With the Medicare enrollment season fast approaching, insurance agents across the country are scrambling to reach those seniors approaching Medicare eligibility. The problem for most seniors is not a lack of choice but an abundance of it. There are so many options and so many cost differentials that many seniors roll their eyes and succumb toeither confusion or frustration.
Smart Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage agents know their chances of making a sale increase when they meet with seniors face to face, not to pitch a program, but to educate them about various programs. An agent who takes the time to explain howmedigap supplement plans and advantage plans differ gains the prospect’s trust. In other words, an agent’s first order of business is to quell thefrustrations and fears of prospects by offering them substance, not sizzle.
Of course, getting a face-to-face kitchen-table meeting with single or married seniors requires letting medigap eligible prospects know that an agent is out there. Traditionally this has meant sending postcards and letters. The marketing landscape, however, has changed dramatically since Section 507 of the Social Security Disability Amendment of 1980 (often referred to as the Baucus Amendment) paved the way for today’s Medicare Supplement and Advantage policies of today.
Today, there is the need for both digital and traditional messaging. Boomers approaching eligibility age are much more tech savvy than previous generations and are more likely than not to research Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage programs online. Believe it or not, this fact supports the use of print mail more than you’d suspect.If prospects click on your website. you can direct them to more information in the form of educational brochures and other forms of direct mail.
According to the data and marketing association, direct mail continues to be a key anchor in multi-channel marketing efforts to seniors. The difference between thirty years ago and now is data. Having a list of prospects nearing Medicare eligibility is not enough. In this age of big data, personalization and micro-targeting, reaching the right people at the right time is the difference between getting the proverbial foot in the door or having the door slammed in your face.The DMA further asserts the combination of browsing and sophisticated audience modeling makes direct mail a better choice than ever. Here are some reasons why:
Studies done by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicate there are 57 million people enrolled in Medicare today; but by 2030, that number will swell to 79 million. Currently, 33% of Medicare recipients have some version of supplemental Medicare insurance. Expectations are with growing awareness and growing numbers, opportunities to reach these prime prospects continues to grow with each passing year.
Another significant change in the market in the last decade, however, is there are fewer sales people selling Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage policies than there were just a few years ago. This puts fewer legs on the street and means marketing needs to work harder than ever to pull in high-quality prospects. Knowing, for example, that Advantage programs tend to do better with low-income groups than higher priced supplemental plans is not enough to wrap your marketing plan around.
The Medicare Supplement market is certainly not one-size fits all. Knowing the demographics and psychographics of subsets of seniors is critical to your finding and pitching the right prospects. You should know:
The obvious point is the richer the data, the better you can target your message to meet a prospects interest and lifestyle preferences. Seniors with high net worth and active lifestyle are going to require and want more robust supplemental insurance. On the other hand, seniors with limited fixed incomes are going to prefer lower cost Advantage plans. And those with medical conditions will want to be very selective about which doctors and prescriptions a plan covers.
The importance of marrying the right mailing and telemarketing lists with the most up-to-date comprehensive senior data cannot be stressed enough. For example, you can find everything you need to reach your best prospects at www.seriorsourcelist.com. This AmerilIst company has been compiling senior citizen data since 1989 and is considered by many to be the most accurate database in the industry. With over 52 million senior households and growing, many Medicare Supplement agents depend on senior source list’s “turning 65 database” to pinpoint prospects by month, year and date of birth.
What’s just as crucial to your success as the many list options you’ll find at senior source list is the fact that it is backed by AmerList, a long-established leader in data processing solutions to senior direct marketers. The AmeriList portfolio includes data enhancement, merge-purge, database profile and analytics, address quality services and data verification. In other words, it has all the built-in quality-control you need to make sure your reaching the right people.
Lastly, AmeriList can also help with getting your message out. Our direct response specialists can ensure well-crafted messages are printed, addressed and mailed out to the right target audiences in time for the critical Medicare sign-up period.
