So, we're sharing 3 surefire marketing tips we applied to generate growth in our pet insurance comparison site.
30-Second Summary
- 33% of Americans and 50% of millennials have considered fostering or adopting a new pet during COVID-19 (TD Ameritrade survey)
- In April of 2020 pet insurance Search volumes increased by 25% and have remained constant through November 2020 (Google Trends)
- While demand is increasing, acquisition costs remain constant, making it worthwhile for marketers to allocate their budgets to Paid Search
- Turn impressions into leads by fully understanding your target audience and tailoring your content strategy to offer them a valuable experience
1. Allocate your budget to Paid Search to capitalize on increasing Search volumes
The pet insurance business is booming. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Americans to socially isolate, and many of them turned to pets for comfort and companionship. According to a TD Ameritrade survey, 33% of Americans and 50% of millennials considered fostering or adopting a new pet in the wake of COVID-19.
According to IBIS World, the main growth driver of the pet insurance industry is the amount of domestic pets in the US, which has a fundamental effect on revenue for industry operators. Growing Search volume over the past few months is an indication that more pet owners are looking to insure their furry friends. In April, search volumes were 25% higher than they were in February, and have remained consistently high all the way through to November 2020.
While demand is increasing, competition remains at bay, keeping marketing costs constant. Allocating budgets to paid Search can allow pet insurance players to drive growth at a reasonable cost, even during a challenging time like the COVID-19 pandemic.
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2. Run polls and analyze past campaigns to fully understand your customers
Successful marketing isn’t just about generating the traffic, it’s about offering users a valuable experience and the information they need before making a purchase. We conducted research to learn more about our users and their needs.
We ran two polls on our pet insurance website:
- Why pet insurance? One poll was an open question inquiring about what brought users to our site. It was interesting to learn that beyond new pet owners, our target audience also includes people thinking about adopting a pet who are only researching pet insurance providers, as well as owners of older pets or ones with existing health issues who aren't eligible for basic or premium coverage insurance plans.
- Key deciding factors: the second poll asked users about what they cared about most when choosing an insurance provider: price, coverage, customer support, fast repayment, or an easy mobile application. The vast majority chose coverage, some users selected price, and barely any users marked support, repayment or ease-of-use. This led us to believe that customers care about receiving maximum coverage for an affordable price.
Additionally, while analyzing our various Search campaigns, we found that users responded better to ads that highlighted coverage and affordability as opposed to ad copy that addressed caring for your pet or keeping it happy and healthy. We realized that pet insurance customers don’t have much tolerance for “fluff” (no pun intended) - they want the facts.
3. Tailor your content strategy to offer users the information they need before making a decision
After learning that different users had distinct needs, we were ready to tailor our content strategy accordingly.
We started with our paid search campaign. Knowing that potential customers search for wide coverage and affordable plans, we created a lot more ad groups with this messaging. In fact, almost 40% of our Search ads pertained to coverage, veterinarians near you, pricing, and additional information that our users found helpful and valuable to their decision making process.
Additionally, we optimized our landing page header region. As you can see, the previous copy encouraged pet owners to purchase an insurance plan by highlighting that it’s a form of taking good care of their furry friends. The corresponding image showcased a woman playing with her puppy at the park. While this image and text tell a compelling story, there was a more specific story we could tell our users.
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We decided to test the copy “Get your vet bills covered” with a corresponding image of a dog owner at the vet. At the end of the day, consumers buy pet insurance because they want to save as much as possible on pricey and inevitable vet bills - the test proved just that and contributed to higher click through and conversion rates. This new header creative also perfectly aligned with our new ads, making for a coherent user journey.
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Lastly, we created content for customers with different needs and at different stages of the buying cycle:
- People considering adopting a pet: Adopting a Pet During COVID-19? 5 Things You Need to Know
- Pet owners contemplating if they need insurance: Should You Invest In Pet Insurance in 2021?
- Those having a hard time choosing a provider: How to Choose the Right Insurance for Your Pet
We focused on creating useful and valuable content that can really help customers through their decision making process.
Final Thought
The 3 tips above, encourage you to develop coherent marketing funnels that are carefully tailored to your customers and geared towards conversions. These are important strategies that can help you drive growth during COVID-19 and will certainly remain relevant in a post-pandemic market.
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