They also have social media channels where they can exchange information about healthcare prices, therapies, experiences, and technological developments. But although choice and information are empowering, health remains intensely personal, and it’s difficult to know whom to trust. With so much information available to consumers, it’s hard to assess which information is directly applicable to a person’s specific needs.
Within this perfect storm lies an incredible opportunity for the healthcare industry, from pharmaceutical companies to individual healthcare providers, to earn consumers’ trust by providing the personalized and empowering experiences they’ve come to expect from interactive online retail experiences. Healthcare companies must offer a deeper level of personalization and control while still protecting patient information. Consumers can then enjoy a healthcare journey with companies they trust and with physicians they feel better understand their needs.
Connecting with Consumers
Customer-centric companies know that building trust with consumers is key to success. But how do companies build that foundational element of trust in a crowded marketplace? How do corporations, physician practices, and health-focused companies rise above the noise to connect with consumers and gain market share?
In the world of instant and abbreviated communication, gaining brand value and brand equity is challenging, and delivering personalization and/or medical specifics compliantly is increasingly difficult. In this heavily regulated industry, companies are also bound by rules that often restrict marketing messages and sales strategy. In addition, healthcare providers no longer are willing to sit through lengthy presentations about current products or the latest promotions. Everyone has less available time, and companies are seeking ways to optimize those interactions.
To gain market share, embrace emerging technologies, and address disruptions, companies are turning more frequently to an M&A strategy—and then suffering through painful integrations. Often, company leaders are focused on developing products and pursuing additional indications for currently approved products and may lose sight of important market-entry opportunities. The resulting struggle to reach optimal commercial potential can be costly for the entire organization.
The negative impact can be felt in internal culture shifts, reduced conversion rates, and declines in the rate at which sales teams adopt marketing campaigns and new technologies. Even if an offering’s commercial potential is reached, building and maintaining long-term brand equity is challenging. Leaders know they need to build durable virtual relationships that feel personal and genuine. They need a technology partner that can show them how to maximize those deep brand connections and help them build a comprehensive ecosystem to address disruptive trends and capitalize on the opportunities presented by commerce in healthcare—opportunities driven by the focus on consumerism.
Building Confidence and Trust
Astound has the people, technology, and deep healthcare industry expertise to help companies achieve a direct, personalized, and innovative connection with consumers—whether they are healthcare providers or patients—to maximize and quantify return on investment and to build on brand value and brand equity. Whether you specialize in marketing, sales, legal, compliance, regulatory requirements, quality, or operations, or are in the C-suite, Astound has the experience and connections that can help. We know how to address the concerns your company faces in a heavily regulated industry and an ever-changing and complex market. We have charted the course from digital commerce to healthcare consumerism, and we want you to capitalize on our experience.
In a recent live poll conducted at the Future Pharma meeting in Boston, Astound asked leaders in pharma, biotech, hospitals, and other healthcare-related companies about their biggest challenge in addressing the disruption caused by the explosion of commerce in healthcare. More than 47 percent indicated their biggest challenge was developing a comprehensive commerce and digital strategy for their company.
Astound has successfully partnered with healthcare companies of all sizes to build comprehensive strategies for digital commerce ecosystems, streamlining and integrating multiple, disparate systems and data and creating infrastructure and improved processes for solutions integrations and seamless implementations. We also have developed new and innovative revenue channels that empower healthcare providers to manage and sell products on their own custom-enabled microsites to more readily meet consumer demand.
These leading-edge solutions create impactful, win-win scenarios for companies, providers, and consumers. Large-company brand equity is enhanced, and individual providers maintain direct connections with their patients/consumers. This allows providers to differentiate themselves and focus on what they do best: delivering personalized, unrivaled care in a highly competitive landscape.