Effective Outreach Strategies for OEP

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The open enrollment period (OEP) is a critical time for health insurance agents and brokers to connect with consumers and help them make informed choices about their health coverage for the upcoming year. The best sales outreach plan before and during OEP will help you generate interest and drive sales early. 

OEP only lasts for a short window, and we’re offering some effective outreach tools to help you target your communications and personalize your messaging. 

Shortcuts:

Research Health Concerns in 2024

Outreach Strategies for OEP in 2024

10 Effective OEP Marketing Tips

Early Outreach Strategies Ultimately Pay Off

Research Health Concerns in 2024

Much has changed in the healthcare industry over the course of the last year─regulatory changes, technological advancements, shifts in consumer expectations, and more. 

It’s imperative for health insurance brokers and agents to keep up with the latest trends to instill confidence in their clients. Knowledge of the industry will help you maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace while fostering trust and loyalty among prospects and clients. 

Here are some of the trends your clients may be concerned about:

  • There is a growing shortage of healthcare providers. The number of doctors retiring or reducing hours outnumbers the approximately 30,000 new doctors joining the workforce. This is happening while the baby boomer generation is aging and experiencing greater health problems, creating an increased demand for physicians. Becker’s Healthcare predicts there will be a shortage of primary care and specialists of between 37,8000 and 124,000 by 2034. 
  • Healthcare providers and payers are growing massively. Becker’s points out that the largest payers are now tenfold the size of the largest health systems. Competition plays a role as health insurers in competitive markets often pay higher rates to hospitals than those in less competitive markets. Less bargaining power significantly impacts profitability. 
  • Medicare and Medicaid enrollees outnumber commercial insurance enrollees. Medicaid payments are almost 30% lower than Medicare payments, and Medicare rates are well below commercial rates. 
  • The movement to value-based care has pros and cons. In some cases, patients and providers overuse services. In other situations, payers are increasingly requiring pre-authorization. 
  • COVID resulted in a greater focus on mental and behavioral health. One in five Americans live with some type of mental illness. Between 2022 and 2023, the rates of depression and suicides hit an all-time high. 
  • There is growing interest in aging well and preventative care. About 74% of adults are worried about being able to pay their medical bills in addition to utilities, food, housing, and other household expenses. Such expenses are even more concerning for people living on fixed incomes. 
  • Drugs for diabetes and obesity could have a major impact on consumer health. In the last few months of 2022, physicians prescribed 9 million prescriptions for these types of drugs, and interest continues to grow. Increased demand could lead to higher premiums or reduced benefits in the coming years. 

You could easily weave these trends and statistics into your presentation to showcase your knowledge and expertise to instill confidence in clients. With that in mind, we’ll look at how you can develop some new outreach strategies for OEP in 2024. 

Outreach Strategies for OEP in 2024

The numbers game is a common sales approach. The idea is that the more people you contact, the more sales you will make. While it works by some accounts, it’s a hit-or-miss approach. If you’re getting marginal results with that approach, you may fail to reach your target audience.  

To reach the most people who are in the market to buy before the end of the enrollment period, you need to spruce up your outreach strategies. 

Here are some viable ways to enhance your warm and cold outreach efforts:

  • Reevaluate 2023’s strategies
  • Strengthen your infrastructure
  • Unleash your creativity
  • Leverage AI

Let’s get into specifics.

Reevaluating 2023: What Worked and What Didn’t

If you had a sales slump in 2023, you’ll want to identify what worked well and build on it. Take a look at your analytics. Which strategies worked to move the needle? 

If a strategy worked once, it’s likely to work again, so continue doing it. As for the strategies that didn’t work as well, you can either revamp them or ditch them in favor of some new ones. 

Strengthen Your Infrastructure

In anticipation of OEP, it’s best to tidy up your internal operations to expand your lead base and reach your conversion goals. 

First, make note of the federal and state OEP dates. The federal OEP starting date for employers and the ACA begins November 1, 2024. The OEP for Medicare begins on October 15th. You can find your state OEP dates on your state health insurance agency webpage. Put these dates on your calendar.

Next, do you have all your tools in order? You will need a CRM, email platform, and screen-sharing tool. Getting prospects’ and clients’ attention is only half the battle. Once you’ve scheduled your appointments, you’ll need your screen-sharing tool to make the best sales presentation possible. 

You must also ensure compliance pertaining to yourself and others on your team. Is your sales outreach plan compliant with the laws? 

If you’ve hired people to work with you, you must make sure they also know the laws and are willing to abide by them. This is a good time to review the OEP marketing rules for health insurance at Medicare.gov and HHS.gov.

Lastly, review your analytics process. Do your metrics and KPIs align with your marketing goals for this year? If not, now is the time to adjust them. 

Unleash Your Creativity

Going back to understanding the recent health insurance trends, consider what has changed over the last year. It may inspire you to update your OEP marketing materials. 

For example, we’ve experienced a resurgence of COVID in recent months, although the current strains are not as deadly as the original ones. 

You’ll likely have the best results by creating a diversified, multichannel outreach that leverages different approaches. 

