There’s a new type of sales call. It’s called “trigger-based communications,” or “personalized marketing.” You’ve probably been a target without knowing it. Simply put, it’s one type of marketing that triggers another. In other words, if you go online to search a product, then don’t buy it, later you might receive an email about special offers or discounts.
And it’s not going unnoticed by the healthcare world. More than 50 percent of health plans will invest in trigger-based communications to goad consumers into action, according to a new IDC Health Insights research study commissioned by Pitney Bowes Software, a provider of customer data, analytics and communications management, according to a company press release.
Actually, it’s not all that new. Michael Thompson, writing in Direct Marketing News, back in 2008, said that trigger-based communication was slowly becoming established, and finding value, through email.
While, according to the study, only half the health plans surveyed considered consumer communications strategically important, they also reported investing more in communications and technology “for better consumer engagement,” the press release reports.
At least 50 percent of the health plans IDC studied said they initiated consumer communications from each of the major business units queried (marketing, health and wellness, customer service, care and disease management, billing, benefits and claims).
“Health plans interviewed perceived communications technology as a source of competitive advantage,” said Janice Young, program director, healthcare payer IT strategies, IDC Health Insights. “Analytics capabilities will play a significant role in promoting member wellness and improved patient outcomes.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted in 2009 that the market for a more personalized approach to health and wellness would grow to as much as $452 billion by 2015.
Edited by
Jennifer Russell
