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When discussing the changes that are happening for 2022 open enrollment for Medicare and other types of health insurance, the interesting thing is that there are adjustments that need to be made by both the advisor and the patient. Some of the changes focus on options that may not be available anymore due to special exceptions that were made during the covid pandemic. Telemedicine is a prime example of this as many patients are not happy that the service will no longer be covered by insurance providers.

While this is a service that will be featured less for the time being, other digital services are taking off including online pharmacies. These e-commerce platforms are making it easier and more affordable for patients to have their medication shipped directly to their home. Anyone who has had to wait in a drive thru line at a pharmacy can tell you the advantages of this change. However, it does show that patients are willing to push their digital capabilities if it leads to convenience and savings.

Inflation has hit everyone hard this year but insurance companies will have to make the most adjustments, especially considering the rise in cost for both labor and materials. The medical field was not immune to the economic hits of 2022 and will have to be prepared for a hectic economic situation in 2023 as well. This will be a primary thing advisors need to focus on during this upcoming open enrollment.

While there may not be much you can do as far as initial plans and options, each patient will be looking for new and creative ways to save. If you can help them with that in some way, you stand a better chance of that client sticking with you. Therefore, you now have your strategy for how to focus the conversation whether it’s a face to face meeting or over the phone.

Major Changes For Open Enrollment 2022

As with every year, there are major changes to the upcoming enrollment. This year however, things will be interesting. Coming out of the coronavirus pandemic has forced new requirements as far as communication with patients, services that can be offered and much more. It’s important that you become aware of these changes, and not just the mandatory ones. For example, there may be changes to how these time period needs to be handled from an advisor standpoint. Rather than trying to schedule one on one meetings with patients, they may prefer over the phone. If that’s the case, you need to be prepared for adjustments like:

• CMS call recording: This will be the most impactful change of open enrollment in 2022 for health insurance advisors. All communication via the phone must be recorded when you are speaking with clients. There are several advantages to this but the key thing to remember is that it must not become an inconvenience for the client.
• Inflation adjustments via providers: The major topic throughout this signing period is going to be inflation. Even though there may not be much you can do about it, inflation will be the topic of conversation from providers and clients alike. Ideally, you need to focus on how both sides need to adjust. Providers are making adjustments by requiring people to sign up or additional services that were once vaguely covered but now need to be paid for separately. This primarily focuses on supplements for Medicare users as some of the care options they were offered under basic coverage will no longer be optional.
• Inflation adjustments via patients: Adjusting to the patients will be even more difficult as they were hit harder by inflation than most. Patients will be venting more than anything but again, this is an opportunity for you to showcase your talents and make a great impression. If you can find ways to get these clients better coverage that helps them save throughout the year, they will be grateful and loyal to you for years.
• Online services: Patients still prefer to do things over the phone than online when it comes to their health coverage. However, one that intial call takes place, the patient usually feels confident to move forward with things via email or online platforms. Because of this, you want to make sure that you are equipped to assist them in both ways and can utilize both communication options to be more efficient.

While this is a crazy and busy time for advisors, clients also have to deal with the hectic time of year. Having to make followup calls, change policies, change options or go over significant changes multiple times can lead to frustration. Focus on streamlining your communication and making it easier for clients to contact you digitally and get immediate and reliable service. It will save you the time of making more calls and allow you to take on more clients as well.

How Advisors Need To Adjust

The one advantage providers and clients share during open enrollment is that they do not have to adapt to the changes. Instead, the advisor has to make the changes and ensure that the quality of their service does not decline. It’s a tough task and something you need to prepare for as soon as possible. For starters, make sure that you become familiar with the CMS call recording system you are using.

This added feature should be easy to use once you get adjusted to it. Most systems require a first step to setup the call and then are pretty straight-forward beyond that. They key thing you will have to learn is how to remember to start the recording and if so, make sure that it is saved to the correct file for you to access in the future.

Possible Changes To Marketing Strategy

If you are considering making changes to your marketing strategy, focus on offering free phone consultations. Clients of all ages have shown a higher interest in health insurance meetings taking place over the phone. Many feel that this saves them commuting time but also allows them to research the information online while discussing matters with their agent.

