Using Customer Data to Improve OEP Campaigns for Medicare
Like other health plans, Medicare plans change every year, and the open enrollment period (OEP) gives beneficiaries an opportunity to make changes.
From October 15th to December 7th, Medicare beneficiaries have a window to review their plans. As a broker or agent, you can alert beneficiaries to this window where they can change their Medicare Advantage (Part C) or Medicare prescription (Part D) plans effective January 1st.
This window matters because it gives beneficiaries a chance to compare coverages, costs, and benefits in light of any changing health needs. It’s also a ripe time to brush up on your sales skills. Preparation for OEP is key as agents and brokers must abide by strict marketing regulations while facing high consumer churn and competition. And, it all happens in a limited period of time.
Leveraging customer data is one of the most effective ways to target, personalize, and improve OEP campaigns. In this post, we’ll share information to help you get ahead of the season.
Contents:
The Importance of Data in Medicare OEP Campaigns
Types of Customer Data That Matter Most
Collecting and Organizing Data Effectively
Applying Data Insights to Improve OEP Campaigns
Screen-Sharing Provides Clarity During OEP Campaigns
Best Practices and Tips for Maximizing Customer Data During OEP
Empowering Agents and Enrollees Through Insight and Transparency
The Importance of Data in Medicare OEP Campaigns
By utilizing customer data during OEP, you can create a customer-centric strategy to maximize this limited timeframe.
Let’s take a look at some specific reasons why customer data is critical during OEP:
- Personalizes Your Marketing: Create targeted campaigns and personalize content for each segment to encourage engagement and drive conversion rates.
- Improves the Customer Experience: Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty as you address customer pain points and meet their preferences
- Creates a Competitive Advantage: Adapt to shifting market dynamics and changing customer needs faster than your competitors.
- Increases Retention and Loyalty: Identify patterns that lead to churn and tackle them with customized demos and support.
- Drives Growth: Leverage personalization and targeted marketing to increase revenue.
Knowing the value of customer data is only part of the equation. You also need to be prepared to overcome the challenges in using it.
What Are the Key Challenges In Leveraging Customer Data to Improve OEP Campaigns?
As with anything, you’re bound to face a few challenges in leveraging customer data as part of your marketing plan. Common challenges are fragmented data, strict CMS compliance rules, and building customer trust.
You can get ahead of the game by knowing the challenges and creating a plan to overcome them.
Fragmented Data
Fragmented data reduces efficiency. With part of your data in your CRM and part in other systems, it’s not always possible to have a 360-degree view of the customers. Siloed data may make it difficult to detect and manage security risks.
CMS Compliance Rules
Unlike other industries, brokers and agents must handle healthcare data carefully because of the HIPAA laws, CMS marketing rules, and privacy laws. The laws regulate how agents, brokers, and others can collect, use, and disclose data. You must limit access to your customer data and abide by the rules to avoid penalties and legal action.
Customer Trust
Perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome is earning your customers’ trust. Today’s customers worry about transparency and privacy. They worry that salespeople will misuse their data or sell it.
What Types of Customer Data Matter Most for Optimized OEP Campaigns?
All data is useful during Medicare OEP, but you’ll find that you’ll rely on certain types of customer data more than others.
The types of data that matter most tell who your customers are, what coverage they currently have, and what’s driving their decisions about coverage. We’ll break it down into four categories: demographic data, behavioral data, health and lifestyle data, and engagement data.
1. Demographic Data
Demographic data will help you target the group that will likely be eligible for Medicare plans. This type of data includes:
- Age
- Income level
- Zip code
- Marital status
2. Behavioral Data
Behavioral data gives you information about which customers are in the market to shop around during OEP.
The following data indicates behavioral data:
- Past enrollment patterns
- Plan-switching history
- Call center interactions
3. Health and Lifestyle Data
Health and lifestyle data will help you align plan benefits with customer needs.
This data will shed light on the following information:
- Chronic conditions
- Prescription use
- Healthcare provider preferences
4. Engagement Data
Engagement data is useful for identifying the best outreach channels for each customer segment.
Harvest engagement data by collecting the following data:
- Email open rates
- Digital ad clicks
- Website visits
The next challenge is to collect and organize your data to successfully integrate it into your marketing plan.
Collecting and Organizing Data Effectively
You will serve Medicare beneficiaries better by collecting and organizing your data effectively. This task will require you to follow best practices for data collection, implement data integration tools, and keep your data clean. You’ll need to put a bit of time into the preparation, but the payoff will come in keeping your clients on the books.
Best Practices for Data Collection
Best practices for data collection call for leveraging multiple touch points, including two or more of the following:
- CRM system: Tracks contact information, interactions and enrollments
- Call center: Lends insight into customer behavior and preferences
- Online and phone-based surveys: Helps you understand what information customers want and how often they want it
- Multiple digital touchpoints: Expands the opportunities to collect data
These tools can track every interaction you have with prospects and customers.
Using Data Integration Tools
You can create a 360-degree view of your customer by implementing data integration tools, which draw in information from various systems, such as enrollment databases and marketing automation tools.
