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If you’re like me, you’d be happy not to hear the expression “headwinds” again unless you’re watching a weather report.

In light of everything impacting Medicare in 2025 and likely beyond (i.e., headwinds), we’re all expecting a unique AEP. And as the AEP marketing season begins, here at DMW we’re executing marketing plans while preparing to monitor, optimize, and pivot as needed over the next few months. But what happens after December 7? What is life like after AEP in the altered Medicare world? The point of this piece is that it’s time to “plan to plan.”

The day after the AEP

What do I mean when I say, “plan to plan”? I mean that time is short, AEP will be over in a blink, and, when it is, we all need to be ready. And being ready means that you must set yourself up to collect and analyze the data that will shape your course going forward. We need to “plan” to gather information so we can then “plan” what to do with it. If we do not plan right now exactly how we will be gathering our information, it won’t be there when we need it. So, we need to look beyond the short-term and focus as well on the long-term. Easy to say. How do we do it?

The AEP is the starting point. This AEP is different, so it’s more important than ever to observe not only how your competitors respond to all the changes, but, most critically, how consumers respond to your company’s offerings and marketing strategies — from supplemental benefits to sales channels.

The importance of doing this was reinforced for me in a recent discussion with Cary Badger, a partner at HealthScape (a leading healthcare consulting management firm, part of the Chartis family of brands). Cary is a colleague I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with for the last 18 years. He and I discussed HealthScape’s approach for optimizing sales channels in a disrupted Medicare market. It involves targeting your marketing spend on the highest-performing sales channels to attract and retain high-value members.

And this leads to a second point. Analysis is only as good as the data available and the experience of those looking at it.

Involving the right partners in your analysis will not just help you face the headwinds — it will help you thrive in spite of them.

Getting organized to optimize sales in the altered Medicare market takes commitment now so you can get the budget and buy-in you need to perform a thorough analysis of your results and your current business model. This will ensure you have the necessary information to strategize for successful client acquisition and retention throughout 2025 and beyond. Involving the right partners in your analysis will not just help you face the headwinds — it will help you thrive in spite of them. I already mentioned HealthScape. Deft Research (an Integrity Company) is another industry stalwart whose exceptional syndicated studies inform our thinking and with whom we partner for their unparalleled primary research that fuels our creativity and innovation. And our investment in Deft’s MA growth tracker and disruption tool allows us to understand, down to the county level, where our clients’ consumers have endured the greatest and least disruption across 30 benefit areas. This helps us better understand the AEP market landscape and helps us to guide last-minute AEP and soon-to-be OEP tactics.

Better together

Time and again, we see there is a significant difference in marketing performance when we work with clients and strategic partners to build a strong foundation based on business growth, industry and audience data, member insights, and primary research. Investing in establishing a strong foundation has a direct impact on the marketing plans, media tactics, and creative strategies we develop that directly leads to gaining and retaining more members.

Collaboration from the outset allows all of us to share critical knowledge and perspectives and to brainstorm together rather than in isolation. With DMW at the table, you have representation from the preeminent Medicare marketing agency that has been in business 40+ years. You can trust us to ask unexpected questions. Dive deep on your behalf. Focus on the consumer. And ensure proposed solutions are actionable in a direct-to-consumer marketplace.

Reach out

I’ll ask it again: What happens on December 8 (and beyond)? We’ll help you find the answer. And to plan to plan. Contact us today.