Keep Up With These Trends in Patient Acquisition Marketing

Healthcare organizations are tapping into the power of data to connect with patients in a new, consumer-driven era of increased competition. Keeping up with evolving behavior patterns and statistical advances is your best defense against falling behind.

Reviews Are Now Patients’ First Stop

Research by Press Ganey underscores that reviews are now the top way that consumers choose their providers – and reviews and ratings of a facility come in second. A few old raves won’t cut it, either. One-third of patients said that not having enough reviews would make them less likely to select a provider. Other insights: a 4 out of 5 review was the lowest acceptable that would not hurt patients’ impression of a provider. And any review older than three months was seen as outdated and not very useful.

The review culture that started with Amazon makes reputation management a make-or-break factor for healthcare organizations. One way that hospitals and healthcare systems are responding: adding provider ratings and review functions to their own sites and even publicly sharing the results of patient surveys. This is a powerful signal of transparency, and 74% of consumers in a 2024 PwC survey said that responding to and resolving their concerns is the way for an organization to earn their trust.

Site Updates Are Essential

Press Ganey survey data also reveals that 89% of consumers consider up-to-date information on your site as a key part of their evaluation process. The top source for information among consumers surveyed was Google, but a health system’s website was second. It’s more important than ever to make sure that clinic location information, provider lists, and other key details are updated as they change.

Market Research Is More Important Than Ever

As consumers exercise their ability to move between healthcare providers, it is essential to understand perceptions of your brand among local, regional, and/or national audiences, depending on your organization’s size. Benchmarking against your competitors also gives you precise targets to let you know where you need to improve and opportunities to expand successful service lines or invest in those that don’t have a strong reputation in your community.

Predictive Modeling Gets Better With Social Determinants of Health

Integrating data from EHRs, surveys, and digital interactions gives healthcare organizations a more comprehensive view of patients. One emerging opportunity involves factoring in social determinants of health. These are things like access to transportation and educational background that affect whether patients can make their appointments and understand and comply with their treatment plans. Integrating social determinants of health improves the predictive success of your modeling and allows you to adapt more effective marketing strategies to reach these patients, address barriers, and help meet their needs.

Collaborations Move the Needle

Your organization may not be in a position to link up with the world’s largest retailer, as in last year’s collab between the Cleveland Clinic and Amazon One Medical. But other partnerships make sense. Explore collaborations with businesses and organizations in your area that have a similar target audience – like gyms or wellness centers – or even with popular local influencers on social media. Cross-promotion on your digital channels, as well as in offline events such as health fairs or workshops, can be mutually beneficial and help you reach new audiences.

WAX Means Powerful Patient Acquisition Strategies

When patients are reading reviews, researching health conditions online, and looking up providers, our proven methodology identifies these signals and persuades them to choose you over your competitors through state-of-the-art digital tools and dynamic creativity. See how this powerful combination led to a 32% increase in patient volume for our client, a NY-area hospital.

We can do the same for you. Reach out and let’s get started today.