We thank all who have gone to work every day to provide our food, to ensure our safety, to deliver our mail and especially to care for the sick. So many have shown bravery, commitment and heroism that go beyond what they ever imagined, no matter their field of work.

The coronavirus has shown all of us humility. It’s bringing out the best of humanity. And it will forever change healthcare.

We have long talked about, and worked with, our healthcare clients on the movement toward personalized care and wellness, telemedicine, and bringing healthcare into the communities, where hospitals are more of a central hub and no longer always the central point of care. And while we’ve already seen this happen with urgent care clinics and pharmacy health clinics, we are certain to see an accelerated shift to bring healthcare to patients. We will also see an expedited push to ensure greater trust and preparedness for our healthcare workers. Never again can we be exposed to shortages of personal protection equipment, ventilators, and services and technology that address the mental well-being of our care providers.

Care providers need assurance that the right equipment, the right supplies and the right medication will always be there. They need partners who are willing to be there with them: to be accountable, to share risk and to put them in a better position to focus on care.

As marketers, it’s our job to help. Everyone is resource constrained: doctors, nurses, scientists, engineers, technologists. Everyone needs more information, guidance and support to navigate the complexities of business today.

Our guidance for healthcare marketers is that we must all act as care providers moving forward. We must be fast. We must be human. And we must work together.

Fast is the new normal

All of us who have been responsible for marketing products to essential businesses have found the need to communicate quickly. To inform on product availability, to notify that manufacturing is running, and to update on actions being taken to ensure continuity of supply.

This same sense of urgency must continue. Healthcare has always been 24/7. Health can’t wait. Moving forward, content, campaigns, and most importantly, connection, must happen at this same speed.

Every organization is playing it tight: some through furloughs, some through layoffs, and others by pulling back budget as they wait to see what happens in the coming months. Our recommendation to all marketers is to focus on the problems you can address immediately.

Marketing in healthcare must move beyond just the role of the traditional marketing team. Pull together a cross-functional team of sales, account managers, service reps, engineers, scientists, and developers to map out questions and problems customers are having. And then prioritize solutions to those problems - in the form of products and services coupled with access to knowledge and expertise; access to tools; access to people; access to content. Rank those based on impact, and time and resource requirements, and find a balance that is aggressive, but realistic to create.

As providers navigate the now and prepare for recovery, those who can help first will win.

Connection is the new content

Content is still critically important, but it’s commonplace today. It’s table stakes. And many industries have reduced the barriers to connect and engage by making content free for a period of time.

You must invest in content. And the criteria is authentic, genuine and immensely helpful.

But healthcare is an industry that is driven heavily by face-to-face, one-on-one interactions. On the floors of hospitals. In operating rooms. At laboratory training events. At industry events. Eventually, these interactions will come back. But they won’t be the same - at least not for a long time.

Healthcare marketing strategy must focus on recreating meaningful two-way interactions around shared experiences, using web technology and digital channels.

From live, online events to more collaborative user groups and communities to webinars to personalized web experiences, marketers must first get their data in order. If you haven’t, now is the time to ensure you are diligent in using a CRM system. Now is the time to invest in marketing automation, and to begin exploring Customer Data Platforms (CDPs).

Personal, authentic, genuine connection is the only way to have truly meaningful interactions that help advance healthcare today.

Together is the only way forward

Your people and your knowledge are your biggest assets right now. Engineers, the sales team, account managers, R&D. Even your channel and business partners. Everyone must play a role.

Moving fast and building meaningful connections require you to leverage everyone’s perspective and expertise. And if you are resource constrained, lean on your agency partners. They are certainly ready.

Nobody can solve the problems of today alone. Healthcare will certainly expedite its move to more accessible health for patients and care providers. But the operational, financial and clinical challenges to achieve this move are immense. The boundaries between traditional participants and stakeholders will blur with new business models, new partnerships and more industry collaboration. There will be more joint business and IT collaboration. More service-centric product offerings. And new partner ecosystems.

It’s all hands on deck. And marketing teams can play a truly integral role.

We know we must all be care providers moving forward. Symmetri is a business-to-business marketing and technology agency focused on helping organizations create meaningful interactions. With speed. Through authentic, genuine connection. And as a true extension of our healthcare marketing partner’s teams.

We thank everyone for the work they’ve already done. We’re ready to help with the work that is yet to come. Let’s connect, today.