As interactive digital experiences become more ingrained in everyday life, they are changing the way consumers relate to healthcare services. One in 20 online searches is now health-related.1 And about 70% of hospital traffic comes from search.2 Today’s healthcare consumer is eager for information, and healthcare marketers benefit from consumer engagement at every stage of the decision-making process.
Although marketers have a strong incentive to engage with audiences online, physicians — who are often partial to more traditional marketing — are more reluctant. In a recent poll, 46% of healthcare marketers said resistance to change in their organization is a barrier to digital marketing efforts.3 Effectively working through these challenges can enable healthcare organizations to take an active, ongoing role in consumers’ decision-making process around health services.