Client:
A large, regional managed-care organization offering Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug coverage in the Southeast.
Objective/Goal:
To attract, as well as build trust and, ultimately, greater loyalty among, Medicare-eligible prospects by helping them to understand the complexities of the Medicare industry.
The client wished to target all Medicare-eligible prospects in their coverage area with messages tailored to their needs and interests, as well as educate them on the workings of Medicare. Also, the client aimed to increase the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns using the capabilities of tracking and measuring return on investment so that the marketing budget could be allocated for maximum results, with the intent being a higher response rate, a lower cost-per-lead, and, ultimately, an increase in enrollment.
Solution:
1. Targeted lists
2. Variable data (name, ethnicity, and gender)
3. Personalized messaging
4. Creative use of imagery
5. Response-driven text
6. Personalized URLs
We suggested that our client use a more targeted approach to mailing, focusing on mailing to prospects who met the ideal profile of residing within 10 miles of the informational seminars that the client would be hosting and meeting the age requirement of 65 and older. After this streamlining process, the prospect mailing list dropped by half.
After finalizing the mailing list, we went to work at making the mailers as personalized as possible, using variable data. Every prospect received a mailer with their title and last name printed on it. This simple act of personalization conveyed respect and consideration for the senior audience, as well as incorporated the old-fashioned values of customer service — values that seniors hold very dear. In addition to the name of the recipient, the piece also contained an image correlating to their race and gender.
Personalization aside, the images and copy within each mailer were designed specifically to attract the senior market by conjuring up nostalgic themes from their formative years. The mailers were intended to draw upon the emotions of seniors, allowing for a connection to take place between the senior and the client.
Along with the nostalgia strategy, we also included bandwagon themes by using photos and testimonials of current members, which allowed a potential member to look at a piece and identify with the image of a current member. All messages were kept as simple and direct as possible.
The conduits of contact were a major consideration in the success of the campaigns. We designated dedicated toll-free numbers for each campaign so the tracking of phone calls could be as precise as possible. Response rates were readily available through an innovative portal that could pinpoint the campaign name, name of caller, time of call, and duration of call. The inbound phone calls were all recorded for quality purposes to ensure the highest of satisfaction during the assumed first experience with the client by the prospect. The phone calls were all directed to specially trained individuals who captured basic demographic information and reserved a seat for the prospect at their desired meeting location and time, or scheduled a follow-up call from a sales executive. This ensured continual execution of the personalized attention to detail.
Within the campaign, we utilized the state-of-the-art method of generating PURLs, or Personalized URLs, which allow for a convenient, non-threatening, 24/7-method of communicating with prospects. The mailers prompt recipients to visit their very own personalized website. So, for example, an “Ethel Jones” receives a mail piece addressed to “Mrs. Jones,” which prompts her to visit her own personalized website: etheljones.advantageplanmarketing.com — a website which contains content and imagery specific to her.
The last conduit of response came in the form of business-reply cards or envelopes. These cards were attached to every mail piece we sent out to ensure that no form of communication would be left out. On these cards, the recipient could request additional information or RSVP to a meeting by simply checking off one box and dropping the piece in the mail.
Result:
1. The cost per lead decreased by $2,000.
2. Response rates increased by 400 percent.
3. Received thousands of qualified leads.