Budgeting for Innovation in Healthcare Customer Engagement: Unlocking ROI with the Conversation Cloud
By John Zimmerer, VP of Healthcare Marketing at Smart Communications
In his 1986 Chairman’s Letter, Warren Buffett famously wrote that Berkshire Hathaway’s goal is “to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy when others are fearful.” His words proved prescient, as the following year brought Black Monday, one of the worst single-day stock market losses in history. True to form, Buffett was greedy when the rest of the world was fearful. That worked out well for Buffett and his shareholders: the company booked a 20% profit that year. They’ve prospered since, too.
So why is a healthcare guy talking about a financial services guru?
Because the lesson is very apt in today’s very uncertain geopolitical, economic, and regulatory climate. As I write this, a lot of healthcare providers and payers are fearful. Rightly so. But fortune favors the bold, as the old Latin saying goes. And now is the time to be bold while others are fearful.
What should you be bold about?
Investing in your digital customer experience.
Payers, yours is terrible. Period. Forrester has tracked healthcare CX for many years. The industry used to be better than airlines and the government. As per the 2025 report, it’s now the absolute worst.
Providers should not be snickering in the corner. You have been trying to get patients through your digital front doors for years now. Our 2025 Healthcare Benchmark Report shows that your customers aren’t impressed.
It’s time to get back in the game. It’s time to innovate. This budget season. Now!
The Conversation Cloud™ from Smart Communications offers a transformative approach to customer communications and engagement. But how can organizations budget for technology innovations while ensuring a measurable return on investment (ROI)?
The Case for Innovation in Healthcare
Healthcare organizations face mounting pressure to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. Traditional communication methods—paper forms, fragmented systems, and siloed data—are barriers to achieving these goals. Customer experience platforms like The Conversation Cloud and the solutions within streamline and personalize interactions across the customer journey, from onboarding and claims to care coordination and billing.
From guided experiences that replace static forms with intelligent workflows to digital-first communications that extend beyond print, you’ll get consistent, compliant, and personalized messaging across channels. The Conversation Cloud provides a unified engagement ecosystem that drives efficiency and satisfaction.
Budgeting for Healthcare Communication Transformation: A Strategic Investment
When budgeting for customer engagement solutions, healthcare leaders should treat the initiative as a strategic investment rather than a technology expense. Here’s how to approach it:
1.-Assess Current Costs and Inefficiencies
Start by quantifying the costs of current processes:
- Manual data entry and form processing
- Compliance risks and remediation
- Call center volumes due to confusing communications
- IT overhead from maintaining multiple legacy systems
For example, a mid-sized insurer processing 100,000 forms annually may spend $10 per form on labor and error correction—totaling $1 million. Replacing these with guided digital interviews could reduce costs by 60% to 80%.
2.-Define ROI Metrics
Establish clear metrics to evaluate ROI:
- Operational Efficiency: Reduction in processing time and labor costs
- Customer Satisfaction: Improvements in Net Promoter Score (NPS) or CAHPS ratings
- Compliance and Risk Mitigation: Fewer errors and audit findings
- Revenue Impact: Faster onboarding and claims processing can accelerate revenue cycles
A provider consolidating communications may reduce template management costs by 50%, cut production time by 70%, and improve message consistency—leading to higher patient engagement and fewer missed appointments.
3.-Model Financial Impact
Use a simple ROI formula: ROI (%) = [(Net Benefit – Investment Cost) / Investment Cost] × 100
Let’s say a health plan invests $500,000 in a Conversation Cloud implementation. If the solutions yield $1.2 million in annual savings and revenue gains, the ROI is:
[(1,200,000 – 500,000) / 500,000] × 100 = 140%
This kind of return is not uncommon when our solutions are deployed strategically.
4.-Plan for Scalability and Integration
Budgeting should include:
- Initial implementation and configuration
- Integration with EHRs, CRMs, and claims systems
- Training and change management
- Ongoing optimization and analytics
The Conversation Cloud’s ability to consolidate disparate communication platforms can reduce IT complexity and licensing costs, freeing up budget for innovation.
Real-World Success: Quantifying the Value
Healthcare organizations that have adopted our solutions report tangible benefits:
- A regional health system-reduced patient onboarding time by 50% and cut form abandonment rates by 40%.
- A national insurer-consolidated 12 communication platforms, saving $2 million annually in licensing and support costs.
- A Medicaid plan-improved member engagement by 35% through personalized, accessible, multilingual communications.
These outcomes demonstrate that a customer engagement platform isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s a catalyst for transformation.
Final Thoughts: Making the Case for Healthcare Communications Transformation
To secure budget approval, healthcare leaders must present a compelling business case. Focus on:
- Quantifiable cost savings and efficiency gains
- Strategic alignment with organizational goals (e.g., digital transformation, member experience)
- Risk mitigation and compliance improvements
- Competitive advantage in a consumer-driven market
Innovation in customer engagement is no longer optional. With a Smart solution, healthcare organizations can deliver experiences that are intelligent, personalized, and scalable—while achieving a strong ROI.
To learn more about optimizing policyholder communications, request a demo to see our document automation capabilities in action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What are common challenges healthcare organizations face when implementing customer engagement platforms?
A. Healthcare data is often siloed across multiple systems (e.g., EHRs, RCM, etc.), which makes data integration and interoperability a challenge, and hinders personalized engagement. Using FHIR/HL7 or a data integration solution (e.g., MuleSoft) can help. Security is also a challenge, so making sure solutions are HIPAA certified, not just compliant, can help providers narrow vendor choices. Not all patients are comfortable using customer engagement platforms, so meeting them on their channel of choice (SMS, email, etc.) is essential.
Q. How do platforms like the Conversation Cloud integrate with existing healthcare IT systems?
A. The Conversation Cloud uses RESTful APIs and OAuth 2.0 to integrate with FHIR/HL7 servers and integration engines (e.g., Rhapsody, InterSystems, etc.).
Q. What metrics should healthcare leaders track post-implementation to measure success?
A. Healthcare leaders should track in situ metrics to understand how users are interacting with the solution. This can include time-to-completion, abandonment rates, and error rates. They should also track delivery and engagement metrics, such as delivery failures (e.g., bad email address, phone number, etc.), open rates, and response rates. Adjacent metrics can also be useful, such as call volume related to the engagement platform, and customer satisfaction surveys.
Q. How can healthcare organizations ensure compliance while digitizing communications?
A. The first hurdle is making sure each recipient has affirmatively opted in to using the engagement platform. HCOs must also make sure that communications comply with regulations, particularly when communicating protected health information. Choosing solutions that provide encryption, access controls, and audit logging is essential for compliance. Lastly, archiving digital communications with a solution such as SmartHUB will help HCOs evidence compliance to auditors and regulators.
Q. How can healthcare organizations budget for digital customer experience improvements during tight financial cycles?
A. When done right, improving digital experience also improves operational metrics. Examples include:
- Shifting from printed and mailed communications to digital
- Automating personalized communications and providing self-service options to reduce staff burden
- Reducing no-shows or increasing patient retention to improve revenue