With the "New Normal" Courtesy of SARS-CoV2, What is Your Continuous Engagement Strategy?

Stumped? Me too because the term "new normal" is an oxymoron. It is what is typical today.

First off, there is no "new normal." Even though the government, media, and brands have pegged what is occurring in society today as the "new normal," it is not. What we have today as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is action being mandated by federal, state, and local governments, such as self-isolation, wearing masks, and social distancing to stem the community spread of a highly dangerous and deadly virus. The media and government named it the "new normal."

As an aside, the "new normal" is textbook social conditioning.

So how does this apply to hospital marketing?

The engagement game for hospitals has changed with the pandemic. SARS-CoV2 has gotten the patient's and community's attention and forced the hospitals and health systems to drop the feel-good messaging of bygone days.

Patients and communities now expect continuous and meaningful engagement going forward.

What is the hospital going to do moving forward?

Here are four essential "normal" engagement strategies you need to employ:

1. Integrate your engagement solutions. That means information is delivered seamlessly so that the community and patient can interact with you anyway, anytime anyplace, be it email, mobile text, website portal, and any of the social media channels.

2. Create a sense of community. Get into the inner circle of the audience and become the trusted advisor. It's not just about loyalty. Shape the behaviors to the point where they will recommend unconditionally.

3. Use technology. We live in a world of technology, and you need to run a multifaceted, highly integrated campaign. With social media, smartphones, web, text messaging, mobile messaging, etc., eighty percent of consumers want the option of interacting with a healthcare provider via their smartphones. The patient is inviting the hospital to engage them and engage them all the time.

4. Time it right and add value. If your health messaging is not resonating with the healthcare consumer or patient when they receive it, then one has lost them. Continue to implement and execute what you learned during the pandemic.

Today the established "normal" for marketing hospitals and health systems is to continue the unparalleled patient and community engagement and interaction forced by the pandemic.

Oh, and please don't call it the "new normal." No one knows what that means.

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 expert in healthcare marketing strategy, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide and is considered an established influencer. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. Connect with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Opinions expressed are my own.

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

Lessons from the Field: What is the Hospital Ambulatory Strategy and Branding?

Image by Pattie O'Loughlin from Pixabay. My primary care physician ordered a couple of tests and left me the option to choose the location. Near me was a free-standing hospital system-based ambulatory care center. When I called the central scheduling department of the health system in question, I asked if the center near me did those tests. I scheduled one of the tests because of some pretest requirements and the other test nearly immediately as diagnostic radiology was available on a walk-in basis. Now, understand that I drive by this ambulatory medical center regularly and never had a clue that all this and more was available. In all honesty, I didn’t pay that much attention to the marketing either, as it focused on providing senior physician services that I did not need or have any interest in. Why did the system place ‘senior” in the name? When you put “senior” in the name, which is biased age-based segmentation and marketing, you automatically define the center’s per...

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...

2021 in Review – the Most Read Healthcare Business & Marketing Insights Posted in 2021

Image by Kristin Riemer from Pixabay Where did 2021 go? It was a challenging year for providers with changes in reimbursement, a pandemic that continues unabated, innovations in care delivery away from the hospital, innovative new competitors, and significant declines in revenues. I am glad that it’s ending. I will not go into the litany of good and adverse events for 2021. The news organizations and others will all do their year-in-review pieces. It should be interesting to see what they choose to publish or broadcast. It was a good year from a blog writer’s perspective. I had what seemed to be a never-ending flow of topics. I di start a new feature in some of the posts called “Lessons from the Field,” which were well received. Topics ranged from characteristics of success for mid-sized healthcare vendors, leadership, and operations to new ways to look at markets. Image by Alexas Fotos from Pixabay I am thankful and appreciative of you for taking the time to spend it with me fro...

instantly health

Search This Blog