For
decades, healthcare has had a reputation of being bureaucratic and difficult to
work with. Customers expect to have to jump through hoops and wade through
confusion to find answers to simple questions or manage their care. But the
future of healthcare is anything but difficult—it puts customers first to
create convenient, proactive and personalized solutions.
Kathy
Klingler is Chief Consumer Experience and Marketing Officer for Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Massachusetts, and she brings decades of experience in banking and
other consumer industries. Her approach turns the traditional healthcare model
on its head to put customers first.
Customer
experience is crucial at Blue Cross Blue Shield. Klingler’s unique position
puts her in charge of everything from brand strategy to digital marketing,
customer experience and market insights. She works closely with the Chief
Strategy Officer to integrate customer experience into the overall strategy of
the company and the future of healthcare.
Blue
Cross Blue Shield’s strategy reaffirms that putting the consumer at the center
of healthcare is the most important thing the company can do. The company’s
customer-centricity plan breaks into three pillars:
1. Digital capabilities. One of
Klingler’s main focuses since joining the company four years ago has been to
build out Blue Cross Blue Shield’s digital capabilities. There used to be disparate
systems without a place for members to understand their plans or how to get the
most value. A new digital hub is personalized for each member’s needs and
allows them full access to the information they need to understand and get the
most out of their plan. Modern customers crave digital convenience and being
able to get information on their own schedule.
2. Communication channels.
For decades, the traditional way of communicating with healthcare customers was
by phone. But modern members want to interact digitally and in more convenient
ways. Blue Cross Blue Shield aims to meet customers where they are in channels
they already use. Customer-centric companies create more communication channels
to match customer preferences and ensure those offerings are seamless and
convenient.
3. Data and analytics. Blue
Cross Blue Shield leverages data in a way that allows it to engage with members
in more meaningful ways. Data paints a picture of members and allows contact
center agents to proactively suggest care that members might need. Data and
analytics add a powerful tool to understanding and serving customers. During
COVID, Blue Cross is proactively reaching out to members who are at higher risk
or live in hotspot areas to ensure they get the care they need.
The
mission of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is to put customers first,
and it’s something that the employees and leaders live and breathe. By staying
in contact with customers and combining customer data, third-party data and
behavioral data, the company understands what its members need and is
constantly adapting to meet their needs.
In the
future of healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s customer-centric strategy will
become the norm. Healthcare companies must become more transparent and make it
easier for their customers to get the care they need in the way they want to
access it. Instead of bombarding customers with information, that means
delivering personalized information clearly and simply from an ally who can
guide them.
The
difficulties of traditional healthcare are on their way out. In order to
succeed in the future, healthcare companies must put customers first and
deliver on the three main pillars of customer-centricity.