This article was originally published by on RelationClientMag
In customer relations, new trends are emerging in the healthcare sector today, with care for others as the common denominator. In the unprecedented context of the pandemic, health is emerging as a rich observation space for any company.
How do you care for your patient? What makes the patient satisfied with his or her care after a medical visit? How do we enable the patient to maintain a personal universe that he or she needs in spite of medical requirements? In the health sector, caring for others has long been a skill that can be learned and is the subject of many training courses and guides. But the rules of the game are changing, and this leads us to differentiate the medical gesture from the ability to take care of others. A consideration that is becoming a real source of inspiration for all business sectors.
Indeed, health is now at the forefront of everyone's mind. As an economically buoyant sector, many stakeholders are getting closer to it, outlining the arrival of major changes. First of all, the giants: these global platforms that have ended up imposing their monopoly, thanks in particular to their awareness of the power of the customer experience in brand preference. As a tangible sign of these developments, Amazon announced at the end of November that it had launched the sale of prescription drugs in the United States with, once again, promises that are perfectly in line with the needs of the modern consumer: free delivery in two days, up to 80% discount on drugs purchased without health insurance. On the other side of the curtain, traditional contact center players such as Teleperformance or Webhelp are also no longer hiding their interest in the very buoyant healthcare sector.
A true source of inspiration
But while some people are now interested in the healthcare sector for economic opportunity, others see it as a source of inspiration in terms of caring for others, especially in markets where competition encourages innovation, such as the United States.
In fact, in a context where the end of the crisis will be decisive for many brands, it is urgent to be able to respond to this new consumer need: to be accompanied. Connected on social networks and different sources of information, the consumer has become more demanding. By personifying brands in their social network contacts, they have become accustomed to seeking direct and attentive contact with them. Universal slogans no longer appeal to them, the marketing approaches of ten years ago are outdated: the effort must be refocused on each person, their history and their future needs.
This personalized relationship and this "caring relationship" are precisely at the heart of the activity of health professionals and are becoming an increasingly strong trend. Prevalent in the United States, where high levels of competitiveness in the healthcare market are driving innovation, this thinking is gradually gaining ground in France, with the creation in 2016 of the French Institute for the Patient Experience and the first initiatives to shape the patients' experience, as developed by the Foch Hospital in Suresnes. But these initiatives lack recognition and support. As an example, it should be recalled that no hospital ranking list published in France takes into account the patient's experience!
Highly Individualized
After the far-reaching experience of 2020, the strength of a brand, whether it is a healthcare institution or a company in any other sector, will be to show its patients or customers that it knows them and knows how to support them. The healthcare environment reminds us of the need to diagnose and treat on a case-by-case basis. Today it is necessary to go further and take care of others with the same individualized attention as when diagnosing and administering treatment, whether they are employees, patients or clients, particularly since new technologies are helping us to achieve this.
The American healthcare world is aware that technology alone is not enough to provide a good experience for the patient. While the Covid-19 crisis is putting all sectors of the economy under great strain, the American patient approach can be a strong inspiration for any company. Bringing a "constant attentive relationship" is a skill that has become a vital issue for the health of the customer, the employee and the company, whatever its activity. A skill that is more than just medical.