If you are utilzing the same strategies every year and they seem to work then stick with what makes you happy. However, if you feel that there are certain tweaks that you can make in order to get better quality clients or simply more business, then utilize new strategies and options that are available to you that can also improve the service your clients get.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, technology has been utilized in situations we had rarely utilized it before. One example of this was telemedience, which for a short time, allowed doctors to see patients via video chat rather than face to face meetings. For a while, this was a major convenience for patients who were doing simple checkups to get prescription refills.

While this adjustment was well appreciated by most, many in the industry feel that it led to an increase in opioid addiction as prescriptions became easier to get. Now, is that an actual fact or something that was used as an excuse to get insurance companies to drop coverage of this service faster? It depends on your perception of the service. However, what we do know is that the service was a hit among patients and will eventually be back, especially as technology advances and makes it even easier to have these types of consultations.

The ability for doctors to charge, even directly without insurance, for routine visits and checkups and see more patients throughout the day, is too much to ignore. Those with experience in the industry feel that we are within 10 years of telemedience being a regular feature of healthcare. The irony is that this service may have been 20 years or more away if not for our need of it during the pandemic.

As our personal and medical lives push us to less physical interaction with medical care professionals, insurance policies must keep up. Online pharmacies are the latest trend that is hitting society as patients are now able to order their medication online and have it shipped to their home, usually for less than they are used to paying or the same amount as the pharmacy charges.

With continued transition to a more digital means of care, the industry has to be ahead of the game. That’s part of the reason why a new rule has just been put in for health insurance advisors. This rule focuses on advisors recording their phone conversations with clients. CMS call recording is now mandatory but there are plenty of reasons this change has been added so suddenly as well as several ways it can assist you.

Why The Change?

The reason for the drastic change is to make sure that advisors are aware of the change and new policy prior to open enrollment. It is expected that a record number of people will sign up for Medicare and health insurance over the phone. This is not as much due to covid as it is a matter of convenience. Because these people have become more comfortable with phone and internet deals and transactions, they prefer this method because it is more efficient and convenient with their schedule. However, with health insurance, most people prefer at least speaking with a live person, especially during initial enrollment. That’s why calls for improving secuirty were needed, especially as millions of more people will be signing up for care given recent layoffs.

How Can CMS Call Recording Help?

For advisors, the key thing to understand is that this will only be a temporary burder as far as getting used to the process. Much like learning to use the computer for the job, once you get the new system down, you will start to see benefits of using it over not having it originally. Some of these advantages include:

• Better organization: With an increased number of calls and clients, open enrollment certainly is a hectic time and there are plenty of challenges when it comes to staying organized. What was the last name of that client or their date of birth? What was the one doctor they wanted to make sure was going to be able to take this insurance? If you are not sure of something, you can always return to the call recording and reference it so that you can better serve your clients.
• Improved security of personal information: Many clients still prefer not to transfer their information digitally such as email. That’s understandable given the information they are giving away. A phone call could make them feel more safer and recording the information allows you to make sure that you are the only one who can access it and that the information is not digital accept for your files which are secure.
• Faster service: A common mistake made by agents during open enrollment is that they struggle with maintaining communication with individual clients. Dealing with so many people at once can make things much more difficult. Therefore, having call recording ensures that you do not need to worry about having to have clients repeat themselves or for you to take detailed notes. Instead, you can focus on the information you need to initially, and then return to the call records later to get the details you need to customize the coverage each client gets which means great service.
• Customized training: Another key advantage to adding the CMS call recording feature to your day to day routines is that you can now get customized training. This means that you are able to hear exactly what your strengths are and also work on any areas that need specific attention. For example, perhaps you have an issue getting meetings done under an hour with clients. While you do not want to rush them, you have a lot of work to do. Listening to old calls allows you to see places you can cut time and improve efficiency.

The health insurance filed has to continue to adapt and implement new options or rules that will benefit and protect agents and patients all around. This is one of those changes but it also can offer a variety of benefits to an advisor. The key is to understand these advantages and learn how they can help you get better at your job and improve efficiency.

How CMS Call Recording Will Impact Open Enrollement For Advisors

Make no mistake, the rule for adding CMS call recording will have a significant impact on advisors, especially during this upcoming open enrollment. You have to learn new technology and a new way of having your phone meetings with clients. While it will take time to get used to, it is still something that needs to be worked into your routine, especially if you are not familiar with the systems.

