SHSMD 2026 preconference workshop · on demand
How marketing leaders are winning with mobile
Missed the session at SHSMD 2026? Work through the same five-step playbook our attendees did. Your answers save as you go, and at the end you can download your own mobile strategy starter plan.
Start the workbookAbout this session
Your mobile app is one of the most frequent brand touchpoints a patient has with your health system outside of a clinical visit. Yet most systems still treat it as an IT-only project.
The marketing leaders seeing measurable results have made a different choice: they own mobile as a brand channel.
In this session, a veteran healthcare CMO shares lessons from years of leading mobile patient experience initiatives at major health systems, walking through a five-step, marketing-led playbook for building and launching a branded consumer app.
What you'll walk away with
Articulate why marketing is the natural owner of the mobile patient relationship, and frame that case for the C-suite.
Apply a five-step, marketing-led playbook for building and launching a branded health system mobile app.
Develop a personalized mobile strategy action plan, including how to navigate the four most common internal objections.
Why it matters
The mobile experience is one of the most frequent, direct brand touchpoints a patient has with your health system outside a clinical visit.
agree pre-appointment difficulty often sets a negative tone for the entire visit
would feel more confident about the quality of care with a smoother pre-appointment experience
feel like they are receiving higher quality care when arrival for an appointment is frictionless
agree the first impression a provider makes happens before the visit
Source: The Harris Poll survey commissioned by Gozio Health, n=2,010, June 2026
Marketing already owns the most essential skills in building and launching the right mobile strategy for patients.
Audience research
Understanding what patients want and need before the build starts
Brand consistency
One voice across ads, website, and the full mobile experience
Journey mapping
Reach patients where they already are with the information that matters before, during, and after a visit
Ongoing engagement
Targeted campaigns and messaging, directly to the device they always have on them
Five-step playbook
Each step mirrors an exercise from the live workshop. Fill in as much or as little as you like. Everything saves in this browser automatically.
Step 1 of 5
Find which of your organization's goals will be impacted by a mobile strategy, outline what success looks like for each objective, and set the baseline before you launch.
Organization objectives: the 2–3 your org is measured on this year
e.g. patient volume growth, market share, overall patient experience
Interactive field (objective inputs). Shows on the live page.
Department objectives: what you own, or directly move
e.g. patient acquisition and retention, brand awareness, revenue growth
Interactive field (objective inputs). Shows on the live page.
Step 2 of 5
Talk to your patients to understand what they really need before deciding what to build. Find the current friction and what's working well to shape the requirements.
Score your current setup for each channel, 1–5
1 Not on radar · 2 Talked about, no plan · 3 Actively in the works · 4 Okay solution · 5 Amazing solution
Interactive field (1–5 scoring and total). Shows on the live page.
5–11 Needs some work
Real gaps. Start with one channel and build.
12–18 Path to success
Solid pieces. Connect them into one practice.
19–25 Ready to go
A strong foundation. Guide the rest of the playbook with it.
Step 3 of 5
Outline who will be on the steering committee for this project. Not just their title, but what do they actually care about that the mobile strategy will impact? What decision power do they have in this project?
Identify the top stakeholders who need a seat at the table and the business objective each cares about most
Interactive field (six stakeholder cards). Shows on the live page.
Step 4 of 5
Scope your current digital patient experience landscape. Which items live in your patient portal, and what other vendors or tools have you added for communication, care options, AI tools, and more?
List the EHR functions to surface, plus other tools or vendors you'd want included
Tap to select, or add your own
EHR functions
Interactive field (EHR options). Shows on the live page.
Other tools and vendors
Interactive field (tool options). Shows on the live page.
Step 5 of 5
Pick a time of year where patient engagement is usually highest, activate your staff so they can point patients to the tool, and make sure you set a continuous plan, not just a one-and-done launch week campaign.
When is patient engagement highest for you?
Interactive field (launch window dropdown). Shows on the live page.
What campaign tactics have been very effective with your patients or community that you might use during an app launch?
Tap any that apply, then add your own detail below
Interactive field (tactic options and notes). Shows on the live page.
Questions and reframes
Four questions you'll hear most often. Tap each card to reveal a starting point for answering it.
Budget ownership
Reframe
Fund it where the outcome is measured, and we'll work together on reporting those outcomes.
Tap to reveal the reframe
Roadmap ownership
Reframe
It's a collaborative effort. IT owns the pipes, but marketing owns the audience and the relationship.
Tap to reveal the reframe
Portal overlap
Reframe
The portal is a transactional tool. A full mobile experience will help us drive growth.
Tap to reveal the reframe
Proving ROI
Reframe
We'll anchor the value to different objectives in the organization, then set the baseline.
Tap to reveal the reframe
Value pools and impact
One mobile program can fill more than one pool, and each carries its own metrics.
Financial
Cost reduction, revenue protection and generation, ROI realization
Operational efficiency
Staff productivity, lighter administrative burden, streamlined workflows
Experience and satisfaction
Loyalty and brand reputation, reflected in Press Ganey and HCAHPS scores
Clinical and quality
Care access, adherence, and quality outcomes across the patient journey
Strategic growth
Digital maturity, market expansion, and M&A integration
Take it home · 01
Here are the objectives you listed in step 1. Mark which of the five value pools a mobile app can fill for each one.
Organization objectives
Interactive field (objectives from step 1 with value pool tags). Shows on the live page.
Department objectives
Interactive field (objectives from step 1 with value pool tags). Shows on the live page.
Take it home · 02
Capture what stands out as you think through research, integration, launch timing, and adoption tactics.
Interactive field (notes box). Shows on the live page.
Your results
Get a branded PDF with everything you filled in: objectives, research score, stakeholder map, integration scope, launch plan, value pools, and notes. Ready to share with your team.
Interactive field (plan summary and download form). Shows on the live page.
Keep going
Explore our Mobile Experience Resource Hub, or talk with the Gozio team about what your plan could look like in practice.
