Amy Summy is responsible for global marketing at Labcorp, overseeing brand reputation, ecommerce, customer experience, and digital businesses under Labcorp on Demand and Ovia Health. Previously, she led EY Digital’s Marketing and Insights Practice and served as SVP and CMO at TE Connectivity. Amy held executive roles at Sapient, contributing to its growth. She is a board member of No More Kids with Cancer and serves on the Corporate Council of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In an engaging interaction with Global Woman Leaders Magazine, Amy shares insights on the evolving role of digital marketing and e-commerce in healthcare, the underappreciated drivers of sustainable growth, balancing consumer empowerment with medical accuracy, emerging trends in underserved markets, and lessons from other industries.

How will the role of digital marketing and e-commerce evolve in the healthcare industry over the next 3-5 years?

Digital marketing and e-commerce in healthcare will continue to accelerate over the next 3-5 years with the growth of consumer-driven healthcare. Personalized health guidance, online ordering, at-home solutions for testing and treatment, telemedicine and more are enabling this growth. Our clients physician practices, managed care plans, hospital systems and pharmaceutical companies either have or are introducing direct-to-consumer models for their patients and members. This has led to increased demand for seamless digital ordering, deeper analytics and insights and flexible digital solutions that work with their platforms. As we look ahead, we believe that clients and consumers will continue to expect great science and quality from Labcorp, but their expectations will also include easy and personalized experiences.

In industries like healthcare, where innovation is key, what is the most underappreciated driver of sustainable growth today, especially when it comes to leveraging data and AI to enhance consumer experiences?

No adjective describes the revelatory impact that AI will have on all aspects of our lives – it’s not transformation, it’s complete reinvention. For patients, data access to choose tests, therapies and treatments that make them feel more empowered to make decisions for their unique situation will be completely changed by AI. For customers, real world data is a game-changer in areas like patient diversity, patient recruitment and clinical trial enablement, accelerating decision-making and connecting patients in need of ground-breaking new therapies. And finally, teams will benefit from AI reframing everything from how they work smarter to how they reinvent marketing and other processes.

How do you balance consumer empowerment with the need for medical accuracy and responsibility in the digital age, especially in wellness and diagnostics?

Let me start by saying that the testing solutions we make accessible to consumers are also offered to physicians, and meet Labcorp’s rigorous scientific, medical and quality standards. For consumers, we also partner with a third-party physician network for the prescription. Our cutting-edge science, technology and innovation helps doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers and patients make clear and confident decisions while also helping consumers manage their health. The goal is to empower consumers to actively participate in their health management while ensuring they are making informed decisions based on reliable medical information and guidance from their healthcare professional to ensure proper interpretation and application within their individual medical context.

What emerging trends or market dynamics are you currently seeing in underserved or evolving markets that present the most exciting growth opportunities for healthcare brands?

Digital health and at-home test and treatment options are making healthcare more accessible, especially in underserved areas, by connecting patients with care no matter where they live. Personalized medicine is also making a big impact, with advances in genomics and data helping to create treatments tailored to individual needs, leading to better outcomes. At the same time, efforts to improve health equity are encouraging brands to tackle gaps in access to care and make healthcare more inclusive. Finally, there is an emphasis on increasing diversity in clinical trials, helping to ensure future treatment options are personalized to meet the needs of specific patients or patient populations.

What can healthcare marketing learn from sectors like industrial manufacturing or financial services in terms of embracing digital transformation and reaching more diverse audiences?

No matter the sector, marketers need to understand their customer base, including its many micro-audiences and needs. Financial services have long focused on deeply understanding their customers, and they are one of the most sophisticated users of data to create personalized experiences and offerings, driving better results. Industrials, like much of the healthcare sector, are just starting to adopt digital in how they engage with customers. When I meet with other CMOs, I find we all have common challenges and aspirations. We are working to understand customer behavior to personalize messages, improve customer experiences and uncover unmet needs. And, we’re all reviewing the latest tools and technology to improve efficiency and do things faster without sacrificing quality or results.