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Breaking Down Friction: The Key to Exceptional Customer Experience in Healthcare

In the highly competitive healthcare sector, delivering outstanding customer experiences (CX) has become a critical differentiator for leading brands. However, despite a strong focus on customer satisfaction, one significant challenge persists: the friction created when clients switch between channels in an effort to resolve their issues quickly. This article examines the impact of these friction-filled cross-channel interactions on the client’s relationship with the brand and explores strategies healthcare organizations can adopt to streamline interactions, reduce friction, and deliver seamless experiences.
These findings are based on a 2024 study conducted by OnR in collaboration with bespokeCX and ONResearch covered national and regional hospitals, insurance firms, drug companies, and pharmacies, including familiar names like Abbott, Blue Cross, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group, and Walgreens.

Drivers of an Outstanding Customer Journey
Healthcare brands communicate well, with 51% of clients finding their messaging easy to understand. However, they fall short in reducing repetitive conversations, as 34% of clients are asked to share the same information multiple times. Another challenge is channel switching, where only 41% of clients feel the process is seamless. These gaps highlight areas where brands can improve to create a smoother and more effortless customer experience.

Cross-Channel Impact
Creating a frictionless experience is essential as healthcare clients frequently rely on multiple channels to resolve their requests, with phone support being the most common. A significant number of clients move from self-help options to interactive channels, such as phone support, which presents the greatest challenge in creating a seamless transition. This tendency to switch channels contributes to healthcare clients consistently rating customer effort as low across all channels, highlighting the added friction in their journey.

This highlights why healthcare clients frequently report exerting significant effort to resolve their requests, regardless of the issue. Clients rate healthcare brands highest for handling prescription and medication-related questions (35%) but lowest for managing appointment scheduling requests (14%). However, when compared to other industry sectors, both scores are relatively low.

Outcome on Interaction & Relationship
As a result, only two-thirds of clients report that their brand interactions positively influence their perception of the brand. This contributes to just 34% of clients describing their relationship with the brand as unbreakable.

How To Make Cross-Channel Jumps More Effortless
n today’s competitive landscape, delivering effortless customer experiences has become a necessity. BespokeCX empowers brands to create seamless cross-channel transitions by collecting customer data and transferring it to the next channel in real-time. This ensures that as customers navigate between channels, their information is readily available, enabling smooth interactions and eliminating the frustration of repeating details. Our platform integrates effortlessly with your existing technology stack, making it easy to implement and maintain while enhancing the overall customer journey. With BespokeCX, brands achieve meaningful improvements in CX, fostering stronger relationships, deeper loyalty, and long-term success.
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ONRCX delivers strategic consulting, suggests the right tools for data and insights, and enhances CX actions for optimal results. Our approach ensures brands adopt genuine, customer-first values for long-term growth.
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bespokeCX unifies customer data with AI-powered insights, helping you anticipate needs, personalize experiences, and optimize interactions to drive deeper loyalty and better results by tracking engagement and reducing friction across every touchpoint.
The Author: A Brief History

JASON TEN-POW
Jason Ten-Pow is a trailblazer in customer experience (CX) transformation, strategy, and analytics. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and growth brands across various industries, including technology, healthcare, consumer goods, and financial services, to strengthen customer relationships, enhance retention strategies, and improve customer support processes. Ten-Pow has guided global giants like Intel, Deloitte, and Coca-Cola in mastering CX.
In 2001, Ten-Pow founded ONR, a pioneering firm focused on online research in customer satisfaction, experience, and segmentation. Under his vision and leadership, ONR has continuously invested in proprietary systems, research, and analytics tools to drive client business growth, improve customer journey strategies, and enhance post-purchase support and retention.
In 2021, Ten-Pow published the best-selling book Unbreakable, which outlines the five stages of CX mastery, providing companies with a roadmap to elevate customer relationships. His innovative strategies have transformed the way businesses interact with their customers, resulting in increased revenue, operational efficiency, and employee engagement for his clients.
In 2023, ONR launched its latest platform, bespokeCX, offering VoC, advanced customer intelligence analytics and actionable strategy development. This platform helps businesses understand their unique challenges and develop tailored action plans based on customer insights for a personalized, frictionless experience.
Based in Toronto and Orlando, Jason Ten-Pow remains at the forefront of CX excellence, committed to helping brands thrive through exceptional customer loyalty and strategic insight.
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