At Setup, we keep a pulse on the latest marketing trends and conversations. We regularly interview marketing leaders in different industries ranging from Financial Services, to Sports, to Automotive and Construction. Conversing with leaders in different spaces reveals the commonalities and challenges all marketers are facing, and the patterns in our industry as a whole. 

It’s been three years since we wrote about the Healthcare Industry. In 2020, transparency was a huge priority for Healthcare marketers and technology was transforming the space and connecting patients with doctors like never before. The pandemic had both positive and negative effects on the industry…

Positive effects included: 

• Increased community involvement

• Increased use in telehealth

• Increased cleanliness + shared accountability

Negative effects included: 

• Lack of attention to other health issues

• Healthcare staff at risk

• Equalizer in the market

Trends that marketers in the Healthcare industry pointed out three years ago included:

• Health Mindfulness

• High Patient Expectations 

• Increase in Mental Health Awareness 

• Increase in Trust

Read more quotes about the Healthcare industry in 2020 and the points above here. 

Below are the latest updates on marketing in Healthcare from the following leaders:

Madison Pittman | VP of Marketing | Jackson Medical

Ellen Donahue-Dalton | CMO | VillageMD

Brian Yokley | VP of Marketing | Strive Health

Trish Joyce | Director of Marketing Communications | PCM Trials

Amanda Costanzi | Head of Marketing and Communications | Swisslog Healthcare

1. What innovative changes are happening in the Healthcare space? What changes made are going to remain permanent moving forward?

Emphasis on Value-Based Care

Madison Pittman, VP of Marketing for Jackson Medical, shared, “Payer incentives, industry competition, and the efforts of third party watchdogs like the Leapfrog Group are driving Healthcare through a transformative shift towards value based care. This transition will involve a fundamental change in the way Healthcare is delivered and paid for. Hospitals are focusing on preventive care, care coordination, and leveraging data analytics to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. By emphasizing quality over quantity, hospitals can not only provide more effective care but also achieve better patient satisfaction and long-term wellness.” 

Ellen Donahue-Dalton, the CMO of VillageMD, echoed how Healthcare marketers are paying more attention to consumer preferences and data to inform their practices. “Innovative Healthcare providers are defining and delivering experiences that contextualize patient expectations and preferences around adjacent and competing consumer (not Healthcare) choices,” explained Donahue-Dalton. “More and more systems will move to the core structures of aligned incentives, deep patient segmentation and behavioral guidance and seamless digital engagement.” 

Adopting B2B Marketing Approaches

Brian Yokley, the VP of Marketing for Strive Health, made the point that B2B marketing is extremely influential in the Healthcare space. “Over the last decade, the SaaS space has redefined B2B marketing and how it’s performed - I see many of these digital Healthcare organizations adopting the B2B marketing SaaS playbook. This includes aligning marketing performance with B2B pipeline through pipeline and revenue/sales operations analyses, tracking pipeline metrics to inform marketing strategy, and building strong partnerships between sales/business development and marketing.” 

Patient-centric Approach

Yokley also mentioned a “new breed of Healthcare” forming that is more patient focused and requires more engagement with the consumer. “[There are] those that partner with existing Healthcare institutions to access patients and are then responsible for patient engagement with their solution. This results in what I call B2B2P marketing with the ‘P’ standing for ‘patient.’ Marketing functions within these digital Healthcare orgs are becoming responsible not just for B2B and Demand Generation, but also patient engagement. This shouldn’t be a surprise as most contemporary marketing teams are well versed in creating customized and automated communication systems that link print/mail, SMS, and email programs to customer/patient relationship management systems (CRMs), building internal communication platforms to align internal patient-facing employees on how organizations communicate with patients company-wide, engineering the entire brand/patient experience based on the patient journey, and aligning value/ROI to quantitative-based key performance indicators (i.e., KPIs).” 

Yokley predicts that, “because these skills are typical in marketing teams and so useful for patient engagement, we will see more and more digital Healthcare marketing functions taking this on.”

