Bridging the gap: how Delta Dental used JTBD to decode customer struggles

How Delta Dental identified customer struggling moments to drive engagement within their B2B2C base.

About Delta Dental of Arkansas

Delta Dental is the nation’s leading provider of dental insurance, serving millions across the country. In Arkansas alone, Delta Dental covers over 800,000 members.

Their customers are employers who could see that their employees weren’t necessarily accessing the insurance benefits available to them.

The challenge

Just because something is free doesn’t mean people will use it

Of the 800,000 people they cover in Arkansas, 40-50% hadn’t been to the dentist in over a year. A significant proportion hadn’t gone in over two years. While they couldn’t confirm that these members never visited a dentist, the absence of claims led them to assume they hadn’t.

As Arkansas’ primary dental insurance carrier, they wanted to understand what was driving this disengagement.

Why weren’t people going to the dentist, using their benefits, and how could we help them address their struggles?

“Some of our larger clients, particularly employers with a self-funded dental plan, raised concerns”, Dave Hawsey, VP of Marketing told us.

“Up to 50% of their employees weren’t going to the dentist. They began asking tough questions: ‘Should we even be contributing to this plan?’ and ‘What can Delta Dental do to drive better participation?’

These questions underscored the need to dig deeper into the ‘why.’ Oral health ties into overall health outcomes, and routine dental visits are fully covered under most of our plans. Yet, something was holding people back.”

Project information

Industry: Insurance
Company Size: 100+ employees
Use Case: B2B2C
Website: Delta Dental

We asked broad questions like, ‘How long has it been since you’ve been to the dentist?’ or ‘Do you have insurance?’

But these surveys were too generic. They didn’t reveal why people weren’t going to the dentist.
Dave Hawsey, VP of Marketing

Our approach.

The limitations with market research: how Jobs can supplement your traditional way of surveying customers to get to the “why”

Before working with The Re-Wired Group, Delta Dental of Arkansas had relied on traditional research methods, including surveys and focus groups.

“We asked broad questions like, ‘How long has it been since you’ve been to the dentist?’ or ‘Do you have insurance?’ But these surveys were too generic. They didn’t reveal why people weren’t going to the dentist,” said Dave. “The insights were high-level and lacked the depth needed to understand specific struggles.”

This approach produced surface-level answers but left critical gaps in understanding.

Dave and the team engaged The Re-Wired Group to help them get beyond the surface layer of data, and to understand the real reason employees weren’t accessing the insurance. They did this by using Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) interviews.

“We’d done focus groups and structured interviews before, but these were too rigid,” Dave shared. “ It wasn’t until we launched into the actual interviews that we realized it was a totally different experience. With JTBD, the interviews were guided by the participants. Instead of following a predetermined list of questions, we let the conversation flow, uncovering deeper insights.

“You don’t go in and think, okay, we have to get these 12 questions answered. You let the respondent guide the conversation and trigger questions. It was unlike any research I’d done before.”

He admitted to initial skepticism: “At first, I wasn’t sure how this unstructured approach would work. But by the second interview, I realized the depth of understanding we were gaining was far superior to traditional methods.

“It was just a very different form of research. I’ve been used to a little more regimented and structured approach. If we’d kept using this I don’t think we would have ended up having the depth of understanding. This got us more actionable insights than I would have got from more traditional research.”

…by the second interview, I realized the depth of understanding we were gaining was far superior to traditional methods.

What they learned: key insights

One of the most surprising findings for Dave and the team was the emotional barrier many members faced.

“A recurring theme was the fear of being judged when returning to the dentist after a long time. Members worried they’d be shamed by dental staff, whether hygienists or others. This emotional struggle was more significant than we anticipated.”

Other common reasons included:

Lack of time or prioritization
Perceived inconvenience of scheduling appointments

These insights helped Delta Dental of Arkansas to move from generic assumptions to actionable truths.

“This concept of judgment was the biggest change for us,” Dave said. “It allowed us to encourage our teams and partners to approach patients with greater empathy, helping them feel comfortable and supported.”

Applying the findings

They already had the demographic information, but as a result of this partnership with Re-Wired, they knew what to say in the messages to drive the right behaviors.
Katherine Thompson, The Re-Wired Group

Delta Dental of Arkansas used these insights to develop targeted solutions aligned with both member needs and business strategy. They partnered with Jet Dental to provide mobile dental clinics at workplaces, helping reduce barriers created by busy schedules and the perceived inconvenience of scheduling. They also partnered with virtual dental consultations through a collaboration with teledentistry.com.

But it wasn’t just the product and channel partnerships that they were able to build on. It influenced their marketing strategy too.

They already had the demographic information, but as a result of this partnership with Re-Wired, they knew what to say in the messages to drive the right behaviors. This was used in the following ways:

developed tailored messaging based on member demographics, such as age and location. Jobs uncovered the “why” which helped to inform the messaging.
created video advertisements acknowledging the emotional barriers preventing dental visits yet encouraging people to schedule an appointment .

“I went into the interview process with, initially, a load of skepticism. When I came out the other end – after the first two interviews – I was like, Oh no, this is good. This is a really good way to go and approach it.”
Dave Hawsey, VP of Marketing

Next steps.

Stop creating services for the sake of it. Work with us to identify your customers’ struggling moments and drive the right behaviors.

Ways we can help >