Patient Acquisition and Engagement: A Deep Dive into Digital Marketing Strategies in Healthcare
In this interview with Research NXT, Jyoti Khichar, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at CK Birla Hospital, delves into the hospital’s digital marketing strategies, with a focus on patient acquisition and engagement. She discusses the role of marketing automation, email marketing, and paid media in driving results while also highlighting the importance of personalisation and data-driven decision-making in healthcare marketing.
Key Takeaways:
- The hospital uses paid search, social media, and email marketing to drive traffic and engage specific patient demographics, including expecting mothers and surgical patients.
- Automation tools streamline responses to patient inquiries, schedule follow-ups, and personalise communication at scale, enhancing efficiency and patient satisfaction.
- Email campaigns are tailored to different patient journeys, such as prenatal care for expecting mothers and post-operative care for surgical patients, ensuring relevant content at each stage.
- Paid media is crucial for patient acquisition, with a focus on monitoring and optimising campaign performance for the best ROI.
- Metrics such as cost per lead (CPL), conversion rates, and patient acquisition cost are used to refine digital strategies and improve overall campaign performance.
"Email marketing is a key channel for both patient education and engagement."
Can you share an overview of your journey into digital marketing and how you transitioned into your role as Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at CK Birla Hospital?
Jyoti: I started my career in digital marketing with a focus on customer acquisition. Over time, I developed a deep understanding of digital platforms and healthcare-specific marketing needs. My transition to Senior Manager at CK Birla Hospital was driven by my desire to work in a high-impact environment where digital marketing could play a critical role in patient acquisition and engagement. At CK Birla, I manage end-to-end digital campaigns, strategising to enhance the patient experience and streamline communication between patients and the hospital.
What are the primary responsibilities you manage in your current role at CK Birla Hospital?
Jyoti: My primary responsibilities include managing paid media campaigns, developing content strategies, and overseeing the implementation of marketing automation tools to improve patient engagement. I also lead the analysis of digital marketing metrics to ensure that we meet key performance indicators (KPIs) related to patient acquisition, retention, and engagement.
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How do you leverage digital marketing to increase patient acquisition and engagement?
Jyoti: We use a multi-channel approach to reach patients, combining paid search, social media, and email marketing. By leveraging search engine marketing (SEM) and social ads targeted at specific demographics—like expecting mothers or individuals seeking surgical care—we drive traffic to relevant landing pages. Our content marketing efforts are geared toward educating patients, while remarketing campaigns help re-engage those who have previously interacted with us.
How do you ensure that your digital marketing campaigns cater to the diverse needs of your target audience, such as expecting mothers, patients needing surgical care, and others?
Jyoti: We segment our audience based on their healthcare needs. For example, campaigns for expecting mothers focus on maternity care services, while those targeting individuals with specific surgical requirements highlight our specialties. Personalising content based on these segments ensures that our messaging resonates with each audience type, leading to higher engagement and conversion.
How does marketing automation fit into your marketing strategy, especially in handling large volumes of inquiries and patient communication?
Jyoti: Marketing automation allows us to manage large volumes of patient inquiries efficiently. We use it to automate responses to common queries, schedule follow-ups, and personalise communication at scale. This not only reduces manual effort but also ensures that patients receive timely information, leading to improved patient satisfaction.
What are the key challenges you face in maintaining personalisation while managing automated digital campaigns at scale?
Jyoti: The primary challenge is balancing efficiency with personalisation. While automation helps manage large-scale operations, there’s always a risk of communications feeling impersonal. We address this by using dynamic content and segmenting our audience based on their interactions with us, ensuring that messages are tailored to their needs without losing the personal touch.
How do you use email marketing as part of your strategy to engage with prospective and current patients?
Jyoti: Email marketing is a key channel for both patient education and engagement. We send personalised newsletters and follow-up emails based on the patient’s stage in their healthcare journey. For instance, an expecting mother might receive educational content about prenatal care, while a surgical patient gets information about post-operative care. This keeps patients informed and engaged throughout their interactions with us.
What best practices do you follow to ensure high deliverability and engagement rates for your email campaigns in the healthcare sector?
Jyoti: We maintain a clean email list, use double opt-ins and A/B test subject lines, and ensure mobile leadoptimisation to boost open rates and engagement.
What role does paid media play in your digital strategy, and how do you optimise campaigns to achieve a good ROI?
Jyoti: Paid media drives patient acquisition. We optimise campaigns by monitoring performance and adjusting bids, targeting, and creatives to maximise ROI.
Can you share an example of improving campaign performance?
Jyoti: One recent example involved testing different landing page designs for our maternity services campaign. We tested variations of content layouts, call-to-action buttons, and form fields. The version with more concise information and a prominent call-to-action button saw a 20% increase in conversion rates. We also routinely test ad copy and images in social campaigns to find the best-performing combinations.
What key metrics do you use to measure the success of your digital marketing campaigns, and how do they help in refining your strategy?
Jyoti: We track a variety of metrics, including cost per lead (CPL), conversion rates, patient acquisition cost, and return on ad spend (ROAS). For engagement campaigns, we focus on metrics like email open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and social media engagement. These metrics help us understand which campaigns are resonating with our audience and where improvements can be made for better performance.
Before we wrap up, we want to know your expectations from this report. What do you think would be most valuable for the readers of the report?
Jyoti: The most valuable aspect of the report for readers would be:
- Actionable Insights: Readers will find value in being able to apply the findings directly to their strategies, projects, or decision-making processes.
- Clarity and Accessibility: The report should be easy to digest, even for those who are new to the subject, with a clear narrative and helpful visuals or summaries.
- Up-to-date Information: Readers will appreciate timely and relevant data that reflect the latest trends or shifts in the industry, helping them stay ahead of the curve.
