The Extra Mile

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How H&W marketers are creating the perfect customer experience

Before the pandemic became a realistic part of our everyday lives, all of the content that the Rush University Medical Center marketing team generated centered on lifestyle, healthy living and recipes. But as different—and desperate, if you will—times moved in, there was a call for a more focused, direct approach. These days, with the pandemic still in full force, the Rush marketing team continues to revisit the issues that were relevant pre-pandemic, but this time, their content offers updates with a COVID layer on topics ranging from dating, to nutrition and mental health.

As Ryan Nagdeman, the Center’s Associate VP of Marketing, attests, the strategy is working. Engagement with Rush University Medical Center-related content during the pandemic initially spiked at three times before settling in at two times the regular open-rate plus. Much of this content focus comes into play with how Nagdeman and his team promote physicians and knowledge to bring Rush’s wellness programs to life.

“As marketers, we look at surveys and keyword searches to find out what is of interest now,” says Nagdeman, who oversees marketing and communications for the Center’s patient care, research and education. “Our content strategy team develops content to serve those needs, and then it’s deployed across many channels in different forms, including news releases or Instagram stories. During the pandemic, live webinars have been popular, too. People have time to watch these now.”

Rush University Medical Center is part of the Rush University System for Health, a national leader in patient care, education, research, community partnerships and empowering a new generation of health care providers. In addition to its mission in patient care, education and research, the Medical Center maintains a strong commitment to the community. Part of that outreach can be found in the content offerings it provides to the Chicago community.

One such program is the Rush Wellness initiative—a strategy driven by the philosophy that quality patient care is directly tied to the well-being of its providers, students and staff. Nagdeman says the program is especially important at a time when health care professionals around the country are suffering from unprecedented levels of anxiety, depression and burnout.

“We had made investments in programs and care that came about right before the pandemic,” he says. “They have helped many community members by providing self-care series, staff rounding for wellness, and a full suite of services like wellness toolkits, events and outreach. We pay close attention to patient feedback in social media and service reviews. And we work with patient relations and clinics to turn feedback into a learning moment.”

“We pay close attention to patient feedback in social media and service reviews. And we work with patient relations and clinics to turn feedback into a learning moment.” — Ryan Nagdeman, Associate VP of Marketing, Rush University Medical Center

Customer service is another incredibly important aspect of the Rush strategy right now. Today, the Center receives 10,000-12,000 calls a day about vaccines. Because supply cannot meet the demand right now, tensions tend to run high.

“Our call center professionals are kind and courteous and deal with consumers who are frantic and confused,” Nagdeman says. “Many of us were confused and anxious about our health prior to COVID, so it’s higher right now. Providing consumers with options helps with the customer experience. In the last three years, our menu has double the amount of ways you can engage and receive care at Rush. It’s no longer about coming to campus only and you can connect here or in a virtual setting.”

Stay healthy. Stay informed. Learn.

When Karen Koslow looks out over today’s health and wellness market she sees a consumer who is more bent on staying safe and healthy than ever before. And while the award-winning, strategic marketing expert has spent years crafting innovative media-agnostic and multichannel strategies for Fortune 100 brands, these days have a quite different feel.

Through Wellness Amplified Inc., Koslow, CMO, has led spirited campaigns raising the levels of equity, engagement building and results management. But as the pandemic changed the rules of the game, she had to adapt to the new playing field—one that involves not only staying true to the traditional strategies, but upping the intensity on what and how to deliver them.

“The health and wellness market today looks better than ever as consumers turn to their own volition to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy,” Koslow says. “They want to learn, get factual information from trusted sources, and find new ideas and strategies for improving their health. Last year it was about our immunity. This year we’re focused on our self-care, mental health, reducing stress and improving sleep. The goal: Be safe and stay well.”

Generating content and distributing into the mainstream is the lifeblood of health and wellness marketers—an art form that practitioners like Koslow are adept at doing. The strategy, she says, is a straightforward approach involving factual information served up by credentialed health care and wellness practitioners. The key is to find health and wellness brands that align with those of their consumers.

The tie in on the marketing side happens when you align the brand’s mission with the customer’s experience. Beyond the basics, Koslow says that entails providing superior, smooth and supportive customer service that is as authentic as the customers themselves. “The brands that succeed at winning the customer experience game are the ones that exist for other purposes beside the bottom line, whether its health or the health of our planet. With our concern about the food and drug supply available to us, brands that are transparent about their supply chain will outperform their expectations.”

As for health and wellness marketers, their role is to not only promote the virtues of what today’s consumers want, but to justify the ways in which brands spread the love. That means keeping tabs on website page views and time spent on which sections, conversion rates, retention, advocacy, etc.

“The brands that succeed at winning the customer experience game are the ones that exist for other purposes beside the bottom line, whether its health or the health of our planet.” — Karen Koslow, CMO, Wellness Amplified Inc.

“As marketers, we set the strategy, establish the brand storyline, its purpose, the functionality needed [etc.], Koslow says. “The customer experience teams might execute it, but we as marketers design it, measure the results and optimize.”

In a time driven by the consumer’s quest for health, fitness, wellness, care, education, and personal and communal well-being, giving them a place to go, keeping them engaged and driving them back for more is a new call for today’s health and wellness marketers.