Everyone loves to talk about how their solutions are no longer One-Size-Fits-All. Personalization has certainly become more important, and it has been showing up in various ways more and more over the past few years. What hasn't shown up as much as it's likely to over the next several years is precision messaging - what we call Values-Based Communications™, based on our BenefitPersonas™ model.

It's the nature of point solutions to be highly specialized in the conditions they target and the support, tools, and programs they provide. Yet, most struggle to engage more than a quarter or so of their identified and targeted employees!

In this post we'll explore how to do better in this dynamic market, where it's no longer enough to compare capabilities to your competition. The market is demanding that you demonstrate consistently higher engagement levels - and you must be able to clearly articulate how you're achieving that. 

Precision targeting to drive higher engagement
Today's employees are information-overloaded - and that's part of why employers are so reluctant to allow all their vendors to outreach directly to their employees. But, done well, and armed with case studies showing why they should let you do so, you can not only stand out from the competition, but drive higher per client revenues, far faster than you can by winning new deals.

To capture attention and drive adoption, your targeting must be laser-focused, and your engagement strategies must resonate on a personal level.

Data analytics is just a start
Going beyond mere demographics is now table stakes. For instance, mental health providers should be looking at data points like departmental stress leave trends, other point solution utilization rates, high claims cost condition prevalence, and even sentiment analysis from internal communication platforms to proactively pinpoint pockets of need within an organization.

Hyper-personalization isn't hyper unless it also motivates
Imagine not only sending targeted messaging about fertility benefits tailored precisely to an employee's unique circumstances, whether it might be someone exploring surrogacy options or a single professional considering egg freezing - and being able to include meaningful WIIFMs and WSICs based on how those employees already believe the world works for them.

• Our program will help you take charge of your situation and achieve your goals

• Our program will give you all the information you need, including the pros and cons of several pathways to a solution, so you can chart your own course

• Our program excels for busy people who are juggling family, management responsibilities and corporate goal achievement, so you can be there for those who count on you

• Our program has been designed by clinical experts, and our team is there with you, every step of the way so that it easily fits into your daily routines

• Our program is simple; you just take the very next step, so it doesn't interrupt what you want to be doing - today. And we have plenty of stories from people just like you who are making every day the best it can be

You'll notice that none of those messages is educational, nor do they describe anything about the program. They're all focused on why the program can fit for that employee based on their existing life values, preference, and priorities. In other words, they're psychographically-targeted.

Such messaging resonates far more deeply, 'hooks" people faster, and drives more action.

Meeting employees in their digital domain
In addition to layering in psychographically-tailored language throughout the User Experience (UX), API integrations are increasingly able to deliver vendor-specific program messages, tips and reminders through wearables. Think about an MSK vendor that is delivering program-specific, personalized movement and stretching reminders, progress updates, and educational content directly within the interface of a member's FitBit, using technology from, say, Validic. The member doesn't have to go to their phone, find their app, and navigate through multiple screens.

Sure, push messaging from apps can eliminate some of these steps, but as we all know, the less friction, the more use. It boils down to how can we sustain appropriate, consistent visibility that also yields more frequent and measurable engagement. 

Testimonials are great, but validated data is better
In a crowded marketplace, anecdotal success stories are no longer enough. Employers want hard data, not just heartwarming narratives. To truly stand out, structure your "data in / data out" reporting environment to provide real-time, user-configurable online dashboards that make it easy for both HR and CFOs to demonstrate the tangible value of your solution:

• Clinical effectiveness is a gold-level standard - Basic engagement metrics are great; clinically significant outcomes are better. More and more premier vendors are publishing peer-reviewed studies and collaborating with independent research organizations to prove their programs efficacy. Sword Health, for example, cites a remarkable 90% return-to-work rate for MSK conditions within their client base.

  

• Quantified cost savings - It takes rigorous methodologies to connect the dots between your solution and healthcare cost savings. Premier vendors, consultants and employers are using their data warehouses and data lakes tracking reductions in ER visits, specialist referrals, hospitalizations, and chronic disease management costs, and to correlate those to the members engaged in the vendors' programs

• Documented enrollment and engagement superiority - If you're a diabetes management vendor (or a diabetes reversal vendor like Virta Health) you have ample documentation that your engaged diabetics make not only clinical and lifestyle improvements, but that they spend (say) $3,000 a year less than non-engaged diabetics. So, take it one step further:

• The industry average enrollment and engagement levels for identified diabetics is (say) 25%.

• At XYZ, we are consistently enrolling and engaging 35% of the identified diabetics through our persona-based outreach and precision marketing. 

• This is translating into ~40% higher overall claims costs savings for our employer clients because we consistently impact a higher percentage of the targeted population.

• Productivity and absenteeism - while these are harder to quantify (and many employers don't measure these very effectively, if at all) to the extent you can document improvements, that's also a strong competitive differentiator

The last word
By harnessing the power of data-driven targeting, building a foundation of undeniable proof, and embracing the nuances of human psychology through psychographic segmentation, you can transform your point solution from a niche offering into an indispensable pillar of the future of employee well-being.

This is your opportunity to not just participate in the evolving benefits landscape but to actively shape it, driving meaningful change and empowering a healthier, happier, and more productive workforce.

~ Mark Head
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.

Click the green button or the blue button (below) to visit our scheduling pages.