There can be no doubt as to the massive undertaking involved in building the Obamacare Healthcare.gov portal for the national healthcare exchange. Just the thought of one system needing to securely interact with dozens of health insurance companies' non-related systems in real time is mind boggling. But even with the media focus on technology snafus, the bigger issue is overcoming the initial customer experience.
Rule #1 of online marketing is to be helpful. Provide information upfront to establish credibility. People are strapped for time, they may or may not want to buy a new insurance policy (many are being forced into the exchange). You certainly don't want to push around your customers, forcing them to click and buy. Don't hide crucial information behind registration walls (just ask any media company!). But, by all reports, healthcare.gov goes against this key tenant of customer experience.
Rule #2 is to make your customers time more productive and their lives simpler. It's difficult enough to get a prospect to your web site the first time. Getting them back after you've wasted thier time is near impossible (granted, people may not have a choice in our current example, but they do with your business!). People are looking for your web site to solve a problem, not to create one!
Rule #3, test your offers. All of your customers do not fit a single profile and one offer is not going to satisfy everyone. But, test the offers on your homepage. You can collect data on which are converting and which leave your customers wanting. Is Healthcare.gov's best message really to announce "The Health Insurance Marketplace is Now Open"? What if instead the message was, "You are 8 clicks away from your new health plan"? This second one answers how long the process is going to take and what the result will be when I'm done. The current home page offers, well, nothing...
Rule #4, longterm success depends on a customer experience that builds trust and loyalty. The Obama administration has beat the bushes to find someone, anyone, who has had a good experience on the web site. This is exactly the opposite of the ideal scenario. Is anyone going to recommend healthcare.gov to their family and friends? It sure doesn't sound like it. Have follow up communications channels been established? Are consumers getting copies of the data being submitted to the insurance companies? Are return visitors being recognized by the site?
The only advantage that Obamacare has, given the incredibly bad initial customer experience, is the leverage they hold mandating insurance coverage. Unfortunately for you, you don't have the same hammer. If you aren't providing a top notch customer experience, you can bet your customers are going to look elsewhere to find one.
