Written by: Rana Karim
Rana Karim poses a fundamental question regarding the gap between the success of marketing campaigns for health institutions and their ability to retain patients, noting that spending massive budgets on advertising to achieve high reach rates and bookings does not guarantee a patient's return if the actual experience is not consistent with the marketing promises.
The patient does not just buy a medical service
Rana Karim explains that a patient's decision to choose a hospital or a doctor differs from buying an ordinary commercial product, as it is linked to anxiety, expectations, and fear of diagnostic results. The patient's experience begins from the first moment of searching, inquiring, or attempting to book, and not just upon entering the hospital.
This experience includes vital details such as the manner of telephone response, clarity of information, ease of booking, punctuality, treatment during the visit, and communication after it ends. A patient may encounter an excellent doctor but leave with a negative impression due to poor organization or lack of attention to their inquiries, making the overall experience unsuccessful.
The gap between promises and implementation
One of the major challenges lies in the gap between what the health institution promises through its marketing and what the patient experiences on the ground. Delays in responding or difficulty in knowing costs may drive the patient to choose another institution next time without filing a formal complaint, which makes institutions need to investigate the reasons for patients' non-return rather than just waiting for complaints.
From a marketing perspective, retaining the current patient and building a long-term relationship represents an aspect no less important than attracting new patients; losing a patient means losing the opportunity for continuous interaction and the potential for them to recommend services to others, which directly affects the efficiency of marketing spending and the institution's ability to grow.
Collective responsibility and building trust
Rana Karim emphasizes that improving the patient experience is not the responsibility of the receptionist alone, but rather the responsibility of the institution as a single entity. The patient does not differentiate between marketing, booking, operations, and medical teams; rather, they look forward to a cohesive experience, which requires genuine cooperation between various departments to ensure the consistency of information and services.
She concludes that health institutions need to focus on simple questions such as the clarity of responses, respecting the patient's time, and listening to their feedback. Future competition in the healthcare sector will depend on the institution's ability to convert the attention achieved by marketing into sustainable trust by matching promises with actual reality.
