I once heard a story about a woman who refused to close a bank account that she and her husband hadn’t used in many years. The husband had tried to persuade his wife they needed to close the account because they weren’t using it and he didn’t want to keep paying fees. But the wife insisted that they keep it open because she was a “member” of the bank and didn’t want to lose her privileges.

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THE POWER OF BELONGING

​We’ve all known someone like this who is frugal yet willing to continue paying for a membership in something they’ve received no services or benefits from. This shows how powerful it is for someone to “belong” to something. Belonging satisfies our deep needs as human beings to be wanted, loved, and appreciated.

 

This psychological aspect of belonging is just one reason why Farm Bureau’s Member Benefits program can serve as a powerful marketing tool for acquiring and retaining clients. But Farm Bureau’s Member Benefits program goes far beyond a privilege that’s nice for customers to know is there. By helping your clients pocket real savings, our Member Benefits program plays an important role in helping us deliver an UnMatched Customer Experience.

 

SELLING THE VALUE OF MEMBER BENEFITS

In addition to giving your current clients a sense of belonging and easing the pain of certain purchases, Member Benefits can also help you grow your business. Here’s two ways they can do this. 

 

Besides turning current customers into loyal clients, Member Benefits can also be a powerful tool for turning prospects into customers. One way to leverage the appeal of Member Benefits is by selling their value. This can be done tying the value of a particular benefit to specific savings generated by that benefit. Here’s a real example.

 

One benefit-savvy Farm Bureau Insurance customer reported the following savings by using Farm Bureau’s Member Benefits: “My husband and I remodeled our kitchen, which meant new appliances. We were able to save about $700 off the list price of our appliances through the Sears Commercial benefit from my Farm Bureau Insurance discount.” Besides these direct savings, the couple also received “a nice sum of cash back from Sears Commercial.”

 

In the example above, the “value” you’re selling isn’t the benefit itself, but the final financial impact of the benefit.

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This approach can be incredibly important because if the value you’re selling to prospects is unique to your offering and large enough to be meaningful to them, you stand a good chance of winning their business. 

Another way Member Benefits can help grow your business is through referrals. People like to tell their friends about a company to which they feel a sense of belonging. 

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According to Joel Benson, Director of Information at the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, agents are doing a good job telling customers about Member Benefits and this is helping with referrals. “Three quarters of customers we recently surveyed are aware of our Member Benefits,” Joel says. “78% learned about the benefits through their agent and 82% said they are likely to recommend our benefits to others.”

 

MAKING A GOOD PROGRAM EVEN BETTER

Agents can make the program even more attractive, Joel says, by helping the Federation add local benefits. “Any good marketing tool gives customers what they want,” he explains. “With Member Benefits, a big part of that is finding out what’s popular with customers at the local level – what’s popular in their towns.” Joel believes that everyone has a stake in the program. “The Federation has an obligation to add to the benefits, but if everybody used their connections in communities where they live, we could have member benefits that would appeal to almost everyone across the state.” Restaurants, doctors, gyms, and movie theaters are examples of local benefits that would be meaningful to an agent’s client base. “If an agent has a suggestion for a local Member Benefit that would appeal to their clients, the agent can get in touch with me and I’ll reach out to that business.”

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With so many national carriers competing with Farm Bureau Insurance for money and attention, it takes more for us to engage, acquire, and keep customers. Our local Member Benefit program is one tool that can help you accomplish all of these things.

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If you have a suggestion for a local benefit that would appeal to your clients or have any questions about the Member Benefits program, please contact Joel Benson at extension 4289 or jbenson@idahofb.org.

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MARKETING TOOLS

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