The benefits world is evolving with the consumer and the internet is to thank. Consumers have the ability to be more educated than ever when it comes to benefit planning, researching insurance companies, researching the benefit, and so much more. Essentially consumers have access to everything they need online before any purchase, not just insurance. What does this mean for your clients and potential clients? It means that the old way of spread sheet selling is over and the real first touch your potential client will receive is online marketing. A potential client researching a benefit you sell is the best lead to have, they already know they are interested, it is now up to the marketing to be intriguing enough for the client to contact you. Another key point to remember is that if you are not touching your clients and potential clients online, your competitors are and you don’t want to lose visibility.

The same online approach is true when it comes to employer group plans, the first sale starts with the employer but then the employees also have to be sold on the plan and you can bet that they are not just going to listen to internal campaign and sign up. Employees trust their employers to make smart benefit choices but they also know that with a quick Google search they can find out more information about the product, the company and much more. Online presence is an important approach to remember when it comes to benefits.

Mike Nepser from Employee Benefit Adviser wrote How online shopping has changed the way advisers must sell. The article has good insights on the evolving consumer and how online marketing is changing the sales process.