In a recent healthcare marketing roundtable featuring leaders from Nemours Children's Health, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Banner Health, and more, a clear consensus emerged: phone calls remain the dominant channel for patient acquisition in pediatric healthcare — and organizations without proper call tracking are missing critical data and opportunities.
In this blog post, we collected some of the top insights from their enlightening conversation — keep reading to learn more!
Despite the digital transformation sweeping through healthcare, one traditional channel refuses to fade: the phone call. This is especially true in pediatric healthcare, where parents making decisions about their children's health overwhelmingly prefer speaking directly with a healthcare provider.
David Chase, who heads digital marketing acquisition at Nemours Children's Health, shared a revealing insight about his organization's experience:
Over 80% of our leads come from phone calls, not forms. In the healthcare industry, phone calls are the preferred channel for making appointments. When we added Invoca phone numbers to our landing pages, our leads shot up threefold.
The roundtable participants offered fascinating insights into why parents — even digitally native millennials and Gen Z — prefer calling when it comes to their children's health.
Allison Bradley from Cincinnati Children's Hospital provided a compelling perspective on younger parents:
Even digital-native millennial and Gen Z parents choose phone calls instead of clicks for healthcare decisions. They're tech-savvy but they demand immediacy when it matters. They know that when they call us, they can get the help they need right away.
This immediacy factor becomes even more critical when dealing with urgent healthcare needs, where waiting for a response to an online form is simply not practical for concerned parents.
One of the most significant challenges pediatric healthcare marketers face is proving that their efforts truly bring in new patients who wouldn't have come to the organization otherwise.
David Chase noted that there's also significant value in reconnecting with existing patients:
Invoca's data proved that we get high returns from reactivating existing patients who are searching online for a provider. Nurturing established relationships drives sustainable growth. We've made this a key initiative for our marketing team.
By capturing and analyzing call data, marketers can identify which channels and campaigns are driving both new and returning patients to the organization, providing concrete evidence of marketing's value.
The roundtable participants shared consistent experiences regarding social media effectiveness for patient acquisition. David Chase offered valuable insights on how Invoca's data helps optimize their social media strategy:
Invoca's data helps us go beyond clicks and understand which social media platforms drive the most conversions and new patients. For example, we uncovered that Instagram has conversion rates nearly 10 times higher than Facebook. These insights have helped us spend our budget smarter so we can acquire more patients cost efficiently.
The roundtable made clear that call tracking and analytics are no longer optional for healthcare organizations — they're essential components of a complete marketing measurement strategy.
For healthcare organizations looking to implement call tracking, compliance remains a top priority. Another children’s hospital marketing leader addressed this concern directly:
Invoca automatically redacts sensitive personal health information (PHI) from phone call transcripts, so we can maintain full HIPAA compliance. When we showed the redaction technology to our legal team, their concerns vanished — they were instantly sold.
Other key considerations for healthcare organizations include:
As healthcare continues its digital transformation, the humble phone call remains a critical connection point between patients and providers. Organizations that effectively track, analyze, and optimize these conversations gain a significant advantage in patient acquisition and marketing effectiveness.
Want to learn more about how Invoca can help you drive new patient acquisition for your healthcare organization? Request a demo to see it in action.
