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This AEP may be like no other, but certain marketing principles remain constant: attract attention, peak interest, spark desire, and prompt action. Use the checklist below to apply these steadfast principles to your marketing campaigns throughout the AEP “season” so you can exceed your AEP and Open Enrollment Period (OEP) goals.

Test

Trying to skip a test in school is one thing. But you won’t gain anything if you skip your test marketing. Even if you’re facing budget cuts or your attention is on other “bigger issues,” avoid the temptation to neglect this critical step! This year, more than ever, it’s important to test so you can determine what resonates with your target audience going forward under the conditions brought about by all the upcoming changes.

Stick to your plan — but be flexible

Be prepared to pivot — in fact, plan on it. Map out “what if” scenarios and come up with “crunch time” schedules.

Let your internal teams know now that changes are likely so they’re not caught off guard if (or more likely, when) you want to make a change in the eleventh hour to better the performance of your marketing — especially in light of new information about a competitor (see below).

Keep a close eye on competitors

We all know some preliminary plan information can become available in July (although it’s still subject to change). Be sure your team, including your sales team, understands how plan changes will affect your competitors’ members. Create specific and compelling examples showing how your plan stacks up to the competition. Your team can then share these examples with prospects.

Earn people’s trust through education

Take the lead in your community as an education resource for the changes consumers will see in their Medicare plans this year and next. Provide information to help people understand the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and new policies set forth by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Providing people with valuable information when they need it will help you set your brand apart and earn people’s trust, which is an important factor considering that 81% of consumers have to trust a brand before making a purchase.

Work with this year’s calendar

Adjust your schedules not just for the election, but also for the early Labor Day holiday and the late Thanksgiving Day holiday.

What are you doing to ensure all the last-minute leads and applications you receive are handled correctly and in a timely manner? Make sure you have extra staff on hand during those precious few days. Also be sure to change your calls-to-action to emphasize the importance of calling now, meeting one-on-one, or enrolling online to ensure you don’t lose a lead or an application in the six days following the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Make the most of September

Use every tool in your toolbox to fill your lead and sales pipeline during the pre-heat period in September.

While many plans gather Medicare Advantage (MA) leads through an informational pre-heat campaign, you may want to consider promoting your Medicare Supplement plan or Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (DSNP), too. This will not only increase your 2024 enrollments, but it will also provide additional leads for your MA plan — because, as we know, not everyone who’s initially interested in a Medicare supplement plan enrolls in one or qualifies for a DSNP.

Develop contingency creative

It’s better to have an additional touchpoint ready to go and not need it than be scrambling at the last minute to piece something together … or worse yet, to need another touchpoint and have no time to get something out the door. While you may be able to create content for channels like Facebook, Search, or Display relatively quickly, that’s not the case for all channels.

To keep costs down in the event you don’t end up using your contingency creative, opt for a lower-cost postcard or email.

Review your scripts

Ensure your call center employees are trained to quickly gather each prospect’s information for follow-up. Make sure your employees know the answers to the questions prospects are likely to ask and feel comfortable providing guidance. It’s also important to have a lead nurture program in place that’s based on your prospect’s conversion journey.

Prepare and proceed with confidence

In addition to the points above, keep these tips in mind so you can head into AEP with your head held high, ready to rock (en)rollment.

• Double check (scratch that, triple check!) every phone number, URL, and barcode in your marketing materials
• Pressure test your systems, including your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, to ensure everything is working correctly and ready to handle the weeks ahead
• Review your dashboards to confirm they provide all interested parties with the necessary details to monitor performance and make quick decisions to optimize performance across all marketing channels
• Check your medicare.gov listing as soon as the site is live — wrong information (which does happen) can make a difference in where you fall in the listing

Make this your best AEP yet

This year may be unique in some ways, but after 40+ years in the industry, we’re AEP experts. If you need help creating or implementing an AEP marketing plan (or anything else, really), let’s talk.