Aside from the many benefits that these systems will offer you when it comes to communication and organization, there will be added work needed this year as far as getting comfortable with handling the system and making sure that it does not interfere with the service your clients are receiving.

Important Things To Learn Quickly

With new technology comes a learning curve. Based on the system you prefer to use or are able to access, you may want to give yourself some additional time to train. Be sure that you can easily access your account, begin the recording, stop it and save it as needed. Most systems will have an automatic way to save but it’s important to check that feature before getting started.

Technology is changing every day and so must the rules that goes with it. As our information is shared in new ways, for new reasons, we need to make sure that this information is not only secure, but also that everyone is on the same page. For example, have you ever had a phone conservation with someone and wish you could go back and remember what exactly was said? That could have been a business call or even a call with a health insurance agent who gave you great guidance regarding your coverage.

We cannot remember everything and that’s where technology can also be a great help. CMS call recording options have been used in business meetings for years now. As conference calls have become more common in business, especially with the pandemic, it’s important that monitoring systems are available to not only ensure quality but also the protection of valuable information.

What Is CMS Call Recording?

Most businesses that house customer service teams for phone assistance have some form of call recording. This allows them to help with disputes but also train their teams to serve their clients in a more efficient way. Yes, those calls are actually recorded and used for training purposes. The reason is because if a customer issue can be resolved in five minutes instead of thirty, the customer is happy, the employee is happy and the company is happy as well. If the dispute takes longer, it does not benefit anyone.

These recording systems have also become popular for brainstorming or training sessions where classes of sorts are held or colleagues go back and forth on ideas. Having the ability to go back into the call and get exactly what was said has been a major benefit to companies all around the world. This service has now expanded into other fields of business and most recently has become a requirement for health insurance communication and advisement.

Why Is It Important For Health Insruance Agents?

Health insurance agents have learned to become adaptable over the years, especially when it comes to technology. Where once an agent may not have relied on computers to do more than send some emails and keep track of their schedule, they can now market to thousands of potential clients in their area, send out agreements, research policies for people while on the phone and more. It’s a great advantage that has helped agents around the world expand their capabilities and go into business essentially for themselves.

CMS call recording is the next feature that will offer a major benefit to agents. During open enrollment, communication with clients becomes extremely challenging and hectic. Information is shared so frequently and it’s nearly impossible to not make a single mistake, especially when such important information needs to be transferred via phone instead of digitally. By updating to the call recording system, agents no longer have to worry about making sure they get every bit of information correct, the first time. They can go back and back as much as they need to and reference that information which may be critical in assisting someone enroll in Medicare or another option that could benefit them.

What Has Changed?

Recently, call recording via CMS systems has been optional and something very few agencies did. Now it is becoming mandatory and will be utilized for all verbal communication. The mandatory change shows just how important and reliable this form of recording is and it has benefited businesses throughout the world. Along with offering a variety of benefits to the agent, call recording also offers great advantages to the client as well. How nice is it that the agent did not have to call you back because they forgot something and instead was able to review the call?

Again, customer service is not only something that benefits the customer. If a customer service representative was able to speak with seven clients on average each hour instead of four, would that not be a benefit to the company as well? That means they do not have to hire more customer service reps but they also will have happier customers who are spending less time on the phone. While health insurance is a very personal issue, it is still a business and that means efficiency and customer satisfaction are very important. If consumers feel that they can trust your brand they are likely to select you, even if a competitor is offering better options. The easiest way to build or break that trust in a businesses sense is with poor communication, especially when the consumer cannot reach their providers.

By working with health insurance advisors, consumers feel more in control of their options because they are not linked to a single provider and are instead linked to their advisor who is dedicated to finding them the best plan at the best price. As advisors take on more and more customers, again also handing higher volumes of clients as will customer service agents, the ability to rely on proven technology will be hugely beneficial.

Automation is the eventual goal of almost every industry. The faster things can be automated, the faster business owners can rely on themselves more. One area where this seems to be going in a different direction is health insurance. Clients want to interact and it doesn’t matter if it is someone on Medicare or someone on Medicaid. The ability to atleast get on a call with someone you are familiar with and discuss your personal healthcare needs and budget limitations is important. You do not want to trust that information to a computer in any situation. Because there are so many options available for coverage, that personal and experienced assistance is much needed and appreciated.

