As the Medicare marketing landscape has changed, we have seen the rate of Medicare-eligible consumers who switch plans drop, and then plateau. In this next frontier, growth strategies are likely to swap to more of a robust age-in strategy, preparing those coming up on their Medicare eligibility for the process of selecting the best plan for them.
The journey that consumers take during their 64th year as they navigate their choices opens up some exciting possibilities. They’ll be choosing between Medicare Advantage, Original Medicare and other options. And healthcare marketers will be navigating:
- A wide-open calendar–the Initial Enrollment period lasts seven months. A plan for communication to your age-in prospect pool as they age-in will be custom to their timeline.
- A wide-open media frontier—with an audience that engaged in a variety of media channels. In fact, in the U.S., there are more Facebook users from the 65 and above age group than those in the 13- to 17-year-old group.
- The potential for scale with age-in that comes with the influx of the Boomer population.
As exciting as the opportunity is, being there for the age-in “when” is also complex. But mainly from the perspective of doing so efficiently. Think about it, over the span of a year, consumers will choose their point of entry. Getting this “right” relies on a tightly managed communication plan and the content to support it.
The age-in timeline will need to support:
- Awareness–Try reaching out to the audience early, this way you’ll inspire confidence and make it easier to engage. Starting early will ensure you are part of the consideration set.
- Engagement–Try to connect their planning process to your brand by engaging in a dialogue. And then tailor your approach. You’ll want to have the content available to satisfy the research needs of your audience.
- Conversion–If you’ve done all of these things well, you’ll be in the position to support the really good stuff—the shopping!
That’s a lot! And determining the right amount of touches is daunting! That’s why we recommend investing in a data environment to help you make sense of the situation.
Your age-in data environment should enable:
- Clarity–Aggregate all relevant prospect and customer-level activities into one analyzable and consistent source.
- Accurate reporting–Drive accurate and timely reporting from your offline and online marketing spend and efforts.
- Deep insights–Build a foundation for discovering marketing insights based on real-world customer interactions.
A data environment will give you the confidence you need to make decisions and be in control of the situation. Then you’ll be able to set up all of the nifty content you need for success!