‘FUNNEL’ AWAY BUSINESS? ADD THE FIFTH LAYER OF REFERRALS IN SOCIAL MEDIA AND TURN THE AIDA FUNNEL INTO A CYCLE By Bryant Tutterow ompanies in regulated industries like health insurance aren’t typically known for their robust new media presence. Unfortunately, this places them at a distinct disadvantage because consumer buying habits continue to shift toward online research and purchasing. A solution, that I have found effective in expediting the adoption of new media in the insurance industry, is to leverage established marketing concepts and augment them for use online. In 1898, Elias St. Elmo Lewis developed the AIDA sales funnel that is still used by marketers at insurance companies all over the world. Lewis originally created it as a way to explain the process of selling in the insurance field. The model was based on a hierarchical 40

InsuranceNewsNet Magazine April 2012

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New Layer Social Commerce

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Customer Retention Customer Advocates

REFERRAL Source: HCC Medical Insurance Services