Independence Blue Cross, which serves nearly 10 million people in 24 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in southeastern Pennsylvania, has always placed a premium on digital customer engagement as a key customer strategy.
Recently, Independence Blue Cross partnered with Relay, a technology company that connects businesses and people through a unique private messaging application, for another five years. Independence plans to build on the growing success of its Relay program, IBX Wire™, which now has more than 550,000 members using the solution. Its success has been a model for health plans across the country looking to improve customer engagement and has been a catalyst for Relay’s expansion in the health care space. The customer messaging company is now working with payers that represent over 20 million healthcare consumers in the U.S.
IBX Wire, which was named the Most Innovative Patient Education Campaign of the Year by Modern Healthcare and Advertising Age magazines, delivers timely and targeted messaging from all lines of business to address gaps in care, reduce high-cost utilization behaviors, and increase visibility to educational content. In just over two years, Independence can now reach more members digitally than ever before, and is on pace to become the most connected payer in the U.S.
Loyalty360 caught up with Paula Sunshine, Independence Blue Cross vice president, Consumer Sales and Marketing, to learn more about this partnership.
What have been the main benefits, from a customer engagement perspective, for Independence Blue Cross (IBX) since it has used Relay’s customer messaging solution?
IBX Wire™ – our member messaging solution powered by Relay – has proven to be a powerful new way for consumers to connect with Independence Blue Cross that highlights our commitment to communicating with people in the way they want to be reached. In addition, IBX Wire:
Delivers an incredible user experience through a low cost, secure, HIPAA-compliant channel.
Creates a simpler, streamlined way for our members to communicate with us.
Allows us to weave our partners and separate lines of business into one cohesive communication experience for our members.
Helps our member maximize their plans and stay healthy through proactive outreach and education.
What impact has this had on IBX from a brand loyalty perspective?
In addition to helping us increase meaningful interactions between consumers and our brand by communicating with people in the way they want to be reached, IBX Wire has also provided new opportunities for us to increase retention by ensuring a seamless renewal process for our existing members.
For returning members, we are introducing an instant renewal option that will allow them to easily re-enroll in their existing plans. Members will receive notices via email and through text from IBX Wire can hit the instant renewal button and renew on the spot.
How big is digital customer engagement at IBX?
There is an ongoing evolution in how we communicate and engage with our members, and mobile technology is a vital component of our continued efforts to meet their evolving needs. Digital engagement is a strategic focus for Independence, with IBX Wire being an integral part, which is why we extended our contract with Relay for another five years.
Relay’s model works because it is very different. Relay’s technology allows us to apply the same easy accessibility to information that we’re all accustomed to in our personal lives to our relationships with our customers through a unique member messaging application.
Did customer feedback play a role in this and, if so, in what way?
Our goal is to communicate with our members in the places and in the ways they want to be reached. Knowing that mobile communications have changed the way consumers get information, Independence took the approach of strategically engaging our members and prospective members through mobile to help them understand their options and use their health plan benefits more effectively.
As part of that effort, we introduced the Digital Welcome Kit which is the experience we provide to members when they first turn on their IBX Wire account. Members receive their card in the mail, call to confirm receipt, and at that time have the opportunity to connect with Independence Blue Cross on the IBX Wire. When they choose to connect via IBX Wire, they’re on-boarded with a Digital Welcome Kit that presents helpful information, tools, and videos that increases understanding of plan benefits.
What can IBX do now that it couldn’t before this partnership?
Through Relay’s technology, we increased our ability to educate and engage members where they are. In fact, less than one year after launching IBX Wire, we tripled the response rates that we normally see using email and direct mail and significantly increased utilization of our digital assets, including web content and videos.
Currently, we communicate digitally with more members than ever before. Through IBX Wire we are helping our members stay healthy by addressing gaps in care as soon as they are identified. We can remind them when it’s time for screenings, well visits, or other preventative measures—like flu shots, and we can present targeted wellness offers and programs. The technology also allows us to help our members manage their health plans with important notices and reminders about open enrollment, referral needs, PCP selection, and more.
How does IBX define customer loyalty and has that definition changed or evolved in recent years?
At a very basic level, we want our members to be satisfied with the benefits and services they receive from their health care coverage through Independence Blue Cross and to continue to select us for their health care coverage needs. It is also critically important to us that our members have the safety and the security they have come to expect from our company, that they understand how to get the most from their health plans, and that they feel comfortable using them year after year.
Our members have expressed to us the importance of having a health plan that helps them feel secure while providing a high level of quality and value, and convenient and simple ways to navigate their benefits. As the number one preferred brand in our region, we’re proud of the work we do to keep our members engaged and informed. What sets us apart is our ability to adapt and grow during this transformational time in health care, while keeping our members at the center of everything we do.