In 1951, Christopher Strachey, a British computer scientist and one of the founders of denotational semantics, created an automated draughts bot (draughts is British for checkers). This was the first instance of artificial intelligence, or, as everyone likes to call it, AI.
Fast forward to 2023, and things have changed. To some, AI is a godsend that does just about anything you throw at it with exceptional and scary accuracy. For others, it's the bogeyman who's coming to steal your job. Whichever category you fall into, you have to agree with one thing. AI is here to stay.
AI has revolutionised how companies work. Processes that took hours and hours of effort are now done in a matter of minutes. There is not a single industry that AI hasn't touched yet.
Adopting AI in your organisation has its benefits. The main ones include:
- No Errors: AI makes little to no mistakes. This is one place where humans cannot compete.
- 24/7 Uptime: AI can run 24/7. No monitoring is required. This is not the case for humans.
- Faster Data Processing: AI computes thousands of lines of data in a few minutes and offers meaningful predictions. Humans can't.
Those were some of the human Ls. Now here are some human wins.
- Zero Creativity: AI does come close to the human brain when it comes to creating fresh ideas.
- Lacks Ethics: AI is purely logical. It doesn't understand emotions or nuances. All you can do is feed relevant data and hope for the best.
As said earlier, AI has stamped its authority on every industry imaginable. This includes marketing as well. Marketers are now adapting to AI-driven processes to generate results. Why? Because you get more done while spending fewer resources.
When the topic of marketing comes up, one question naturally arises.
What does AI do for digital marketing?
Lots, actually. The use of AI to make meaningful predictions and automate processes is a hot topic. Industries are reaping the benefits of running AI-driven marketing campaigns on the internet. But are the results the same across all industries? How about medicine?
Healthcare digital marketing is one aspect that is slowly but steadily capturing the attention of doctors and other healthcare professionals. The rise of AI has only added fuel to the fire.
But how does AI affect healthcare marketing?
There are multiple ways.
Accurate Predictions
This is the number one advantage of AI. Its ability to analyse large sets of data and make meaningful predictions is second to none.
So how does this help healthcare marketing?
With an AI-driven system, healthcare professionals can use patient data to come up with a range of conclusions, like,
- The health conditions the patients may suffer from based on their current health and lifestyle
- The platforms patients use to communicate with healthcare professionals
- The type of ads patients like/interact with the most
- Predicting the number of staff required
- The time of day when there's a steady flow of patients
- Categorise patients based on age, sex, race, nationality, etc.
- Develop personalised campaigns based on patient interaction levels and preferred platforms
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Considering the value of data in 2023, the way AI analyses data, especially in regards to healthcare marketing, is something that must not be taken lightly.
Virtual Assistants
A website helps promote your clinic and gives you the opportunity to present all the different services you offer. Contact forms on a website allow visitors to submit a request for interaction. But it isn't instantaneous. A visitor has to submit and wait for a response. But that's not the case with virtual assistants.
A virtual assistant, or AI chatbot, is up 24/7. All you have to do is feed relevant data. The virtual assistant will handle all types of queries and does an impressive job of marketing your services while contributing to website traffic.
Voice Recognition
Interactive voice response (IVR) has been around for a while now. It is extensively used in multiple industries for customer interaction. AI has upped the ante with voice recognition.
AI-driven voice recognition systems can help healthcare professionals conduct surveys and collect feedback from patients. Important information like this contributes to patient retention and helps serves them better.
A good example of this is Amazon's Alexa. Recently, Alexa became HIPAA-compliant. This gives Alexa permission to work with healthcare professionals and deal with confidential health-related data.
Additionally, voice recognition systems can help provide patient information. A patient could simply make a request like "Alexa, show my blood glucose readings," and Alexa would respond with the requested information. This eliminates the need for screens or paperwork.
Generate Content
This is something that the majority of people in the content writing community frown upon. Generating content is one of the numerous benefits of AI.
There are many AI tools available on the internet that can generate content in a few seconds. You simply have to input a prompt and the required word limit. You now have content that almost looks like it was written by a human. There are certain limitations when it comes to AI content. But for the most part, it is a convenient and cost-effective option for content.
Personalised Experiences
All patients are different. Just like their bodies, each patient has a specific set of likes and dislikes. It is important to plan campaigns that connect with patients on a personal level.
This is possible with the help of a customer database platform (CDP). A CDP is an application that uses results from other tools to create a centralised database. This centralised database contains all the interactions patients make with the tools connected to it.
You could simply feed this information to an AI/ML system and use the existing patient information to create personalised experiences.
Streamlining Operations
Automating tasks is the way to go. It saves time, effort, and resources. Automating campaigns and other aspects of a clinic will help improve brand awareness and expand reach. Processes that can be automated include:
- Patient referrals
- Physician referrals
- Managing online listings
- Email and text responses
- Testimonials
- Festival/holiday/birthday greetings
- Sentiment analysis
Wrapping Things Up
Whether you like it or not, AI isn't leaving any time soon. Staying adamant is only going to hurt your clinic. Besides, hating on a trending thing might be popular on Twitter. But that's not the case in real life. Things get popular for a reason.
AI has taken over the healthcare marketing industry like a storm. It is important to stay updated on current marketing trends to stay afloat.
0 Comments