making the case for long-term care insurance has just gotten easier. That’s because the government has released new life-expectancy data, along with a new warning that Social Security does not pay for long-term care expenses.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, age-adjusted death rates dropped sharply between 2005 and 2006, and life expectancy reached new heights. Result: overall life expectancy at birth set a new record in 2006 of 78.1 years. The data broken out by sex and race also set new records:

Meanwhile, The Social Security Administration revised its annual consumer statement to make abundantly clear that Americans are on their own nickel when it comes to paying for nursing home care. Says the statement, mailed to millions of Americans older than 25, “Medicare does not pay for long term care, so you may want to consider options for private insurance.”

OK, communicators, our mandate is as clear as an azure sky in summer. Americans are living longer than ever and the longer they live, the more likely they will need long-term care. This care is expensive, and Social Security won’t cover it. So what are you doing to drive home this message to the public? And how are you helping producers better make the case for long-term care so their clients can protect their assets from one of life’s most devastating financial risks?

Want to attract more distributors? Think like a “cat.”

Posted on June 19, 2008
Filed Under Distributors, Marketing Collateral | Leave a Comment

If your job (or one of your many jobs) is to attract your company’s distributors, then you’ve probably noticed something by now: They are independent “cats.” By this I mean, much as real cats do, they do things on their own schedule and for their own reasons. How to attract them? By abandoning dog-like appeals (”Come here, boy?”) and learning to think, cajole, and entice like a fellow “cat.”

The first step in this process is to shift your attitude. Here are some “cat” beliefs you should adopt today if you haven’t already:

Finally, make sure your programs and content pass the “WIIT” test (”What’s In It for Them?”). If they’re not WIIT-compliant, sprinkle them with a heavy dose of catnip.

From the “Content I Love” Department: John Hancock LTC ad.

Posted on June 13, 2008
Filed Under Advertising | Leave a Comment

“Is there anything in the world more dependable than the ebb and flow of the tides?” asks a recent John Hancock trade press ad. Yes, the copy answers . . . long-term care insurance from John Hancock.

“Since the beginning,” the ad continues, “the tides have marked the passage of time, rising and falling with a steady cadence. It’s with that same assurance that you can depend on John Hancock.”

The ad also mentions that the company has paid over $1 billion in LTC claims to 1 million policyholders over the last 20 years.

Simple, timeless, reassuring. Just the message boomers and retirees want to hear about long-term care insurance. Well done, JH!

Agents on Second Life . . . what’s wrong with this picture?

Posted on June 10, 2008
Filed Under Social Media | 2 Comments

Did you see the news that Aviva is setting up what it calls a free, invitation only “private island” on Second Life, the social networking site (read: virtual world)? Targeting current and prospective agents, the site will reportedly provide free virtual gifts, training, and a private “wellness toolbar”.

OK, I must admit, I don’t know much about Second Life . . . only what I read in the papers. I’ve never visited it, and none of my friends or colleagues have spent time on it. So take my opinion with a clump of salt.

But here’s what my gut says: Very few agents will spend time on a site like this. Maybe they’ll check it out as a novelty. But I don’t see them making it a virtual hangout. Now, I’m not saying Aviva shouldn’t experiment with Second Life. They should . . . and I hope they make it work.

But here’s what I really want to know: What is a “private wellness toolbar?” If it’s as much fun as it sounds, maybe agents will be begging for invites.

Does your web site have a case of product-itis?

Posted on June 10, 2008
Filed Under Retirement, Web Sites | Leave a Comment

Insurance company web sites seem to have a chronic case of product-itis. By this I mean, they talk a lot about their various products, but often fail to integrate useful information about the financial-planning issues that create the need for those products.

The MassMutual Financial Group web site is a perfect example of this. The six main navigation choices are “retire,” “insure,” “invest,” “learn,” “service,” and “login.” If you click on “retire, you see a screen with five other retirement-oriented choices: “retirement services,” “annuities,” “income management,” “contribution protection,” and “trust services.”

All of these choices take you to pages where you can learn more about related products. For example, if you click on “annuities,” you come to a page that lists the main types of annuities, offers a high-level description of each type, then provides pull down menus to access product brochures, unit values, and prospectuses.

On this page, there are links to consumer-education content that address retirement issues. But the link descriptions aren’t real clear or prominent. So . . .here’s the deal. If I were a consumer with a lot of questions about how to save for retirement and I saw the main “retire” link, I would probably expect guidance about how to get started with my retirement planning. Instead, I’d be looking at a highly technical page about annuity contracts. If that were me, I’d be a little let down.

Now in the site’s “learn” section, I would find retirement planning info. But’s it’s at arm’s length from the “retire” page that initially captured my interest.