Create marketing messages for the following channels for a broad outreach:

  • Email
  • Phone (be sure to heed CAN-SPAM laws)
  • Social media

We are social beings who are inherently wired for stories, which is why storytelling is so effective in sales. Stories draw customers in and keep them engaged. An impactful story will get them envisioning how a story might relate to them and their loved ones. Also, stories put a human face on a fictitious story and will humanize you to your customers. 

Overall, start thinking outside the box. Be willing to try some creative strategies. Your results will tell you which methods are worth repeating. 

Leverage AI

AI is a relatively new tool that can enhance your sales outreach plan in various ways. Now is a good time to experiment with it. 

Here are some ways to tap into the power of AI:

  • Analyze customer data, which will help you identify your target audiences
  • Create content for blogs, website content, and social media
  • Create a chatbot that can answer basic questions and schedule appointments
  • Leverage AI analytics to learn about customer pain points 
  • Use AI to assist in creating email strings and automated campaigns
  • Utilize AI to create ads and images

According to Funnel.io, 42% of marketers already use AI to create content. 

While AI can be an effective tool for creating marketing campaigns, it has its cons. AI can help to get your creative juices flowing but be aware that it’s not intelligent enough to replace all your marketing efforts without the help of a human touch. That said, AI can be a great way to brainstorm or get you out of a creative block. 

10 Effective OEP Marketing Tips

We’ve come up with the following 10 effective OEP marketing tips. You can find more in our article entitled 5 Outstanding Sales Outreach Tips That Get Meetings Booked. 

  1. Select the social media platforms that match your target audience. According to Indigital, 87% of millennials, 90% of Gen X, and 96% of baby boomers use Facebook. Only 36% of Gen Z-ers use Facebook weekly. 
  2. Include photos and videos. Indigital also says that 52% of baby boomers prefer visual content over posts and texts. 
  3. Respond to comments. A response will get your audience’s attention and let them know you’re interested in engaging with them. 
  4. Create a content calendar. Scheduled content will ensure that you post content that aligns with your goals and allows you to focus on selling during OEP. Create the content now so all you have to do on the scheduled day is post it.
  5. Carve time into your schedule to analyze your marketing efforts. Leverage analytics to gain insights into your target markets and analyze your results. Make adjustments as you go along. 
  6. Personalize email strings. Use a mail merge to place the recipient’s name in the opening line. According to SuperOffice, personalized subject lines increase open rates by 26%. You can expect a 73% ROI on email marketing. Make sure emails are responsive to mobile devices and have a clear call-to-action button. 
  7. Use content marketing and focus on informing rather than selling. Use long-tail keywords that are relevant to the content your audience reads. SuperOffice reports a 62% ROI on content marketing.
  8. Segment your audiences based on like criteria. You can segment them by age, prescription needs, health needs, and more. SuperOffice claims that marketers have seen an impressive increase in email revenue when they utilize segmentation. 
  9. Monitor your search ranking. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing. If you stop getting results, it’s time to adjust your content strategy. Check your pageviews and bounce rates on your web pages to gain insight into which blogs are getting the most traction.  
  10. Host formal and informal sales events. Invite guests to attend an informational session on the products you’re offering. Set up a table or booth in a busy store or other location where people can ask questions about products. 

Be sure to follow the compliance rules. For example, you can sell in common areas of healthcare settings, but you can’t do so in exam rooms, hospital rooms, pharmacy counter areas, or anywhere providers are present. 

Screen-Sharing: A Must-Have Tool for OEP

The information we’ve provided here will surely enhance your outreach efforts during OEP and set you on a solid path to reaching your sales goals. 

In addition to planning OEP outreach strategies, you also need to spruce up your sales presentation to put your best foot forward once appointments start filling up your calendar. 

A quality screen-sharing tool like CrankWheel is essential for selling health insurance, as the bulk of your appointments will likely be virtual. A screen sharing tool allows you to incorporate a human element into your meeting without the time or hassle of an in-person meeting. 

Also, screen sharing enhances communication between you and your customers as it allows them to attach a face to your name. You can see their facial expressions and body language, and they can see yours. Face-to-face interactions help to build loyalty and trust. 

Customers can access your presentation remotely simply by using a link. It’s fast and intuitive. 

You can also give your customers control over your slides in real time, allowing them to participate interactively just as they could if you met them in person. 

Screen sharing allows you to build visual appeal and give more dynamic pitches, which will engage your customers and motivate them to buy. 

Early Outreach Strategies Ultimately Pay Off

Time flies quickly, and planning your outreach marketing strategies early will take you confidently into the OEP and beyond. 

As the time for OEP nears, your customers and prospects will be eager to work with a broker or agent who can demonstrate significant expertise in health insurance. They want someone who has taken the time to understand the industry’s constant changes and who can make the best recommendations for them. 

Some good steps to take are reevaluating and tweaking your past strategies, strengthening your infrastructure, letting your creativity go, and leveraging AI where it makes sense. 

Overall, your stellar sales skills, along with your CRM, email marketing software, and CrankWheel will enable you to expand your outreach and close more sales.