Interview with Samantha Davis
Supervisor of Medicare Sales & Marketing Operations at Viva Health, Inc., Alabama
Samantha Davis is Supervisor of Medicare Sales & Marketing Operations at Viva Health, Inc. and focuses on marketing Medicare Advantage product to eligible seniors and commercial group insurance for small and medium enterprises in Alabama. Prior to this she has also worked with Select My Space and YWCA. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College, Alabama with a major in Political Science. She is also working on her Master in Public Administration degree at University of Alabama at Birmingham and expects to graduate in December this year.
What factors do you consider while formulating media strategy at your company?
Budget, audience, and impact. Our costs to acquire new members not only factor in marketing expenses but also commissions paid to agents who field and sell the leads we receive, so we must be extremely savvy with our budget and make the most of the marketing dollars we have.
Which media channels do you generally use and which ones you find most effective?
Direct mail, billboards, and tv primarily. We’ve also begun to leverage social media more as well. With our demographic primarily adults 65 and older direct mail is still the most effective lead generation source we have.
What strategies do you employ to harness the power of social media?
We want to position ourselves as an authority on Medicare knowledge in the market through our social media presence. To that end we utilize a blog, twitter page, youtube channel, and have a presence on facebook and google plus.
How do you go about identifying a new target market and growing business?
With Medicare Advantage our audience is based on Medicare eligibility- primarily adults age 65 and older in our service area, but we also put efforts towards reaching their decision makers as well (their children, primarily). Therefore, to grow our market means to expand into new counties in the state that are not part of our current service area. Last year we expanded into three new counties that were identified based on network adequacy (were there enough physicians and hospitals to provide a decent network for our members), number of potential members, and penetration by other plans.
A media strategy that you/your company used that generated surprise results?
It continues to surprise me how effective direct mail continues to be. We’ve also seen great success in advertising in local papers and senior magazines.
How do you stay updated in your field of specialization?
I attend a conference every on Medicare Advantage marketing to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we’ve also always got an eye open on what our competitors are doing and similar plans in other states. We have relationships with other plans that aren’t competitors and will share successes with each other as well.
What advice would you give to someone who was considering a career in the field of Sales & Marketing?
Sales and marketing are two very different fields, so it surprises me that they’re often lumped together, including at my organization. Marketing is more about strategy and analytics and sales about persuasion and customer service, but both work well hand-in-hand. My best advice would be to be cognizant of which specialty fits your interests and skill sets best, focus on that one, and leave the other up to those whose strength is there. But always be open to advice and suggestions from each side.
Amit Ginotra is an Information Technology professional and currently enrolled in Master of Entrepreneurship Degree Program at Western Carolina University. Webmasters and other article publishers are hereby granted article reproduction permission as long as this article in its entirety, author’s information, and any links remain intact. Copyright © 2014 by Amit Ginotra.
