Eliminating the Disconnect Between Marketing Communications and the Patient Experience

Who owns the patient experience? It’s a question that, on its face, may seem to have a very simple answer. But, I propose that the answer is far more complex than it may initially seem.

In the top healthcare organizations—the ones that consistently score high on quality of patient care, patient satisfaction and that deliver consistently positive patient experiences—my guess is that most people would answer the question of “who owns the patient experience?” with “I do!”

That’s not the case, though, in many healthcare organizations. In these organizations there are disconnects between various parts of the organization and the people actually delivering patient care. Those disconnects can serve to diminish the patient experience.

Not My Job!

One critical point of disconnect that I continue to see, and hear about, is the disconnect between marketing communications and the patient experience. This was brought to mind, again, recently at a national conference where I found it interesting to hear these conversations taking place. What I found was that if you brought up the patient experience to marketing people what you’d hear is some combination of “that’s not my responsibility” or “that’s handled by somebody else.”

And yet, in these same organizations, marketing leaders will continue to ask for bigger budgets to promote the organization and its services.

Poor Patient Experience = No Marketing Budget

Here’s the thing. When you allocate marketing dollars to spread the word about your organization, you’re trying to get people to buy a product. If that product is not delivered in a way that’s exceptional there are going to be issues, including diminished patient satisfaction and the negative word-of-mouth that follows.

One of the rules that I like to use with the clients and organizations I’ve worked with is this: If the organization can’t provide a good patient experience as indicated through, perhaps, their HCAHPS scores, they don’t get any marketing dollars until they can clear up the situation.

Think about it. Why should an organization spend money to promote services that will not live up to patient expectations? That’s like investing in diminishing the power of your own brand. “Let’s ramp up our marketing budget to get more people in the door, so we can disappoint more people, who can tell more of their friends and relatives about our poor performance!” While this may not be what marketing leaders are actually saying, or even thinking, if is exactly what they are doing when there is a disconnect between marketing and the patient experience.

What Should Marketing Do?

Marketing needs to take on a proactive role in helping their organizations determine where service may be missing the mark. There are a variety of ways they can do that. One of the things I’ve done with many organizations is use mystery shopping to validate what’s happening by testing the phones, or testing the registration process, or testing other areas where scores are low. Mystery shopping can yield real-world insights into why scores might be low in often very surprising ways. Top marketing people can effectively work, in tandem, with service providers to identify areas of opportunity for improvement—assist in making those opportunities a reality—and then, and only then, investing marketing dollars to draw more patients to the organization.

Are you paying to spread the word about poor patient experiences? 

About Us:

Trust...the healthcare marketer who has been in your shoes! Jean Hitchcock has spent more than 25 years at some of the nation’s most respected health systems. As a healthcare marketing and communication leader, she understands your competing priorities. Your strained resources. The pressure to differentiate your services and distinguish your brand. All amid seismic changes in our healthcare system. You’re busy. We can help. 

Jean Hitchcock

President, Hitchcock Marketing & Communications - Consultant, Speaker and Mentor