Marketing Transit Services to Business (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Pages 165-190
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From page 165... ...
There has been rapid change in the health care industry, and the last few years have seen tremendous growth in HMOs and in Pointof-service (POS) options for health care.
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From page 166... ...
More recently, Kaiser has started to consider the value of an independent firm to conduct customer satisfaction surveys, since findings from an independent source may have more credibility in the marketplace. Finally, Kaiser has been working to develop a brand image.
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From page 167... ...
While the divisions offer a larger organizational structure, at the core of Kaiser's health care delivery system is a business partnership between Kaiser Foundation Health Plan & Hospitals and 12 Permanente Medical Groups. The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP)
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From page 168... ...
Kaiser asserts that this integrated health care system is the organization's unique advantage, an advantage which leads to the organization's unique ability to foster innovations and quality improvements. In Kaiser's words, putting people and systems together as part of the integrated network "enable us to provide better quality health care than in a fragmented system." GIE3 Recent discussions about the health care industry focus on several key concepts: "managed care," Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs)
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From page 169... ...
Eight out of ten health maintenance organizations now offer a POS option, according to the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Health Plans (AAHP)
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From page 170... ...
In line with these figures, Kaiser's marketing efforts are primarily geared toward attracting employers, although a proportion of marketing efforts are focused on individual consumers. Figure 8- ~ shows a list of the insurance products sold by Kaiser to employers in what was previously the Northern California Division anal what is now part of the consolidated California Division.
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From page 171... ...
and 70 percent coverage for out-of-network services; out-of-network deductible ranges from $250 to $500 per member, out-ofpocket maximums vary accordingly mended Chow · HMO and out-of-area product · Provides Kaiser Permanente HMO plan ($0 to $15 outpatient copays) for employees residing in the Kaiser Permanente service area; provides Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company's PPO through Community Care Network (80 percent PPO coverage with $5 to $!
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From page 172... ...
or Kaiser Permanente insurance Company's PPO through Community Care Network (90 percent to 70 percent PPO coverage with $5 to $20 PPO outpatient copays) ; employees select their plan of choice (Kaiser Permanente HMO OR Kaiser Permanente Insurance Company's PPO/EPO)
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From page 173... ...
The Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales is now responsible for all marketing and sales functions. This position reports directly to the President and Chief Operating Officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals.
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From page 174... ...
Kdw Pats Cam Sew Figure I-2: Produet Dav010pment Program Off · Strategic Product thesis Roles and ResponserKbs · Prioritization (Program and Divisional VP's Team) Business CasefFeasibility Analysis & Promotion Plan · Market Testing (Pre/Post Raunchy Client for Training and Communication · Directs National Design Efforts in Divisions for Strategic Products Division Dblshn Prioritization as a National Team Assesses Operational Feasibility with National PD Leaders Regional Compliance Stakeholder Agreements · Enhar~ces/Customizes Product · Oversees Training in Division (Modules Created by HPl)
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From page 175... ...
Grether Professor of Marketing and Strategy at the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley (and author of Builcling Strong Brands, The Free Press, ~ 996, and Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, 1991) , has been hired by Kaiser as an independent consultant.
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From page 176... ...
Kaiser's marketing function believes that a clearer brand vision and an explicitly stated brand strategy will refocus Kaiser's market research efforts, communication strategy, sales performance targets, and account management. To develop its own brand strategy, Kaiser has outlined the following list of tasks: · Defining customers · Understanding what those specific customers want from Kaiser · Deciding what the core values are for the organization · Brand basis for positioning strategy against competitors · Aligning communications, products, and strategic partners with the promise · Using a brand strategy to drive operational performance I= Traditionally, Kaiser has segmented potential customers using demographic or regional analyses.
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From page 177... ...
Kaiser's market segmentation approach has helped it to better understand the various markets to whom it appeals, and for whom Kaiser has brand identity. Such research also assists Kaiser in the development of advertising and promotional copy.
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From page 178... ...
From this type of brokering, Westar has obtained contact names and addresses for thousands of companies in specific markets. Kaiser has purchased data from Westar to survey potential employers before a full-scale marketing effort, or to use the lists as the basis for a telemarketing campaign.
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From page 179... ...
In addition to healthy commissions, Kaiser attracts established agents by holding seminars on healthcare financing that count toward an agent's continuing education requirements. Te le mar keying Recently, Kaiser has implemented internal "call centers," or "high tech" phone call generating and answering centers, to sell health insurance products.*
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From page 180... ...
Kaiser P - nit lea S1= : Pagers .
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From page 181... ...
IMA, whose call center software and systems start at $150,000 and go up to $350,000 or more, helped train Kaiser representatives, who are now increasing enrollment in Kaiser by providing salespeople with qualified sales leads.434 Some 120 phone representatives in both Southern and Northern California call prospects to discuss HMO plans and options. If the customer is interested, the phone representative sets up an appointment for a salesperson to visit and also sends them information about the plan.
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From page 182... ...
The following research projects now underway have been well publicized in local and national newspapers: · National Institutes of Health awarded Kaiser physician William VolImer, MD, a five-year grant to find the best asthma treatment mode for children ages 4-14. · Researchers in Northern California have demonstrated for the first time that large-scale prenatal population screening for Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
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From page 183... ...
In other words, in lieu of paying taxes, Kaiser '~pays" communities through useful research projects and by funding community initiatives. In ~ 994, Kaiser's national community service spending exceeded $127.5 million.
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From page 184... ...
The National Advantage program is a nationwide HMO plan that offers employers with wide geographic coverage one point of contact at Kaiser. This program "eliminates the hassles of coordinating benefits options across multiple locations" by offering administrative ease through a personal representative who is "the single point of contact from initial purchase, through enrollment, billing and renewals." Kaiser personnel had difficulty estimating the cost of this new program.
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From page 185... ...
To encourage innovation, Kaiser has been particularly aggressive about researching how companies outside of the health care industry develop, price, and manage new product development. customer Satisfaction Kaiser spends considerable effort and funding on tracking customer satisfaction.
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From page 186... ...
The case was similar for Kaiser; the organization needed to know whether existing customers chose to repurchase Kaiser health plans and whether Kaiser members recommended the plan to their friends and family. To accomplish this more subtle level of market research, Kaiser focused on assessing the repurchasing decisions at the consumer level.
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From page 187... ...
Medicare beneficiaries can enroll or unenroll in a managed care plan at any time and for any reason with only 30 days notice.435 As the number of beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans has increased, the Clinton Administration has been working with states, insurers, health care professionals and consumers to assure the quality of care provided in that setting. Several initiatives to evaluate care are already underway, including the Medicare HEDIS, which was developed in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation to establish "a proven performance measurement system that will minimize reporting burdens on managed care plans serving Medicare beneficiaries." The Health Care Financing Administration, a federal government entity under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services, began requiring plans to submit Medicare HEDIS data as of January ~997.
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From page 188... ...
For example, last year Kaiser proposed relocating the Oakland Kaiser facility to an unused football field on the Merritt Community College Campus. As part ofthis relocation, Kaiser proposed collaborating with the college to develop vocational training programs in nursing and medical technical specialties, and committed to spending millions of dollars in funding for community initiatives.
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From page 189... ...
This type of organizational structure would be unusual in transit, but it is still important that these functions work closely together to ensure that transit service is responsive to the needs of businesses and employees. · Kaiser conducts extensive and ongoing customer satisfaction research.
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