Revolutionizing the Healthcare Consumer Experience — Kristy LoRusso
In today’s ever-evolving healthcare landscape, the role of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) has become pivotal in shaping and enhancing the overall consumer experience. Traditional models and doctor-patient interactions alone are no longer sufficient to meet the demands of a digitally-driven era, where technology, rising consumer expectations, and patient-centric care have taken center stage. As CMOs, we have the unique opportunity to orchestrate transformative experiences for healthcare consumers, paving the way for improved engagement and satisfaction.
I had the privilege of participating in a Modern Healthcare roundtable discussion moderated by Mike Butler, focusing on the need for healthcare organizations to prioritize the consumer experience as a fundamental business imperative. Alongside my esteemed fellow CMOs, Nick Ragone, Mack McGee, and Jennifer Bazante, we addressed the evolving nature of consumer expectations within the industry. Furthermore, we explored how delivering an exceptional consumer experience can serve as a powerful differentiator, enabling organizations to stand out amidst their competitors. Below are a few insights from our conversation.
“As Kaiser Permanente is both a payer and provider, we’re transforming consumer experience end-to-end. Our role is to get the core capabilities right each and every day — to pull the administrative friction out of the system and identify the key care experiences and caring moments that we can deliver with consistency every time. Using the data, listening, and bringing that forward in the organization is one of the roles of a CMO. Making sure there is a really clear brand promise that everyone can understand and own is another part of the role, because delivering experience is much more than a marketing accountability. In my role, I define the brand and help people understand it, yet I need to help empower everyone working at Kaiser Permanente to live the brand every day.”
“Whether a company is well along the way to transforming their consumer experience or is still undertaking the initial steps, we are all mission-based organizations committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Relating back to the idea of creating simplicity that we’ve been talking about, health literacy is extremely important. One of the accomplishments at Kaiser Permanente that I’m most proud of actually happened several years ago — before we were even in this experience management conversation — when we put into place clear and simple rules that can be applied to all our communications. These guidelines allow us to be accountable for ensuring that what we are saying is in language that everyone understands.”
“In organizations of our size, it’s critical that everyone sees the same North Star Vision. For instance, what do we mean when we use words like ‘experience management,’ ‘real-time feedback’ or ‘journey’? As marketers, we use this language all day long. We need to make sure everyone understands what these words mean in a context that they can understand. That’s something we’ve been paying close attention to, in order to rally the organization.”
“In order to gain stakeholder buy-in and funding for experience transformation initiatives, I’ve been relentless about taking experience out of a functional accountability when talking with others. Experience is all our jobs. Everyone has a role in that.”
To read the full Modern Healthcare article, please click here
Kristy LoRusso is a strong advocate for marketing integration and growth through innovation with more than 25 years of leadership experience. Well regarded for her ability to build, lead, and motivate teams, she is a senior marketing executive and an expert in digital and direct marketing, marketing technology, big data, analytics, and consumer insight. As an agent for positive change and advocate for collaboration, Kristy is a creator of sustainable growth and empowerment for those around her. Her degree in psychology aids her in understanding human behavior — as a marketer, a leader and a corporate spokesperson.
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