Low Member Experience Ratings? | How Health Insurers Can Impress Members & Get Five-Star Feedback

In the competitive world of health insurance, it is key to deliver an enhanced, high-quality member experience to stand out and achieve high member satisfaction ratings. Consumers are smarter and more discerning than ever, and health insurers that focus their marketing efforts on member-first strategies are more likely to succeed. This article explores practical ways health plans can strengthen their relationships with members, from personalized communication strategies to digital tools that make it easy and efficient to stay connected. By adopting the five strategies in this article, health plans can boost member loyalty and, ultimately, overall ratings.

Health insurance members are looking for affordable services that benefit their everyday lives, and they want to work with health insurers who have their best interests at heart when it comes to competitive pricing, perks and benefits. Members are willing to pay for good service and value, and they appreciate health plans that go above and beyond in relationship building, customer support, healthcare education and patient satisfaction.

It’s no secret, however, that the health insurance industry is complicated and often leaves members feeling like they have more questions than answers. For members who are trying to navigate their benefits, schedule services and recover from an injury or illness, things can seem even more daunting. The resulting frustration can lead to low member experience ratings, which is exactly what health insurers want to avoid.

Personalize the Member Experience

To boost ratings and earn love and loyalty, it’s important for health insurers to focus on the things that matter most to members. Convenience, trust, great communication, easy access to information and a good ongoing relationship with providers are some of the things that top the list for most members, and more than ever, personalizing the provider/member relationship is essential.

Health insurance companies can increase their positive reputation in the marketplace by making sure that members feel understood, heard and respected. When positive relationships form between insurers and members, individuals feel more confident in their care, and they are more likely to stick with their insurer. By investing time now to build positive relationships with members, insurers can look forward to increased retention, more word-of-mouth marketing from happy consumers and, in turn, more new members.

If you’re experiencing low member ratings—or if you just want to learn even more ways to elevate existing member relationships—keep reading. The creative team at Hallmark Business Connections has some great ideas for strengthening the customer experience (CX) in health insurance and building even stronger relationships with your members.

How to Build Better Member Relationships

If you are ready to nurture your member relationships and build more consumer trust and loyalty, check out some of the ideas below. Try one … or several … to truly shine in members’ eyes. By going above and beyond and personalizing their insurance experience, you’ll show them how important they are to you.

Do a digital checkup. Does your company’s digital presence meet the expectations of today’s consumer? Online is where it’s at, and modern consumers expect a seamless, easy-to-use digital experience when they interact online. Today, members are accustomed to being able to access just about everything quickly and easily, at their fingertips, and their expectation for fast, efficient information carries over to their health plan. Consumers want to find options and information about policies, plans, coverage and more online, and they want to be able to do research and be informed. Take time to sharpen your online presence and ensure that your website and social platforms are full of useful information that’s helpful to members and easy to access.

Get social savvy. The best time to start building online relationships with your members is before they even become members, and that means your online presence should be neat and clean. Even before they become plan members, consumers are paying attention to your brand and looking at how you interact with your current members. Did you know that 89% of customers research online and read reviews prior to committing to a service? This means it’s time to do a little spring cleaning and make sure your brand’s online presence is something to brag about. Whether it’s answering tricky questions, providing feedback or humbly handling customer complaints, the way you interact with members online is visible to everyone, and it’s one of the main ways potential members are doing research about you.

Share empathy and emotion. Because health insurance is an inherently emotional field, marketers should emphasize empathy communication. At every point of engagement, from copywriting to member support, be sure to consider member perspectives and tailor your communication to be sensitive to their situation. By sending personalized greeting cards to individual members throughout the year, you’ll be reminding them that they are important to you. Hallmark Business Connections has the perfect Birthday Cards, Work Anniversary Cards, Retirement Cards and more to help you reach out and share special moments with members. And when unfortunate events arise, be sure to share words of comfort and support with Sympathy Cards, Encouragement Cards and Just Because Cards that uplift and let them know how much you care. When they receive a greeting card from you in the mail, it’s a reminder that you took a few moments out of your day to think about them and send them your best wishes.

Make healthcare approachable & understandable. One of the biggest complaints about health insurance is that it is confusing. It’s true there are lots of rules, regulations and laws involved with insurance and medical care, and all of that can seem overwhelming to members. Current customer experience efforts in healthcare haven’t necessarily been focused on simplifying or explaining processes or member care, but you can do your part to help members out by simplifying some of the information. Did you know you can create an informational insert to tuck inside greeting cards you select from Hallmark Business Connections? It’s a great way to include information about sign-ups, immunization reminders or preventive care actions that should be taken during the year. Informational inserts are eye-catching and filled with helpful information you want members to receive, and they serve as healthy reminders throughout the year.

Let them know they have human support.

With all the automation that’s taking place in the world, it’s good to know there’s a human who members can connect with when they need to. Humanize your brand and make real connections with members by staying in touch with them and being up to date with life events that impact them. For bigger occasions or milestone events, go big and have a lovely bouquet of fresh cut flowers from Hallmark delivered or treat them to a decadent box of gourmet Christopher Elbow chocolates to remember the day. Our Mail to One service is also available to help you reach out to members on an individual basis. Simply select a card, personalize it with your unique message, and we’ll stamp and mail it for you. By personalizing a message that’s just for them, you’ll let them know they’re on your mind, on special days and every day.

The healthcare industry is working to make important online connections with members who are accustomed to instant and efficient online access in just about every area of their lives. Health insurance marketers can add to member satisfaction, boost business performance and get better ratings by focusing on member-centric strategies (like personalized greeting card outreach) that improve retention and growth. By reaching out to members, building relationships and sharing valuable information, you can turn more ratings into likes and stars!

Want to learn more about creative campaigns and strategies for member retention? Read 3 Strategies to Boost Health Plan Retention.

Hallmark is here to help you strengthen relationships with existing members and build new member connections. Reach out to us to learn more about campaigns that will start to boost your ratings today!