Millennials treat the research and purchasing of healthcare services similar to how they research and purchase consumer goods, and are much more likely to make “consumer-driven” choices for healthcare services than older generations, according to the recent digital health briefing on Dotemirates.
The briefing states that millennials – those born between 1977 and 2000 – have a strong propensity carry out research and seek convenience / alternatives when it comes to their healthcare choices. This means that healthcare organisations that embrace the digital and technology worlds in ways that make it easier to find out information about their products have a strong opportunity to engage this very large group of potential consumers, compared to those providers that have a weaker digital presence.
Healthcare as a sector has been slower to embrace the opportunities that digital marketing and the associated behavioural targeting / remarketing technologies available to businesses and vendor – this is in sharp contrast to sectors such as banking and retail, who have fully embraced such technologies – and boast Millennials as arguably their most important customer demographic.
The briefing also talked about the opportunity healthcare providers and insurers have to use incentives to increase uptake of telehealth solutions, with data indicating that a large proportion of consumers would at least consider the use of remote consultations if they could see clear incentives and benefits, and predicted the growth of healthcare-related wearable technology.
Scott Wolf, President and Director of Research for Grace Century, commented “Healthcare is rapidly catching up with other market sectors in the use of digital technology to more intelligently target consumers of healthcare products, and to enable the more effective collection of individual consumer data. This in turn leads to better digital personalisation, and ultimately better, cheaper and more effective healthcare for consumers. Our partner projects such as Quantum’s electronic health records platform PWeR is right at the centre of this positive trend”.
