What Can Coca-Cola Teach Us About Selling Insurance?

What lessons can Coca-Cola teach us about selling insurance? 

It only took 79 days for Coca-Cola to launch and end a new product that disrupted an industry so profoundly that it could’ve cost the #1-place market share of soda to fizzle out. Just days before Coca-Cola celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1985, the company rolled out a new formula.

The bold move came on the heels of Pepsi’s blind taste tests, which showed that soda drinkers preferred Pepsi. So, on April 23, 1985, Coke launched “New Coke,” an even sweeter version of the original flavor. What ensued was one of the biggest marketing failures in history.

Almost instantly, the company was hit by a tidal wave of backlash from angry loyal customers. The company’s hotline received over 1,500 calls a day, mostly complaints. Customers hoarded the original Coke, protested, and some even threatened legal action.

Coke’s customers felt betrayed, and what their marketing experts missed was that Coke wasn’t just a drink. It was emotional for them. It was part of their life, history, and identity. Coke missed the mark on its most loyal customers.

The company listened and acted immediately to repair the damage. Within less than a month, they rebranded the original formula as “Coca-Cola Classic,” resulting in a significant sales increase. 

Coke focused solely on taste preferences in test groups when it introduced the sweeter New Coke. What they missed was their customers’ strong brand connection, rooted in familiarity, trust, and the tradition of having Coca-Cola at family functions, parties, and picnics. 

It was only a few years later that buyer personas debuted as a new marketing technique. Had they been around in 1985, Coke’s marketing professionals, who brought their customers “The Real Thing” and a theme song, would have understood the emotional connection.

What is a marketing buyer persona? 

It’s a simple way to understand the kind of customer you want to reach. A buyer persona describes who they are, what they need, and what might influence their decision to choose your product or service.

A buyer persona is a tool and technique that helps you better understand your clients, speak their language, and connect with them in a genuine, non-salesy way. If you’re not in tune with your insurance audience, you’ll miss the mark, just like Coca-Cola did.

While others connect and sell with ease, you’ll be stuck wondering why your approach isn’t working. Agents must know their clients on a deeper level and leave behind outdated or non-compliant sales pitches, focusing on building trust-based connections.

Behind every policy is a person

Some agents sharpen their communication skills by practicing in front of a mirror or role-playing with a colleague. A marketing or buyer persona can give them a clear picture of who their client is, what they value, what they worry about, and how they respond.

It’s more than just a sales exercise. When you strive to understand your client and their needs, you can see things from their perspective and empathize with them. Marketing personas can make it easier to build relationships because conversations feel more natural and meaningful.

Let’s look at what it takes to build a basic marketing persona. For this example, we’ll create a marketing persona for a life insurance client. Here are a few of the details that will help us round out this client as a persona. Think of it as a character or avatar.

Give your persona a name and a short description so they feel like a real person.Client: Michelle Conner

Location: Charlotte, NC

Age: 51 years old

Household Status: Single (widowed 2 years ago), lives alone

Family Status: 2 grown daughters, ages 23 and 22 

Occupation: Administrative Assistant for a C-Suite executive at a bank headquarters

Annual Income range: $76k

Backstory:

Two years ago, Michelle’s husband passed away suddenly after being laid off from his job. He was between insurance policies and had only a small life insurance plan from a previous employer. 

The experience left Michelle struggling to cover unexpected medical bills and manage her previous 2-income household. She borrowed from their 401(k) and took on new debt to stay financially afloat. 

Now that her youngest daughter has just finished college and is beginning her own life, Michelle is focused on rebuilding her financial foundation. Michelle is business-minded and wants to regain the comfort level she once had. 

Her employer-provided life insurance policy is small, so she needs and wants more coverage. Michelle is healthy, but has a family history of breast cancer. From personal experience, she worries about unexpected health events and rebuilding her 401(k).

What can we draw from the Michelle persona?

Michelle represents a client who values education and making informed decisions. An agent working with her should focus on education over explanation. What matters most to her is peace of mind and knowing she’s making a good choice to protect her family.

She will respond best to an agent who presents clear information about the living benefits of life insurance and the optional riders that can provide support in the case of unexpected health events.

She’s already experienced the consequences of limited coverage and has taken the time to research her options. Because of that, she doesn’t need a lesson on what life insurance is. What she needs is guidance that helps her choose the best protection for her circumstances.

How to use the marketing buyer persona

What makes this resource so powerful is the perspective it provides. Once you outline even a simple profile, you can start to see your client’s story come to life. In our example, you get to know Michelle, her priorities, challenges, and what truly matters to her.

Without a persona like Michelle’s, an agent might assume she needs reassurance or a basic introduction to life insurance. In reality, she’s already financially aware and simply wants help to turn her research and knowledge into an action plan for her future. 

By understanding Michelle’s story, an agent would know to lead with empathy and approach the conversation as a partner in planning her future. An agent who can help her create solutions that restore her sense of stability will earn her trust and respect. 

Buyer personas are a proven success strategy 

Buyer personas are a proven marketing strategy. When agents understand who they’re speaking to, everything changes. The messaging becomes clearer, and often client engagement is stronger because they feel heard and understood. This isn’t theory. It is backed by data.

Research shows that using buyer personas makes a measurable difference in marketing success:

• 44% of marketers actively use buyer personas to guide their strategies. (ITSMA)

• High-performing companies map more than 90% of their customer database by persona. (Cintell)

• 63% of content marketers create persona-driven content to better connect with their audiences. (Delve.ai)

• Customer-centric businesses are 60% more profitable than non-customer-centric businesses. (Deloitte & Touche)

Want to learn more about connecting with clients, building a book of business, and retaining long-term relationships? Connect with Messer!