Move over Gen X; millennials are all the rage these days.
According to a recent study by Pew, millennials became the biggest chunk of the workforce in 2016. Today, more than one out of every three workers is a millennial.
In addition to transforming the workforce, millennials are also transforming the way many industries operate. For example, millennials are much less likely to own homes than previous generations, and of those who are homeowners, 68 percent regret their buying decision. Beyond that, millennials are also more likely to eat out, spend money on extras—like tech gadgets and Uber rides—and pay for experiences.Millennials are also upending the world of healthcare. One recent survey, for example, found that 45 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds didn’t have a primary care doctor.
Add it all up, and selling insurance to millennials is way different than selling it to baby boomers. If you’re planning to offer health insurance for millennials, here are five things that you need to keep top of mind.
1. Cost
When it comes to things like attending music festivals, millennials don’t care about spending money. When it comes to things like insurance, millennials are cost-conscious.
For example, one report found that as many as 64 percent of patients have avoided or delayed healthcare decisions due to the growing cost of insurance and deductibles. This is obviously not a good development—for the country’s collective health or for the individual’s health.
When you’re selling insurance to millennials, price can be a determining factor. To appeal to this demographic, you need to include low-cost plans in your portfolio of offerings.
2. Convenience
Millennials are driven by convenience. They believe that companies should be available around the clock to answer any questions or concerns they might have. When they encounter a service that isn’t working how they expect it to work, they’re likely to leave negative feedback about it—which could make it harder to land new clients who read customer reviews.
The good news is that—although your brokerage or agency can’t keep its physical doors open 24 hours a day—you can keep your digital doors open in perpetuity.
For example, if you invest in modern quote and enrollment tools, millennial prospects will be able to shop for insurance plans on your website whenever they want—even if that is at 3:09 a.m. Over time, that convenience will translate into at least a few more sales to millennial clients.
3. Technology
Millennials grew up with technology. While older millennials remember the pre-internet world, the younger half of the generation does not.
To this end, millennials expect technology to power everything—even their health insurance experiences. A 2016 report, for example, found that being able to use technology to make appointments or access health records was one of the most important characteristics millennials considered when choosing healthcare options.
If you want to sell health insurance to millennials, you need to invest in technology. Your brokerage or agency needs to maintain a robust web presence (once again, quote and enrollment tools can help). If your website looks like the website for the 1996 movie Space Jam , younger clients are almost certainly going to be turned off.
4. Personalization
Personalization is becoming increasingly important for clients of all ages these days. But millennials, in particular, have grown to expect personalized experiences with the brands they interact with.
Are you able to easily personalize your outreach to clients and prospects?
If not, there’s an easy fix. By investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, you can automatically serve up personalized experiences. For example, you can use a CRM to automatically remind clients by name when their renewal dates are coming up and send them a quick “happy birthday” note, among other things.
5. Content
One study found that 88 percent of shoppers conduct research online before deciding whether or not to buy something. That being the case, chances are that potential millennials clients will scour the web before figuring out where to buy health insurance.
By publishing helpful content on your blog on a regular basis, you’ll increase your organic reach and SEO rankings, increasing your business’s visibility. Then, when millennials shop for insurance, they’ll find your content—which may persuade them to give your services a try.
Are you ready to offer health insurance for millennials?
Selling health insurance to millennials might not be the easiest thing in the world. They’re price-conscious, they expect convenience and personalization, they love modern tools, and they conduct research before buying something.
Still, millennials are a growing part of the economy—a generation that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
By developing a plan to engage and court millennial prospects today, you put your insurance company in a great position to remain a force tomorrow. Good luck!
Read more in our white paper, Referral Marketing Tips & Tricks.
