Traditionally, small groups in the less-than-50 market have notoffered as many lines of coverage as their larger counterparts.

There are a few reasons for this, including employer costconcerns and the administrative burden of managing a robustbenefits package as a small organization. However, one reason thatshouldn't be ignored is that brokers are often disincentivized tohelp groups of this size develop the same kind of competitivepackages they build for their larger groups.

With limited time and resources, brokers may be more naturallyinclined to dedicate their efforts toward larger clients andprospects, but this could lead to missed opportunities.

Some brokers have had success in this dynamic by “masscustomizing” the kind of personalized benefits packages smallbusiness owners want.

Defining mass customization

Used in marketing and manufacturing, the term mass customizationrefers to combining the personalization of a custom product orsolution with the reduced unit costs of mass production.

By selecting a few specific carriers and ancillary plan designsand building a “small business suite” of options for smallbusinesses, brokers can provide both a customized feel whilereducing the amount of time required to implement thesestrategies.

Here are three tips for creating and selling “mass customized”benefits.

Determine which lines of coverage toinclude

Generally, small employers are offering a medical plan, andpossibly dental and vision. When building your suite of options,consider life insurance, voluntary life insurance, short-termdisability, long-term disability, accident coverage, criticalillness coverage, hospital indemnity protection, legal insuranceand identity theft.

These are the lines of coverage typically available at largeorganizations, and any combination of these products will make asmall business more competitive in hiring against groups thataren't offering such a robust benefits package.

Make it administratively simple

Choose the carriers in your “small market suite” by which makeit easiest administratively. The point of this strategy is to makethe benefits packages feel custom-made, while also driving downunit costs by focusing on certain carriers and lines ofcoverage.

Take the products that make the most sense for your market andcreate two or three tiered combinations of ancillary additions.

Market the products

Consider naming your suite using options like “basic, deluxe andsupreme.” Each of these options would meet different small employerneeds, from those looking to provide a basic benefits package tothose seeking to compete for talent against largerorganizations.

Naming these product suites and building some basic marketinglanguage around them will help engage clients and prospects inadopting these strategies.

A mass customization strategy limits the time required to buildand present these solutions. By mixing and matching carriers andlines of coverage, brokers can work with small groups to find theoption that best matches their recruitment and benefitsstrategy.

Alex Tolbert is the founder and CEO of BerniePortal, theall-in-one HRIS for small and mid-sized businesses. Alex receivedhis B.S. and B.A. in Finance and International Studies from theWharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was amember of the Huntsman Program in International Studies andBusiness, and obtained his J.D. and M.B.A. from VanderbiltUniversity Law School and the Vanderbilt University Owen School ofManagement. Alex is an industry-recognized expert on HR technology,the benefits industry, small business operations and softwaredevelopment.