After spending nearly 20 years working in media advertising, Connie Fenner wanted a career path that would allow more opportunities to help her community more directly.
She eventually found her calling working in insurance — first as a sales rep in January 2021, and she opened her own agency in August of the same year.
She currently operates her insurance agency in Chapel Hill, NC, a close-knit community best known as the home of the University of North Carolina.
From sponsoring basketball games at a local high school to bringing dinner over for sick customers, it’s safe to say Connie is passionate about going above and beyond for her community.
Honing her background in advertising, Connie realized she needed an insurance marketing agency that could understand the needs and interests of her customers, and luckily found Melon Local!
We spoke with Connie to learn why she loves having Melon Local as an extension of her team!
A Hands-On Company
Melon Local’s platform and how their tech works is exactly what I wanted. I needed someone with a more hands-on approach and to be able to change things on the fly. Like if we have a hurricane, there are going to be some things we’re going to need to change in our messaging — we’re here, we’re local, we have power, come charge your phone here.
You can’t do that with some of these big companies. I know Melon is able to adjust things for whatever we are experiencing at the time.
Standing Out From the Pack
If you go about 15 minutes toward UNC, there are about eight agents in a 1.5-mile radius of each other. I’m out here on my own little island, and the next agent is like 10 miles away.
You’ve been able to make my agency seem bigger than life. And that’s been important because people say, ‘I see you everywhere.’
People will reach out in the industry and go, ‘Connie, your LinkedIn posts are phenomenal!’ Or I get comments on the other social posts you put together. That means people have noticed!
Coaching with Online Reviews
You guys have been able to help me with the reviews. I’ve only had like one bad review, but you were able to help me to tweak that.
When I got my first bad review, my CSM called me on my cell phone at 9 pm. He walked me through the reply and calmed me down.
He told me how to respond to that, which was very helpful. It’s nice to have an expert to say this is how you do things.
Professional Sounding Bios
Besides all the paid search and social media stuff, Melon can also write really professional-sounding bios. Besides having all the relevant information related to my agency, I have received many compliments on my bio because people felt that I was relatable because they saw I was a breast cancer survivor, a boy mom and a community supporter.
In fact, I got a customer strictly from a bio! She was looking at three different agents, and she saw the mention of my involvement with the Ronald McDonald House and mentioned how she stayed in one in Florida with her child until his passing. She goes, ‘You made me feel like you would understand me.’
A Forward-Thinking Agency
Everyone I have worked with at Melon has been positive, engaged and forward-thinking with regard to marketing, growth strategy and my team.
My Success Manager is an extension of my team! He understands the demands of my time, what I need to accomplish, and what our focus will be, depending on the time of year. When it comes to our monthly check-ins, I love the flexibility, concise info and ideas provided to me to help us grow.
Thanks for the great feedback, Connie! From paid and organic search to social media management, we’d love to talk to you about all the opportunities for us to grow together. Schedule a demo today!