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Reaching Consumers Where They Are

Owning Your Brand Across the Web

Feb 14, 2019 | Hospital Solutions


The rise of consumer knowledge in healthcare has been well-documented over the past several years. Simply put, consumers are taking on more of the responsibility to navigate the healthcare system and seek out the best care for themselves and their loved ones.

Following the guidance of physicians is still significantly important, but the emergence of new, digital tools has empowered consumers with information and has enabled them to start playing a larger role in their health care journey. In fact, a recent study showed that 80% of consumers have conducted a health-related online search within the past year.

Given this trend towards digital consumerism in healthcare, hospitals must figure out how to reach and ultimately capture consumers during the research process.

Unfortunately, this process is not as simple as maintaining your own website. Although some consumers may go directly to a hospital’s website, well over half (59%) of visitors to a hospital website began their health care search on another website.

How do you capture consumers if they’re not on your website?

A hospital’s brand may begin on their website, but a multi-channel approach is needed if you want to capture the widest breadth of digital patients.

1. Do your research. Know where your potential patients look for information and why they are looking there and tailor your messaging to that goal. For example, platforms like Doximity and U.S. News capture millions of unique visitors each month because we allow consumers to research and find the best physicians and hospitals across the country.

2. Put your best foot forward. Patients conducting research often will not have any loyalty to any health system in particular. A consumer looking for a cardiologist in Doximity’s hometown of San Francisco would be able to compare physicians from multiple systems including UC San Francisco, Stanford, Sutter and Dignity. Because they are focused on finding the best clinician in their area to treat their individual needs, you should highlight what sets you apart as quickly as possible.

3. Look your best. Ensure that your providers are being properly presented. Some of the simplest things are the most important to an undecided consumer and go a long way towards not losing them to a competitor. Make sure your clinicians’ profiles include a professional photo, details about the types of patients they treat and the ability to easily book an appointment.

Interested in owning your brand on Doximity? With over 7 million unique visitors researching physicians on U.S. News and Doximity each month, we capture consumers seeking a new healthcare provider during the critical decision-making process. We reach the consumer and provide a path to your call center and/or preferred online booking system with no need to install new software or to build and integrate a new scheduling system.

To talk about a partnership, reach out to us at anytime here.