COVID-19: Healthcare Marketing Adjustments in Response to Coronavirus

Our team at Healthcare Success is currently advising clients about how they should adjust their marketing efforts in response to the COVID-19 national emergency, and I thought I would share some of our thinking with readers like you as well.

These are fast-changing and confusing times. Remember, SXSW was canceled just days ago on March 6.  By March 9, multiple California universities had suspended classes. On Saturday, March 15, the US Surgeon General advised hospitals to avoid elective surgeries. On March 16, 2020, President Trump urged Americans to “Avoid gathering in groups of more than ten people.”

If you represent a hospital, chances are your medical leadership is bracing for a likely rush of COVID-19 patients. Marketing professionals need to think first about things like how to support the hospital’s leadership role in the community, how to use the hospital’s resources to inform the public (including social media, websites, and advertising), and how to prepare for any crises that might arise.

Healthcare practice leaders must decide first whether or not it makes sense to stay open during the COVID-19 crisis. That decision will vary based upon the specialty, practice philosophy, and circumstances. Clearly, those medical specialties that serve patients with pressing, serious health needs will need to stay open, while other elective-based medical practices may decide to close partially or fully during the crisis. As of yesterday, for example, the California Dental Association, “Strongly recommends that dentists practicing in California voluntarily suspend nonessential or non-urgent dental care for the next 14 days.”

“How Should We Adapt Our Medical Marketing Efforts and Budget During the COVID-19 Emergency?”

Every hospital and practice is unique, but here are some guidelines to help you think through the various issues. Before we proceed, let’s clarify that when we speak of marketing, we are not thinking of just advertising.

What’s more, hospitals will want to make sure their public relations teams are communicating openly and proactively to their respective communities through the local and regional press during these unsettling times.

You may then ask, “What about our digital marketing and traditional advertising?”

Let’s consider digital marketing strategies first.

1. Websites: Most healthcare practices and hospitals should post a COVID-19 notice on their website, advising the public about how they are responding to the situation. Here is an example of a home page notice and COVID-19 response that we posted on behalf of one of our clients.
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO/Organic Marketing): is a long-term investment that should generally continue on an ongoing basis. We are advising some of our clients to pause a portion of their traditional advertising and invest those dollars into enterprise-level SEO and website improvements.
3. Reputation Management: Hopefully, you already have a reputation management and social media monitoring program in place. These efforts will be vital to maintain and enhance your reputation, now and in the coming months.
4. Paid Search Marketing: (e.g., Google pay-per-click): Hospitals and practices that are open for business and running well-optimized paid search campaigns should usually continue these efforts. Remember, while demand today might be lower, you will only pay for clicks from people who are currently searching for the services you provide.
5. Organic “Free” Social Media: Many of your patients and prospective patients will be home over the coming weeks, with more time to search for answers about their healthcare problems. Please ensure your organic social media and content (online content and print content) are both helpful and effectively relevant to today’s new reality.
6. Paid display advertising and paid social media: Your broader strategy will dictate whether you should continue with or pause digital advertising. If you are looking to build your brand or inform the public, digital advertising (including Google Display Network, YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, programmatic buys, CTV/OTT) can still make a lot of sense. However, if you are looking for direct response (immediate ROI), your marketing dollars might be better invested into some of the other categories we’re describing here.
7. Like digital advertising, traditional advertising (TV, radio, print) may be appropriate in these uncertain times if your objective is to enhance your brand or educate the public. However, tactical direct response advertising designed to generate new patient inquiries for elective surgeries should probably wait.

9 Tips to Guide Your Healthcare Marketing Going Forward

Here are some additional, critical tips to consider:

1. The human and economic toll of this COVID-19 is already profound, and it will likely get worse in the near-term. When this healthcare crisis eventually passes, things will never be the same within the healthcare sector. Now, then, is the time to provide much-needed healthcare leadership by communicating clearly to help the public understand what is going on. Remember that your healthcare brand is much more than your logo or what you say in your advertising. Instead, you define your brand every day by the actions you take and the value you bring. Take this opportunity to reinforce your mission – most of which probably involves caring for your community. Show the public how your brand’s medical mission corresponds with your efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease and treat patients stricken with COVID-19. Do the right things now, and consequently, you will build your medical organization’s brand for the long-term.
2. Your growing thought leadership will also provide you with a unique opportunity to grow your rankings on Google. Take this time to double down on longer-term search engine optimization, both with technical improvements and great healthcare services content.
3. When things slow down a little, you can also take some time to invest in strategic, tactical or creative marketing initiatives you haven’t been able to focus on until now.
4. If you need to make adjustments to your media plan, be sure to talk to your agency. They can negotiate with the various TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines to see if they can get concessions or postponements on some of your pre-existing contracts. Your agency should also devise a plan to move quickly to seize discounted media and other opportunities once the crisis passes.
5. Make sure your healthcare marketing agency is actively optimizing your digital marketing campaigns for the new reality. Ask if they are making adjustments based upon real-time results, the evolving landscape, and your broader objectives.
6. Chances are you have postponed some community events. If so, take this opportunity to test digital alternatives, such as webinars, videoconferences, and podcasts.
7. Consider if this is an opportune time to test integrating telemedicine into your business (if you haven’t already). Beyond protecting your patients and staff from unnecessary virus exposure, you will likely find patients also appreciate the convenience of having a telemedicine option.
8. Make sure your creative messaging is appropriate for our new reality. Above all, build trust and stay empathetic to what people are going through. You want to make sure something that was once a clever pun doesn’t now sound offensive or out of touch.
9. Remember, although you might need to adjust some of your marketing efforts, it doesn’t mean you should stop marketing altogether. Many people suddenly have a lot of time on their hands, and they are looking for guidance for their healthcare problems.

Right now, it is essential to both serve and inform the public. It is also an opportunity to ethically and effectively position your hospital or practice for the future.

Stewart Gandolf, Chief Executive Officer & Creative Director

The original version of this page was published at:  https://healthcaresuccess.com/blog/healthcare-marketing-leadership/healthcare-marketing-adjustments-you-should-make-in-response-to-covid-19.html