Healthcare Marketing: Disruption Creates Perfect Environment for Change

Everyone is talking about how COVID is disrupting the delivery of health care, but that disruption was well underway before the pandemic.  There has been a growing movement from a provider-focused to a patient-focused healthcare system, and COVID has accelerated this shift as more consumers embrace digital and virtual care options for safety, convenience and their comfort level. Yet, the marketing approaches of healthcare institutions – how they are communicating with patients --  have remained largely unchanged, leaving significant opportunities to connect with consumers and patients unexplored.

The patient’s s health care journey is now focused on connectivity, convenience, cost and control. In addition, “search” has changed dramatically with patients not simply searching for content online, and then printing it out to bring to their doctor. (I remember those days – lots of wasted paper!) Now, patients search information online and then want to link that content to care ASAP. They don’t want to wait until the next day to get a prescription, lab test, or consultation. And why should they?

In 2020, there are over 6,600 packages shipped by Amazon, over 555 meals ordered on Doordash and over $1MM spent by consumers online – EVERY MINUTE!  Use of technology for healthcare has also risen exponentially. This impacts delivery of care but also its marketing. Patient expectations have changed forever and 2020 will be the catalyst year that launches us all into a more digital model.

Patients are online determining where and how they are going to get care. Sixty percent of consumers want to use technology more for communicating with healthcare providers and managing their conditions. Patients are no longer willing to wait four months for a dermatology appointment when they can do a telehealth visit the same day.  During the pandemic, forty-four percent of consumers started using new devices or apps to help manage their conditions, with 90% having a positive experience! Self-testing has also become much more accepted and available. Patients can search online for symptoms ranging from STDs to COVID and then be offered a test without having to go see a doctor. The global self- testing market is forecasted to reach a valuation of $11B by 2030! This DIY-approach in healthcare plays an important role, but let’s not dismiss the vital role of physicians, nurse, and pharmacists.

For hospitals and health systems to survive with these disruptions, they need to meet patients where they are—which is online.   Surprisingly, that is not where marketing is taking place. Marketing is still too traditional, occurring on television and radio, yet people aren’t traveling to work and TV viewership is down. Direct mail is still utilized even though it often goes unopened. Even more important, we have learned that context matters when it comes to marketing health services. We know that more than 80% of consumers don’t want to see healthcare advertising in contextually irrelevant areas like social media and radio.

This creates a huge disconnect as the average health system’s current digital spend makes up 25% of a hospital marketing budgets and that is expected to grow to only 50% in the next few years. The disruptions we faced in 2020 created the perfect environment for changing the way we market to patients. Now is the time to push for a more digitally focused marketing budget and marketing strategy. If you are already there, now is the time to double down on your strategy. If you want to help patients manage their care effectively, one needs to have a comprehensive digital marketing plan. Otherwise, patients are simply going to use those services and systems they find online when they search content. That type of care can often be disconnected, at a time when patients need comprehensive care coordination.

Lastly, we need to pay attention to the future generation of healthcare consumers. While Gen Z and Millennials may not be currently consuming the majority of healthcare, they are our future patients. Focus on their behaviors and expectations or there will be an even larger gap in our delivery methods in the future.