You spend weeks crafting the perfect strategic plan — a mix of best practices and imaginative innovation. You spend months overseeing the development of the most effective creative tactics — ones that are integrated, resonant and on-brand. Deadlines are met. Budget is maximized.
Then, early October rolls around and Sales comes knocking: “We need more leads.”
Certainly, marketing isn’t the only factor determining a health plan’s success during the Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP). Product, sales efforts, broker commissions and relationships, competitive differentiators and brand awareness are all critical to hitting enrollment goals. However, the pressure is on during AEP. As marketers, we must be nimble and ready to course correct. Having a list of contingency ideas in our back pocket is a necessity.
Through the years we’ve compiled a list of AEP contingency ideas to consider when a campaign is muddling along or a client wants to maximize a market disruption opportunity. Remember: Since AEP has such a compressed timeframe with a large investment, the more you set the foundation and continuously monitor, the easier it will be to adjust, optimize and hit your goals throughout the campaign.
The tactics and actions noted below are meant to fulfill two criteria:
1. They can be executed/implemented relatively quickly.
2. They have the potential to generate consumer engagement and drive leads.
Critical in all of this is solid campaign performance reporting that helps capture Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI), highlight successes and failures, assess which tactics need attention and decide when and where to shift budgets.
View our AEP Contingency Plan ideas below or download a PDF version.
Let’s be realistic, though. You shouldn’t expect these ideas to totally change the trajectory of a campaign. Instead, these ideas have the potential to amp results or bend a downward trajectory from a complete freefall. At the very least, executing sound strategic ideas quickly helps prove that the marketing department is proactive and vigilant in the quest for more leads and — ultimately — membership.