Geomarketing in
Healthcare: How to Attract
and Retain Patients

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If you’re a healthcare leader, you know how challenging it is to service your patient population.

Hospitals and health systems lost over $300 billion in 2020, leaving fewer funds to service your organizational and patient needs. Simultaneously, with the increased use of mobile technology and the COVID pandemic, "near me" searches for healthcare skyrocketed as users rely more and more on search engines to find medical services.

Today, your healthcare services must show up in search results and provide location data on your website to effectively service the local patient population. Without this, potential patients may select more digitally savvy providers that can meet their expectations.

In this post, we'll provide an all-encompassing rundown of geomarketing, including explaining why and how to use it to attract and retain patients, examples, and tips for immediate implementation, including how and when to use a platform like MapQuest for Business to meet your patients’ needs.

What is Geomarketing?

Geomarketing relies on location data to deliver proximity-based. personalized experiences, such as allowing location-enabled devices to receive notifications. Location intelligence also boosts visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In healthcare geomarketing efforts by hospitals and healthcare service providers help patients with navigation and support their digital journey to find health care services by sharing relevant information to patients based on their location.

Why is Geomarketing Important for Healthcare?

Geomarketing is vital to healthcare because most services are location and community-based. The majority of your patients will live within a certain radius of the physical location. They will also be using the internet to conduct their searches for services in their area. Therefore, attracting and retaining patients using location data is more critical than ever.

Few providers can afford to stick with outdated business practices, particularly if other health care services in your area have a geomarketing plan in place that gets them in front of potential patients before they ever find you. Localized marketing helps you hyper-target likely patients and engage with clients in a relevant and timely manner.

For example, hospital systems can leverage location intelligence to deliver seamless patient experiences while impacting the bottom line at the same time.

Moreover, proximity data gives your healthcare company more opportunities to build relationships. A Gallup poll finds, "Six in 10 Americans believe the US healthcare system is in a state of crisis." Demonstrating the trustworthiness of your healthcare services starts by meeting user expectations from their very first online search.

These efforts improve patient experiences, boost loyalty, and enhance your reputation. Additionally, location data can support value-based care goals, like driving patient experiences, assisting caregivers, and reducing costs.

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How Can You Service Patients and Employees Better with Geomarketing?

Bring in new patients with geomarketing by delivering personalized, location-based messages.

Plus, make it easy to find your healthcare facility once patients have found you online by adding a map to your website.

Proximity data can inform marketing strategies and ensure you're connecting with the patient population at the right time and place.

Location-based services help by:

  • Increasing your facilities visibility in popular "near me" searches resulting in more click-throughs and phone calls
  • Helping people find healthcare services during public health emergencies, such as COVID-19 testing or vaccine sites
  • Integrating with your electronic medical record (EMR) system, like Epic, for smooth on-line check-in and personalized care delivery
  • Keep your Patient’s Private Health Information (PHI) private and remain HIPAA compliant with MapQuest’s privacy tested API’s
  • Raising local brand awareness by adding facility locations to online listings services like ZocDoc or MapQuest
  • Providing location data to inform social media strategies and advance your reach on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat
  • Improving the effectiveness of paid advertising to promote healthcare services based on local market trends

How Can You Meet Patients’ Expectations
with Geomarketing?

Increase patient satisfaction using location services to tailor messages to individuals based on location, popular local features, or even the weather. Additionally, proximity services help you assess and plan for future demands, ensuring your hospital stays relevant in the coming years.

Many clients expect healthcare services to provide the same level of care across all digital platforms. By personalizing your messages to local communities, you can create trusted relationships.

Improve patient experiences by:

Location Visibility

Giving patients visibility into locations and letting them control their interactions with your facility

Search Filters

Offering search filtering capabilities so patients can look for hospital locations with specific attributes

Meet Patient Needs

Meeting patient needs by adding new locations and services based on proximity data and market demand

Track Location Data

Tracking patient location data to give personalized and timely experiences based on local market trends

Optimized Routes

Providing clients with optimized routes to reduce worries about traveling to your location and save them time
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Other Benefits of Location Data for Healthcare

Even with a rise in telehealth, physical locations remain essential for patient care. As Think With Google reports, "Local convenience is key as "near me" searches for health-related services has doubled since 2015."

Healthcare GeoVending services provide advantages to your company, such as:

Resource allocation

Proximity data can identify local patient potential, allowing you to plan future services or adjust existing offerings.

PATIENT EXPERIENCE

Deliver value and boost your healthcare brand by customizing messaging to people based on demographics, location, and lifestyle data.

PRIORITIZE OUTREACH

Business intelligence gives insights into geographical locations, helping you guide new patient outreach and awareness activities.

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Historical and real-time location data enhances your scheduling and inventory process while supporting automation goals.

PATIENT LOYALTY

Personalized messaging derived from location data improves relationships and experiences, leading to increases in patient loyalty.

AD SPEND

Geomarketing helps you tailor advertisements to local patient populations for a higher return on investment (ROI).

EXPANSION

Localized marketing data delivers insights to hone in on your local market while planning for more significant regional developments.

PARTNERSHIPS

Use geomarketing to discover local health-related services with high sales potential and embark on strategic alliances.

ASSESS VIABILITY

Evaluate new products and services based on location data to improve your operational processes.

ONLINE VISIBILITY

Proximity information helps people find your facility and services online and learn more.

ROUTE OPTIMIZATION

Improve efficiencies and track mileage reimbursements using route optimization for transportation and healthcare workers.

Measuring the ROI of Geomarketing

Patient experiences are a core measurement for the effectiveness of hospital programs and services. Higher satisfaction rates lead to repeat visits, better online reviews, and more word-of-mouth referrals.

