Although COVID-19 may be with us for some time to come, the pandemic will come to an end and hospitals must be prepared to hit the ground running with marketing that drives patient volume to profitable services. Our hospitals are facing a financial crisis that could threaten their very survival. With that in mind, we should not wait to start planning and developing marketing content until the pandemic is over. Our response has to be swift and well planned.
As the pandemic winds down, your plan for moving forward must be developed with a clear strategy in place, marketing channels defined, and content ready to launch. The transition from COVID-19 communications to revenue-generating marketing could be abrupt for internal and external audiences. Your plan must help these constituents through the transition.
Our hope is that the resources on this page will help you get started with the development of your post-pandemic marketing strategy.
As we emerge from this pandemic, our hospitals will need their marketing teams to help drive patient volume to overcome the dire financial challenges they are facing, and also make sure the public gets the crucial healthcare services we know they need. With that in mind, there is a clear imperative for healthcare marketers and communicators to develop content and messaging that alleviates consumers’ fears about returning to healthcare facilities. As a result of the pandemic, people are currently avoiding visiting medical facilities and, in many cases, are delaying necessary care. We invite you to check out the video. To access our Marketing Insights Report on the same subject, click on this link.
This episode of Now What (on-demand panel discussion) features Dan Dunlop and Haley Hite (Aha Media Group) sharing starting points for your post-pandemic marketing plan. As difficult as it is to devote any time to non-COVID-19 activities, healthcare marketers must start developing their post-pandemic plan now so they don’t get caught flat-footed. Learn how to use plain language in your content, how to pivot brand messaging, and how to thank frontline healthcare workers appropriately.
The “Now What” series is produced by the Shift.Health Network, the infotainment media network for healthcare marketers to challenge their way of thinking and lead meaningful change.
COVID-19 Resources for Healthcare Marketers
The Pandemic Likely Changed Your Market and Audiences
Blog post discussing the changes we may well see in the markets we serve as a result of the pandemic. When you combine the impact of unemployment, loss of insurance, and fear of returning to medical facilities, you have to expect that the market you serve will be changed and people will have have fewer resources to avail themselves of your services. This, in turn, is bound to impact your marketing.
What Lessons Will Our Industry Learn from COVID-19?
This pandemic is currently shining a light on several weakness within our healthcare system nationally. Issues include having an underfunded public health system, being over-reliant on employer sponsored health insurance, shortcomings in quality and safety within America’s hospitals, and the existence of serious health inequities that have left minority populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Coming out of the pandemic, will addressing these issues be a priority or will we return to business as usual?
COVID-19 and Physician Relations
The pandemic may lead to some significant changes in the ways we do physician relations moving forward. Obviously, in the context of COVID-19, having liaisons visiting physician practices to meet with physicians and their staff is not a strong business model. In this post, Dan Dunlop shares his views on Digital Physician Relations – taking the outdated method of visiting practices and interrupting the physician’s day, and replacing it with digital outreach. Just think of how a physician liaison could extend his or her reach by using digital tools to engage community physicians.
Community: The Unexpected Gift of This Pandemic
Blog post discussing how the renewed connection between communities and hospitals is the gift of this pandemic. Now it is up to us to maintain that connection and leverage it through our marketing programs moving forward.
Video: Andy Gradel on Digital Teams Stepping Up During the Pandemic
This video is part of the Now What? discussion series where panelists discuss how healthcare marketing is changing right before our eyes due to COVID-19, and what to do about it.
10 Tips for Healthcare Marketers Dealing with The Pandemic
Blog post that provides real world communications tips for dealing with the pandemic.
SHSMD Resource Center
SHSMD has a working list of updates and resources on the Novel Coronavirus. Within the Resource Center, you will find contributions from other SHSMD members, curated helpful articles designed for those communicating or planning COVID-19 strategies, COVID-19 Conversations with members, and other key tools and resources.
NESHCo COVID-19 Resource Center for Healthcare Marketers
The New England Society for Healthcare Communications (NESHCo) has established a resource center stocked with COVID-19 marketing tools and sample documents. The ultimate goal is to help communicators and marketers find effective tools to engage staff, patients, and the public during this time of crisis.
Video: Now What? How Healthcare Marketing Is Changing as a Result of COVID-19
Join a panel discussion with Paul Szablowski and John Marzano on how the COVID-19 pandemic could be a catalyst for healthcare organizations in the long term. Learn how to pivot brand messaging, how to recover from pausing service line campaigns, and how to focus marketing operations to succeed once business restrictions are lifted.
LinkedIn COVID-19 MarCom Resources & Relief
One single hub for healthcare marketing, communications, and digital professionals to share resources for tackling the COVID-19 outbreak. At latest count, this group had 220+ members, many of whom contribute resources daily through their posts.
COVID-19 and Healthcare Marketing: Freeze, Pivot, or Push Forward? (Binary Fountain)
As COVID-19 spreads, healthcare marketing departments need to use local expertise and digital resources to inform communities, update listings, and manage the ongoing crisis. How should your healthcare marketing strategy change in response to new business priorities and shifts in consumer behavior?
MarTech Health Directory COVID-19 Resources & Events
This is a terrific listing of webinars, articles, and blog posts addressing marketing communications during the COVID-19 crisis.
Empathy at Work: Could You Use a Little More? (Healthcare Rap Podcast)
The COVID-19 outbreak has only exacerbated the need for more empathy and kindness at work. As you’re on the front lines, you’re getting blasted from all sides with no relief in sight. In this episode, Moshe Engelberg, author of The Amare Wave, discusses how we can uplift business by putting love to work.
How COVID-19 As Accelerating MarTech (Healthcare Rap Podcast)
In this episode of the panel discussion series “Now What,” we take a digital deep dive featuring guests from some of the most forward-thinking tech organizations – Paul Griffiths from Perficient, Kristi Ebong from Orbita, and Chris Hemphill from SymphonyRM. What have we seen with chatbots, voice, CRM, and the digital healthcare customer experience during the pandemic, and what lessons do we need to keep with us about martech as we start pivoting to the post-Pandemic world?
Healthcare Rap Podcast COVID-19 Episodes
For those who prefer audio content, Jared Johnson created this Spotify Playlist of five episodes of his Healthcare Rap Podcast that deal with COVID-19. If you’re a fan of podcasts and want to learn how other healthcare marketers are dealing with the pandemic, this is a great resource.
For more information about our content marketing services, you can reach Dan Dunlop by email at ddunlop@jenningsco.com or by phone at 919-929-0225.