Short answer: The more things change, the more things stay the same.
We’ve been ‘in this together’ now over 18 months, and while political views vary greatly, we can likely agree that the market is like a kid returning home from college the first year, DIFFERENT. The tactics of old no longer work.
Face time? Try FACETIME. Conferences, VIRTUAL. Face-to-face meetings, NOT EVEN WITH A MASK. Direct mail? NO ONE’S THERE. The world changed instantly — and the self-insurance industry even more so. We saw groups lock-in unlike anything seen in years past.
Carriers went with no rate increases for the first time in recent memory, and groups simply didn’t move an inch from their existing plans out of fear of the unknown in an already turbulent workforce. Self-funded administrators, vendors to healthcare benefit companies, and technologies began to look and strategize for something to make them stand out. Often throwing everything against the wall, hoping something would stick.
I’ve worked in the healthcare benefits space for over 20 years. The message from the early years of my career was very clear; get face time with your clients and prospects to connect. It was what we did because It was effective. It mattered, because we all want to do business with people that we inherently trust and like. Anyone who has been in sales knows the quickest way to build trust is to connect as people, over golf, drinks or conversations about family. That philosophy was brought to a screeching halt when offices shutdown, teams went remote, and conferences stopped.
In the beginning, virtual meetings were effective. It was the only choice. Then Zoom fatigue set in, we saw fewer and fewer people engaging.. Webinars had to have catchy titles, address a pressing issue, or you needed a dynamite speaker to create any sense of engagement.
While we’re staring down the barrel of uncertainty heading into Q4, marketing and sales tactics may have changed, the need for company growth has not. The healthcare benefits industry has evolved, and to see revenue growth in 2022, your marketing strategy must evolve even faster.
Here are five things I’ve learned from the last 18 months and how they can be applied to effectively market in 2022.
1) WEBINARS
Why it (used to) work:
Long gone are the days where we setup hotel meetings and invite 30 people to sit through a presentation to show your new wares. As someone who has done this often throughout my career, I’m happy to say long live the webinar. Here’s what’s changed though. With everything going remote, the allure of obtaining CE credits has faded. The desire to attend webinars listening to a pre-recorded content is gone. People want to hear information that they can’t gain through a newsletter to digest. They want someone who can answer their questions on the spot in real-time. Being one of a thousand dial-ins is exhausted.
How to utilize this tactic today:
People are TIRED of traditional webinars. How are you going to connect with your audiences moving forward? Product roll outs, celebrity influencers, and legislative announcements give a webinar a shot to engage prospects. For enhancements, direct sales opportunities, or state of the union chats, segment the audiences up to tailor the content and give people a sense that this is crafted just for them. No one wants to be a mass attendee. On a side note, 4K cameras and ring lights are crucial additions to enhance your production value.
2) GLOSSY PRINT MARKETING COLLATERAL:
Why it (used to) work:
For years prospects have carved out time to review marketing materials and product brochures. Unfortunately, already short attention spans are obsolete with the stressors of today’s new world. What we have found is canned materials are out, and the world has moved to softcopy in this space.
How to utilize this tactic today:
Finally, after many years, we may have reached the point within the industry where the trunk of hardcopy brochures as sales support is considered antiquated. Brochures linked through QR Code, softcopy as PDFs and customizable pieces are helping people ring the bell. Save the postage cost and send an email with three key things you want your prospect to take away. Even if they don’t read your attached collateral, you get your point across.
3) SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTIVENESS:
Why it (used to) work:
When the travel stopped, everyone dusted off their LinkedIn profiles as a way to connect. They posted, liked and commented as a way to engage and being engaged. The bare minimum worked for a while but breakthrough LinkedIn influencers know there’s more to it than a just a Like.
How to utilize this tactic today:
With more and more revenue directed at sponsored content, it takes an average of five posts for people to remember seeing your content. This traffic jam has caused us to shift. People want to connect to other people, not other companies. While you can’t ignore your company page, shift resources to amping up your key executive’s presence.
Everyone was looking for that magic bullet to connect with their audiences when the office lights went off. The good news is LinkedIn and email, when used effectively and targeted to the appropriate audiences, can still help open doors. It’s doubtful that your latest Tik-Tok video will drum up any sales in the business-to-business world, but from a corporate culture standpoint…get to dancing. We all need a laugh, and we all want to see everyone smiling.
4) VIDEO CONTENT:
Why it (used to) work:
Remember going into the video studio or news station and filming your commercials? We came up with these long infomercial style videos that were packed with great materials and highlights explaining why someone should buy. Attention spans have dwindled, outside distractions created by remote work have increased and the world just doesn’t have the time to watch your seven-minute video. An informal rule, nothing over two minutes.
How to utilize this tactic today:
Video has been making a massive impact in the last few years as a persuasive medium. People love the convenience of watching it at their own time (flexibility of schedules anyone), and it is a welcome change from long winded emails. Keep them relatively short and hard hitting. When a prospect decides to choose you over Netflix, make sure what you say is going to bring value to their day.
5) VIRTUAL CONFERENCES:
Why it (used to) work:
In principle, virtual conferences sounded fantastic. Digest content from your comfort of your office without the travel time, expense and time away from your family. The issue that we all ran into is that you can’t replicate the value of small talk and the conversation after the meetings. Combine this with Zoom fatigue and virtual conferences have been tough for everyone involved.
How to utilize this tactic today:
Proceed with extreme caution. This has been extremely challenging for me as a guy that wants to be face-to-face and break bread before doing business. 6–8 hours in front of a computer screen has been something that I hope we never have to return to. I do believe that we will see more of these hybrid models though, giving users a choice whether to meet in person or attend virtually. Personally, I haven’t found one yet that I would trade in for a face-to-face meeting, but to each their own. Everyone is trying and doing the best they can as we look forward to future in-person events returning.
I don’t know what the next year looks and anyone that says they do is lying.
What I can tell you, is that the ability to pivot is more crucial than ever due to the changes we are all facing daily. At Ocozzio we work tirelessly to help our partners stay at the forefront of the market, increasing their chance to hit the mark. We rely on analytics more than ever. This, teamed with the personalization mentioned above, gives everyone a competitive advantage to win despite all the noise. No matter what this year holds moving forward, I know one thing is certain, people are ready to explore options in benefits. The question is who will deliver the options in ways that ensure prospects will pay attention.
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