Introduction 

RedCloud Consulting provides ongoing volunteer support for the University of Washington’s Michael G. Foster School of Business as part of the firm’s broader community efforts.

​Each year, RedCloud consultants mentor students as they help local companies as junior advisors, collaboratively resolving their everyday  business challenge-- This case study is a success story for student, mentor, and client alike.  
​

​We were overjoyed to have them participate in the program and guide the students and business owners. Their support and guidance were very helpful to both students and business clients and we enjoyed working with them."

-- Gabriela Michan, Assistant Director
    UW Foster School Consulting & Business Development Center

Challenge

An independent insurance agency offering a wide variety of commercial and personal insurance products was experiencing economic impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak, including a sudden and significant loss of revenue.

​Company leadership decided to reassess their business plan to find more efficient, effective methods for marketing and selling their insurance services. They also chose to shift additional focus to new markets boasting greater earning potential, specifically business and commercial trucking insurance.

This has been such a great experience and we loved working with every single one of our advisors.”

-- Student, UW Foster School 
   Consulting and Business Development Center

Recommendations

The company’s online presence was minimal, the sales team was focused on a narrow set of products, and operations had active licenses for redundant and costly software. Through the discovery process, the student consulting team identified the need to increase digital marketing efforts, to have salespeople dedicate more time to cross-selling, and for operations to eliminate any underutilized programs.

Implementation 

Marketing– Redesigned the website for a better mobile user-experience, and simplified the request for quote process. New social media business accounts were developed, and producers were encouraged to increase their social media interaction.

Operations– Eliminated redundant software programs and the associated costs.
​Sales– Dedicated efforts to cross-sell personal insurance products to existing customers, focused additional hours on acquiring new commercial clients.

Results

Establishing clear business lines and creating a new business development process enabled the client to pursue a hybrid market strategy. Messaging clarity enabled the client to develop social media strategies.

We immediately saw an increase in new quote requests after the recommended changes to the website were implemented and it became mobile-friendly." 
 
--  Client, Business Owner & CEO

• Improved website user-interface and design

• Updated marketing content and strategy for LinkedIn and Facebook company pages

• Created a planning brochure for marketing to funeral homes

• Dedicated more time to cross-selling personal insurance products to existing customers

• Cost savings from the refund of two software programs