The digital healthcare industry is currently in a dynamic and transformative phase. The landscape is characterised by rapid technological advancements and there has been a significant shift towards adoption of preventive healthcare. This trend has proven to be more than a temporary solution; it is now a fundamental aspect of healthcare, allowing patients to receive consultations and follow-ups from anywhere, reducing the barriers to access.
MediBuddy is standing at the forefront, contributing to improved healthcare outcomes and access through its diverse offerings such as online doctor video consultations that bridge gaps in medical infrastructure, an online pharmacy for convenient medication delivery, health check and diagnostic services for preventive care, and end-to-end surgery care solutions that streamline the process.
In a quick conversation with Saibal Biswas, SVP and Head of Marketing, PR, and Partnership, MediBuddy, he takes us through the many facets of the digital healthcare industry, along with aiming to enhance healthcare accessibility, convenience, and potentially better health outcomes.
Excerpts:
What do you see as the biggest challenges that the health tech/ digital healthcare industry is facing today, and how do you address them?
Building trust and credibility is a key challenge due to consumer concerns over data privacy, new technologies or the effectiveness of remote care. Navigating stringent healthcare regulations around marketing claims is crucial. Overcoming adoption barriers requires education and partnerships with trusted entities. Differentiating offerings in an increasingly crowded market necessitates compelling storytelling and value propositions. It is also essential to demonstrate tangible value to consumers and providers through measurable outcomes like improved patient experiences.
It is important to build a design interface that is intuitive and accessible and collaborate with organisations to bridge the digital divide and provide access to healthcare resources for underserved populations.
Technology stands as the backbone of your platform. How do you braid tech with innovation and creativity to deliver exceptional consumer experience and ensure a high repeat customer rate?
We make high-quality healthcare accessible and convenient that empowers our users with reliable health information. We understand our users' real problems and provide guidance through informative blogs or expert advice. Being patient-centric is critical in our industry, and at MediBuddy, patients are at the heart of every decision we make.
Innovation and creativity are at the core of our everyday approach to delivering exceptional consumer experiences. With laser-focused online engagement amplified by social media platforms, we ensure we connect with our audience on their terms, maximising impact. The strategy is to capitalise on moments when people are most receptive to health-related messaging, position the brand as a leading voice in preventive care, and integrate offerings into cultural contexts, ultimately driving brand awareness and adoption of healthcare services.
MediBuddy prioritises exceptional user experiences by braiding technology with innovation and creativity. This translates to a user-friendly interface that caters to diverse technical abilities. The platform itself is designed for effortless navigation, simplifying online video doctor consultation booking, offline consultations, health checks, and medicine.
Can you take us through the users who typically interact with you? Any insights or trends that you have noticed so far? How do you ensure consistent brand messaging and customer experience across various marketing channels and touchpoints?
We cater to diverse users seeking various healthcare services. One notable trend is that the need for healthcare is generally not a frequent occurrence for most individuals unless they have very young children. Our data indicates that around 15-20 per cent of our consumers tend to repeat their interactions with us within three months.
To drive user retention, we carefully analyse each user's profile - age, demographics, and medical condition for initial interaction. We then proactively follow up with tailored recommendations based on their data. For example, we facilitate doctor consultations if a health check-up flags an issue requiring the need for medical attention.
The key is providing valuable, personalised healthcare journeys without being intrusive. We leverage user insights to anticipate needs and offer relevant services at the right time. This data-driven, user-centric approach fosters lasting relationships as we accompany users through evolving healthcare requirements.
Take us through MediBuddy's marketing strategy. What are some of the KPIs that you look to accomplish through your marketing efforts? What has worked for you in the past years and what has not?
MediBuddy adopts a multi-pronged marketing strategy involving continuous, monthly campaigns supported by organic releases and real-time consumer insights. By owning relevant moments and optimising conversations, the brand efficiently builds category awareness in a competitive landscape, while understanding and catering to the Indian consumer's behaviour and touchpoints. We take a strategic approach to achieve our key KPIs like building brand trust and transparency, efficient user acquisition & retention, seamless lead generation and improving user experience. At MediBuddy, we achieve this by using a mix of content marketing, personalisation, and focus on user experience and feedback.
