Building Trust through Relationships: The Key to Authentic Healthcare Marketing
Authenticity in healthcare marketing not only builds trust but also strengthens patient relationships and enhances brand reputation. Yet, cultivating authentic stories is one of the hardest things to do as a healthcare marketer. Incredible stories happen every day - and even stories that are just run of the mill (ie a patient came in sick, were prescribe the right meds and went home to get better). So why is it so hard to find patient stories?
Most of the time, nurses are more than happy to share stories, when they remember to ask the patient or get a minute to think about it. For the nurses, it’s just another day and another item on their ever-growing to-do list. For the patient, it’s everything and nothing all at once. Many of the patients didn’t think their story was special – which is often the best story.
The solution: networking and relationship building.
Building Relationships with Nursing Stakeholders
The first thing that we did was to build a relationship with key nursing stakeholders. My team and I became known faces and trusted leaders to the nursing leaders in key areas. For example, oncology was a priority service line, so I met weekly with the head of the department. This time was valuable to both of us to identify areas of opportunity, such as any communication issues (internal or external) or upcoming events or new launches. She would also share names of patients who had already given their approval to be contacted by marketing, and some insight into their story.
Bridging the Gap: Marketing and Frontline Staff
Most importantly, we built a relationship and a friendship with the service line leaders. Oftentimes, marketing is separated from those on the frontlines – those who are regularly interacting with patients and the brand. It creates a distrust on both sides. By building a relationship with the entire oncology team, we were each able to share feedback and make changes in a cohesive and trusted way. This relationship made the nursing team feel heard and supported.
Coordinated Digital Storytelling
Once we established these relationships, we could then reach out to the pre-approved patients to follow up on their story. In one specific oncology campaign, we asked the patients to share their story in their own Facebook or Instagram feed. We helped them to create messaging and content that was professional but authentic to them. We even coordinated and scheduled the post to reshare it on our page.
Campaign Success
This campaign had fantastic results. We saw a significant jump in our social media engagement, our NET promoter score, and even a jump in brand preference. This success was not just due to the content but because of the trust and relationships we had built with the nursing staff and the patients.
Conclusion
Building trust through relationships is essential for fostering patient loyalty and enhancing brand reputation. Authentic storytelling in healthcare marketing is challenging but achievable through strong, genuine connections with frontline staff and patients. By integrating marketing efforts with the everyday interactions of healthcare providers, we create a seamless, supportive environment that allows authentic stories to shine.
Are you ready to build authentic relationships that enhance your healthcare marketing efforts? Let's discuss how we can cultivate trust and create powerful patient stories together. Reach out to me today to explore how we can work together to achieve extraordinary results.