April 16, 2021

Healthcare Marketing: A Return To Normalcy From The COVID-19 Pandemic

Author
Lisa Bowen
Topic
Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented change to normalcy. It affected daily living, disrupted the global economy, as well as halted all forms of cross-country movement. The healthcare industry was no exception as they did suffer from the effects of the pandemic. As a matter of fact, one could say that they did indeed receive the worst blow as they were constantly working, taking in countless patients who were infected by the virus. 

Furthermore, the pandemic demanded that the majority of healthcare providers put a pause to non-essential surgeries, stop outpatient care, all while trying to avoid a potential infection. 

The coronavirus had a tremendous impact on the healthcare industry, most especially on smaller clinics and hospitals, as they did not have the facilities to keep up with the continuous influx of patients. Even larger hospitals found it difficult to keep up with the number of COVID-19 cases. This is why, as of today, you cannot paint a picture of earth’s superheroes without a healthcare provider in the front. These people are all about making a positive impact on the world, which is why they must be a part of any conversation about heroic front liners.

COVID-19 and Healthcare Marketing

As much as healthcare providers are an important entity in today’s world, one cannot discuss their COVID-19 success without mentioning healthcare marketing organizations. These are the people who help healthcare providers in terms of brand awareness, growth, and overall business promotion. Although they do not immediately come to mind when talking about people promoting the health sector, their jobs are still indispensable in terms of the growth and success of healthcare providers. 

One thing to note here is that these behind-the-scenes heroes did experience their fair share of drawbacks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though they still strive to carry out their tasks, the majority of their marketing funds have gone into COVID-related issues. How then do you, as a healthcare marketing organization, rebound with a lowered budget that is set to cover other priorities that did not make your final list in your marketing thought-out? Well, there is no one answer to this question, as several factors are key to the success of returning the health sector to normalcy. 

The New Normal for Healthcare Marketing

This article houses a couple of these aspects that will aid clinics and hospitals in their quest to returning to normalcy. Granted, they might seem a bit basic, but taking them for granted might prove quite disastrous.

Website Creation

Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the issue for states to go into total lockdown, the entire populace obtained their daily dose of entertainment and information from the internet. Now more so than ever, the need for establishing one’s business on a virtual scale is moving from the level of requirement to that of necessity. This is because the virtual space is ever-expanding, and people are looking towards conducting their day-to-day dealings online. 

Even with the ease of lockdown orders, most people still prefer to go online to search for information rather than interacting with others physically. You can key into this by setting up a functional website that people can visit to gain access to your organization. The site should be unique, have a simplistic design, and be easy to use. This will allow all visitors to immediately recognize your brand, its goals, and why trusting you with their care is paramount. Furthermore, a unique website will allow your organization standout amongst other offering similar services

Content Creation

Owning a website is not the only thing that will help you rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing your website is as important as owning one. Otherwise, how would your potential clients gain information about your organization? The sort of information found on your website will play a huge role in bringing more people into your organization, and this is what content creation is all about. 

Nowadays, people are extremely careful about how they handle their health. As a healthcare marketing organization, you must be able to cater to the needs of every patient, and not only that, you must be able to show them that you are indeed capable of doing so. Promoting your organization’s key services is a big step to bringing in more people, but doing too much will only leave you with numerous plot holes that you cannot account for not to talk of fix. 

Your website must house contents that are fresh, timely, and focused. You must employ ingenuity and creativity in creating web content that will not only lure in potential clients but also turn them into regular clients. Likewise, the contents on your website should not only pertain to things that your patients want to know but also things that you want them to know about the organization. This creates a level of curiosity, which in turn leads to an influx of patients.

Overall, the main objective is to have something that will keep your targeted healthcare consumers on their toes, maximizing profitability alongside long-term sustainability. 

Leads Acquisition

In the chain of things to do in order to return to normalcy, leads acquisition is the most tasking as it requires a high level of assiduity. As an organization, you simply cannot rely on getting back older patients. You need to make a bold step moving forward by seeking out new patients to balance the offset caused by the pandemic. Only then can you begin to grow your business.

The healthcare industry is one that is relationship-driven, and it demands that you take into consideration the desires of your patients as well as their respective individuality. No smart person will entrust their care into the hands of an organization that they do not trust. Therefore, you need to reassure your patients consistently that entrusting their care to you is the right decision for them. This means that you absolutely need to produce repetitive, timely, intriguing content highlighting your abilities and your desire to assist them.

An effective way to go about capturing leads for your patients is to offer downloadable content. You can get them to sign up for a newsletter or persuade them to undergo several assessments that are valuable enough for them to follow up. Similarly, you can also provide captivating blog posts and other educational materials on your website, which will surely attract more people.

Conclusion

The entire world faced the harsh blows of the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare organizations such as hospitals, clinics, pharmaceuticals, and even healthcare marketers were no exceptions. For what it is worth, taking drastic steps is necessary for returning to pre-pandemic times. All hands must be on deck, and every action taken must key into growing their businesses. With time, struggling healthcare providers will be able to pick up from where they left off and will be able to create a sustainable system just like before.

KidGlov is a boutique, full-service, advertising, branding and content marketing agency and certified B Corp, with offices in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, specializing in nonprofit marketinghealthcare marketingfinancial services marketingsocial impact marketing, and purpose-driven businesses.