Medical News tapped into the expertise of three leading healthcare marketing pros to ask about some of the do’s and don’ts of hospital marketing.
What's the worst thing you've seen in a hospital/healthcare website?
If a person is visiting a hospital website, it’s because they have a need – a need to find out patient visitation hours, an address, emergency numbers or something of that nature. Any website that buries this information is doing their visitor a disservice. So many hospitals want to market their services or talk about their latest technologies from a branding perspective. That is important but should not be front and center on a website. Who cares about your latest bariatric treatment when I am trying to find the emergency room address? – Todd Smith, President & CEO, Deane/Smith
The worst thing I’ve seen is, honestly, stagnation. In a lot of ways, having a really outdated website is worse than not having one at all. A website doesn’t have to be splashy, but it does have to be reasonably current. Features about the swine flu outbreak and a news section in which a 2012 press release is the most recent item just sends a terrible message and does not instill confidence in patients, employees or partners. – Nicole Cottrill, Partner, DVL Seigenthaler, A Finn Partners Company
The worst are hospital websites that provide no ways for viewers to interact and learn more, engage with the content, or help them further down the care pathway (i.e. make an appointment). People don't come to hospital websites for fun. They are there for a purpose. If the site doesn't support that purpose, it's a horrible experience. One specific worst thing – a hospital website home page that had 241 links on it. We did a study of hospital and health system website navigation five years ago and looked specifically at home page navigation, which when handled poorly is a demonstration of a lack of marketing discipline and an inability to effectively prioritize audiences. As a benchmark, the average hospital website home page had 57 links leading away from it. – Brandon Edwards, CEO, ReviveHealth, A Weber Shandwick Company
What are the best features you've seen in a healthcare website?
I love the hospital sites that allow a person to “get in line” while I am on the way to the hospital. It cuts down on wait time and really moves the process for one of the most painful experiences of a hospital –waiting! – Smith
This is a harder question because I think there are a lot of healthcare companies doing great things on the web. I love the many creative ways so many in the healthcare sector are engaging and educating people of all ages and doing so much to reach people wherever they are and however they need – from video and apps to games and online communities. We are learning so much about tools and information individuals can use to take better control of and more effectively manage their health. – Cottrill
The best are hospital websites that are engaging with content (multimedia, interactive content) that is emotionally engaging, using language that is clear and concise, and the site is responsive (designed to be accessed from multiple screens: phone, tablet, etc.) and usable (easy to navigate and useful). One specific best thing – a hospital website with a pricing calculator that provided actual costs of services based not only on a patient’s insurance company but based on the specific plan and the specific employer version of that plan. This was the first and, to my knowledge, only example of a community hospital providing that level of price transparency to its patients. – Edwards