Customer Loyalty in Healthcare: 3 Things You Need To Know

On this blog, we have written time and again about how competitive today’s healthcare industry is – specifically in the pharmacy and durable medical equipment (DME) spaces. According to Grand View Research, the DME market alone was valued at 41.9B in 2016, and is expected to continue growing in the years to come.

With a market that is becoming ever-more competitive, customer loyalty is one of the most important things that a healthcare company can focus on to ensure that you are able to stay competitive and meet your sales targets.

Today, we are going to discuss 3 important things to consider when it comes to building loyalty among your best customers:

Start From Within

The White House Office of Consumer Affairs published a statistic that showed that it costs 6 to 7 times more money to acquire a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one. This is a stat that should be shared with each and every member of your organization for them to keep in mind when they are interacting with your customers.

Customer loyalty truly does start from within. Your customers respond well to factors like organizational culture, quality of service, and their level of comfort interacting with your brand – all factors that start with your employees.

Building and maintain an internal culture of high quality service, and a dedication to current customers is absolutely the first step when it comes to boosting customer loyalty in your healthcare business.

Make It Easy

Apart from quality service, there has to be a value-add for your customers that keeps them coming back to your pharmacy, product, or service. Whether it’s convenience, price, quality, or selection – understand what your competitive advantage is and celebrate it with your customers. Make sure they know that you understand why they like purchasing your products/services, and that it’s one aspect of the company that you will not be changing.

In an increasingly digital time, “making it easy” may also have technological implications. It’s important to keep a keen eye on how competitors are using tech and online spaces to create convenience for customers, and that you are making a similar effort to be innovative.

Embrace The Emotional

If you were to search for similar lists online, one thing you would see over and over again with respect to customer loyalty is to “build a brand”. While true, there really is so much more to it than that.

A brand is wonderful for recognition – but it’s also an opportunity to make an emotional connection with your customer, and nothing builds customer loyalty more effectively.

Think about what your brand is saying to your customer. How does it align with your overall marketing program, with your regular promotions, with your involvement in the community, and with your voice in the media, online, and with your customers?

Building a consistent voice – and one that works hard to create an authentic, emotional, connection with your customers is important when developing a marketing strategy around customer loyalty. Answer the questions: what do my best customers want, and how are they feeling? If you can do that, you’ll be well on your way!

Of course, these are just three tips of many when it comes to building customer loyalty in the wide world of healthcare companies. If you’d like to learn more about strengthening your customer interactions, or about building an overall marketing program – don’t hesitate to contact Prizm Media today. Our talented team will help get your marketing efforts started on the right foot and boost your sales in no time.