MARKETING HEALTHCARE
Patient Experience : The New ‘ P ’ In Health Marketing
By Tom Simba
The Covid-19 Pandemic continues to de-stabilize our societal norms . The healthcare industry has come under unprecedented scrutiny that is sure to shape its future . Globally , governments and hospital management are shifting their focus on how to reassure the public , especially those seeking or needing medical attention for illnesses unrelated to Covid-19 , on the safety of the facilities during and post the coronavirus outbreak . Top private hospitals like Aga Khan University Hospital and The Nairobi Hospital have gone a step further by creating Covid-19 facilities away from their “ core business ” not only to enhance capacity but also get their core business back on track . Almost all the top private hospitals in Kenya are classified as general hospitals and not speciality hospitals that by definition provide a narrow range of services for specific medical conditions .
Customer Experience has recently taken centre stage in most boardrooms across all industries . Consumers buy experience and businesses can no longer focus on product offering as their single growth strategy . This is especially true for a service that is so personal like one ’ s health because customer experience , referred to as patient experience in health ( PX ) unlike customer service impacts feelings and emotion , and encompasses the entire patient journey . Many studies have demonstrated the number one factor that will make a patient return to a doctor or a hospital is the experience they had as they were seeking medical attention for themselves or their loved ones . Similarly , statistics have shown that one in three customers will leave a brand they love after just one bad experience . It ’ s therefore safe to conclude that patient experience is the number one brand differentiator and must be at the top of any sustainable strategy objective . This means tracking patient expectations at every interaction , end-to-end , must be embedded in organizational culture and monitored and measured frequently .
The starting point is to create a clear patient experience vision using guiding principles that every employee in the organization knows by heart and ensure they are embedded in all areas of employee training and development . The patient charter , which articulates the hospital ’ s promise to its patients and visitors , must be understood by all the hospital staff regardless of hierarchy . The messaging must be simple and not ambiguous . For example , if the charter says ten-minute waiting time to see a doctor from triage , then it should be ten minutes or less . This is communicated to the patient and the different staff across the patient journey . This means the caregiver must be able to identify and empowered to fast track at every touch-point in the patient journey emergency cases .
The hospital must be able to understand who its customers are at a granular level to grasp their respective needs and wants . True patient centricity is delivering unique and personalized services to consumers . For example , a paediatric patient , a pregnant mother , and an elderly patient all desire and demand different services . This takes me to the next important subject of creating an emotional connection with each patient . A daunting but very rewarding task . People remember how you make them feel and that is where brand loyalty is built . Emotionally engaged patients are more likely to not only revisit your institution but refer relatives and friends . Patient testimonials are a powerful way to create these emotional connections . For example , a powerful story based on a renal patient , detailing the journey from dialysis , identifying a donor and finally receiving a transplant and how this results in his quality of life improving tremendously will endear any renal patient to move along the renal patient journey .
Creating this emotional connection requires the customer service and marketing team to capture patient feedback in real-time . You must listen to what your patients are saying through the entire patient journey , at every touchpoint . After all , you cannot manage that which you do not measure ! In the technology era , there are multiple tools available to engage with patients ’ realtime and make decisions using a patient lens on what patients want .
Leveraging your ecosystem is also very important . A hospital that participates in supporting the community it operates in creates visibility . Sponsoring local events that the community identifies with goes a long way in creating an emotional connection . Partnering with like-minded companies to do health checks in the local church or school will earn the hospital a lot of goodwill from the community .
What is important and often left on the back burner is the participants / patient experience at these events must be at the same level as at the hospital . It must reflect the brand . In my opinion , this has a better return on investment than doing a national campaign even if the hospital has a national presence . Patient experience is the new ‘ P ’ in marketing , its importance is exponentially growing .
Tom Simba is an experienced Customer Marketer specializing in Healthcare . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : Tmsimba @ gmail . com
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