Navigating 2023 has proven to be a formidable obstacle in healthcare marketing. The realities of healthcare marketing have always required adaptability and resilience, but today’s scenario is unparalleled. The ripple effects of COVID-19, bringing uncertainty, economic fluctuations, and political unrest, have intensely disrupted healthcare dialogues across all levels: local, national, and global.
Nonetheless, the drum beats on. It’s halfway through this year and as healthcare marketers, here are the trends that we need to harness in crafting dynamic marketing strategies to stand out amidst the competitive and fast-paced market in healthcare.
Effective Communication Is Essential
In an environment where even routine visits now look vastly different—from how they’re scheduled to how they’re carried outpatients need information. While clear, early communication has always been key for strong healthcare brands, today’s practical and safety needs are truly unique.
Patients want to know how to seek care and how safe it is to do so. When it comes to COVID-19, specifically, people want facts—they want information on prevention, symptoms, testing, and treatment. The ability of healthcare marketers to cut through the noise and meet this demand will be essential to building trust and nurturing patient relationships.
What it means for healthcare marketers
Believe it or not, this is a tremendous brand-building opportunity. It’s an opportunity for healthcare marketers to humanize their communication strategies. Any communication coming from a healthcare brand needs to be:
- Compassionate
- Trustworthy
- Useful
Think about the information that your patients need right now. For example, we’ve been closely monitoring Coronavirus Search Trends from Google. A cursory glance reveals that people are seeking information about symptoms, treatment options, and a vaccine.
To meet this search demand, healthcare marketers can source verified, factual information from subject matter experts within their healthcare organizations and make that content available to their patient communities through various communication channels.
Related: Healthcare Marketing: Selling Products and Services, Creating Awareness
Patient Experience Remains as a Top Priority
It has to. Have you had any kind of engagement with your primary care provider or dentist lately? Pre-appointment communications, check-in procedures—everything has changed. Our view is that it’s not the patients’ job to “figure it all out.” Instead, healthcare organizations need to audit every touchpoint across the patient journey and, where needed, update and enhance the interaction so that patients feel cared for, understood, and confident in the safety of their care.
What it means for healthcare marketers
Again, communication is essential to shaping the patient experience. Healthcare marketers should focus on a few high-level areas that must be communicated to patients in light of COVID-19:
- Appointment availability and scheduling
- Procedures for in-person and telehealth appointments
- Accommodation of elective vs. non-elective procedures
- New safety procedures and requirements
- General information about COVID-19
Next, it’s important to optimize the experiences themselves. For example:
- Update your website content and navigation, making COVID-19 and telehealth information easily accessible. A dedicated page with FAQs, appointment scheduling, and additional resources should be easily found.
- Revisit your automated phone system and call routing, incorporating procedures, policies, and contact updates. This reduces pressure on contact centers by providing information upfront.
- Personalize email and text notifications to add value. Updates on telehealth appointments, policy changes, COVID-19 updates, and operational changes can enhance communications.
- Provide a mobile apps experience, like My Health and My Chart, to enable seamless interactions with physicians and monitor appointments and test results.
- Regularly update your business listings, especially on platforms like Google Maps, for visibility and transparency about safety and health measures. Check out our article for tips on optimizing your Google My Business listing.
Evolving SEO and Content Marketing Efforts
How to optimally direct marketing expenditures is always top of mind for healthcare marketers. It’s a conversation we have every day. In the immediate aftermath of the global pandemic, the knee-jerk reaction was to hit pauses on marketing and SEO budget—at least for the time being.
But that won’t remain the norm. Now, the conversation has evolved into, “How can we redirect our spending to best support our patients—current and future—given the ‘new normal?” Organic search volume hasn’t gone away; people are just searching for different things. Demand for high-value content hasn’t disappeared; people are just interested in different topics.
Telemedicine Is Becoming More Prevalent
Driven by necessity, COVID-19 has ushered in a revival of telemedicine (“telehealth”) options. Though some appointments demand in-person interactions, telemedicine facilitates non-physical consultations, mitigating exposure risks for both patients and healthcare providers. It also offers a safe method for evaluating individuals with COVID-19 symptoms. While telemedicine doesn’t supplant traditional healthcare, we anticipate its broader adoption and importance in specific market segments.
Broadened Marketing Scope
Understanding that each patient’s journey is unique, healthcare organizations are widening their marketing strategies. Diverging from traditional channels is key, as it could otherwise limit new client opportunities.
Tailoring content for prospects at different stages is vital, with distinct messages for brand newcomers versus active service seekers. An ideal campaign integrates multiple channels to capture a wider audience and caters to various consumer journey stages.
The Takeaway
In 2023, the market in the healthcare sector is pivoting toward empathy marketing. As we innovate, communicate, and advertise, the focus is on enhancing the patient experience, fostering strong connections, and humanizing healthcare.
Whether your organization is stepping up to embrace these healthcare marketing trends or needs assistance in managing them, Callbox stands ready to help organizations adapt to this shift. With premier lead generation services and comprehensive multi-channel marketing, Callbox ensures teams can amplify their global reach while concentrating on clinching deals. Amid market volatility, marketers who bring true patient value will successfully elevate their brands.
