Zing Health, the Medicare Advantage health plans provider from Chicago, is enhancing its customer service and inbound sales by partnering with Balto, a St. Louis based, AI-powered, Real-Time Guidance Platform company.
Navigating through medicare coverage is intimidating and many seniors struggle to find the proper health insurance. Balto’s AI tools ensure that customers of Zing Health receive the proper care and customer service, especially the diverse, under-resourced ones.
“Balto shows representatives the best things to say, automatically scores 100 percent of calls, and alerts managers to coaching moments in real time,” said Vince Lanni, Zing Health’s executive vice president, head of growth. “Balto provides customer service representatives with vital information live on the call, so the customer service reps can analyze problems and quickly fix them.”
Balto’s AI platform analyzes the conversation and looks for key words and phrases, prompting the sales or customer service reps with a correct, helpful response. The technology improves sales conversion rates, ensures higher customer satisfaction, and a shorter onramp for new associates.
“For the longest time, contact centers had all the insights about what was going wrong on their calls, but no way to act on these insights at scale. With Balto’s Real-Time Guidance, organizations can now scale their best practices to every representative at the push of a button,” said Marc Bernstein, founder and CEO of Balto. “We’re shifting contact centers from conversation intelligence to conversation excellence.”
AI-powered Call Center Launching before Medicare Enrollment Period
Zing Health’s AI-enabled call center will be launched on 1 October in advance of the Medicare Annual Enrollment period (15 October through 7 December). Sales scripts are approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medical Services (CMS) to protect Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.
“We’re setting up three separate playbooks with Balto: one for new sales, one for member retention and benefit navigation, and the third piece for customer service,” Lanni said. “As agents hit items on the checklist, it automatically checks them off in green and then scores the agent at the end. This is really a training tool and an accountability tool to make sure that the agents and the customer service reps are sharing pertinent information with the member in a regulatory compliant fashion.”
Zing Health’s new call center is also unique thanks to the consumer-first model that – contrary to most call centers which aim to serve many people quickly – allows as much time as necessary for the conversation to ensure there is no confusion and all questions are answered, leaving customers satisfied with the service.
“Balto is a game-changer for Zing Health,” said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Zing Health’s founder and CEO. “We entered this partnership to provide advanced call center technology for our Medicare Advantage health plans and make it easier for members to find the best plan that fits their healthcare needs.”
Improved Customer Service Commitment through AI Technology
The Balto AI analyzed over 75 millio calls, bringing post-call practices into the future. The scalable Real-Time Guidance provides in-the-moment coaching and helps managers understand the advantages and shortcomings of different tactics.
“Technology helps Zing Health coordinate clinical care to help members live healthier lives,” Dr. Whitaker said. “Balto’s technology now positions our licensed agents and customer service department to offer first-class service. Balto trains our employees better and holds them accountable to members for the best-in-class service they deserve.”
Zing Health plans to introduce the Balto AI to other departments like claims, appeals, grievances, and others to increase the efficiency of each unit. In hope of a successful contact center launch, Zing Health is preparing to spread the advanced technology throughout the organization.
“I’ve been building call centers and distribution channels for 20 years and until now have never seen a more useful tool for telesales reps,” Lanni said. “Growth is about more than new sales; it’s about retention and a great member experience. Balto will increase both for Zing Health.”
