The importance of B2B health tech patient journey mapping

Even though the B2B health tech marketer’s primary goal is to reach buyers at healthcare organizations, leveraging how your patient end-users will engage with the technology or service should be the foundation of your messaging and content strategy.

Read on to learn how B2B marketers can better understand how to use patient journey mapping to gain a better understanding of how patients.

Taking stock of the patient experience

While your leadership and product development teams may undertake UX exercises, it is essential to approach them with a marketer’s eye.

• Map how your product or service fits into the patient journey. Understanding where your product or service impacts the patient journey helps marketers identify potential blockers and take stock of the competitive landscape. Need help with better B2B customer journey mapping? Read this article.
• Review user experience (UX) test results. User testing offers marketers unparalleled insight into how products can and will be utilized in the real world to build authentic messaging regarding usability. You may even grab a testimonial or usability stat to use.
• Develop patient population personas. Marketers know their buyer personas, but have you thought about your end-users? Knowing how different patient populations engage with technology will help you develop better messaging for your buyers. It may even be the key to winning over potential blockers.

For example, the award-winning website we created for our client SYNERGEN Health not only considers its target audiences’ (hospitals, health systems, labs, and ASCs) pain points and needs but also how their tech impacts their audiences’ patients’ experience.

Trends in patient experience

It’s no secret that, within the past few years, changing online behaviors have significantly impacted what patients expect from providers and their healthcare experiences.

Based on these three stats, patients want an experience that aligns with the convenience, transparency, and simplicity they’ve come to know in other areas of their lives. Utilize this type of data when patient journey mapping to improve your messaging and product positioning.

1. 96% of patients want an accurate upfront estimate of treatment costs. As patients take on a greater share of their healthcare costs, convenience and transparency are key. Even if your health tech solution is not patient-facing, understanding how services are paid for and communicated with the patient is essential.
2. 80% of patients prefer using their smartphones to interact with healthcare providers. When researching your personas and the people on your buying committee, you’ll likely run into a blocker. One of the blocker’s objections might be that patients won’t use digital health technology. However, if your solution is as easy and convenient, it’s precisely the type of interaction patients seek.
3. In this survey, 50% of respondents said they would prefer to make routine appointments via phone rather than in person after a visit, and ~40% would prefer to do so exclusively online. So, when patient journey mapping, don’t forget that the patient experience doesn’t stop after they leave the doctor’s office, and neither should your messaging.

Patients expect convenience and leading-edge care at every point in their healthcare journey. Integrating patient expectations and experience into your brand message gives your buyers confidence that your products and services keep patients and their care top-of-mind.

Need help with B2B health tech patient journey mapping?

As a B2B healthcare marketing agency partner that gets healthcare, biotech, and life sciences brand and product positioning, we’re here to help answer any questions you may have.