If you can sign up for something for the first time with a computer or with an expert who can assist you themselves, which would you prefer? Now consider the possibility of these people wanting to talk to you directly every year when it comes time for enrollment? It’s a great opportunity for you to make a lot of deals but you also need to make srue that you are protecting yourself and your client from a miscommunication. That’s where CMS call recording begins to offer major advantages that eventually, will become a cornerstone in health insurance marketing.

Health insurance agents have to come up with new ways to market their services while working with a minimal budget and also having a large amount of competition including billion-dollar corporations. That’s not an easy field but luckily there are plenty of opportunities for people to offer their services as hundreds of millions of American’s need coverage and most need assistance in getting that coverage.

Marketing is more challenging and expensive than ever and the opportunities to get free marketing are far and few between. To make matters worse, the free platforms have either lost their value as far as organic reach or they simply do not allow you to reach a new audience without paying. These parameters may keep you from landing clients every day, but it doesn’t mean you should avoid these platforms.

There are still proven and innovative ways to market your services as a health insurance advisor. The first thing you must appreciate is the fact that each of these platforms come with instructions or guidance on how to utilize them. Begin with search engines and research how to market on these platforms for free, how to connect with their audiences, verify yourself as an expert in your field and even share your content. These platforms want you to learn the free advantages they offer if only to motivate you to eventually spend money with them. While that may be what you eventually do, it’s nice to know that you still have affordable or even free options that still generate interest like:

1. Google business listings: It doesnt really matter what you sell or do, if you have a business or work for yourself, there’s a high probability that you will want Google business listings. It is a free service that Google offers. Not only is it reliable, but the maps and listings features generate thousands of visitors of some businesses each month. Learn what you can about these features and how to maximize their uses.
2. Facebook: While Facebook may not give you the freedom to engage followers with updates and new information like it once had, it does still offer a free way to communicate with thousands at a time. Groups are now becoming a popular feature and many are using them to share information about important topics like health insurance.
3. Local business directories: Along with Google, there are sites that list local businesses, especially when it comes to services. With ecommerce businesses and corporations dominating the goods side of the market, the majority of small businesses that add to local communities are now service-based. Because of this,  local websites will often feature their preferred local experts to help them compete with larger competitors.
4. Realtors: Building a community is important and no one believes in that more than a realtor. These men and women have access to thousands of local residents as do you. While cross promotions may not be allowed on all platforms, sharing educational information via social media would certainly be not only allowable, but appreciated to any audience that is able to view the content.
5. Linkedin: If you are great at working the computer throughout the day, then LinkedIn is the platform for you. Consider spending four hours a day on the site, connecting with people based on their geo, job title, company they work for or so much more. You can reach or connect with these people for free but it does take time.
6. Local newsletters: As with directories, there are dozens of local newsletters floating about either through the mail or through email. This is again where networking can play a big role as you want to target local audiences. Local can mean affordable or even free and if you do not have the money to spend on marketing, these are examples of shortcuts that could be beneficial.
7. Amazon: There are programs on Amazon that allow you to publish and promote books. Can you sell health insurance through Amazon? Of course not, but you can promote your brand and your knowledge and offer free information to millions who want to learn about how getting better coverage.
8. YouTube: Google rankings are always a nice added bonus for any type of content. YouTube is not only owned by Google, but it is the world’s second largest search engine. Because of that, it is a great place to post content and the best part here is that you do not need to invest in graphics and crazy content strategies. YouTube is where people go to learn via video which means a 20 minute video of you talking about Medicare may get you more viewers than posting a great commercial without a budget on social media.
9. Door to door: Not only is door to door marketing still effective, but it is completely free and comes with the added benefit of you not having to be in demand of anything else other than introducing yourself, providing a business card and asking for someones card in return. This personal impression is important, especially in health insurance as businesses and individuals usually prefer someone they can meet with or call directly.
10. Emails: While you are grabbing all those business cards you are also building an email list. The phone numbers are actually less valuable now than the email address as this allows you to have non-pushy, but still direct communication with someone. The ability to provide them with updates about health insruance and offer your services if they have any questions gives you a major advantage if and when your services are needed and you did not have to spend your money to build that list.

