After COVID-19: 3 Key Healthcare Marketing Steps
Perhaps no other industry has been hit as hard by COVID-19 as healthcare.
While many businesses have had to take drastic steps to help ensure the safety of employees, and some have dealt with the resulting economic fallout, healthcare organizations have gotten the worst of everything.
An immediate drop in revenue from canceling healthcare services not deemed essential.
A sudden and unprecedented need to reallocate all staff resources to battle one specific new condition.
Increased risk for employees taking care of highly contagious COVID-19 patients, sometimes with inadequate personal protective equipment.
pivoting back to marketing
Throughout this worldwide public health emergency, hospitals and other healthcare organizations have been focused on survival – for both their patients and bottom lines. And with massive layoffs and other cuts, your marketing udget may be limited. In our last post, we discussed how to simplify your marketing and get the most out of your budget.
However, for healthcare organizations there are other, more urgent considerations. In a matter of months, COVID-19 has left a deep scar on the national psyche, creating a society of panicked patients who may try to social distance themselves out of necessary care. Follow these three key healthcare marketing steps to cut through the fear and help retain and grow your patient base.
Step 1: Lead with virus education
In times of stress, people look to those who are willing to lead, and this means communicating frequently and with authority. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, it also means a strong focus on educating current and future patients:
Emphasize the safety steps you’re taking: There is a pervasive fear about the virus, and even after this first wave has passed, there may be long-lasting effects from social distancing. Some patients may try to avoid hospitals and other healthcare organizations that served as ground zero during the pandemic, leading to canceled appointments and delaying healthcare until it’s an emergency. In your healthcare marketing, reassure patients with strategic communications that underscore safety measures you’re taking to ensure their health and safety.
Provide user-friendly updates: As experts learn more about COVID-19 and any future incarnations, this information will permeate out through various media sources. But who can patients trust? With the rise of politicized media echo chambers, it’s difficult for patients to make sense of it all. Be their advocate by boiling the science down to the high points and using visuals such as infographics. Then post this information on your website, social media channels and other mediums.
Step 2: Expand and market telehealth programs
As patients look for more low-touch and contactless options for healthcare, telehealth will become increasingly important. Weave telehealth language into any broad healthcare marketing message about your organization (such as your home page or About page), but also review every clinical area for a potential telehealth opportunity that you can market to current and potential patients.
STEP 3: Promote wellness and prevention
One other likely effect of the virus is an increased interest in personal wellness and disease prevention. Both because people who were healthier overall seemed to fare better when infected with the coronavirus, but also given the economic effects. As patients and their families recover from COVID-19 and try to better prepare for the next wave, they’ll want to avoid expensive treatments.
Communicate to existing patients: Review your current patient list and identify those most likely to need smoking cessation, nutrition and other wellness programs. Then build an email campaign to promote your existing programs.
Leverage local resources: With reduced healthcare marketing budgets, some of the focus will need to shift to grassroots campaigns that your team can execute with minimal cost. Reach out to local community centers, senior centers, schools and foundations such as your Area Agency on Aging to educate them on the programs you offer.
A SOFTER FOCUS ON THE PATIENT
In some ways, all three of these steps represent a shift away from the hard revenue generators that can dominate healthcare marketing budgets, such as procedure-based campaigns. However, by focusing your short-term efforts on reassuring patients and giving them the tools to stay healthy and safe, you’ll help address their fears, minimize canceled appointments and build long-term trust – and by extension give your organization the opportunity to get back to some level of business as usual.
•••
Vaccine Creative is a hybrid agency that has worked with some of the biggest (and smallest) brands. We specialize in developing thoughtful, effective campaigns that don’t bust the budget. If you’re looking for more guidance on how to get the most out of your healthcare marketing in a post-COVID-19 world, contact us.
About Jim
Jim TerMarsch is Founder and Creative Director of Vaccine Creative. He has 24 years of advertising experience both as copywriter and creative director. He has won numerous industry awards including 20 Emmys for his TV series that’s been seen by over 30 million viewers. His experience spans brand campaigns for companies both huge and not-so-huge, immersive consumer installations for the 50th anniversary of the Mustang and others, branded television, customer-experience training and social media.