How healthcare brands can stay connected to their customers through Covid-19
The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown measures are dramatically altering the healthcare landscape. Broadly speaking though, health businesses that existed before Covid-19 will fall into one of the following three categories:
Digital health tech services that have an opportunity for rapid expansion in the b2b or b2c space
Hybrid health services that were traditionally face-to-face (f2f) but have innovated by offering an online service that will remain alongside the f2f offering later
F2f-only health services that cannot be delivered virtually, but that have a duty to protect patients and will benefit in the longer-term from maintaining bonds
The communications activities delivered by healthcare brands may differ depending on which of those categories they fall into, but they should all start with an attempt to understand the current challenges and goals of the target customer or patient.
Although the Government is rumoured to be planning a gradual loosening of the lockdown measures, from an overview perspective we are likely to see three key phases as we move through - and come out of - Covid-19. These can perhaps be most easily understood by using a traffic lights system:
Red - strict lockdown measures like those we are currently facing:
a) F2f-only health services are not able to operate at this time but they still have a duty to maintain communications with their patients or customers. It’s generally accepted that how organisations behave now will be remembered for a long time to come and latest data suggests that two in three people will be more likely to buy from brands that respond well to this crisis. Therefore looking after your patients isn’t just ethical behaviour, it also makes good business sense. Communications strategies should start with employees and then move to customers, while you can establish a leadership position by incorporating a layer of external communications such as media relations, white paper reports and impactful social media content - again, all focused on the concerns and challenges of the target customer or patient.
b) Hybrid health services that have added a digital element have a real opportunity to adopt a positive voice that talks about innovation to meet the needs of their customers. Telling the story of the unique challenges that Covid-19 has placed on their industry and how they have adapted their product or service to suit this environment is likely to provide an interesting narrative journey. In many cases it will be likely that these new innovations will remain alongside their traditional service and so organisations should start putting evaluation in place to measure how results compare, while also thinking about building trust in their new offering.
c) Digital health tech services must act now if they want to establish a leadership position. Many organisations that have quietly been developing innovative health tech suddenly find themselves in a place where the world has caught up and people now want what they provide. However this window of opportunity will not last for long and these companies need to work quickly to get their products embedded in the lives of their customers, whether b2b or b2c. The Technology Adoption Lifecycle model (below) suggests that those who are first across the chasm to reach the early majority will be most successful, but as new players join the market it is likely to become very competitive. Therefore communications activity should be plentiful, highly strategic and delivered quickly, in order to maximise impact. It should attempt to take buyers through the traditional sales funnel at speed, building authority, commitment, likability and other key principles of persuasion quickly (see the six principles of persuasion model).
2. Amber - loosening of lockdown measures but still without a vaccine:
a) F2f healthcare services will return but it is likely that significant social distancing and hygiene measures will still need to be in place, and communicating these effectively - to employees and patients - will be vital. Nervous employees and patients will need to feel that the correct steps have been taken to protect their safety and all will need to be educated on the new processes and the importance of following them. Patients may need to have a clear picture of exactly what to expect before they are prepared to return to f2f treatment services. This might be achieved through a whole host of communications activities including video demonstrations, website and social media content, newsletters and more, depending on the audience. Again, there is an opportunity for leaders to prove their credentials with proactive external content that educates the wider profession and reassures the public.
b) Hybrid health services will now have a physical and digital offering to choose from and they will need to carefully adapt their messaging to reflect this. Approaching this from an audience-first perspective means that they can cater for those who were reluctant to try their digital offering, while also supporting those who have been impressed by the online service. Bespoke Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned content can be produced to communicate to audiences based on their likely preferences, and companies in this category have the opportunity to use their newly diversified service to grow their market share if done effectively.
c) Digital health tech services must, by this point, become firmly embedded in their customers’ lives if they are to achieve long-term traction. They must have started to establish themselves as ‘better than what came before’ and to have begun to adapt their narrative to demonstrate how they will fit in with the ‘new normal’ that will arrive post-Covid-19. During this period they should be aggressively establishing their credentials with thought-leadership content, heavy promotion of new high-level partnerships, testimonials and constant innovation in order to build momentum that generates growth. Companies that are ‘purpose-led’ and who can demonstrate how everything they do is contributing to the organisation’s mission, will find that their activity resonates to a far higher degree than those that appear to be purely commercially-focused.
3. Green - a return to a ‘new normal’ as vaccines and treatments are developed:
a) F2f healthcare services might see a huge influx of new business as patients return in their droves to address problems they had been putting off during the outbreak. Good communication will be vital to managing the demand at this time. To achieve this, organisations must actively listen to customers - calls, emails, social media - to understand any worries they have and what level of demand to expect. They may also need to craft careful nuanced communication strategies and content to announce the reopening of f2f services if, for example, it is decided that certain groups must be given priority. Organisations that have behaved well throughout the crisis risk undoing much of the goodwill they have built up if the return to a ‘new normal’ results in chaos caused by too high demand, especially if this leads to failures such as perceived exposure to illness. Organisations that have taken steps to prepare their customers in advance for any of this, will find that their messages are more easily understood and more readily accepted.
b) Hybrid services will need to evaluate the potential health and business impact of their two offerings and position their communications appropriately. They will need to ensure that their customers know that they now have a choice as to how to access their service and they will have to carefully monitor demand so they can scale things up or down to meet it. Like f2f services they may see an influx of new in-person business, as people look to address long-ignored problems. They will also have to monitor this demand and adapt accordingly. Longer-term they will need to establish clarity as to how the digital offering sits within the business and they will need to direct communications resource in a way that reflects this.
c) Digital health tech services will, in some cases, have established themselves as lead players by - or during - this period. This will require a shift in communications as they move from a challenger to a leadership position. To have achieved this they are likely to have strong evidence, advocates and testimonials and these should be clearly presented. It is important for thought-leadership activity to continue but there should be less emphasis on disrupting the status quo and more emphasis on being the voice of the industry. Partnerships with leaders in other fields can grow the reputation of the organisation more widely and they should be prepared to comment publicly and frequently on topics that are of public interest and which they have expertise in.
Conclusion
Covid-19 has created enormous challenges for society and for business. For digital organisations in the health sector it has also pushed society into a position where their products have become more desirable, while for others it has enabled them to prove their dedication to their patients or customers and build long-lasting powerful bonds.
There is no doubt that how organisations behave and communicate in response to Covid-19 will have a big impact on their reputation and chances of future success. A well-known study in the Harvard Business Review titled ‘roaring out of a recession’ shows that organisations that make smart savings, improving efficiencies rather than cutting staff, and communicating regularly by protecting marketing budgets and directing them towards high impact activity, maintain profits the best through hard times and bounce back the quickest.
A key factor in succeeding through Covid-19 will be to build a narrative for your organisation that starts with the target customer in mind. For this to be effective, organisations will need to really think about the customer, their challenges and their opportunities, and to constantly update their thinking as we move through the various stages of the pandemic: red, amber, green. Customer-first content and campaigns are effective because they resonate. Making your customers or patients feel understood and demonstrating that you want to help them - and have the ability to do so - can build powerful bonds that, in this Covid-19 world, will likely be even stronger, having been formed at this important time.
For help in building a narrative that connects you with your target customers through Covid-19, contact Evergreen for a free ideas session here.