These platforms and strategies are also utilized by the top competitors in the health insurance field. That’s why adding your actual time to this process is key as it’s what will separate you from other marketing efforts. Remember, health insurance coverage is not something people always are willing to trust to automation. That’s why having that connection with them is beneficial and can build long-term clients.

It seems these days that everything is sold online, or at the least, marketed on there in some way. Imagine trying to market to a very specific audience with little more than the phone book to give you leverage over the competition? Thankfully, there are more options for businesses of all sizes to market than ever. There are still plenty of traditional options including print, direct mail, commercials and so forth. However, technology has lead to digital media becoming a serious rival to the traditional platforms. These platforms include social media, streaming commercials, podcast advertising and search engine marketing.

With more options comes more challenges for business owners. How do you know where is best to invest your time and money? You have limitations on both and you cannot waste either trying to test different options and see what works. One of the most common mistakes businesses make in this situation is that they try to test the platform but not the audience. Social media shows businesses exactly how to engage with audiences directly, offering them anything from home decor to health insurance. .

Facebook

The world’s largest social media platform offers a variety of options when it comes to marketing to a target audience. While video marketing is the most popular, images and content including blogs are still getting their fair share of interest throughout the platform. Audiences are demanding information on things they have an interest in and they are willing to absorb that information in a variety of forms of content.

A current example of this is with Medicare and health insurance options offered to individuals as well as information valuable to those getting coverage through their employer. This content is valuable in all forms as it impacts a large variety of people. If your goal is to advertise your services on this platform, you need to be prepared with a variety of content formats to hook a big audience.

Instagram

The first thing to remember about marketing on Instagram is that it is owned by Facebook. This can give you an advantage in terms of advertising, especially with high-qaulity videos and creative content strategies. This platform focuses more on the visual. However, it is a spectacular way to generate fast interest on a related or relevant topic including open enrollment.

LinkedIn

This area of digital marketing has seen mixed results. The health insurance agents who tend to see the best results on this platform, are usually connecting with businesses for B2B opportunities. However, independent deals are being made more often, especially in areas where agents are providing updated content via posts and articles. LinkedIn allows you to write high-quality articles and share them with your connections as well as specific groups. The better the article, the higher the visibility which can also lead to being ranked on Google.

Currently, the platform is growing in interest as it allows entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase their new businesses, turning a B2B connection into a B2C opportunity. While sales are difficult to come by this way, as connections are usually hit with offers all the time, the platform does offer one of the last opportunities to build an audience organicially by connecting with people based on interest in content. For health insurance advisors, the ability to connect with thousands of people directly and offer information on a relevant topic is a great opportunity, especially if it can be done with a minimal budget or digital skills.

TikTok

One of the fastest growing social media platforms, TikTok has certainly shown people that it is serious about being one of the top media platforms in the world. Originally, the platform offered little, if any, benefits as far as marketing for health insurance advisors. However, throughout covid, the popularity of the platform grew to new heights as people were able to communicate short bits of information in a more personal way than text. The fact that this option was not in as high a demand before the pandemic shows how much the past two years have changed the way consumers approach everything.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram and others may not be the best to offer assistance with Medicare coverage. However, if you are looking to connect with thousands of people between the ages of 18-55 and teach them about the ins and outs of health insurance, and create clients from a pool like that, then these platforms offer you a unique opportunity. Here, you can put in the work without having to have the biggest budget in the field.

However, there is one serious investment you must always make whether you are promoting health insruance or selling cars. You must invest in your content. It does not matter how high the quality of your message is, how elite the service you offer is or anything else, if the content does not grab the audience they will not give you the attention you need to get an engagement. Content needs to be your primary focus before a single campaign is lauched.

With millions of people utilizing atleast two of these platforms, social media can no longer be ignored as a great option to reach consumers with information relevant to their everyday lives. The idea that health insurance cannot be sold on social media takes away from the fundamental ideas of advertising and marketing. In order to hit the audience and pull them in, you need to reach them over and over again with the same content as well as different varieties. It is always better to reach the same 100 people 10 times than to reach 1,000 people once. Why? Because you never know when a consumer will respond to an add but rarely is it the first time. However, the more familiar a consumer is with a brand, the more likely they are to utilize it when they need a service or product.