Trish Joyce, who works in decentralized clinical trials as the Director of Marketing Communications at PCM Trials, echoes this patient-centric approach. Her experience surveying “study participants whenever and wherever is most convenient for them” has shown an increase in study enrollment, improvement in patient retention, enhanced protocol adherence, support for patient diversity and inclusion, and data quality.

PCM Trials adapts to match the needs of the patient. Joyce shared, “The use of our mobile visit model exploded during the Coronavirus pandemic, when site-based clinical trials were halted completely. Working closely with our trusted logistics partners, we delivered study results for protocols addressing some of the earliest Coronavirus challenges. And even as the pandemic has eased, the advantages of a decentralized clinical trial protocol based on remote nurse visits are driving continued demand for our innovative model of research. For example, we can reach more patients in remote areas of the U.S., and we can get and keep more rare disease patients in trials longer. Remote nurse visits are here to stay.”

Automation

Amanda Costanzi, the Head of Marketing and Communications at Swisslog Healthcare, shared about the operational and digital advancements that have springboarded processes to become more efficient. 

“We continue to see the Healthcare industry lean into a digital transformation, especially when it comes to automating repetitive tasks and the use of robotics to streamline operations. This applies to everything from digital check-in processes to the electronic transfer of medical records. In my daily work, I am seeing health systems and hospitals automate the management and distribution of medications throughout facilities, campuses, and multi-hospital systems. As the trend for increased mergers and acquisitions in Healthcare is sweeping the U.S., the use of these automation systems is following to support consolidated or integrated service centers.”

2. Are there other industries or companies outside of this industry that you have looked to for inspiration + why?

Most respondents are dealing with other B2B companies, so the Healthcare speakers recognize the importance of understanding and hearing the values of their consumer in order to meet their needs. At the end of the day, the person on the other end is human. 

Pittman: “I love seeing what B2C companies do to get the attention of their audience. There's so much noise out there. Brands like Aerie and Coca Cola do a great job with user-generated content, which I think is a really exciting and often unexplored avenue for B2B tech companies.” 

Donahue-Dalton: “Travel, lifestyle brands, and retail are my favorites because they are ubiquitous and you can see segmentation at work. Plus, anyone can participate, so it’s fun and educational to watch world-class marketers in action.”

Yokley: B2B SaaS for B2B inspiration. 

Joyce: “We’re proud of the way we mobilized immediately and worked tirelessly with our partners and even competitors within our space [during the pandemic] to fight against a common, global threat. We were inspired by the collective courage and the commitment we witnessed during that time, and we were proud to be part of a movement to address the shared suffering that we, as humans, were all experiencing around the world.”

Costanzi: “I place greater value on successes seen in comparable business models across any industry. One of the greatest challenges of making a good program great is understanding the business model for which the marketing is applied. I find inspiration from watching other B2B2C businesses achieve marketing success, watching how they are funneling their marketing efforts, the channels they are using, the way they drive both acquisition and retention efforts, and what they are doing to reengineer their approach for multiple targets. This is true for both product and service offerings. 

Outside influences come more in the form of personal role models or mentors who inspire my personal style, choices, leadership, and motivate me to be a continuous learner. Marketing is not black and white, so finding really great thinkers and equally great executors is motivating.”

3. How have the last few years + virtual methods impacted the Healthcare industry?

Technological Advancements 

The last few years with the COVID-19 pandemic and staff shortages led to some challenges within the industry. Even though the Healthcare industry is known for their reluctance to change when it comes to technology, these recent challenges forced them to adapt. Pittman stated, “Many Healthcare institutions have embraced telemedicine as a game-changing solution, offering both time-saving convenience and enhanced accessibility for routine appointments and non-emergency consultations. Additionally, the adoption of remote monitoring technology for both patients and staff has become a vital strategy for hospitals grappling with staffing deficits. This approach not only alleviates the strain on Healthcare personnel but also enables rapid issue detection, leading to more timely interventions.” 

She continued, “These innovative methods are catalysts for operational improvements within Healthcare facilities and pivotal drivers of patient engagement. By affording patients greater convenience and a more active role in their Healthcare decisions, these advancements empower individuals to take charge of their well-being like never before. The Healthcare industry is evolving, leveraging technology to enhance care delivery and patient experiences in this dynamic era.”

