Health Marketers, Are You Making These 2020 Most Cringeworthy Statements?

Becker’s Health recently released discussions with four hospital and health system marketing executives about the conversations they have found to be most cringeworthy this year and what to say instead. Are you possibly saying similar things like the ones mentioned below?

“We” (Marketer) Statements vs. “You” (Patient) Statements

Manny Rodriguez, Chief Marketing, Experience & Customer Officer at UCHealth expresses the need to take “we” out of conversations. Healthcare marketers should not feel the need to “feature themselves” or their companies during conversation. Instead, the focus should be on the wellbeing of patients, so “we” statements should be changed to “you” statements” – the customer should be at the forefront of the conversation.

Broad messaging ≠ tailored, data-backed messaging

Suzanne Hendery, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Renown Health, feels the most cringeworthy healthcare marketing conversations involve someone thinking that broad messaging, like a billboard with a picture of doctors, is an effective way to market a product or service. Hendery finds it even more cringey when said person still thinks a billboard is a good idea, even after explaining that the vast accessibility to technology and data tools allow us to run effective campaigns capable of reaching a target audience at scale.

“We’ve always done it this way”

Sandra Mackey, Chief Marketing Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health thinks the most cringeworthy statements are when healthcare marketers say, “we’ve always done it this way.” How can you believe that statement to be true when, especially right now, the needs of customers are constantly changing and evolving? This phrase is a very outdated one, and the current global pandemic is a perfect example of how quickly major changes can take place and how companies must adapt to meet the needs of each customer appropriately and effectively.

“We just need to tell our story better”

Catherine Harrell, Chief Marketing Officer at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System dislikes the phrase, “we just need to tell our story better.” Harrell says what this actually translates to is the marketer hasn’t see him/herself in the news and or people are not talking to him/her about their work.

In today’s world, with thousands of messages coming from all different directions to the eyes and ears of potential customers, what we do communicate needs to be relevant, compelling and carefully tailored to meet the unique needs of customers on their personal health journeys

Source: Cringeworthy conversations: 4 healthcare marketers sound off on language they find most annoying