7 Messages Gleaned from Uber (and Life) That Can Help Drive Health Care Marketing Efforts to Hispanic Consumers
// By Dirk G. Schroeder, ScD, MPH //
Nowadays, when I travel for a conference or meeting, I don’t rent a car, preferring just to jump in an “Uber.” I often end up with a Hispanic driver and use the ride to conduct an informal, in-depth interview about the U.S. health care system. This can be very informative since Hispanic Uber drivers are representative of one of the key target markets for the health insurance exchanges and other health care marketers.
“Usted ha oido de ‘Obamacare?’ Que cree usted?” I ask.
(Have you heard of Obamacare? What do you think of it?)
“Si. He oido de Obamacare en las noticias en Espanol y de mis amigo(a)s. Es bueno, per muy confuse,” is a common response.
(Yes, I’ve heard of Obamacare in the Spanish news and from my friends. It’s good, but very confusing.)
“Usted tiene seguro medico?” I then ask.
(Do you have health insurance?)
From there, the conversation typically goes in one of two directions, depending on whether I am speaking with someone who has bought health insurance on the exchanges, or someone who has not. With each conversation, I learn just a little more about what has become a mission for the company I co-founded 17 years ago, called HolaDoctor Inc. HolaDoctor focuses on helping health care companies and organizations more effectively engage, improve health outcomes, and grow business with Hispanics and other multicultural consumers. Therefore, through my Uber conversations, I want to understand how we can most effectively communicate with our target audiences, and I want to learn how best to move them to the point of action—in this case that would be the purchase of health insurance.
7 Lessons Learned
Here are seven key lessons we have learned at HolaDoctor over time (and through many Uber rides!) about developing and implementing successful Hispanic/multicultural marketing and growth strategies for major health plans and hospital systems around the country. Many of these examples are drawn from work we have done at HolaDoctor to educate and acquire subsidy-eligible Hispanics into exchange products. We are now also applying these insights to the marketing of Medicare Advantage, small business and retention efforts.