Never Stop Learning: Health Care Marketing Trends

As part of our agency’s core value focused on Never Stop Learning, members of our health care team recently attended the Health Plan Innovation, Medicare Marketing & Sales Summit in Orlando. A focus for our team is to bring consumer and industry insights to our clients and stay at the forefront of advancements in health care marketing. If we want to be leaders in this space, let’s learn from the best!

This opportunity fit the needs of our team perfectly by providing a good mix of health care industry insight and creative thinking exercises. As the health care industry becomes more competitive, it’s important to approach a problem or potential barrier with new, innovative ways to break through the clutter and reach your target audience.

Being surrounded by industry leaders, including CMS, Kaiser Permanente, AETNA and Blue Cross Blue Shield, to learn about Medicare trends and marketing to an older audience was incredibly inspiring. While participating in various breakout sessions, the common thread became quite apparent. As your team is developing strategies to target an older audience, it’s important to make sure your message is:

• Simple. Keep your message and call-to-action easy to understand so the consumer will feel confident in taking the next step.
• Direct. Instead of creating a lot of fluff with your message, keep it straight-forward to ensure the correct message is being communicated.
• Digital. Although older seniors may not be tech-savvy, those aging into eligibility turn to digital resources to learn more about their options, so it’s important your message is there, too.

Lastly, the opportunity with Medicare Advantage continues to look bright. According to Gorman Health Group[1], Medicare Advantage growth will continue at a rate of 8% in the next couple of years and is expected to surpass that by 2020. With nearly 11,000 U.S. residents becoming eligible for Medicare each day, and according to the Kaiser Foundation [2], about 50% of consumers 65+ selecting a Medicare Advantage plan within two years of eligibility, the opportunity is there, so now we must capitalize on it! With a strategic focus on this audience, you can achieve your growth goals and help keep our seniors covered. Let’s get to it!

[1] https://www.gormanhealthgroup.com/blog/2018-medicare-advantage-enrollment-report-by-the-numbers/
[2] https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/medicare-advantage-2016-spotlight-enrollment-market-update/