People like easy. We like free, two-day shipping of virtually anything we buy; instantaneous live-streaming of our favorite TV shows; and having groceries delivered right to our doorstep. And we decide what to buy quickly, using snap judgments. This is especially true for Millennials, who have lived in an instant-gratification world for much of their adult lives, and it’s not limited to leisure-related activities and products. Increasingly, our medical decision-making is driven by an urge for convenient, transparent, and immediate care delivered by reputable providers (Evans, 2018). To stay competitive with CVS, Walmart, Apple, and Amazon (to name a few) – all of which are bucking the current healthcare delivery system by offering more instantaneous access to care – traditional health systems and hospitals need to adapt.
How can healthcare systems find a way to fit into our evolving snap-of-the-finger culture? One obvious answer is to revamp the way healthcare is delivered: offer same-day appointments, provide more evening and weekend options, and create options for warm, personalized telemedicine visits (for those consumers who are ready to take that leap). While these have clear merit and most providers will have to move in this direction, another, arguably more important endeavor is to pay close attention to your brand. In a time when people are of a ‘one-click’ mindset, healthcare organizations’ images matter. A lot. Because increasingly, consumers are using fast-paced decision-making that relies on their pre-existing beliefs to guide their healthcare choices. Instead of relying almost exclusively on PCP referrals like generations past, younger healthcare consumers – who are especially likely to value their autonomy, independence, and freedom – increasingly use the information they’ve gathered on their own to guide their healthcare decision-making.
It’s easy to think that when we make important decisions, such as where to go for healthcare, we engage in deliberative thought processes that take a lot of mental effort. However, judgment and decision-making scholars have long known that this is only part of the story. Research has shown time and again that we have a tendency to rely on “heuristics,” or mental shortcuts that don’t require much cognitive bandwidth, when making choices, even those that are high-stakes (Chaiken & Trope, 1999). They’re simple. One shortcut that we commonly use is a brand’s reputation. If we have positive, strong perceptions of a brand, it jumps out in our minds, and we’re likely to gravitate towards it. Recent studies we have performed for our clients demonstrate that younger generations are not only less likely to have a PCP, but are also more likely to rely on their own lay impressions of healthcare organizations (which tend to be based on word-of-mouth and information they see and read on social media) when deciding where to go for care. In other words, they’re more likely to use a brand’s reputation as a decision-making shortcut, and let it guide their choices about where to receive care.
For this reason, it’s critical that healthcare organizations maintain strong reputations. A healthcare system or hospital’s reputation matters because it’s a shortcut consumers will use to guide their decision-making, even in the face of novel, Amazon Prime-like approaches to healthcare. Thus, although CVS may offer instant access to care, it may not be the first option that pops into a consumer’s head when they think of reputable options for care. Instead, healthcare organizations with sturdy images will. At Market Street Research, we have decades-worth of experience measuring healthcare organizations’ image and reputation and the factors that contribute to maintaining a strong brand. By helping more traditional healthcare organizations harness the power of brand, we’re helping to keep them competitive.