Are Healthcare Marketers Using the Right Data for the Next Best Action?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Healthcare marketers, all marketers, are awash in data. I postulate that healthcare marketers’ amount of available data are complex data sets similar in the amount and velocity to what clinicians use. And in turn, enterprising marketers have turned to AI and algorithms to sift through the data for their next best action.

You have developed your ideal patient personas, targeted the appropriate demographics, age, gender, lifestyle, community, etc. Some have even conducted primary research. All well and good.

But are you measuring what matters to take the next best action?

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Would you consider this is an important question? If you do not measure what matters, then how do you know that the proposed next best action will have a chance to succeed?

Artificial intelligence and algorithms are necessary and valuable. These tools have come a long way in a brief period. But, as we get enamored with the “gee-whiz” of Martech, it pays to remember that the tools are only as good as the data that feeds the beast.

In turn, this circles us back to two critical areas for data collection in determining the next best action.

The first data needed is the patient journey matrix for understanding the critical patient/consumer decision points when making choices. The purpose is to provide the right information at the right time when people are searching for and making healthcare decisions. The second significant data needed is the patient experience map. From first experience contact to the selection, treatment, and loyalty, patient experience will largely determine if they come back. Loyalty and reuse should never be assumed.

I can hear some of you now thinking, “easy for you to say.”

Image by Yaneth Lotero from Pixabay.

I would have to agree with you. But the point is getting you to think carefully about what you are doing, the tools you use, and asking yourself if you are collecting and analyzing the correct data for your next best action.

A patient journey selection matric and a patient experience map will have hundreds of touchpoints and influencers.  By marrying the two data sets, you now have the data you need to determine the next best action, whether patient acquisition or retention. Additionally, you learn to take your next best action with the right content and messaging at the right time to make a difference.

As you begin to digest the amount and velocity of the data with your martech AI and the algorithms, a clearer picture emerges. The benefit is that you quickly learn if you’re measuring what matters. One can now cull the data set to get to the information that truly matters and is helpful.

Healthcare is complex, and the patient has the tools available to them today from various sources to make complex healthcare decisions. The decisions made by patients using their tools are independent of the provider. While you may think your next best action is in one direction, you may be missing your target entirely.

When using your martech AI and algorithms, ask yourself if you are measuring what matters for your next best action or just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks?

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Business & Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and ranked No. 3 on 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites to follow by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow American College of Healthcare Executives.  For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. 

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Opinions expressed are my own.