Online Healthcare Marketing, Making the Customer Experience Exceptional

In the new world of healthcare where price and quality are the key drivers of an informed consumer, sharing a much greater burden of the cost, will begin to demand experiences online that they commonly have with other companies.

Online represents a great opportunity for consumer directed healthcare organizations to break from the pack and create an online healthcare experience that is memorable and exceeds an individuals or families experience, expectations.

Are you ready for the challenge?

Most healthcare sites today are static containing the usual about us, our services location, etc., etc., etc. Little use of video or other creative ways to engage the customer. Notice that I said customer and not patient. Not everyone that comes to your site is a patient or will be a patient. They are consumers looking for information. Could be a competitor too.

In any case, when you look at your site, does it:

Delight your customer?

Create sustainable differentiation?

Is adaptable to new opportunities?

Leverages your investment?

Deliver in every situation?

This is the lens that you need to look through to objectively evaluate your site. If it's not doing these things, then chances are you are not delivering an exceptional online experience. But for that matter, neither are your competitors. In a the world of healthcare which is too much "me too", the online healthcare experience is pretty boring.

Don't take me wrong, healthcare sites are usually pretty good if people internally have been paying attention to them. They can be described as warm, comfortable, informative, friendly. They can be described as "good enough". Not exceptional. Not delivering anywhere near to the capability inherent in an online presence.

I would suggest to hospitals, IDNs, nursing home, home healthcare operations and many others, that you look outside of the your segment of healthcare to pharma, medical device and other companies, viewing the type of online presence they have. Look to healthcare organizations in Europe and Asia. Look at retail organizations.

Make your online presence not just "good enough" but exceptional.

The time is now. The opportunity to change is here.

You can continue the conversation with me on:
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Michael Krivich is Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association and can be reached at michael@themichaeljgroup.com or 815-293-1471 for consulting services in strategic marketing, integration of sales and marketing, media relations and interim marketing executive leadership assignments. Huthwaite SPIN selling trained and a Miller Heiman Strategic Selling alumni, both highly respected and successful international sales training organizations , I can lead your organization though the challenge of integrating sales and marketing.