In recent years, many industries have undergone a rapid digital transformation as consumers have demanded access to the latest technologies. The pandemic further emphasized the need for technological solutions to ensure consumers had a seamless transition from traditional business practices to those run online. While the health industry adopted telehealth, and ecommerce skyrocketed over the past year, many in the benefits industry were left scrambling to make the switch to digitization all at once. According to a recent survey of insurance executives, 95% are looking to speed up their company's digital transformation.

As benefits offerings increase in importance for prospective and existing employees, it's paramount that brokers are able to meet the demands of their clients. For those transitioning to digital models for the first time, and for those looking to capitalize on this key moment in time in the benefits industry, here are five actions that will help brokers embrace the digital age.

1. Implement digital marketing

To meet customers where they are, it's important to establish an online presence for your business. Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025, and Gen Z is not far behind. In order to reach this digital-first generation, businesses need to build and maintain effective websites and social media pages, and to increase online outreach via email and social media. If moving your business online is a daunting idea, there are a few simple considerations to help you bridge the gap between analog and digital marketing.

• Mobile responsiveness: Millennials are on their phones now more than ever before, and there's been a 20% increase in online shopping from this group in the last 18 months, surpassing desktop as the primary platform. Knowing this, it's important to make sure your website scales appropriately when viewed on a tablet or mobile device.
• Website templates, customization and imagery: Work with a web developer to find the right template for your business that is also customizable. Be able to make quick updates when needed and make sure you add plenty of imagery and videos to drive traffic. On average, pages with images or videos draw 94% more views than their text-only counterparts. If you've done the hard work of getting prospective customers to your website, don't lose them by having text heavy pages.
• Leverage SEO features: Search engine optimization (SEO) sounds daunting, but in simple terms, it means adding in the right keywords to your website content so that your site shows up on search engines, like Google. When building a website, there will be fields for image tagging, meta descriptions, title tags and other fields.
• Social media pages and sharing: While working on your website, make sure you're also setting up social media profiles for your business. Decide on which social media platform is right for your company (they might not all be), but LinkedIn is a recommended platform to have in the brokerage and benefits space and will reach the right audience. Further, make sure your website has easy-to-share social media buttons so you can promote content from your website right onto your social media profiles. Look for site builders that make the image preview of your site look good when sharing it on social media.

2. Choose the online enrollment solution that works for you

With digital natives comprising the bulk of the workforce and increasingly sitting in the driver's seat when it comes to evaluating key business partnerships, you can't afford to be a paper broker any longer. The technology solution you adopt now should make the employer's job easier right away. Employers will look to find solutions that streamline the onboarding process, simplify open enrollment, save time, and reduce opportunities for manual errors.