Health plans spend countless hours and millions of dollars on creating and developing products, generating and qualifying leads and implementing lead nurturing campaigns to acquire new members. Yet many do not understand the unique buying stimulus of their consumers.
If you know who your buyers are and the best ways to target them, however, acquisition becomes increasingly less expensive.
Here are 4 easy, cost-effective strategies to attract and convert new members to your plan.
- Know your buyers
The first and single most important step in the member acquisition process is to develop buyer personas. A buyer persona is a defining characteristic of a consumer that allows you to cluster similar personas into groups for targeted engagements.
If you’re a Medicare Advantage plan, for example, you might think your buyer is anyone over the age of 65 but there are specific attributes that influence your buyer’s decision to switch or enroll in your plan. Things like page views, click-through rates and the number of customer service calls.
- Create effective lead nurturing campaigns by persona
Once you identify and develop your buyer personas, you can then segment the data and send targeted lead nurturing campaigns using the channels your leads understand and use the most.
In fact, companies that have effective lead nurturing campaigns generate 50 percent more sales ready leads at a 33 percent lower cost, according to Forrester.
For example, let’s say we are trying to acquire Sally, a 55-year-old active retiree who travels frequently. Based on the historical data of her buyer persona, we can determine that the most effective lead nurturing campaign that will convert Sally would start with an email with a click-through to a video landing page and an option to chat followed by a phone call.
Our 70-year-old prospect Bob however, might convert with a lead nurturing campaign that includes a direct mail piece with creative that speaks to his needs and imagery that Bob can relate to. The direct mail piece can have a personalized URL to download a white paper, another direct mail postcard invitation to an informational seminar and finally, a follow up email that converts.
When you segment your buyer personas, you can test creative by behavioral segment to analyze what is most effective.
- Use data and predictive analytics
When buyer personas are utilized and predictive technology is integrated into your call center, it can help you quickly and easily convert leads.
Using a lead’s attributes, historical data and feedback, the call center can route the call to the best customer service representative who is most likely to convert the lead based on his past performance with that persona. We have found this strategy increases sales without increasing costs.
- Team up
If you don’t have the in-house resources to handle acquisition and create lead generation and nurturing campaigns, consider a partner who can help.
Choosing a company that offers everything from data analytics management, sales and acquisition, to campaign management and member engagement will significantly reduce your cost-per-acquisition, increase your conversion rate and re-enroll members year after year.
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