Healthcare reputation management in 2017

In 2017, we saw numerous large companies fall prey to poor reputation management and crisis communication preparation. The airline industry snagged a front seat for most damaging headlines.

In an era dependent on transparency and trust, it is more important than ever to have the right systems and communication channels in place to maintain a company’s reputation with all stakeholders. As a company that works with many healthcare organizations, Ballast Group decided to take a closer look at reputation management in the healthcare space and why it is so important.

In the beginning of 2017, Binary Fountain’s executive vice president of strategy and corporate development Andrew Rainey wrote a piece on healthcare consumerism and the marketing trends that follow. At the top of Rainey’s list was “adopt a full transparency review.” His reason for including this trend? Patients and healthcare consumers have an increasing amount of access to healthcare choices. They look for the hospitals or companies that have the best ratings and the most trustworthy reviews and consequently are more selective with their options.

In the same section of Rainey’s piece, he comments on the number of outlets available for consumers and patients to voice their reviews and experiences. Third-party review sites continue to grow making reputation management more important and often more difficult. In order to find a voice and a place at the top of this growing list of options, healthcare companies need to maintain a spotless reputation to prove worthy to the country’s harshest generation of consumers and critics.

So how do healthcare companies maintain their reputation in our highly-monitored world? How do they remain transparent and best communicate with their audiences?

Ballast Group’s founder Kellee Johnson has always believed in looking to third-party stakeholders as an honest and transparent voice for companies. 

Recently, our team worked with a home care agency serving metropolitan Chicago that provides professional home care options to part of the nearly 1.9 million people in Illinois over the age of 65. In order help the agency stand out against more than 700 similar agencies in Illinois and enhance its overall presence and reputation, we looked to caregivers, clients and referral sources to share their experiences through social channels, blog posts and in a Chicago Tribune article. Third party voices lend more credibility to any story. This storytelling approach reaches the most important audiences in the channels that matter most.

By integrating these voices into an integrated PESO media model (paid, earned, shared, owned), nearly one million people were reached and the company stood out in a crowded market. Results showed an increase in engagement and a higher review rating on its primary social channel, Facebook, and most important, an uptake in the number of new caregiver applicants and client request for services.

For more PR tips and to learn strategies for developing and telling your organization’s story to your most important audiences in the channels that matter, contact @KelleeJohnson or @Ballast_ Group. Also visit http://ballastgroup.com.