Healthcare leaders measure the ROI by:

  • Evaluating how operational improvements, such as enhanced efficiency, reducing overall costs
  • Exploring gains to patient loyalty stemming from personalized experiences and meeting patient expectations
  • Examining how integrations with EMR programs deliver value and increase the ROI of your location intelligence through your EMR
  • Reviewing market reach to assess brand awareness growth realized from increased targeting capabilities
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3 Real Examples for Healthcare

A successful digital transformation depends on integrated, user-friendly applications. In short, geomarketing isn't a one-size-fits-all program. Instead, health systems leverage various intelligence platforms and tools to support local or regional goals while improving workflows.

Healthcare professionals appreciate solutions that enhance the patient experience and deliver added value via operational efficiencies. Use these examples to explore ways proximity data can increase your profitability.


1. St. Luke's Health System: Kansas City, Missouri

St. Luke's Health System serving the Kansas City, MO region, wanted to connect its EMR system with geodata services to ensure cohesive provider and patient experiences. However, not every geodata vendor supports all Epic modules. Fortunately, MapQuest for Business provided the perfect solution.

Brian Fuller, an Application Analyst at St. Luke's Health System, says, "As an Epic user, we successfully partnered with MapQuest as our Geodata vendor. The MapQuest solution provided easy implementation, good value, and met all our Epic technical requirements."

Furthermore, location mapping technologies on St. Luke's Health System website improve user experience by allowing patients to search for care by location and type of services. Individuals can choose from facilities, such as:

  • Hospital
  • Convenient care clinic
  • Physician practice
  • Lab
  • Surgery center
  • Walk-in clinic

Or patients can type in a specialty, and the search tool offers convenient auto-complete suggestions. For instance, if you type the word "knee," you can narrow your search by clicking on recommendations such as knee ligament repair or total knee replacement.

2. Centura Health: Denver, Colorado

Centura Health in Denver, CO, offers patients an extensive list of health services across many locations and facilities. . But, patients experiencing pain or a chronic health problem may not know where to start their health journey. However, with MapQuest for Business, patients can find the nearest facility and explore provider sites on the search results page.

Like St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City, MO, users can allow their web browser or mobile phone to access location data to auto-populate a list of local services. Furthermore, they can tailor their search to a specific facility name or group, specialty, condition, or treatment.

For instance, the auto-complete feature automatically offers suggestions based on your search term. If you type "knee" into the search bar, the site recommends knee replacement or knee surgery.

Once you're viewing the list of sites, you can narrow your search results by selecting facility types. This function is helpful for those needing emergency services versus patients wanting to find a therapy provider. The user can control their experience by looking at services in a list form or opting for a visual map view.

3. Kaiser Southern California Permanente Medical Group: Pasadena, California

With 253 locations, Kaiser Southern California Permanente Medical Group serving Pasadena, CA needed an easy way for consumers to connect to the right healthcare services. The "Locate a Facility" tool solves that problem.

A visually appealing map shows pins of every location. Users can select or unselect a color-coded tab above the map to narrow their choices. Clicking on a pin highlights location-specific details, allowing users to get directions or find more info.

Patients can tap "Get Directions" to bring up a MapQuest for Business mapping feature. The individual inputs their starting address, and their chosen medical facility's address is already provided. Plus, the printer-friendly map allows less digital-savvy consumers to get printed instructions to their medical facility.

3 Tips to Implement Geomarketing for Healthcare

Geomarketing isn't a short-term plan. Instead, success comes from a purposeful and comprehensive approach. Need ideas to put your location-based strategy to work? Use the following tips to attract new patients and retain existing clients.

Provide an Interactive Map Experience on Your Website

Today's consumers expect your healthcare website to function like every other online tool—convenient and user-friendly. An interactive map experience that works on all devices and allows users to customize their view supports excellent patient experiences.

Furthermore, it helps patients locate the best facility for their needs and can even provide driving instructions. With location intelligence platforms like MapQuest for Business, you can build experiences that deliver on your brand's promise and support patients as they start their healthcare journey.

Integrate Location Technology Into Your EMR System

Embedding maps into your EMR system allows care managers to optimize routes to better serve a greater number of patients cost-effectively. Optimal route creation results in improved patient experiences because traveling caregivers spend less time on navigation and more time with patients.

Embedded maps:

  • Let you verify location accuracy, reducing routing errors due to incorrect data entry or outdated address information.
  • Highlight traffic information using mobile software development kits (SDKs) so users can zoom in on locations and avoid traffic congestion.
  • Work on Android and iOS devices which supports a wide range of users, from home health care workers to patients.
  • Have a fast load time on mobile and desktop devices, ensuring seamless delivery and excellent patient and employee experiences.
  • Offer various map styles, such as satellite, streets, hybrid, dark, and light views

Leverage Proximity Data to Maximize Your ROI

Context-aware services can have a far-reaching impact on your healthcare system. Enlisting a GeoVendor supports patients and employees while helping you reach local and regional objectives.

Before selecting a solution, consider how it can help various health populations and care providers. Local facilities can provide insights into community needs and help you discover ways to use proximity data to maximize your ROI.

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Geomarketing: Discover the Potential

Consumers head to the web for nearly every decision, including healthcare treatment options. However, hospital systems with multiple locations can have vastly different patient populations. Location-based data lets you personalize your communications based on local market trends and needs.

As healthcare facilities face increasing costs and profit shortfalls, providers can differentiate their offerings using a Geovendor to attract and retain patients. Discover the potential of MapQuest for Business today.

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