October 22, 2020 - Though it’s been less than a decade since she graduated college, you could say Caitlyn Garlock has been in the insurance industry for more than 20 years. How can that be, you might ask? Caitlyn’s father has been an insurance agent her entire life, and he made sure to teach his daughter a thing or two about hard work, customer service, and growing a business. According to Caitlyn, being an insurance agent is “in her blood,” so it’s no wonder she would end up working with the same carrier.
Today, Caitlyn and her partner run three agencies in the Las Vegas, NV area. She came to Melon Local looking to round out her marketing strategy with digital lead generation. We sat down with Caitlyn to ask her about her experience marketing her agency, how Melon Local has impacted her business, and what advice she has for other insurance agents looking to grow.
ML: How did you first begin marketing your agency? What has your experience with insurance marketing been like?
Caitlyn: “I was really lucky because my dad has been in the industry for so long. He’s used a lot of marketing tactics in his 30+ years being an agent. He taught me how to start working with leads and prospecting them and all of that. He’s got an amazing referral network that he uses so I’ve tried to build my own referral network, but I also use things like SEO and Google Ads and internet leads to grow my business because it’s the 21st century. That’s how people shop now.
ML: Did you work with any insurance marketing agencies before Melon Local? We promise not to be jealous!
Caitlyn: “I’ve used lots of companies for internet leads, Google optimization, pay-per-click ads, and SEO. I’ve tried to figure out what works best for me and which companies are really aligned with my values and what I want to do for my office. The first agency I worked with; I didn’t notice any difference whatsoever working with them. They didn’t really help me understand what they were doing. I didn’t feel like they had a process to show me what my differences were and where I could track that. I wasn’t impressed with them. I switched to another company and they really helped me a lot. I got a better idea of how Google advertising works.
ML: So, how did you end up working with Melon Local?
Caitlyn: I had an issue where my last insurance marketing agency wasn’t responding anymore. I wasn’t getting clicks anymore. I wasn’t using my budget anymore. So, I started exploring other options. That’s how I got connected with Melon. I was pretty loyal to my previous agency, but I said, hey, I’ll give Melon a chance and see how it goes. And it was crazy how different my experience was even after being with a company I loved as much as my previous.
ML: Yay! We love to hear that. What were some of these notable differences?
Caitlyn: In April, when I was still with the previous agency, I got 17 leads from my site for that month. In June, when I was working with Melon, I got 55. So, it was a huge increase and I was spending the same amount of money. There has been an immense increase in the number of leads I’m getting and converting.
ML: What has been your favorite thing about working with Melon?
Caitlyn: I feel like I have a better understanding of where my money is going and, on a day-to-day basis, what’s going on. There was no dashboard with my previous insurance marketing agency, so I really like the dashboard aspect. I can see how many impressions I’m getting, how many clicks I’m getting, what my cost-per-click is. And my cost-per-click went down. I’m spending half the amount of money on clicks and getting twice as many leads. I also love that I don’t have a contract. They trust their product enough to know that people will stay if they’re getting the results they want. A lot of companies don’t have that confidence and I think that says a lot about the integrity of Melon Local. I love the leadership; you get people who really care about the results.
ML: What would your advice be to other insurance agents, whether they are new or have been in the game a while, to get more leads and grow their businesses?
Caitlyn: There’s never been a better time to do Google marketing. Everybody is shopping online these days. People are more resistant to come in person so it’s hard to do relationship marketing where you’re in front of people. So, being able to get in front of people and take advantage of things that are online, like Google advertising, is a game-changer. And if you get a company that really understands how it works and is going to be transparent with you about how to optimize your budget and what’s going to get you to the next level, Melon Local is a great option for that.
A big thank you to Caitlyn for taking time to speak with the Melon Local team about her adventures in insurance marketing! We’re ecstatic to hear that we’ve been able to help insurance agents like Caitlyn reach their business goals. And we’re confident we can help you do the same. Schedule a demo with our team to learn how.