As you look for ways to market yourself it’s important to consider which areas of digital marketing are your strongest. Can you have high-quality videos produced? What about making your own vlogs where you discuss topics and promote those online? Would you rather write an article or connect with people directly during the day and try to educate them on what they need to know about health insurance? You have all these options available to you and more and you have them available to you because of social media.

For several years health insurance advisors have been struggling with figuring out ways to get new
clients in and keep them happy despite the rising costs in health care coverage. The industry continues
to grow and get more expensive, and services and products might not be available for some time. As the
providers you work with want you to increase the number of customers they are carrying, you need to
know how to keep those customers well managed so that they continue to renew their coverage.

Most people get their health insurance through their main employer or through Medicare. However,
that still leaves millions of people who have to get independent coverage which requires the help of a
health insurance advisor. The roll an advisor plays is to help find the most affordable plan that offers the
coverage the person wants while coaching them on the benefits and options available to them. While
you may not have a lot of contact with them throughout the year, the stronger you build that
relationship, the easier it will be to get them to renew.

Why People Get Frustrated With Coverage
The most common reasons why people get upset with their coverage is because of the costs and
limitations of their plan. A simple consultation might cost hundreds of dollars, or they might have to use
different doctors or facilities because of who is available within their network. It is also at the discretion
of the insurance company if they want to offer coverage on a certain treatment or medication to an
extent. Knowing all of that it's easy to understand why people would get frustrated with their insurance
provider.

Part of the real issue here has to do with communication and education. Were people actually told what
their plan covers and how it will impact them, as well as any changes that have been made to their
plans? Or have they simply been told a lot of confusing information and then their standing there
surprised when the cost for their health care is far higher than they expected?

How Can You Help
Imagine a patient who goes to a specialist once every three months for a very quick and simple
procedure. The patient is not put under or given any sedatives of any kind. At one point, the insurance
company covered that procedure. At another point the insurance company stopped covering that
procedure and forced the patient to cover the costs without giving them a notification of the change of
coverage. Even if the company did make an attempt to notify the patient about the change in coverage,
more than likely the information was not understood by the patient.

This is an example of how a lack of understanding can create a very frustrating situation. While you
cannot alert every single client of changes with their health care providers policies, you need to try to be
more open in your communication with your clients and allow them to contact you if they have
questions. This may give you the opportunity to help them understand the situation which while it will
not be less frustrating to take on those costs, they will be less frustrated with you.

How Can You Reinforce Your Help
You should not be waiting around for people to contact you with questions about changes to their
coverage. Send out monthly emails or write a monthly blog and let your clients know about these
changes and how it might impact their costs or coverages. If they are routinely hearing from you, even
with the monthly newsletter, they are more likely to rely on you for updated information including what
their options are for getting new coverage.

People tend to spend more money with suppliers and vendors that they can trust rather than ones that
offer the cheapest deal. We know this because we still go to the same person to cut our hair or change
our oil in our car because we appreciate how trustworthy they are, and they appreciate how loyal we
are. Be that person for your clients and they will show appreciation and loyalty for years.

Building On Your Efforts
If you are really doing a great job of building your relationship with your clients and keeping
communication open throughout the year, then you can expect additional benefits from these
relationships. Consider developing a stronger online presence where people can learn about the services
you offer and especially since the quality of the services you are giving them. Health insurance is a major
expense for everyone, and it cannot be overlooked.

If people feel that they can communicate with you and ask questions, especially if there are sudden
changes to their coverage, it builds a confidence and trust in you that will lead to a stronger presence
among those looking for new coverage. When you are seeing new business come in by way of referrals
from current clients, you know that the extra effort is working. And networking and referrals are much
more affordable and easier than any other form of marketing.

Take some time to make notes about your last communication with each client. Was it just to get the
deal done? Was it a random message about some new update they probably will not care about or
something they probably wouldn’t understand? Or did you take the time to really put together some
informative content that will help them get the information they need to make the best decisions for
themselves moving forward? Your experience allows them to be confident in their selection and being
there throughout the year is the easiest way to get a renewal for another year.

Focus on communication rather than just trying to get new clients. Great communicators are able to find
clients and work quickly because people want to assist them because of the great service they received.
Learn how to communicate with your clients whether it’s with email, text, directly calling them or
something else. Dedicate some time each day to contacting one to ten clients and letting them know
that you appreciate their loyalty.

