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Case Study:

Golden Rule Health Insurance

Increasing Sales Conversion 88% by Integrating Media Per

Customer’sOpt-In Preferences

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Golden Rule Insurance Background

Key Facts

Founded in 1940

A UnitedHealthcare Company

Emphasis – individual health insurance

Launched Direct Sales Unit in 1998

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Golden Rule Insurance Background

Distribution Channels

Brokerage

Sponsored

Web Sites

General Agents

Direct Sales

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Strategy

Per VOC research, began by building a top flight call center versus a website, as originally planned

Ultimate goal was to drive people to our call center

Viewed the internet as a way to attract potential customers

Focus on the customer, not the medium

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Per VOC, a live contact with each potential customer is a key sales leverage opportunity– Health insurance is complex– Health insurance plans vary greatly– Health insurance is expensive– Choosing the right company and plan is critical– Testing a “Self-serve” model

First priority is conversion then volume

Strategy

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Direct Sales – Customer Channels

Advertising

Referrals

PR Web Direct Mail

DirectE-mail

Associations

DirectSales

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QUALIFIED

LEADS

Lead Processing

100% Opt-in– Prospects contact us– Prospects request that

we contact them

GROSS

NAMES

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QUALIFIED

LEADS

Opt-in Options– Call us– E-mail us– Tour our website

GROSS

NAMES

Lead Processing

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All names are pre-filtered– Qualified names pass– Non-qualified names do not pass

QUALIFIED

LEADS

GROSS

NAMES

Lead Processing

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All leads are scored and sorted– Each lead receives a numeric score per

propensity to buy– “A” leads receive priority treatment

QUALIFIED

LEADS

GROSS

NAMES

Lead Processing

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Health Insurance Consultation

“Best in Class” agents– Fully licensed– Health Insurance experts

FULFILLMENT

QUALIFIED

LEADS

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Needs analysis– Truly understand the client’s

situation– Determine and clarify their goals

FULFILLMENT

QUALIFIED

LEADS

Health Insurance Consultation

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Product recommendation– Based upon what is best for the client– Integrity – we admit when our products are not a good

fit

FULFILLMENT

QUALIFIED

LEADS

Health Insurance Consultation

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Q & A– We encourage questions– All questions answered on the spot

FULFILLMENT

QUALIFIED

LEADS

Health Insurance Consultation

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Next steps– Establish specific action items– Set follow-up appointment with “A” leads– Send sales materials via client’s preference: mail, fax, or e-mail

FULFILLMENT

QUALIFIED

LEADS

Health Insurance Consultation

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Follow-Up

Proactive “value add” appointment– Health insurance comparison– Answer questions

Application walk through

SALES

FULFILLMENT

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Sales Conversion Increases

+ 35%

+ 49%

+ 57%

+ 88%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Qtr 4 Qtr 1 Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Year 3

% In

cre

as

e

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Biggest Contributors to Conversion

100% Opt-In Marketing

Prospects qualify by initiating contact

This drives higher quality leads

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Biggest Contributors to Conversion

Providing customers with options

Call us

E-mail us

Tour our website

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Biggest Contributors to Conversion

Filtering and scoring 100% of names / leads

Only high quality leads enter our sales process

Only high quality leads remain in our sales process

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The Power of Opt-in Marketing

Lead quality is substantially higher Prospects are very receptive Sales reps are highly motivated to make

contacts

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Integrated Direct Marketing Learnings

Internet – Great prospecting tool. 60% of customers report using the internet as part of their search. Testing the use of a self-serve website to convert leads into sales.

E-mail – Great for on-going communications. Cannot cost justify it for prospecting.

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Fax – Decreasing in relative importance but still an important part of the mix

Mail – Powerful fulfillment medium. Questionable as a viable prospecting tool

Inbound and Outbound Phone – Continue to be the cornerstones of our media mix

Integrated Direct Marketing Learnings