Healthcare organizations across the country recognize the importance of measuring patient experience. While some studies, such as CAHPS® surveys, are tied to reimbursement requirements, most hospitals and health systems understand that listening to patients is essential to delivering the highest quality care possible. This principle extends beyond healthcare—organizations in every industry rely on customer satisfaction research, online reviews, and testimonials to better understand how they are perceived. A strong product or service combined with authentic customer feedback is critical for retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.
Healthcare organizations are also required to conduct Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) to maintain not-for-profit status. These studies play an important role in understanding the overall health and needs of a community, allowing hospitals and health systems to identify priorities, allocate resources effectively, and maximize their impact on the populations they serve.
Employee and physician research, while not mandated, has become another essential component of organizational success. Leading organizations understand that providing employees with a voice helps uncover opportunities for improvement, strengthen engagement, and create a healthier workplace culture. This is why annual employee studies have become standard practice among top-performing organizations across industries.
These are all key reasons why PRC provides solutions focused on patient experience, community needs, and employee and physician engagement for hospitals and health systems nationwide. But there is another critical area that organizations cannot afford to overlook: market perception research.
Patient experience studies help organizations understand how their patients feel about the care they receive, but what about consumers who are not currently using your organization? Which healthcare providers do they prefer—and why? How do the experiences of your patients shape perceptions throughout the broader community? Are your marketing and public relations efforts effectively communicating new services, quality improvements, brand changes, or other important initiatives? Are you losing local consumers to another hospital in a nearby city or town? Do you need to test new brand taglines, phrases, or imagery? And as patient experience improves, is that translating into stronger perceptions among consumers across the market?
Market perception research is not required; it can sometimes fall lower on the priority list. However, the most successful healthcare organizations understand that maintaining strong patient perceptions alone is not enough. Positive patient experiences certainly contribute to word-of-mouth recommendations and stronger online ratings, but understanding broader consumer sentiment is equally important. Organizations must ensure their reputation, messaging, and brand perception extend beyond the walls of their facilities and resonate throughout the communities they serve.
To learn more about how PRC can help your organization measure and understand market perceptions, please click here to schedule a time to connect with a PRC expert.
About the Author
Keith Schneider
Director, Market Perception
Joining PRC in 2002 with a lifelong passion for branding, Keith employs a deep-seated set of marketing and research skills to help clients obtain actionable insights that will enable them to make strategic decisions to deliver quality care in ways that elevate their brand. During his tenure at PRC, Keith has managed hundreds of complex, custom research projects for healthcare organizations throughout the United States, overseeing the sample design stages, script-writing functions, and sample generation for PRC’s computer-aided telephone interviewing system as well as electronic surveys. Through timely deliverables and engaging, informative presentations, Keith helps ensure that clients have the data they need to assess their image, interpret the findings and fulfill all their research objectives. He currently leads PRC’s Market Perception division and guides custom research to enhance clients’ marketing and branding efforts. Keith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska–Omaha.