Data integration tools consolidate all information into a single, unified customer profile. Customer profiles allow you to tailor communications, find gaps in your outreach strategy, and personalize your offerings and recommendations.
Importance of Data Hygiene
Inaccurate or outdated data can cause you a host of problems, including:
- Wasted marketing dollars
- Compliance issues
- Poor customer experience
It’s crucial to keep your data clean to prevent such problems. You can avoid this issue by verifying the customer’s details when you interact with them. As you find inconsistencies, remove duplicates and update changes to ensure customer data is reliable. You will also want to perform audits from time to time. We recommend a quarterly sweep to stay on top of any issues and avoid piling up a bigger data mess.
Applying Data Insights to Improve OEP Campaigns
Applying data insights is the end goal. Data-driven strategies can transform how you connect with beneficiaries during OEP. It’s all about targeting the right people, with the right message, at the right time, and on the right channels.
Here are some strategies on how to apply data insights to improve your campaigns.
Segmentation and Targeting
What things connect your customers? How can you group them together?
Take note of the four types of data listed under the section above on the Types of Data that Matter Most. Segment according to demographic, behavioral, health and lifestyle, and engagement data.
Once you have your segmented lists in order, create tailored messages for each group.
Personalized Messaging
What is it that each segment needs or wants? Are they interested in vision or dental services? Are fitness services important to them?
Personalized touches help your clients understand that you know them and what they’re looking for in their health plans. More importantly, personalization tells clients you care about what’s important to them in a health plan, which is how it boosts engagement and conversions.
As you build a relationship with your clients, they’ll feel more inclined to contact you with questions.
Channel Optimization
Consider your favorite ways to communicate with people. Do you use email most of the time? Are you an avid social media user?
Your customers also have their favorite ways to reach out. They also have favorite channels that they’re more likely to respond to. The key to optimizing channels is to group your customers by their favorite channels, including:
- Phone
- SMS
- Direct mail
- Digital ads
Once again, if you think about how you communicate with others, you probably identified more than one channel. The same is true for your customers. Don’t stick to just one channel. Multi-channel strategies will reinforce your messaging.
Timing
Your marketing campaign’s timing is critical because of OEP’s short window.
Behavioral data may give clues as to when customers are most likely to engage, which will tell you the best times to send reminders.
Screen-Sharing Provides Clarity During OEP Campaigns
With a screen-sharing tool, your clients can see exactly what you want to show them in real time. Seeing the options before them fosters transparency and trust.
At the end of the sale, you can forward them to the appropriate site to complete their application. With CrankWheel, you can get the proper documents signed securely on the same call.
Your clients may know a little or a lot about the Medicare program and the options within it. Either way, Medicare is confusing to some extent. That’s where your expertise comes in. Screen-sharing software can be a powerful tool for explaining the features and benefits of Medicare health plans in understandable ways.
Here are some of the ways to create slides to demystify Medicare plans:
- Explaining differences between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage
- Plan comparisons
- Prescription drug coverage
- Premium differences
Virtual screen-sharing enables you to walk clients through their options visually. You can stop at any point in your slides and answer their questions. You can even go back to various slides or jump ahead. Let your discussion lead your presentation rather than the presentation leading the discussion.
Screen-sharing generally reduces the back-and-forth interactions that typically occur in sales strategies. With all the information at the customer’s fingertips, you may be able to close the sale on the first appointment.
Overall, screen-sharing streamlines the enrollment process by shortening consultation appointments and reducing follow-up calls. Your screen in front of clients in real time leads to greater enrollment numbers, higher customer satisfaction, and stronger retention.
Best Practices and Tips for Maximizing Customer Data During OEP
Customer data is one of the primary keys to your ultimate success during OEP. By having a plan, implementing it early, and following best practices, you can ensure your communications are timely and relevant.
The following best practices and tips will help you make the most of your data and reach your target audience effectively:
- Start preparing your prep early, well before OEP.
- Focus on the data quality over quantity.
- Test and refine your campaign messaging.
- Track your campaign performance and adjust your strategies.
- Foster trust through transparency about how you and your agency use customer data.
These tips will drive better engagement and customer satisfaction. You’ll also enjoy higher conversions and greater retention.
Empowering Agents and Enrollees Through Insight and Transparency
To be successful during OEP, you’ll need to do more than collect data. You’ll need to use it strategically. The information we’ve provided here will help you make the most of your data to deliver a personalized, informative presentation.
Medicare sales is a competitive field, and it seems to intensify with each passing year. By leveraging customer data, analyzing it, and utilizing the insights gained to enhance your marketing strategy, you will be well-positioned to reach your sales goals, if not exceed them.
It takes a bit of extra time to collect, analyze, and organize your data to make it useful and effective. Yet, the payoff will come before the end of the season.
Invest your time, money, and energy in using customer data to improve your OEP campaign this year. We encourage you to see how CrankWheel’s screen-sharing tool can bolster your efforts throughout OEP. Contact us to learn how you can get a free trial today!