Discover how you can demonstrate a strong ROI even in the face of rising healthcare costs and shrinking budgets.
Did you know that Healthgrades engages the largest audience of consumers searching for care? Not only are our users 40% more likely to be commercially insured, but 67% of consumers who visit Healthgrades physician profiles make an appointment within a week. With Healthgrades’ advertising solutions, your brand and physicians will be placed front and center when patients actively search for healthcare options. Here’s how:
- Through prominent branding on physician search pages and profiles on our site, Healthgrades increases brand awareness and visibility.
- Our competitive intercept feature lets you showcase your medical staff as excellent alternatives on your competitors’ doctor profiles.
- We go even further by extending your brand’s reach across the web through our syndication network. This means your presence isn’t limited to one platform but is seamlessly integrated into partner sites, offering patients a consistent and unified experience.
- For easy conversion, we integrate online appointment scheduling for in-person and telehealth services directly into your doctors’ profiles to drive patients to your hospital’s most profitable service lines.
As health system leaders are aware, costs continue to rise, and elective procedures remain lower than pre-COVID levels—causing most health systems to feel the effects of financial pressure. Providing care has become more expensive due to labor shortages, increased supply costs, and lower volumes coupled with higher acuity.
Nevertheless, health systems remain resilient in “the wake of the worst financial year in recent memory,” according to Advisory Board. Although hospital operating margins are still below historical levels, more hospitals now increasingly report positive margins. In comparison, over half of all hospitals reported negative margins in 2022. These numbers underscore how important it is for decision-makers to start planning for the future as margins slowly increase.
But here’s where the challenge lies: Most health systems’ marketing budgets are shrinking. Before the pandemic, the average rate for health system marketing budgets was about 11% of a company’s revenue. Since the pandemic, those rates have dropped to 6-9% in 2021 and 2022. Across the board, healthcare marketing budgets have declined by 8%, resulting in a system average of $7.6 million—a decrease from the year before, which saw an average budget of $8.3 million. Investing in proper growth strategies and demonstrating return on investment is more paramount than ever.
We have a solution. By partnering with Healthgrades, health systems can maximize the impact of their marketing dollars by converting consumer demand into hospital encounters and clearly measuring success with ROI reports. We have been measuring return on investment for our partners since 2011 and can provide a breakdown of new patients, new-to-service line patients, and existing patients in order to demonstrate your program’s total ROI.
Not entirely convinced yet? Healthgrades conducted A/B tests with two major health systems to determine the effectiveness of their Healthgrades Advertising programs—and both clients demonstrated a 150% increase in new patient phone calls for doctors promoted in the program compared to doctors not in the program.
If you’re looking to nudge a greater number of qualified patients to appoint with your hospital while also staying on track with retention goals, consider a partnership with Healthgrades. With Healthgrades, you can mitigate financial risks while boosting brand exposure and acquiring patients—a promise we can guarantee.
Partner programs with Healthgrades are designed to create a 5:1 ROI for new and new-to-service-line patients.
Healthgrades ROI is CFO-defensible because it is hard ROI—not soft ROI—that is measured through actual reconciliation. Patients appointed through Healthgrades are matched to hospital and practice claims with health system financials applied. Even before we partner, our data science team can determine your ROI and contribution margin, creating a report for you with a high degree of accuracy.
Transform your health system’s marketing department from a cost or expense center to a revenue center. Ready to get started? Request your ROI or contribution margin analysis today.
