DRIVING
INSURANCE GROWTH

Using a Rapid Ethnography assessment and a wealth of health insurance expertise, SBR defined acquisition tactics that quickly boosted sales, improved Net Promoter Score and overall service outcomes for a leading health insurance carrier.

CHALLENGE

A health insurance company was experiencing a perpetual sales lag despite their regional lead in both brand recognition and network penetration. When the client was faced with increasing demands for growth but no defined turnaround path, they asked SBR to help identify and structure a Medicare sales distribution plan to boost sales performance in time for the annual enrollment period (AEP).

SOLUTION

SBR conducted an immersive assessment of our client’s organization with particular attention to the frontline Medicare sales encounter. We monitored the Medicare sales and customer service departments, planting team members in all consumer-facing locations, including seminars, retail stores, kiosks, sales ride-alongs, home visits, and call centers. Our team also explored the competitive sales mechanisms in the public space, as well as marketing and sales communications, secret shopping results and contact center performance. Insights showed how the competition was gaining market share despite poorer quality health insurance products.

Assessment analysis and results showed that our client’s sales methods and associated marketing communication were at odds with the prevailing ideals of consumer-centricity. By failing to help consumers make a plan decision, the company was losing potential members who could more easily identify their plan options elsewhere.

With a clear opportunity avenue in place, SBR designed short and long-range strategies that included salesforce restructuring, consumer-centric training, outsource partnership, and enhanced marketing communications using SBR’s Simplification Standard™. To help support member retention in the long-term, SBR also created a plan to ensure membership satisfaction across the entire consumer lifecycle.

OUTCOME

By focusing on the frontline consumer experience in real-time and structuring a sales strategy around how Medicare shoppers actually buy, the Health Plan saw a 47% member acquisition increase within the first AEP after SBR’s engagement. The company also gained a 20-point Net Promoter Score (NPS) bump, speaking to overall enhanced member satisfaction.