As the healthcare industry continues to deal with a post-pandemic recovery that has been fraught with provider and staffing shortages, it is now dealing with an economic downturn that seems unavoidable. This means marketing leaders will have to pivot their marketing strategy in 2023 to this new normal.
Becker's reached out to four health system and hospital marketing and communication leaders to discuss how they are pivoting their strategies in 2023 due to these uncertainties:
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Sandra Mackey. Chief Marketing Officer of Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati): As an industry and as marketers, it is our responsibility to be nimble in periods of economic uncertainty, and our ability to provide high quality care across our communities depends on it.
Healthcare marketers must step outside of their comfort zones and pivot from expected traditional forms of marketing to those that demonstrate tangible results and can be optimized in real time.
We employ an agile test-and-learn approach that allows us to lean heavily on digital capabilities, which both creates efficiencies and produces meaningful data that informs our decision-making.
Doing so has allowed us to demonstrate how we're driving growth and impacting the bottom line, as well as giving us the opportunity to glean quick insights and rapidly refine our approach as we go.
Riham El-Lakany. Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of BJC HealthCare (St. Louis): By its nature, the role of marketing and communications must be nimble and flexible, so we are in tune with the people to whom we are speaking and understand where they're going — sometimes even before they do. The needs of our consumers, patients, colleagues, caregivers and others we serve are always shifting. We don't want simply to react; we want to be as much ahead of them as possible.
The past two years saw unprecedented change piled on top of an already rapidly-changing environment. We've learned a lot about the ways consumers are leading healthcare to its next iteration. In many ways our industry was out of sync with customer expectations — expectations shaped by consumer brands. Customers expect an easy, intuitive experience when scheduling an appointment, seeing a doctor or paying a bill.
We'd begun to adopt a more consumer-focused mindset, but the pandemic, staffing shortages and other uncertainties forced us to accelerate that process. For example, virtual care got a huge boost from COVID and is now an integral part of our everyday care.
We had to adapt in real time to fulfill our role not only as a community leader, but also as an employer. While our caregivers undertook the heroic task of caring for our community through the turbulence of COVID, we had to double down on caring for them — developing materials and programs to foster resilience and help them feel engaged, supported and focused on their important work.
As marketers, we are the voice of the customer and we've learned a lot about the importance of using that voice to advocate for the customer's needs, expectations and experience in everything we do.
Christine Albert. Chief Marketing and Experience Officer of LCMC Health (New Orleans): With our patients experiencing financial challenges, we want to help them by providing a seamless healthcare experience from beginning to end.
We're focused on providing a digital front door that facilitates easy online scheduling of appointments, and offering relevant, relatable content that empowers our patients to make good decisions.
Devika Mathrani. Chief Marketing Officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City): While the healthcare industry is resilient and will continue to evolve in response, what doesn't change is the importance that consumers place on their individual health and that of their families.
Since we launched 'Stay Amazing' in 2021, NewYork-Presbyterian's new brand marketing campaign, we have been steadfast in our efforts to build deeper relationships with consumers to be their partner of choice for their wellness journey and to help them feel empowered about their health, no matter the circumstances. This will not change. We will continue to make content that supports their wellness journey more accessible and communicate how we deliver exceptional care through the best of technology and humanity, and are committed to making care more convenient, accessible and equitable for all.