6 ways healthcare brands achieve dominance through patient experience

In the highly competitive healthcare sector, providing an excellent patient experience (PX) is becoming a major advantage for leading brands. Top healthcare companies stand out not only by consistently meeting customer expectations but also by building stronger loyalty through superior experiences.

In July and August 2024, bespokeCX and CX4ROCKS conducted an online survey in partnership with OnResearch to investigate how consumer preferences towards a brand shift based on their interactions across different touchpoints throughout a patient or customer journey.

The survey targeted 1,000 people in the US and Canada and asked them about their experiences in five key sectors: telecom, finance, healthcare, energy, and retail. It focused on identifying the preferred channels and touchpoints for customer-brand interactions and determining which channels are perceived to offer quicker resolutions.

For healthcare, the research covered national and regional hospitals, insurance firms, drug companies and pharmacies, including familiar names like Abbott, Blue Cross, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group and Walgreens.

This article presents six key takeaways from the healthcare sector findings, which demonstrate how the top healthcare brands maintain their leading positions.

1. Only 34% of healthcare brands build unbreakable patient relationships

Approximately one-third of healthcare brands (34 percent) have established “unbreakable relationships” with their patients, demonstrating the benefits of strong loyalty and trust. In contrast, 15 percent of patients report that their relationship with their healthcare brand is fractured or strained.

The remaining 51 percent fall somewhere in between, reflecting relationships that are neither fully secure nor completely broken, but potentially waver depending on various factors.

Figure 1: Healthcare brands categorized into tiers based on patients’ perception.

2. The top brands foster loyalty through consistently great PX

Top-performing healthcare brands have been able to foster unbreakable patient relationships by consistently delivering exceptional experiences, particularly during critical interactions where patients seek assistance with important questions.

These brands excel in providing an outstanding patient experience 65 percent of the time, a level of performance that directly strengthens brand loyalty. In fact, 57 percent of patients who recently had an exceptional experience reported a significant increase in their overall loyalty to the brand.

This heightened loyalty acts as a safeguard, insulating healthcare providers from competitive and market forces that continuously attempt to sway patients to switch providers.

Figure 2: Level of exceptional support provided by different brands.

3. Patient demands for professionalism and effortless experiences are met

Patients are constantly looking for brand actions that showcase professionalism and knowledge while making the experience effortless.

Top brands outperform middling brands by a factor of three when it comes to eliciting these positive emotions from patients, which is why they are positioned above the rest.

Figure 3: Performance of brand tiers on the predictors of brand perception.

4. Top brands foster deliver on professionalism

Patients report that top brands are 1.8 times more likely to show compassion during interactions. These brands are also 1.7 times more likely to ensure seamless channel switching and 1.4 times more likely to communicate in a way that is easy to understand.

Top brands are twice as likely to empower frontline employees with the authority to resolve issues, making the experience more effortless for patients. Brands that create effortless experiences are also twice as responsive, therefore addressing patient requests faster.

When it comes to demonstrating expertise, patients prioritize two things:

• Clear, easy-to-understand information;
• Not having to repeat themselves.

This area is the lowest performance area for top brands and a top area for middling brands, presenting a key opportunity for improvement.

Figure 4: Performance of brand tiers on influencers of professionalism, effortlessness, and knowledge.

5. Excellent service online and in person helps outperform the competition

The most frequent types of patient requests in healthcare involve prescriptions and medication-related questions, which are generally the easiest for brands to handle. However, at the other end of the spectrum, healthcare brands often struggle with appointment scheduling and management inquiries.

To improve in this area, brands need to focus on simplifying the process and making it easier for patients to navigate these interactions effectively.

Figure 5: Performance of exceptional support and predictors for types of requests for which patient contacted their healthcare provider.

When it comes to the channels patients use to access help, phone is the preferred and most frequently used option, outpacing physical locations or websites by a margin of three to one. This preference is understandable, as patients are three times more likely to have their question answered on the first attempt when using the phone. However, despite being the optimal channel, only 32 percent of patients find it easy to use.

Where top brands truly excel is in the performance of their websites and physical locations, they are three times more likely to provide an effortless experience through these channels compared to middling brands. One reason top brands' websites outperform competitors is the ease of logging in. At their physical locations, top brands empower frontline employees with the authority to take action and resolve requests, while also ensuring these employees display empathy.

These differences set top-performing healthcare brands apart from their middling counterparts. For brands in the middle, closing the gap requires prioritizing these key actions to elevate patient experiences and move toward industry leadership.

Figure 6: Percentage of patients who preferred and used certain channels to contact support and how they rated their experience.

6. Frontline staff are empowered and processes streamlining

Success begins with focusing on staff training, followed by empowering frontline staff with the authority to act on behalf of the brand. Whether the interaction is person-to-person or through self-help, the experience must be effortless and professional, leaving patients with the sense that the brand truly understands their needs.

A particular focus should be placed on improving the appointment scheduling and management process. For self-help channels, this means ensuring the website is easy to navigate, especially the login process. In physical locations, it’s crucial to resolve issues on the first visit, helping patients avoid unnecessary follow-ups.

Ultimately, it's not just about resolving requests quickly, but also showcasing professionalism and knowledge while making the experience effortless for the patient. This comprehensive approach can transform healthcare brands, moving them from mediocrity to industry leadership.

Quick links

• Pitching experience to the C-suite: A CXO's guide
• Don’t let bad policies be the silent killer of your brand
• Three steps to transforming the patient experience

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