Technological advancements have benefited Joyce’s line of work in Healthcare as well. Because of advancements, research facilities are booming. “With the continued improvement of remote monitoring technologies, the rise of telehealth, and the ability of highly trained Healthcare professionals to successfully implement research activities outside of traditional clinical sites, being able to conduct life sciences research closer to patients is becoming a more common reality.”

Issues Highlighted

Donahue-Dalton mentioned that the last few years were eye-opening, revealing the real issues consumers have with Healthcare: “accessibility, trust, confusion of options.” Knowing this can help providers meet their needs.  

Partnerships

Yokley pointed out that new digital Healthcare companies rely on partnership with Health Plans, but everyone is trying to pitch to health plan decision makers. Yokley observed that being pitched to at every other opportunity online and off has “resulted in health plan decision makers becoming numb to the ridiculous amount of advertising ‘noise’ aimed at them. This and many other factors make partnering with health plans notoriously difficult.” In order to work with Health Plans, marketers have to be smarter. “Typical marketing strategies do not work for Health Plans,” Yokley stated. 

Virtual Accuracy 

Costanzi spoke to the efficiency of virtual tracking and how updated methods can ensure accurate information and a better service. 

“Virtual methods of collecting patient data, updating medical records, or direct billing have increased the speed of execution. Virtual methods of sharing patient data across the health system, managing supply and medication inventory, or tracking clinicians who are involved with a patient’s care can lead to a higher level of accuracy with fewer human errors. And, as we see in all industries, virtual methods of customer communications including email, texting, and the use of secure patient portals allow for reporting metrics on what has been opened, who is engaging with the content, and whether the call to action has been utilized by the patient or not.” 

4. What marketing lessons can other industries learn from the Healthcare space?

Healthcare is Constantly Evolving

Healthcare is always evolving, and marketers know now not to get comfortable. Pittman shared, “It's important to be quick and adaptive. Marketing strategies that were very successful last year may not work this year. Therefore, it's imperative to remain attuned to the evolving concerns of your target audience and embrace innovation. Remember data is king, keep track of what's worked and what hasn't and keep pivoting.”

Yokley also recognizes the constant changing of Healthcare. Addressing the constant change, his lesson is, “There are nuggets all over Healthcare that every industry can benefit from….just like there are nuggets everywhere else that Healthcare marketing can benefit from.”

Trust Bleeds Into Everything 

Donahue-Dalton shared that her lesson is about “the importance of trust as a cornerstone of brand, experience, talent management and culture.” 

Customer Education

Customer education is imperative. Patients and consumers need to know how the acts of a company impact them. Costanzi stated, “Successful Healthcare marketing starts with an understanding of how solutions impact patient care. This is true for marketing applied to direct patient care, but also for providers of the clinicians who deliver direct patient care. No matter where a company fits in the line of patient care, it must always consider how the patient benefits from what is being marketed. Other industries could learn from this practice allowing the end customer to drive their marketing decisions. Consider these factors in their outreach and customer service to perhaps tell a more impactful story about the products and services they are offering.”

There is no one who understands the benefit of getting on the same page as the customer more than Joyce at PCM Trials. Since they do unique work, the company is often challenged with describing their place in the larger decentralized clinical trial ecosystem. They decide to take a human approach. 

Joyce explains, “Where many of our competitors focus on a technology solution to a human interaction problem, one of our major differentiators is that our work involves human touch -- in a home environment that is often not high tech – and where the most important challenges to overcome are simply more appropriately solved by a human clinician. We lean into that differentiator in a number of innovative ways, including how we design our conference booth, to the messaging that we use in our promotional activities like webinars. We aim to be different and provide a unique solution, so that prospective customers can place us quickly and easily amidst the noise of vendors who provide a different and often incomplete solution.”

Although Healthcare, like most industries, is constantly evolving, Healthcare marketers priorities are similar to what they were in 2020. Technological advancements are still prioritized to enhance the client experience, and communication is important to build trust and educate the consumer about expectations. One thing that is a constant and should always be kept in mind - on the other end of all that marketing is a human, and it’s important to understand and hear them when doing business, even and especially health-related business.