I understand insurance companies desire to sell products. But I think as communicators we need to ask ourselves this question, “Do consumers come to web sites to learn about annuity contracts in all their jargony glory? Or are they trying to figure out how to plan their retirements? If the latter is true—and I suspect it is—then maybe we should give them what they need.

Let’s motivate consumers to address retirement healthcare.

Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under Healthcare, Marketing Collateral, Retirement | Leave a Comment

Developing annuity, long-term care, or health savings account collateral? Then here are some numbers for engaging your prospects. According to new research out yesterday from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a married couple with median drug expenses would need current savings of $194,000 to have a 50% shot at covering all of their health-care expenses during retirement. To have 90% odds, they’d need $305,000. Those with very high drug expenses (90th percentile) would need $635,000 to have a 90% chance at having enough money.

Now, the above projections assume the couple have Medicare, but supplement it with Medigap (Plan 5) and Medicare Part D outpatient drug coverage. EBRI also ran the numbers for people who supplement Medicare with an employer-subsidized retiree health plan and for those who have an unsubsidized employer plan.

But once we have the prospect’s attention, will these numbers motivate them to act? I hope so, because health care expenses are the soft underbelly of boomer retirement. As communicators, we owe it to advisors and consumers to generate a sense of urgency about this looming risk. If we don’t, who will?

Should communicators promote ethical selling?

Posted on June 4, 2008
Filed Under Distributors, Ethics | Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, ethical conduct wasn’t an issue in the financial services business. Sure, some producers got caught cooking policy illustrations and others got snared calling an insurance product an investment. But by and large, the vast majority of producers were ethical, and consumers assumed their financial advisors had integrity.

Has life ever changed! It’s not that more producers are getting caught with their fingers in the cookie jar. It’s that Enron, Arthur Andersen, and other unethical companies left a troubling legacy: lack of public confidence in business. And lack of confidence is not a good thing for an industry such as ours that relies on public trust.

The recent Dateline NBC exposé of shoddy advisor sales practices, though seriously flawed, further eroded our industry’s reputation. Let’s get real. Why is adequate disclosure of product provisions even an issue in this day and age? It should be a standard business practice, period. And why do some advisors persist in claiming bogus credentials or taking credit for articles and books they haven’t written? It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in moral philosophy to know these things are wrong.

There’s an opportunity here for communicators to make a difference. How? By showcasing your company’s commitment to ethics, while helping producers do business with integrity.

How do you make the case for ethics? The key is to promote appropriate sales practices as a business asset that can unleash growth. Ethical conduct isn’t just a warm and fuzzy concept. It’s an integral part of an advisor’s value proposition that makes it easier to attract and retain clients.

For example, according to the National Ethics Bureau*, a San Diego, California-based membership organization of background-checked financial professionals, selling ethically is simply good business. It helps producers and financial advisors to:

How much more money do ethical advisors make? That figure is hard to find or quantify. However, one advisor who prominently features the logo of the National Ethics Bureau on his marketing materials says his response rate is 36% higher when he features the logo than when he doesn’t. Apparently, membership in that organization conveys a commitment to ethics that prospects highly value.

So, as financial services firms move beyond the era of Enron and Dateline toward a new era of ethics, how can you help transform your producers and company? Here are three ways:

As communicators for your companies, you become the “face” of the company for all audiences—associates, policyowners, producers, stockholders (if applicable), regulators, and the communities you serve. Thus, you have the opportunity—indeed the obligation—to lead in helping all stakeholders know the high moral principles around which your company does business.

*Full disclosure: National Ethics Bureau is an Avanza client.

What is this thing?

Posted on May 19, 2008
Filed Under This Blog | Leave a Comment

Welcome to Engaging Insights, a blog for financial services communicators. My goal is to comment on  marketing strategies and content for attracting financial services consumers and distributors. If you’re looking for ideas to engage your customers more effectively, you’ll find them here.

Why blog about financial services communications of all things? For two reasons.

First, I’ve spent most of my career in the financial services industry, doing marketing communications and training for insurance companies, trade associations, and consulting firms. So that’s what I know and get jazzed about.

Second, I believe financial services communicators have a tough job. Your products—annuities, defined-contribution retirement plans, life insurance, long-term care policies, etc.—are intangible, which makes them hard to promote. Products offered by competing companies are often similar, which makes them tough to differentiate. And the industry is highly regulated, which can make getting stuff approved the stuff of nightmares.

To overcome these challenges, Engaging Insights will publish:

So if you’re a financial services communicator looking to better connect with external audiences, Engaging Insights is for you. And if you’ve completed a successful project recently, engage with us. We’d love to hear from you!