Show you care, that you really care

Got back to Bangalore early this morning after holidaying home at Cochin. Arrived early enough to see the morning newspaper thrown at our doorstep. And the headline that screamed at me said;

'Bangalore gets a panic attack: Pune Swine flu death sparks scare in city, People crowd hospitals' (DNA);

'Panic spreads like the flu; people rush to hospitals for tests after first swine flu death' (TOI)

I think I should be concerned, especially with Jaden being susceptible to the flu. The panic all around is not helping at all. But what surprises me is the response of private healthcare providers. Not a word from them. Isn't this the marketing opportunity of a lifetime?

Show me you care. Genuinely. I would loved to have received an SMS from my healthcare firm (which by the way is my healthcare insurance provider) telling me there's a toll free number I can call, should I detect flu like symptoms among any of us. What about sending me a mailer with details on the flu and what precautions I must take? What about a CD, maybe with a video that educates me on the flu and assuages my fears? What about even a free check up, should I detect something like the flu? Of course, all this costs money. But tell you what, it would be well spent.

The fact is, I see no communiques from any pharmaceutical companies or healthcare providers. Instead my cell phone's flooded with irritating messages about a dhamaka (why do see I red every time I hear that word?) furniture sale at some retail outlet. Messages about sundry I don't care about.

Great marketers are the ones that care. Genuinely. That care gets them people like me. Consumers. It also gets consumers to stay. Because they know the marketer cares. Last, not least, such care is what brings in the moolah. Most consumers don't trust marketers because they are convinced they are only after their money. Amidst the flu, here's an opportunity for marketers to show they genuinely care.

That they haven't taken up on it is such a disappointment. In fact, what a pity.