Think Outside the Insurance Form
A varied product mix creates account longevity
The results of a recent survey of insurance companies conducted by In-Plant Graphics magazine should come as no surprise. Not only are in-house printing facilities on the rise, but equipment capabilities are increasing, and product categories are expanding. Respondents indicated that they're creating their own annual reports, brochures, stationery, forms, calendars, catalogs, directories, direct mail pieces, folders, magazines, manuals, newsletters and point-of-purchase displays.
So, what are forms distributors to do? For starters, Nino Cuttone, director of sales and marketing for Wauconda, Illinois-based Continental Imaging Products (CIP), suggested that they change tactics and turn the situation to their advantage by getting in on a $23 billion-a-year industry: toner cartridges.
Copy That
"Insurance companies eat toner cartridges like popcorn," said Cuttone. "They definitely fit the profile of the ideal prospect, which is any business that prints large volumes of repetitive material and requires huge amounts of information from forms and reports."
Distributors simply need to ask prospects basic sales questions and find out what type of equipment they have, what they use and how often. "It's a very easy sell," observed Cuttone. "Everyone has printers, and they already know what consumables they need."
End-users either utilize OEM (original equipment manufacturer) products, or what Cuttone refers to as alternative, generic products. If OEM or branded products are currently in use, distributors have an opportunity to educate prospects about the benefits of compatible alternative products, and propose a conversion that can save anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent.
CIP is STMC (Standardized Test Methods Committee)-compliant, a certification that is awarded by the International Imaging Technology Council. "This is the golden seal of approval," explained Cuttone, "equivalent to having a UL tag on an appliance. It guarantees that the same strictly regulated processes and formulas that the OEMs use in making their products have been followed."
Cuttone also advised distributors to study their particular demographics and find out what others, including office supply stores, direct mail marketers and Internet companies, are selling cartridges for in a particular area so they know what they're dealing with. He noted that distributors can realistically earn an average of 30 percent gross profit margin.
According to Cuttone, approximately two thirds of the business is still OEM, so there is tremendous potential for marketing alternative products. In addition, he pointed out that selling cycles are shorter than with business forms, and that the reorders are much more frequent. This creates opportunities for distributors to get in front of the customers more often and build relationships while introducing other products and services that they specialize in providing.
Bigger, Better, New
Of course, service and custom solutions are what independent distributors specialize in bringing to market. Despite a company's in-plant printing facilities, it may not have the ability to provide some of the highly effective, value-added products made possible by professional forms manufacturers' unique production capabilities.
For example, Megaform Computer Products, Vandalia, Ohio, offers continuous form lengths ranging from 30˝ to 250˝, and unit set form widths ranging from 251⁄2˝ to 250˝ in 1⁄4˝ increments. "Combining related forms into one megaform can be particularly advantageous to end-users in the insurance market," noted Jenny Schidecker, secretary/treasurer. "It's one of those environments where large amounts of data are collected, and longer forms enable greater organization, higher accuracy, less waste and more efficient throughput."
Avery Dennison, Buffalo, N.Y., recently launched the Advantage All-in-One Business Response Document, which can benefit insurance companies wishing to cross sell and introduce new products and services, as well as retain and acquire customers.
Said Deb Ashton, marketing manager, "The product maximizes personalization and combines the key elements of a successful mail campaign in a single piece of media, including pressure-sensitive incentive labels, such as those used for return addresses; a response/reply card; an integrated business-reply envelope (helping to keep information confidential) and space for the sender's message."
Having all of the components together in one piece eliminates the risk of a service bureau mismatching the multiple pieces needed in traditional mailings. "With all of the information built into a single document, recipients are focused on the campaign message and are more likely to take action than if they had to rifle through a package looking for address labels," Ashton said.
When dealing with the insurance market, the key for distributors is to stay in touch with what industry suppliers have to offer and to listen to what their customers and prospects are asking for. True success lies in gaining customers rather than in making sales.
By Maggie DeWitt
- People:
- Nino Cuttone
- Places:
- Wauconda, Illinois