With More Online Enrollment, MAOs Must Add 'Personal Touch'

by Lauren Flynn Kelly

As Medicare Advantage organizations prepare to promote their plans for the 2022 Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP), marketing experts say they see a continued shift to year-round and online campaigns. But with the increased use of digital engagement and enrollment leading to some member dissatisfaction, plans must take extra steps to ensure a positive experience early on, they warn.

MAOs face challenges:

• "As a result of the COVID economy, plans have been faced with a shortage of paper and higher prices. On top of that, there has been a postal increase," points out DMW Direct Executive Vice President Renee Mezzanotte. "Knowing what was coming, we planned well in advance with our clients to optimize the direct mail channel in conjunction with the other top lead generation channels of digital and DRTV [direct response TV]."
• Another challenge of the current economic environment is that plans are having trouble staffing their call centers for the upcoming AEP, says Cary Badger, principal at HealthScape Advisors.
• Meanwhile, as COVID cases began to surge again this summer, MAOs that planned in-person events had to scale those back.

What are tools for a successful marketing campaign?

• Whether it comes to marketing for the Medicare AEP or Affordable Care Act open enrollment, Lindsay Resnick, executive vice president with Wunderman Thompson Health, espouses the importance of collecting "competitive intelligence."
• Mezzanotte says that online engagement continues to gain prominence in AEP marketing campaigns. "The emphasis has been on providing prospective members with a guided online experience to help them find the information they need, make it easy to choose a plan and enroll," she remarks.
• "Now we're seeing [more focus] on the member experience," says Badger. "That starts with the first touch following the sale, because they've got to prevent those members from lapsing." Effective engagement strategies early on can include things like "member advocates and incentive plans."
• Differentiators that plans are using to market continue to include supplemental benefits, but effectively communicating innovative benefits and how they work is also critical now, adds Badger.

From RADAR on Medicare Advantage