Three Trusts Behind Healthcare Marketing
We spend a lot of time talking about how healthcare organizations earn patients' trust. After the past year, I'm even more convinced that's only part of the story.
It's understandable that every campaign, every patient story, every access message and every brand promise is ultimately trying to answer the same question:
Why should someone trust [INSERT HEALTHCARE ORG HERE] with their care?
But after spending the past year working alongside one particular health system, I've come to the conclusion that, for agencies working with healthcare organizations, consumer trust is actually the third kind of trust that matters.
The first trust is earned between a client and its agency.
When Hart began working with MetroHealth, we were hired to manage media. Like any new agency relationship, there was self-imposed pressure to demonstrate value quickly. We rebuilt campaign infrastructure, optimized performance and consistently delivered thoughtful, strong work. Those things mattered, but not because they produced big numbers on campaign dashboards. They mattered because each delivery gave the client another reason to trust us.
That trust wasn't built through a single presentation or breakthrough idea. It was built through consistency.
Early on, I remember thinking that media alone wasn't going to change how people viewed MetroHealth. If trust was the goal, the message had to reflect something real. At the time, I assumed messaging was outside our lane. We were there to help people find MetroHealth, not define what MetroHealth stood for.
The second trust is earned when an agency delivers beyond execution. In time, that helps agencies earn the right to contribute to strategy.
For us, that moment came sooner than we expected.
MetroHealth asked Hart to “refresh” a primary care campaign. I remember being surprised. We'd been hired to manage media, and suddenly we were being asked to help shape messaging. We certainly hoped we'd earn that opportunity someday. We just didn't expect it to happen that quickly. The opportunity wasn't the result of asking for more scope. It was the result of proving we understood healthcare – and specifically we were interested in understanding MetroHealth as an organization – well enough to contribute beyond media.
Looking back, I realize something else had changed.
I expected many of our conversations to center on awareness and perception. Instead, marketing leadership consistently brought the discussion back to access. Not because clinical excellence didn't matter (it clearly does) but because excellence only changes lives if people can actually get to it.
That changed how I thought about healthcare marketing. Trust isn't built by talking louder. It's built by making it easier for people to connect with the care your organization already provides.
As we continued to listen, the picture became more complete. We came to appreciate an organization deeply committed to the people in their service area. Like many leading health systems, MetroHealth takes enormous pride in its clinical expertise. What struck me, though, was how often those conversations were connected back to community. Whether the discussion was about nationally recognized specialties or expanding access to primary care, the question was consistently the same: How does this better serve our neighbors?
That understanding didn't come from a creative brief.
It came from listening.
The best client relationships aren't built on an agency having all the answers. They're built on a shared willingness to ask better questions together.
The most valuable thing we brought wasn't certainty. It was curiosity.
We kept asking why. Why this audience? Why this objective? Why is success measured this way? And most importantly, what business goal are we actually trying to support?
Those questions changed our media recommendations. Eventually, they also changed the conversations we were invited into.
the third trust: Only after earning the client's trust were we invited to help shape the messages intended to earn patients' trust.
Consumers don't experience healthcare brands through marketing alone. They experience them through access, physicians, frontline staff, appointment availability, follow-up and every interaction that either reinforces or contradicts what marketing promises.
The role of marketing isn't to manufacture trust. It's to reflect real reasons a healcaare organization is worthy of it. For MetroHealth, that trust is rooted in both exceptional care and a commitment to making that care accessible to the community it serves.
I've come to believe that the strongest healthcare marketing strategy isn't built on the smartest campaign or the fastest answer. It's built on a progression of trust:
An agency earns the client's trust.
The agency earns the right to influence strategy.
Only then can marketing authentically help a health system earn the trust of the communities it serves.
A year ago, I thought our value came from having the best answers quickly.
Today, I think our value comes from earning the right to ask better questions.
Looking back, that's what built trust with MetroHealth.
Funny. Patients want answers, yes, but – like our healthcare clients – they also want to be heard, engaged with and understood.
Hart will be at the upcoming SHSMD conference, not just attending but actively leading conversations around what’s next for healthcare marketing. If your organization is focused on strengthening brand trust, modernizing marketing strategy, applying AI responsibly or unlocking growth across the patient journey, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect while we’re there.
