Does Your Hospital Marketing Experience for the Patient Measure Up?

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Let me repeat the headline a little differently.

Is the patient's hospital marketing experience, given its importance as a first-touch experience and engagement opportunity, been forgotten? Given all that has been and continues to be written about experience and engagement, how the patient experiences the hospitals' marketing efforts, as they align with the patient's experience and engagement expectations, could cause a disconnect for the patient and in the market.

Case in point.

I just had my annual physical with my PCP. Even though there was no indication of vascular disease, she thought it was fruitful to have a vascular scan. Since there was no indication, my PPO would not pay. My PCP referred me to a screening service that regularly provides vascular scans at a discounted cash price to drive utilization not affiliated with the hospital. The service understands that in retail health, the most effective source of referrals will be the PCP.

Fortuitously, a $99 vascular scan offered by the health system at one of their hospitals I have utilized with my PCP for multiple years. Since this is an out-of-pocket cash expenditure, I decided to call the toll-free number and take advantage of an entity that I knew.

I did consider, however briefly, why my PCP was not aware of these services and could have made a direct referral. But that is a decision for another day.

Image by AnnaliseArt from Pixabay

The patient marketing experience journey.

My utilization decision was based on the advertisement and my previous engagement and experience with the health system hospital. That first touch direct mail experience was the beginning of the hospital marketing experience. It is also where the positive marketing experience ended.

The multiple expectation and experience journey fails.

I called the number which went to the system marketing call center. I explained why I was calling because the call center person was not fully versed in the program. Providing some background information on the nature of my call was needed to inform the staff. I had to explain that I had been using the system for many years and wanted to take advantage of the offer and specified the most convenient location.

Once the call center staff found the screening questions, the operator quickly rattled off the ten-digit phone number for central scheduling for no apparent reason. There was no forewarning that I needed to write down the number.

The less-than-optimal patient experience and engagement journey continues.

Now comes the cold transfer to central scheduling. I now must explain all over again why I was calling. Now the operator in central scheduling is surprised because this is supposed to be a warm transfer from marketing. Then here comes the please hold request while I find the screening questions. Which I had already been asked and answered. Then comes the interesting remark by central scheduling that she has never scheduled one before. Did I need to know that?  Better yet, I did learn that no one has ever called to schedule a screening. I was the first!

The screening could be accomplished in a location convenient to me, and it was the first positive marketing experience in this journey.  Then the experience went negative. No Saturdays were offered. I couldn't schedule. As stated by the operator for Tuesdays, and only morning appointments were available. We finally landed on a Wednesday a couple of weeks out, so I could rearrange my schedule to fit their schedule.

The second positive experience in all of this was that as a former patient of the health system, much of my information was already available, and all I needed to do was confirm some of the detail.

I schedule the appointment and then hear a litany of pretest prep that I need to do with no email follow-up confirming the appointment or providing me with written information. Two days later, I receive an automated phone call reminding me about my appointment two weeks out.

The point of this exercise was to illustrate how vital the marketing engagement and experience channel is for the patient. If you are playing in retail healthcare, please get your CPG marketing skillset together, and understand that it's all about the patient and nothing about you.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

The marketing experience is most often the first touchpoint of a patient's interaction with the hospital or health system.

Healthcare has changed in ways that were unimaginable one year ago due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Now, the patient has more choice and control. The hospital can't afford any longer not to have the best possible marketing experience and engagement. There are no more second chances. You cannot afford not to get it right. Those days are long gone.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow American College of Healthcare Executives. An influencer in healthcare marketing strategy, communications, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. 

Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Flipboard, and Triller.

Signup for the e-newsletter Healthcare Marketing Daily and have the latest healthcare marketing and business news for providers and vendors delivered right to your mailbox daily. Add your email address in the signup in the blog sidebar. You will not receive additional general or specific marketing emails.

For more topics and thought-leading discussions like this, join  Healthcare Marketing Leaders For Change, a LinkedIn Professional Group.

The opinions expressed are my own.