Seattle, WA — Healthcare marketers spend a lot of time developing brand strategies and tactics to differentiate themselves in a saturated marketplace. Patient engagement is becoming essential to the way that we communicate our brand messaging, gain adherence, and integrate new innovations.
The simple act of gratitude has shown to be extremely effective in establishing a well connected brand. According to an Accenture Life Sciences study, 63% of patients would participate in a pharma rewards program, yet only 10% have access to one. Through social media and other newly developing technologies, it’s becoming easier than ever to create a relationship with your consumer.
Send A Coffee Through Twitter
We can learn a lot by looking outside of healthcare to see how other brands are engaging with their customers. Starbucks recently launched a new program that combines social media engagement with the simple act of saying thank you. Their new app, “Tweet-A-Coffee,” connects users’ Starbucks accounts with the social media platform to quickly and easily send a follower a choice of their favorite roasted beverage.
We can’t thank patients by sending them free coffee, but Starbucks shows us that it’s the little gestures and engagements with their customers that continue to drive their brand loyalty. Through easy-to-use technologies, they have been able to redefine the experience of what it means to be a socially minded gathering place to drink coffee.
Create A Hub With PracticeGenius
Intimidated with creating a rewards program? Patient Rewards Hub by PracticeGenius is a cloud-based application which makes creating and implementing a variety of different programs simple and easy. Through patient hubs, users can create programs through social media platforms, reward programs for positive reinforcement, as well as reviews and analytics to gage how well their engagement is working.
There are so many ways that we can say thank you to the healthcare professionals and patients that we serve. Let’s take the traditional hand-written thank you note to new levels.
About the Author:
As Managing Director of Innovation and Insights for Syneos Health Communications, Leigh is responsible for building and scaling a global team of healthcare experts who together help life science leaders better understand the complex lives, influences and expectations of their customers. Specifically, they uncover actionable insights that fuel empathy and creativity; lead co-creation events that let marketers learn from peers, trends, and new possibilities; and help clients identify the most valuable and useful new customer experiences to create.
Leigh has worked with Fortune 1000 companies to craft their digital, mobile, social and CRM strategies for nearly 20 years.She’s worked for category-leading agencies in retail, public affairs, B2B technology, and higher education. Prior to moving to Syneos Health Communications, she held several leadership roles at our largest agency, GSW. There, she founded an innovation practice fueled by the zeitgeist and spearheaded digital and innovation thinking across the business.
Leigh has taken a special interest in complex healthcare products that can change lives in meaningful ways. She was recently a strategic lead on the 3rd largest launch in pharmaceutical history: Tecfidera. Before that she had keys roles with Eli Lilly Oncology, Abbott Nutrition, Amgen Cardiovascular, and Eli Lilly Diabetes.
A critical part of Leigh’s work is trends and new ideas. Every year, she convenes a group of trend watchers from across our global network to identify the shifts most critical to healthcare marketers. This year, she led over 250 experts to experts to focus on the most important changes in the commercial, consumer, marketing, digital and healthcare landscapes. (See reports at trends.health)
Leigh is a sought-after writer and speaker. Recognized as one of the most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical industry by PharmaVoice and Top 10 Innovation Catalysts of 2017 by MM&M, Leigh also was recognized as a Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) for her overt passion, industry thought leadership and significant contributions in new business, strategy and mentoring.