Advertising for any business is challenging, especially in today’s market. If you want to be aggressive you
have to be willing to pay a lot of money. Otherwise, you need to take a different strategy and focus on
making your marketing dollars work for you. It’s easier said than done and any insurance agent who has
invested in digital marketing will tell you that there are no guarantees, and you cannot be sure what will
work.

There are literally dozens of platforms and ways to market to people throughout the web. Local options
like fliers and billboards can also be effective, but digital channels are so vast that they can be more
challenging to advertise on. That’s because they require a unique combination of high-quality content
and a strong budget.

How People Get Their Insurance
One of the first things you have to do if you are building a marketing strategy is to look at where your
customers or potential customers are going in order to get health insurance. Are they going online? Are
they calling in? Do they search for a specific company, or do they search online for options? What do
they care about the most and what do they struggle with the most?

Knowing where people go to make decisions to buy from you or your competition is the key to being
successful in your marketing. For example, what if people are making the decision based on ads and you
are focused on organic, or the other way around? The lucky part is that almost all methods work
somewhat, but the best campaigns involve a variety of aggressive and passive marketing strategies.

Challenges Of Marketing
While it may sound easy, the fact is that marketing is the toughest aspect of running a business. If you
have no customers, you cannot make a business run. If you have customers but struggle in other areas,
you will not have great success, but you will have a place to start. Here are just some of the reasons why
marketing for insurance agents is so difficult:

Competition: The biggest reason why it’s so difficult for advisors to generate leads is because of
competition. When you have dozens of companies in the same area providing or selling
insurance, it’s easy to see why so people are going to be selective. They must compare options
and see what is going to be the best deal for them.

Cost: Another problem that will keep you from generating immediate traffic and leads is the
cost per lead. Companies are spending hundreds of dollars for new clients and that cost is only
going up right now. Keep in mind, even if you spend $1,000 on a campaign and it generates 10
leads, you still have to consider the cost of the content creation, the team doing the advertising
and more.

Customer journey: The value of knowing the journey each person takes to get health insurance
is important but it’s also difficult. People make this decision in so many ways and focus on how they can lower their costs more than all. That means you may get in the right area and be viewed by the right audience, but if you do not have the best deals, you may not get the call.

Employment: More people are working independently than they have in years. That’s because
that’s the area that offers more financial gain right now than regular employment. When you
are considering the different options people have, many are taking jobs because they offer
affordable benefits like health insurance. If that’s the case, it can impact your marketing efforts
as you are hitting a good audience, but they already get health insurance through their
employer.

Knowing who has health insurance and who does not come down to understanding the options you
have for marketing. If you want to be where people look for new plans, it’s going to cost a lot of money.
If you want to contact thousands of people, it will be more affordable but many of them may not need
your services. Consider making some plans and trying out different strategies as you get going.

Build A Strong Presence
A good place to start with your marketing efforts is with a strong online presence. Remember, if
someone wants to get health insurance and they need an advisor they are going to head to search
engines to find the closest and most reliable person or agency around. You can be listed organically
through a variety of options including local maps and directories. These options are great because they
not only list you as a local vendor, but they allow you to track what traffic you did get and what traffic
you came closer to getting.

If you are still not sure where else to market, consider trying to build a newsletter. The easiest way to
build one online may be through a contest on social media where you give something away in exchange
for contact information. This strategy is affordable and effective, but you have to be patient. People may
not take an action right now but seeing your business every month will get you in consideration when
they do need to purchase coverage.

Invest In Content
Whatever your budget is, a large portion of it needs to go into the content creation areas. This is
important because the fact is that it doesn’t matter how good your strategy is, if you are hitting the ideal
target audience with low-quality content, they are not going to take an action. You need to invest in the
best content you can get and focus on relative information, not just an advertisement about who you
are. Give the viewer something and inspire them to consider you.

Health insurance is one of the toughest things to sell someone on when you consider the fact that they
have so many options to find coverage. Your goal is to provide them with the best service possible and
before you can do that, you need to make sure that you are also working with them to show them why
you are the person for the job. Content is a way to build trust and advertising is a way to deliver that
message throughout the web.