Health care branding in the pandemic: Lessons in trust and engagement
Consumer engagement took a jump during the early months of the pandemic, only to fall as time went on.
A new report on health care branding acknowledges the incredible stress test that the industry has been put under in recent months yet finds that many core values have not changed in the relationship between providers and consumers.
The latest “Humanizing Brand Experience” report from Monigle takes a deep dive into health care branding and consumer feedback. The researchers surveyed more than 30,000 Americans in three separate online polls, from 2018 to 2020, focusing on family health care decision-makers. It partnered with the Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development and the American Hospital Association in creating the study.
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The report outlined the dramatic changes of the last two years but found that many basic concepts around trust and engagement have been reinforced.
“The data in our research this year reflects the mass disruption experienced by people across the United States. Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic, gains in health care engagement have been shaken. Inequity in access to care has been spotlighted,” the report said. “So much of our industry has been altered. And yet, the data also tells us that people’s fundamental emotional, functional, and experiential needs from health care have remained the same.”
A jump in engagement—then a decline
The report found a surprising boomerang effect in consumer engagement: there was an eight-point jump in consumer engagement during the early months of the pandemic, only to fall back to 2019 levels as time went on.
The authors suggest a familiar concept is behind the retreat on engagement—burnout. “While health care has been front and center for many throughout the pandemic, the biggest softening in engagement is in peoples’ topical Interest in content about health and wellness. The perpetual waterfall of content may have left them feeling fatigued and overloaded,” the study said.
The report added that consumers are not seeing as much financial value in their health care transactions—which may again be a sign of burnout and being overwhelmed.
In the meantime, this dissatisfaction and disengagement with traditional brands has opened up opportunities for new innovation, the study said, finding that so-called “disrupters” have thrived during the pandemic. “These non-traditional health care providers began with solutions and offerings that directly filled the gaps in health care and were structured from the start to be more adaptable than traditional brands. An emphasis on consumer-centric innovation and digital experiences helped these brands excel during an unprecedented year.”
Another interesting finding was a link between engagement and income: the researchers found that the most significant factor for health care engagement was income. “We saw engagement decline as household income decreased,” the report said. “This contrast reveals a deep income-driven inequity not only in physical health, but in overall health engagement.”
A lack of trust?
The issue of trust has become an important area of focus, according to the report. In the second year of the pandemic, the U.S. saw a rise of misinformation on health topics, as well as heated debate around measures such as vaccination and mask-wearing.
The good news is that trust in providers and health care brands saw a slight increase in 2020. The researchers wrote that, overall, consumers still feel their particular health care systems are trustworthy.
The report suggested three strategies for building trust with the public: offering choices to consumers; being transparent about health information or services; and listening to consumers’ input. It noted the nation’s most trusted health care brand, Johns Hopkins, made transparency and clarity top priorities during the pandemic.
“With a focus on the questions that were top of mind for consumers across the country, John Hopkins created a Coronavirus Resource Center and National Dashboard to keep people and the medical community informed about the latest developments,” the report said. “This public service, offered by a brand that already had a strong reputation, boosted trust and brand strength during a year when many struggled.”
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