Operating in a need-based industry like healthcare, MediBuddy cannot create the need itself but can strategically shift existing healthcare needs towards online channels. The brand aims to make its services more convenient, and accessible and assure quality care. Therefore, brand campaigns are built around occasions where consumers are already seeking healthcare solutions, using those moments to create awareness about the availability of online services.
For instance, MediBuddy aligns its marketing calendar with WHO-designated health awareness days, capitalising on opportunities when people are focused on leading a healthy lifestyle and are open to preventive healthcare measures. The brand aims to own the communication narrative around preventive care, a space traditionally dominated by reactive solutions like medicines. MediBuddy also leverages festivals like Diwali, positioning its services as gifts of good health for friends and family.
What is your marketing budget split between traditional and digital? What media has demonstrated better results for you and why?
Our marketing budget allocation prioritises digital channels. This strategic distribution aligns with our target audience's media consumption habits and our goal of maximising reach and engagement through relevant touchpoints. The overall marketing spends for the year FY ‘23 till now is 100 cr. However, we are optimising the target and focus and will reduce the spends by 30 per cent in this financial year.
In terms of media effectiveness, we have observed superior results from our digital marketing efforts. Platforms like search engine marketing, social media advertising, and programmatic display have consistently delivered higher returns on investment compared to traditional channels.
Which are the service categories that are keeping pace for the brand in terms of revenue and traction post-pandemic?
The online doctor consultation segment is currently small compared to the overall healthcare consultation market. However, online consultations will experience significant growth over time. Consider a small village in remote India where there is limited access to doctors. Having a qualified specialist physically present for an extended period is not feasible. Online consultations can bridge this gap by providing remote access to medical expertise, fulfilling an existing need. Additionally, government initiatives are expected to further foster online consultations' growth. I hope other companies also invest in creating awareness about online doctor consultations, as this will accelerate awareness and adoption.
Regarding online medicine delivery, companies have invested heavily in raising awareness, driving substantial category growth. Major players now cover most pin codes, offering consumers a variety of choices. However, online services may not be able to deliver medicines urgently when needed. In such cases, neighbourhood pharmacies play a crucial role. Players are competing on price to gain market share.
Despite the pharmaceutical industry's massive size, online medicine delivery numbers remain relatively small. This leaves ample room for new players to enter the market. We have experienced rapid growth in health checks and diagnostics, attributed to overall market expansion. The online pharmacy category is also growing rapidly due to market growth. During the pandemic, we witnessed a surge in online doctor consultations, which subsided slightly. However, post-intervention, we are observing those figures return, which is very encouraging.
In the diagnostics segment, we are growing slightly faster than the category due to our established corporate base. Annual health check-ups, driven by increased health consciousness, are also gaining traction.
Another fast-growing business for MediBuddy is end-to-end surgery care, which has nearly doubled.
Notably, online doctor consultations remain our fastest-growing category.
Amitabh Bachchan is your brand's ambassador. Do you feel a celebrity of this stature has helped garner greater presence and profit for the brand?
Having Amitabh Bachchan as a brand ambassador for MediBuddy has undoubtedly helped garner greater presence and visibility for the brand. During the pandemic period, when online consultation services were gaining acceptance, MediBuddy aimed to capitalise on this trend by introducing MediBuddy Gold with Amitabh Bachchan's endorsement. The notion was that providing unlimited services at a certain price point would resonate with consumers. However, the traction witnessed was lower than expected.
In hindsight, MediBuddy realised that the category itself lacked a strong foundational base. Consumers needed more education on the key benefits of such a service, including 24/7 doctor availability, multilingual support, and the convenience of remote consultations. These aspects were highlighted at a later stage, after which the product started witnessing the expected growth.
While Amitabh Bachchan's star power helped generate initial awareness and presence for the brand, the true impact on profits came after the MediBuddy course corrected its approach, focusing on category creation and educating consumers about the value proposition.
Moving forward, MediBuddy is working on both the demand and supply sides. On the demand side, efforts are underway to educate consumers further and drive adoption. On the supply side, the focus is on building a robust network of doctors, clinics, diagnostic centres, and other third-party partners to ensure seamless service delivery and last-mile connectivity.
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