What You Can Lean from NPR
March 4th, 2009 by Jeb Foster
Whether you consider it your morning coffee or a mouthpiece for leftist propaganda, National Public Radio (NPR) can rake in money like no other, and we could all learn a thing or two from them.
Slate.com contributor June Thomas has an excellent piece that dissects the “cunning genius” of NPR’s pledge drives, and her article inspired this blog post.
While you’re not a non-profit media organization, the principles that NPR uses to raise cash are the very same ones that will help you build your for-profit insurance agency.
Here they are:
Know your market. NPR knows exactly who they’re talking to: middle- to upper-middle-class people who drive Volvos and bring their own shopping bags to the grocery store. Can you come up with a similarly specific portrait of your average client? The better picture you have, the better you can tailor your marketing message.
Give a gift. NPR understands the law of reciprocity. They give away their product for free and then oh-so-subtly shame people into paying for it later. While you can’t exactly give away a car insurance policy, you can give a smaller gift. Recently I saw that an insurance agency in Denver was giving away free atlases in exchange for coming in and getting a quote. Perfect. The law of reciprocity holds that when you give something, people feel social pressure to give something back.
Raise the stakes. NPR does this by pushing the notion that you’re not simply giving money to a radio station—you’re contributing to a cause, joining a community, saving journalism, etc. You can raise the stakes too. Try to instill the idea in prospects that they are not just buying a insurance: they are getting an advocate (you, the agent), building a safety net, gaining valuable peace of mind, supporting a local business, etc.
Use social proof. During pledge week, public radio hosts constantly update you with who has just donated. Often they include a quote from the person explaining why he/she made the donation. “Kathy from Englewood just pledged $120, saying she couldn’t make her morning commute without Steve Inskeep’s comforting baritone.” Hearing about other people pledging makes others more likely to pony up.
Be awesome. The last way you can be like NPR (and this is where I reveal my radio-listening bias) is to be really good at what you do—so good that people give you money even when they don’t have to.
