9 Key Insights to Accelerating Growth with Employers
Self-insured employers represent a $600B market, which includes 83% of large employers according to the KFF. Employers, aiming to boost retention and recruitment and manage record-breaking price increases, are on the lookout for cost-effective, outcome-improving solutions. So why are so many healthcare organizations struggling to grow with employers?
A big reason is the overload of underperforming point solutions. According to Business Group on Health, 43% of large employers feel overwhelmed by the volume of health and wellness vendors. Our team, experienced in developing GTM strategies for 15+ products targeting employers, has outlined 9 key insights for fostering growth with employers.
Speak the employer’s language
Products that resonate with employers align with their benefits and workforce strategy and address a key pain point. Does your product improve outcomes for one of the top 5 cost-driving conditions: cancer, diabetes, mental health, musculoskeletal, or cardiovascular? Highlight it! Can you tell a story around improving employee recruitment and retention or increasing access to care? Great! Whatever problem you solve, frame it from the employer’s perspective and back it up with data.Understand alternatives
When asking companies about their top competitors, we often hear about incumbents lacking innovation but rarely about the “status quo.” For companies creating disruption, alternatives usually include inaction or subpar solutions delivered by payers. Understanding these alternatives and mapping out your buyer’s current purchasing process is crucial to a crafting an effective GTM strategy.Top of Form Start by asking yourself:Who are employers working with today to solve this problem?
Are employers doing anything today to solve this problem?
How motivated are employers to solve this problem?
How do similar or competing products get purchased by employers today?
Focus on integration
Employers don’t want to buy another point solution but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in innovating. Employers are looking for platforms and solutions that seamlessly integrate into their benefits ecosystem and existing solutions. According to WTW, 43% of employers offer an advocacy or navigation solution today and 23% are planning to add this solution in the next few years. If employees cannot easily navigate to your solution, they won’t use it and the employer will not see an ROI. Companies who demonstrate they can successfully partner with other vendors and aggregators to provide a more holistic approach to care, will win.Utilize employer data
Employers are seeking benefits solutions tailored to their unique population and benefits challenges. Without employer data, it’s impossible to create a tailored solution. Utilize medical and pharmacy claims, demographic and HR data to craft a business case and ROI tailored to the organization. Utilize data to create targeted, personalized outreach and drive engagement. Ensure your analytics and reporting is not siloed and instead integrates into the employer’s broader strategy. Set this as an expectation during the sales process.Target your message
A one size fits all approach does not work with messaging. The average B2B buyer is over halfway through the buying process before they ever speak to a salesperson. Messaging and marketing needs to be tailored to the buyer persona and those that influence the purchase decision. To effectively reach employers, you may need to work with a variety of types of employers, brokers, TPA’s and other partners – all requiring a distinct message and value proposition.Create value with pricing
Avoid merely quoting a PEPM price. Use pricing as an opportunity to showcase the value your solution brings to employers. Employers are ideally seeking a short-term ROI (1-3 years) and a partner with aligned incentives. Leverage your pricing strategy to make a compelling business case for your solution and the outcomes you aim to deliver. Make it easy for clients to understand the financial value you offer by including an ROI calculator or benchmarking tool on your website and in your sales materials. Ensure this aligns with the data-driven problem statement used to craft your value proposition.Create multiple paths to reach employers
Engaging employers has become more complex and direct outreach to employers should not be your only strategy. According to a recent survey by MedCity News and Quantum, 63% of benefits consultants believe that digital health point solutions will eventually be consolidated under a single navigation provider. As such, it’s important to understand that buying decisions involve more than just employers; consultants, brokers, TPAs, payers, PBMs, aggregators, and others play significant roles. Address their concerns and develop a GTM plan and partnership strategy that reaches employers through multiple channels.Deliver outcomes
A recent WTW survey indicates that 32% of employers plan to request bids from vendors or health plans in 2024, with another 47% contemplating it. Companies lacking a persuasive narrative on outcomes don’t win business and those who fail to achieve outcomes risk being replaced. A common challenge we see is focusing exclusively on a single outcome such as ROI. Successful organizations implement strategies that yield clinical, experiential, engagement, and financial outcomes and develop a story and reporting that quantifies these results.Go beyond marketing to drive engagement
Employee engagement with benefits solutions is notoriously low. Driving engagement is critical to success with employers. Many companies believe that direct marketing to the employee will be a winning strategy. It’s not. To effectively drive engagement with employees and their families, you need a multi-faceted strategy that includes levers such as benefit plan design, risk stratification, targeted and personalized outreach, vendor integration, a plan for navigation and more.
About Spark Health Advisors
Spark Health Advisors is an advisory firm specializing in accelerating revenue growth for healthcare companies entering the self-insured employer market. Our proven approach leverages expertise gained from developing GTM strategies for over 15 products targeting Fortune 1000 companies. We’ve helped clients secure millions in revenue with top employers like Google, Tesla and Microsoft.
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