Here's how one plan got its foot in the door
Whether you want to attract new business or hold on to existing business, the key is locating opportunities that are difficult for your competitors to duplicate, says Daniel E. Ansel, BS, MA, MHA, vice president of business development for On Target Health Solutions, a communications company in Cincinnati. (For a discussion of On Target's approach to member retention, see cover story.)
A managed care plan hired On Target to develop name recognition and trust in its local market. "The plan told us there was a limited connection between the plan and its physicians. The plan was advertising in the newspaper every Sunday, but so were its competitors," says Ansel. "In addition, the ads made all of the plans sound the same. There was little differentiation."
On Target looked for opportunities to reach physicians, plan members, and potential plan members. By looking at the operation of physicians' offices, On Target noticed that physicians were sending patients home with pharmaceutical samples 25 to 40 times a week.
"We thought, here is a process that's already going on in primary care physicians' offices, and we can help them out," Ansel says. On Target researched physician use of samples and discovered that most physicians weren't using bags in which to send them home. Patients were trying to fit them into their pockets or purses.
On Target developed a bag dispenser for physician's offices, Ansel says. The dispenser is installed in the physician's drug supply closet. "Immediately, you own real estate in the physician's office. And first one in wins. Your competitor is out of luck."
The bag dispenser includes the health plan's name and a slot to slip in seasonal messages, such as reminders about flu shots for seniors. "When physicians go into the supply closet to pull out a bag, they see the plan's name on the dispenser. This passively impresses the plan's brand name on them 25 to 40 times a week," he notes.
The bag itself has areas for the physician to fill out information about proper medication use. In addition, it has an offer for adults age 64 or older to call and order a booklet on three ways to reduce prescription costs, including membership in managed care plans.
Inside is a reply card for the health plan. "Not only is the plan's name passively impressed on physicians; in addition, physicians are passively endorsing the plan to their patients because they are handing their patients a piece of material with the plan's name on it," Ansel says.
"Best of all, it's a value-added service for the physicians. And because it's not direct marketing, the plan has complemented the physician's practice."
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