Since the onset of the pandemic, healthcare organizations have seen an acceleration in the scope and usage of digital communication to interact with their customers. Delivering a timely, customized experience while ensuring patient privacy is at the forefront of evolving digital engagement.

At Engaging Healthcare Consumers: Transforming Internal Processes to Optimize Content Delivery on October 14th, Adobe Workfront gathered experts in healthcare marketing and digital platforms for a highly informative and interactive discussion centered around how COVID-19 has impacted the way they communicate with their customers, the role of technology, including AI, in improving CX, and how organizations can continue to evolve the ways in which they communicate with and retain their customers going forward.

Check out five of our favorite takeaways below:

1. One size does not fit all when it comes to customer communication in healthcare

Nick Yaitsky of Wellstar Health System emphasized the importance of customizing conversations with customers.

“Hyper-targeting is absolutely crucial to our consumers across the board. Just simply blanket messaging one statement does not resonate with everyone,” he said. Customers expect more personalized communications, and healthcare leaders must rise to meet this expectation.

2. Developing customer relationships is of the utmost importance

“We don't have to work too hard, from a top of mind awareness perspective,” observed Amy Comeau of Emory Healthcare, “but where we do need to work hard is that people perceive that [when] they have regular care needs, they don't think they need to come to us.”

With competitors providing the same services, Amy pointed out the evolving importance of nurturing relationships with customers as a way to drive brand loyalty, and ultimately, revenue.

3. Keep customers at the forefront

“At the end of the day in healthcare, it's all about the patient,” said Daniel Roth of CooperVision, “and to the degree we can understand the patient, we will better understand how to service them.”

Gaining this understanding is a key component to optimizing digital communication between customers and healthcare organizations.

4. Get stakeholder alignment on business goals

When it comes to implementing new technology for customer communication, Nick pointed out that “the different groups within your organization need to essentially accept that it might not be 100% exactly what you're looking for, but it is so close that it's almost indistinguishable.”

Nick observed that while different groups within an organization often talk about their own specific purpose or goal, time and again he finds the goals are actually the same but thought of differently by stakeholders.

5. There’s a delicate balance between protecting customer privacy and marketing

“How do we ensure that we are honoring the privacy of our patient information and that we're not violating any regulations?,” asked Amy.

When selecting and implementing a CRM system, developing relationships and getting buy-in from other departments within her organization was the key. This united front allows Emory to personalize communication with their customers while keeping their information safe.

Curious to learn more about our discussion? Access the full event content by filling out the form at the top of this page.