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As insurance and financial service professionals, we tend to focus on our niche markets. They’re what we know, and most of the time, they seem to provide the best value for our efforts.

When we focus on a single market, however, we might not realize how much value we’re leaving on the table. PIMA believes that to have an impact, it’s important to unite a broad collective of businesses across the entire continuum — a truly interactive ecosystem.

The reason is simple: Expertise and experience. Franchisors need to bring products to their franchisees, travel companies need to distribute enhancements to their passengers, financial institutions might need to re-enter the insurance market, auto dealers need to increase repeat purchases, and social media companies need to monetize their user base.

If you partner with a carrier that markets to other large groups, it fundamentally understands the complexities of meeting the needs of clients and customer stakeholders. Likewise, if you work with a marketing firm that is accustomed to B2B2C initiatives and marketing to policyholders and the uninsured, their experience can help you. And what about a technology firm that understands the intricacies of tracking at a B2B2C level? That firm's expertise and experience can give you a much faster start than going it alone. When these players work in tandem, the entire ecosystem grows and thrives.

In short, partnerships between organizations with similar business models or product lines — like financial services and insurance — are more likely to leverage the participants' broad expertise, draw correlations, and encourage creative problem-solving for industry issues. These organizations also work smarter to overcome regulatory challenges because they know that what affects one partner is likely to affect everyone.

Think about it: It’s your responsibility as a business owner to understand what’s going on both within your business and across your entire industry in areas such as trade, labor, and consumer privacy. What’s impacting others will also impact you — and while you can't control emerging issues, you can control how your business responds.

Using PIMA to Create Connections

PIMA members are a diverse group, which means they have plenty of opportunities to learn from each other and use those lessons to grow their businesses.

For example, one PIMA member is an insurance company that many carriers and administrators didn't realize operated in the group accident insurance space and the financial institution space. By becoming involved in PIMA, this company has been able to educate other members about its services.

Another PIMA member is a traditional employer-based provider that is looking to expand its reach into the nonemployer space. This company is using its PIMA membership to kick off its efforts and learn from other members.

PIMA also has members that aren't in insurance and financial services but join as a way to network and seek out potential partnerships. One PIMA member, for instance, is a federal organization that saw the group as a unique opportunity to source and partner directly with the carriers and marketers the company needed to bring best-in-class products and services to its employees.

After many years of serving companies in the insurance and financial services industry, we’ve come to understand the value each player in our broad membership brings to the table. That’s why we consistently encourage organizations across various sectors to work together and learn from each other to create a more informed and valuable ecosystem for everyone.

PIMA^® (Professional Insurance Marketing Association^®) is a member-driven trade association focused exclusively on the group-sponsored benefits market. For more information on becoming a member, click here.