Successful brand building and brand development are the primary fuel for powering the overall growth of an organization. But how do you build a brand while still increasing your customer base?
In Episode 6 of Vericast’s Business to Human podcast series, Sarah Berg, Vice President of Marketing at Matic, shares insight into how and when to prioritize brand building — even during the critical business growth stage. In this episode, I asked Sarah about:
- What Matic is and what they do
- The marketing challenges that Sarah and her team face
- How to create a brand foundation that aligns with a long-term corporate strategy
- How Matic has approached brand development
What is Matic and what do they do?
Matic, a company changing the landscape of the InsurTech industry by integrating insurance within the home and auto ownership experience. The road to owning a vehicle or a home can be a tough one but Matic aims to help pave the way.
Matic is an insurance technology company that has created a partner-led insurance marketplace. Through partnerships with 45 top-rated insurance carriers, such as Progressive and Allstate, Matic is integrated into the home and auto ownership experience.
“When a consumer visits Matic, we match them with the best policy available in our network, and because we have so many options available, we’re usually able to save a customer on average over $600 if they switch. We also provide a choice for how to buy,” explains Sarah.
In most cases, customers purchase everything entirely online, but Matic also has an in-house agency of licensed advisors for those who need some consultation. If someone has questions about their policy or is looking for other options, they can speak to an Matic advisor at any point in the process.
The marketing challenges that Sarah and her team face
The insurance market is quite saturated, so standing out amongst a crowd of competitors can be difficult.
Sarah says that although Matic partners with some of the better-known insurance carriers, they are also partnered with carriers that have less brand awareness in the market and lack the trust needed to bring in new customers.
“When it comes to selling insurance, trust is so incredibly important because this might be something that you never even have to use. And when you do need to use it, you want to make sure that it’s actually available and that it’s going to work for you.”
Sarah Berg, Vice President of Marketing at Matic
Because of this, Matic’s marketing efforts are challenging.
Matic has to work twice as hard to maintain their B2B2C embedded growth model, while also increasing brand awareness for themselves and their partners to convey the trust needed to be successful in the insurance industry.
How to create a brand foundation that aligns with a long-term corporate strategy
What many startups fail to realize is prioritizing their brand in their early days will set them up for greater success in the long run. Many companies begin by prioritizing marketing and product sales or increasing clientele, but they will inevitably face obstacles without a clear brand foundation.
It’s important to identify your company’s key decision makers, whether it’s the CEO, members of your marketing team, or any other stakeholder. Having buy-in from key stakeholders and setting expectations surrounding the branding process at the beginning of your company’s journey will streamline your path to growth.
Consider the following questions —
- Whose opinions matter most in your company?
- What are your company’s long-term goals and aspirations ?
- What are your values, vision, and mission?
From there, figure out the optimal strategy to reach those goals.
This roadmap is something your company can use to make decisions relating to your brand easier, more intentional, and impactful.
How Matic has approached brand development
When Sarah started at Matic, they were still figuring out some of those foundational exercises and deciding the company’s brand strategy.
But participation in these branding exercises led to a successful brand strategy and improved day-to-day decision-making. From there, they were able to build out certain assets of their company.
Matic has since invested in content creation, established a resource center and a blog, maintained a consistent social media presence, started doing more with PR and homed in on the voice and image of the brand they want to be. Because of this, they have seen a growth of 130 percent in just the past year.
Revisiting those initial foundational brand goals and establishing positive brand perception helped Matic maintain direction and accountability and continue on their path to “move the needle forward” since their inception.
“I think the most important thing is getting buy-in across the organization and having the influence to convey that brand isn’t something that is isolated — it’s really a core part of a larger company flywheel.”
Sarah Berg, Vice President of Marketing at Matic
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