For United Mail, Healthcare Insurance Drives Digital Printing and Omnichannel Services

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All organizations, regardless of size, face limitations on marketing and sales resources. For print service providers this means focusing on high-growth opportunities. Every year, Printing Impressions publishes a “Hot Markets” report that projects the top 25 industries that will procure billions of dollars worth of printing. These top 25 industries should appear on the sales prospecting lists of printing companies in 2023. (Click here to download the 2022 Hot Markets report.)

Healthcare is a top industry on the list. A subsegment of the healthcare market that purchases large volumes of print is healthcare insurance. Health insurance providers are driving increases in print demand because consumers need clear, concise communications in a very complex decision-making process. Print demand includes everything from marketing materials to insurance policies, EOBs (explanation of benefits), and ID cards. In addition, every day 10,000 Americans turn age 65, adding to the need to aggressively market Medicare supplement and advantage plans. Health insurance providers are leveraging an array of marketing techniques to capture this opportunity, while working hard to retain their loyal base of existing customers.

United Mail is a printing company that has benefitted by focusing heavily on the healthcare insurance market. Founded in 1980, the company focuses on offering data-driven communications to enrich connections between companies and their audiences. With locations in Louisville, KY, and Cincinnati, OH, United Mail serves small-to-medium businesses and Fortune 500 companies nationwide. The company has more than 150,000 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space, 250 employees, an expansive logistics network, and provides an array of traditional and digital services. With its focus on the healthcare segment and secure communications, United Mail is SOC 2 Type 2, HITRUST CSF, and ISO 9001 certified.

Dayna Neumann

Dayna Neumann, the company’s chief sales and marketing officer, understands the value in focusing on the health insurance marketplace. She reports that the majority of health insurance providers United Mail serves are organized by teams that support pre- and post-sales. The post-sales team works on customer retention during renewal time and throughout the year, while the pre-sales acquisition team is working hard to attract new clients in a very competitive environment.

A key priority of the company’s health insurance clients is new customer acquisition. "The acquisition side focuses on postcards, self-mailers, and data-driven programmatic approaches," Neumann says. "In parallel, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has a number of stringent communications requirements for prospective and current insured customers — all requiring rapid-turnaround, personalized communications. Our investment in automation technology enables us to take multiple data feeds daily to deliver these mandatory communications. These data-driven applications also leverage our Canon inkjet technology to ensure we meet both quality requirements for marketing materials as well as turnaround times for regulatory communications,” she adds.

The health insurance market has opened new revenue streams for digital communications. To make clients’ investment in direct mail work harder, United Mail developed an omnichannel platform called Sync. The platform turns a single mail piece impression into multiple impressions to the same audience across multiple platforms. United Mail starts with the health insurance provider's existing mailing list and adds digital communication channel services, creating a 20% to 40% increase in responses versus using mail alone. The platform maximizes mailing list exposure by providing social media ads; online follow-up, should a client leave the website without taking an action; Informed Delivery emails; and lead matches for prospects visiting their websites.

Neuman explains, “This market isn’t for the feint of heart. United Mail has invested heavily to be a market leader. This includes production inkjet technology; camera-verified, high-speed inserting equipment; annual investments in SOC 2 Type 2 and HITRUST compliance; software infrastructure for data-driven communications; and the right staffing to deliver. Our sales and marketing teams are true students of our customers’ businesses and are trusted advisors.

"Our focus on this hot market has contributed 10% year-over-year revenue growth at United Mail," she concludes. "As the population ages, it is an opportunity that we see contributing to both near-term and long-term success.”