When Priority Health adopted the
brand promise, “Life just got a little
easier,” the company knew fulfilling that pledge would mean a paradigm
shift. In health plans, even savvy consumers are easily confused, so making it
easier is a differentiator as the company
expands into East Michigan.
“Our strategy is to deliver an exceptional
customer experience,” says George Conte,
vice president of marketing and customer
experience for Priority Health.
Smart Business spoke with Conte about
what goes on behind the scenes to bring
ease and excellence to health plans.
How do you define an ‘exceptional customer
experience’?
In simplest terms, an exceptional customer experience makes ‘life a little easier.’
Health care coverage tends to be complex.
Employers struggle to balance costs with
employee satisfaction. Most employees
don’t know which health plan is best for
their family, and then they struggle to
understand its benefits. This cycle of confusion continues each year during the benefits selection process.
Developing a customer experience strategy requires a road map that outlines phases of your relationship. In our business
those phases are: 1) selecting a health care
plan, 2) the new member’s experience, 3)
the ongoing member experience and 4) re-enrollment.
We know that if you succeed in making
health care easier, then employers are
more likely to renew their contracts and
members will re-enroll, and even recommend you to friends and co-workers.
What technology investments must be made
to deliver an exceptional customer experience?
Invest money, time and energy on
Internet capabilities because statistically
this ranks among the most effective communication tools for people of all ages.
Make it easy to do business and access
information online. For example, physicians can update and query the system
information using employees’ names nstead of member numbers.
For members, the Internet is a tool for
education, information and transactions.
They can use Web sites to learn about
health care issues, such as diabetes, find an
appropriate provider and check the status
of claims.
Or course, we know technology can
never completely replace the human
touch. Invest in a new phone system that
will help you do an even better job in
addressing members questions and resolving issues quickly.
What lessons have you learned that would
help other companies improve their customer experience?
The keys are employee engagement and
data. It’s common for executives to map
strategies for improving the customer
experience. It takes commitment from all
employees to reach the ‘exceptional’ level.
We’ve engaged employees in a variety of
ways — from interactive ‘vision’ exercises
with the CEO to call-center ‘shadowing’
during new-employee orientation. We also
use our internal Web site to engage
employees with up-to-date measures and
customer feedback.
It is important to continuously gather member input through market and customer surveys and focus groups, and then
adjust your course as needed for continuous improvement.
How important is it for companies to restructure their customer experience?
Providing an exceptional customer experience should be your No. 1 corporate
objective, with strategies and road maps to
define outcomes and identify gaps.
Our member satisfaction rankings are
among the highest in Michigan. The challenge is keeping our customer-service
focus as we introduce innovative health
care products that are far more complex
than traditional models of the past.
Develop a team to facilitate changes
throughout the company, and keep
employees in the loop as you celebrate successes and tackle new challenges.
What are key drivers in a customer experience initiative?
Put your focus on communication, technology and the personal touch. It’s
astounding how hard it is to understand
information from most insurance companies, so we’re improving our print communications. We’re looking at everything: letters, brochures, enrollment forms, handbooks and explanation of benefit statements. Nothing is sacred.
The Internet is another driver. A solid
infrastructure helps employers administer
health benefits and keeps members up to
date with records and claims. Make sure
the technology is robust and secure, the
navigation is intuitive and the information
is clear.
Last, but not least, is the personal touch.
Make sure your customer service function
is exceptional. Not only does our staff do
an excellent job with incoming calls, we’re
also proactive in reaching members about
claims and other information needs.
GEORGE CONTE is vice president of marketing and customer
experience for Priority Health. Reach him at (616) 464-8297 or
[email protected].
