The biggest change from healthcare reform? How to market.

The biggest news out of the Supreme Court’s decision is preserving the “individual mandate.” Everyone will need to be covered, and no one will need to be underwritten.

That makes good marketing more important than ever, for two reasons:

• From now until 2014, insurers will be looking for the best risks – those who can pass underwriting, but also use medical care sparingly or responsibly. And those who will stay on the books. They have to be identified, located and motivated to apply.
• Starting in 2014, there will be many more people in the market – most of whom will be clueless about how to buy. They will need to be educated, engaged and nurtured.

High-impact marketing in 3 stages.

If you’re looking for higher-value customers and more of them, these are the three stages you’ll need to address:

1. Segmentation and acquisition. Demographics and life stage are a place to start, but the need for health insurance is situational: people are either in the market and motivated or they’re not. That’s why the self-selecting nature of search-engine marketing and online remarketing is so effective. We’ve had success increasing members by as much as 3.5 times, with the cost per application dropping by 65%.

2. Quote and apply. It’s one thing to get them to the front door – quite another for them to apply. The process can be tortuous. You need to guide them and educate them along the way. That means paying as much attention to the user experience as the plumbing. Maybe more. The right experience upfront has enabled us to convert 64% more online quotes to applications.

3. Onboarding and retention. We’ve always said that retention begins on Day One. We still believe that, but in the future, especially without underwriting, it will begin the minute someone begins shopping. Treat them like a true member from the start, and they’ll be a member next year, and the year after. We’ve helped improve retention by as much as 25% in the first year alone.

We can help you find and keep more online members.