5 ways to increase ancillary sales on an exchange

1) Offer ancillary products that cost about 10% of the core product they complement

When it comes to selling ancillary online, its important to consider how they are perceived by consumers relative to the value of the core product they complement. Typically, the ancillary offers with the highest conversion rates are priced within 5% to 15% of the cost of the core product they are supporting. From a buyers perspective, offers made below this range tend to be perceived as not valuable enough. Offers above this range, meanwhile, demonstrate diminishing returns because their costs exceed the price consumers generally consider paying for an additional product or service.

[Image: Fotolia]

2) Use short, succinct and personalized communication

In health care, product names tend to be overly clever and/or complicated. Using easy to understand consumer-centric language performs the best. Think about it, which label grabs your attention the most: critical illness total advantage silver vs. critical illness for high deductible consumers. The second option outperforms the first because it clearly identifies and resonates with consumers. Similarly, the more you can personalize the offering, the better. Consider: Recently converted to a high deductible plan? Critical illness coverage can help cover your deductible immediately in the event of a diagnosis."

[Image: Fotolia]

3) Only make ancillary product offers that are regionally appropriate and significant

In the group market, making regionally significant offers is fairly straight forward, since all products are sold based on an employer's state. But in the individual product market, distributors need to be cognizant of where the consumer resides and is located at the time of application. Taking these data points into account, marketplaces need to make sure they are offering the right products or variations of products to the right people to maintain compliance and avoid having to pull an offer from a consumer later in the buying path. Similarly, certain products sell better in certain regions based on market expectations and socio-economic conditions other considerations to take into account.

[Image: Fotolia]

4) Offer guaranteed or simplified issue ancillary products whenever possible

For selling online, it is best to feature products that can easily be bought rather than products that need to be sold. Guaranteed issue products provide the best results in online formats. From a consumer perspective, having a simple retail sales experience ensures the consumer will likely finish the process once they begin. In the case that underwriting questions are required for a product, make sure the product is simplify issue so the consumer is not inundated with questions that they, on the spot, may not be willing or able to answer. When this happens, consumers become enticed to simply close the browser and abandon the sale.

[Image: Fotolia]

5) Identify high, medium and low versions of your ancillary products to personalize each offer

When it comes down to it, ancillary product value is subjective to each individual consumer. And, if you only have one moment to make the offer, you need to make sure you offer the right versions of each product to the right people minimizing the need for choice as much as possible. For a subsidy-eligible health consumer, price is likely a constraint to purchase. Offering this consumer a low cost version of a whole life product (a.k.a. final expense coverage) is likely to produce results. Meanwhile, offering a richer variation of a whole life product to a consumer with a highly comprehensive health benefit will more likely meet their expectations. Make sure you have a product variation to match the risk and financial persona of each consumer to ensure your ancillary success.

[Image: Fotolia]